Supervillain Attacks and Hospital Capacity

Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1 by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba (2008)

Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba touch on something pretty interesting here in the first issue of the second arc of Umbrella Academy. After the superhero squad saves the world from annihilation at the hands of violinists and raining meteors (yeah this book is that good), the downtown area of the city--I don't actually recall which city and I don't remember whether it was mentioned--was left in shambles, with buildings destroyed, thousands left homeless, hundreds dead, and what I imagine to be thousands of injuries (though again I don't recall whether this was explicitly stated).

In the panel above, the television reporter mentions, "--hospitals unable to deal with the sheer volume of injuries as triage units scramble to cover--." This is pretty significant. Personally, if I lived in a comic book universe that suffered cataclysmic disasters once every month, I would want to be sure that we had enough hospitals in my city to care for me should I ever be taken over by an alien life force, turned evil by a mathematical equation that unmakes existence, or have a meteor land on my head. In fact, would we be able to look at provider capacity data from the American Medical Association or American Hospital Association and deduce how well a major city would be able to handle such a catastrophe?

Well, we would need considerably more information than what is offered in the panels above. However, I came across a fascinating study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine regarding hospital capacity in New York and the effect of 9/11 on discretionary reduction in occupancy. Then let me outsource this to them:

In New York State, 242 hospitals cared for a peak capacity of 2,707 children and 46,613 adults. Occupancy averaged 60% of the peak for children and 82% for adults, allowing an average statewide capacity for a surge of 268 new pediatric and 555 adult patients for each million age-specific population. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, in the New York City region, a discretionary modification of admissions and discharges resulted in an 11% reduction from the expected occupancy for children and adults.

What do these numbers actually mean? Well, according to the study, national policy as of 2004 dictates that hospitals be able to accommodate surges of 500 new patients (children and adults) per 1 million population above the current bed capacity in the event of an emergency. That is, the authors suggest that 500 new patients per million will likely overwhelm hospitals in such situations, particularly so for children since there are fewer pediatric beds per age-specific population than is the case for adults.

However, the study also suggests that more beds could be made available if needed. In fact, the data on discretionary reductions in occupancy and interviews with nurse practitioners and physicians revealed that as much as 1/3 of hospitalized adults could be discharged to accommodate new patients in the event of an emergency.

Beyond actual hospital capacity however, there are other factors. A study published by the New York Presbyterian Hospital and Cornell Weill Medical Center reported EMS communication errors and problems transporting triage burn victims to specialized centers during 9/11. Although an adequate number of beds were available, evidently only 26% of victims were successfully transported.

As far as the Umbrella Academy goes, we don't know how many people were injured and we don't know how many people died while being treated in hospitals. From the looks of it, it seems to actually be less severe than September 11 in terms of injuries and death tolls, so hospitals might have the equipment not to be too stressed. Of course, this scenario involves meteors, violins, robots, and superheroes. It could be that the injuries sustained during this attack were much more severe and required more attention and hospitalization.

The point is that in extremely disastrous supervillain attacks--the kind that has become commonplace in the DC and Marvel Universes--we might be in deep, deep trouble. I wonder if there is a larger health provider workforce and whether more funds are devoted to increased beds, etc. in these universes. There probably should be. In fact, that 500 per million population statistic would likely be greater.

If the increase in utilization from a single-payer health care system would be enough to overwhelm hospitals, imagine a weekly attack from Darkseid, Brainiac, and the Joker. Talk about a need for health reform...

Holy Act Of Congress, Batman!

Via The Beat, here is a lovely PSA from our beloved Batgirl regarding equal wages between men and women in the workforce:



FYI, the Federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 provided that:

No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions [...]

The impact of the law was pretty significant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median earnings of women as a percentage of men's earnings rose from 62.3% in 1979 to 80.4% in 2004 (note Table 16 in the document).

Of course, there is still more work to do. Recently, Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Good stuff. I, for one, am glad that Batgirl is on the side of civil rights.

Except, you know, when it comes to catching criminals without probable cause or search warrants.

Metahuman Regulation

Last week, we asked readers to submit their suggestions of top national priorities in comic book universes. Congratulations to our winner, Brian Moore, who proposed superhero/metahuman regulation, writing:

Governments have spent eons establishing a system of rules that are dependent on how things "work" right now. If people start turning up with abilities that lets them get around those rules, then registering and regulating those individuals will be top priority, since you'd (from the government's perspective) need to keep those people in line or none of your rules will work. It's a necessary pre-condition for everything else, and therefore the highest priority.

Sure, it's to the point that this plot device has become trite within "superhero" worlds, but I think that's only because it's an accurate guess about what would happen.

There's plenty of evidence to corroborate this theory (much of which we blogged about previously). Of course, the most pertinent example is the superhuman registration act, which requires superheroes to register with the federal government, thereby forcing them to abandon any insulation from criminal prosecution (or taxation). The Act was so important that it was actually the the cause of an entire Marvel crossover event and sparked a civil war between the superheroes of the universe (and you know it's important when a concept not only gets its own series, but filters into other existing titles as well).



Another example is Proposition X, a bill in the Marvel Universe which would ban unauthorized mutant breeding. Indeed, this is considerably less pertinent than the superhuman registration act for many reasons, not the least of which being that the mutant population has dwindled and mutant births now happen rarely, if ever (not to mention Utopia does not have its own series). Nevertheless, the fact that the prospect of the passage of the bill has fomented such fanatical and extreme responses from the public is reflective of a deep-rooted prejudice, perhaps not towards superheroes in particular, but certainly towards metahumans of a certain type.

If we look to other universes outside of Marvel, we see similar examples of this. In the DC Universe, there exists an organization known as Checkmate, a United Nations agency affiliated with the Security Council. The agency acts as a metahuman monitoring force, charged with preserving the balance between the globe's human and superhuman population.

In fact, the DC Universe at this very moment is plagued with an enormous metahuman crisis--one that is so severe that is has engendered a wave of xenophobia and paranoia. I am referring to the emergence of the 100,000 Kryptonians from former Kandor and the creation of New Krypton. After a failed attempt at assimilating these Kryptonians , anti-alien sentiment grew so strong that they were relegated to Superman's former former Fortress of Solitude, secluded from the rest of the planet's population. After this too had failed, they had moved to a completely separate planet across the yellow sun.

And still, Earth's population remains concerned that the Kryptonians are planning a campaign to destroy or dominate the planet. This has led to the United Nations agreeing to ban any Kryptonians (save for Superman) from so much as entering the planet's atmosphere, and has also led to the creation of yet another covert group, Project 7734, tasked with keeping the alien threat in check. Although this is a secret organization (that not even the President of the United States is aware of), it managed to generate extreme hatred of aliens by strategically denigrating Superman in the public's eye.

Then, of course, there there are the Boys, a covert CIA-backed group of renegades who monitor (and frequently kick the ass of) superheroes who abuse their powers (a problem that runs rampant in that particular universe).

Indeed, superhero regulation might be an easy answer, as Brian noted, since it the current theme of many comic book titles. And yet the concept has been so prominent throughout comic book history that it can most certainly be considered the United States' top national priority. In many titles, people (at least in major cities such as New York, Metropolis, Gotham City, Keystone City, etc.) seem to be much more willing to spend their tax dollars on the control and prevention of metahuman disaster than on any other issue. In New York City, J. Jonah Jameson has directed most of his administration's budget towards commissioning an anti-Spider-Man task force--and his public support seems to remain steady. In the Marvel Universe, people are more than willing to give up large portions of their income towards funding H.A.M.M.E.R. rather than health care. The logic seems to be: what good is health care when at any given moment, the world is vulnerable to Skrull Invasions, terrorists in Iron Man suits, unauthorized mutant births, etc? And what if the superheroes falter (as is believed Tony Stark did with the Skrull Invasion)?

What's worse is that supervillains are very aware of this. In fact, if entire US population were to suddenly devote unconditional trust towards their superheroes, the supervillains of the DC and Marvel Universes would have almost no means of defeating them. Is it any wonder that the best villainous plots have involved turning the public against their beloved heroes? And is it any wonder that they always seem to do it so easily?

The reason is that no matter how many times Superman saves the world, there is always that hint of doubt. There is always the possibility that one day he'll turn the other way (see Irredeemable for evidence of this). At any given time, if you take a public opinion poll on national priorities, I'm willing to bet that metahuman regulation tops the list.

Congratulations again to Brian Moore. Please e-mail us at ecocomics dot blog at gmail dot com with a list of your top five graphic novels under $20 and your mailing address.

Happy Labor Day!

On this Labor Day, let us remember that even superheroes have their day to day...

Does the United States Need More Ore?

I'm actually asking.

Superman #691 by James Robinson and Renato Guedes (2009)

The President of the DC Universe United States is about to sign a free-trade agreement with the nation of Markovia, it seems primarily because of an interest in its ore reserves.

Particularly with iron more, the United States uses most of its stock to produce steel, though this is pretty much true throughout the world. The United States Geological Survey estimates that in 2004 there were more than 800 billion tons of crude ore throughout the world, with 230 billion or so containing iron. The U.S. had about 110 billion crude ore, with about 27 billion tons of iron. They accounted for about 4% of the world's iron ore output and 5% of consumption.

Regarding imports and exports, according to the International Trade Centre, the U.S. accounted for about $611 million in iron ore imports, which is about 1.5% of the world's total. This ranked it number 11 in imports in 2005. It exported about $580 million.
What does this actually mean for whether the United States actually needs more? Steel production is cheaper in foreign countries, so in tough times the United States has been importing more steel from Canada and Brazil.

Furthermore, China's demand for ore has been rapidly growing in recent years, accounting for an astonishing 45% of imports. This has had a considerable effect on ore exports not only in the U.S., but also in Brazil and Australia, who continued to invest large amounts of funds towards increasing production. Taking a look at the ITC data for exports, we can see that from 2001 to 2003, the United States had maintained about $230 - $250 million in iron ore exports. Then in 2004, exports rose to $337 million, and shot up again in 2005 to about $580 million.

Of course, imports also significantly increased in 2005 from 2004, going from $451 million to $611 million.

I wonder if there's another reason the United States is so passionately interested in Markovia. Any ideas?

Superman is Buying New Underwear: Good News for the Economy?

According to the Washington Post, another unfortunate effect of the recession has been a slowing in the sale of men's underwear. In fact, it is predicted that sales are to fall 2.3% this year, which is the first drop since the company Mintel had begun collecting data in 2003. As they put it:

Here's the theory, briefly: Sales of men's underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip.

That is unfortunate for heroes like Superman, who wear their underwear on the outside. If Superman is forced to purchase less underwear and wears the same few pairs each day as part of his crime fighting routine, I think this poses are pretty significant hygiene issue. Plus, it's disgusting. That is, unless he just spends more time doing laundry. But he's Superman, remember? He has no time for laundry!

Worry not, however, citizens of Metropolis. There is good news.

But the men's underwear index -- or, conveniently, MUI -- may also have a silver lining. Mintel predicts that next year, men's underwear sales will fall by 0.5 percent, and as with many economic indicators, a slowing of a decline can be welcomed as a step in the right direction. Retailers are reporting encouraging signs in the men's underwear department.

If underwear sales is indeed an adequate economic indicator, then Superman should be back to his regular, clean self in no time.

HT: NPR

The Drug War and Comic Books

Batman and Robin #3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly

The war on drugs in comic books is interesting for a variety of reasons, including that there are actually many differences between the trade in comics and the trade on real-Earth.

One thing I realized while reading Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's latest issue of Batman and Robin, is that villain motives are usually different. When we think about criminal activity and drugs, we tend to think that dealers, gangs and mobsters are primarily interested in making money. They use the profits earned from drug dealing towards gaining power, prestige, and influence in their respective cities. We reason that these drug dealers commit crimes in addition to the illegal sale of narcotics as an unfortunate externality to the illegality of the business (if you watch The Wire, you know these crimes include but are not limited to extortion, racketeering, several types of fraud, and even murder). Organizations have to "take care of" potential snitches to prevent the authorities from becoming wise to their operations. Mobsters often start phoney businesses and front companies to launder money made through illegal activity, thereby hiding it from the authorities. Police and politicians can often be bribed. All of this seems to exist in order to ensure the continued success of the business and to maximize profits.

Yet, in comic books, most supervillains (I'm not talking about your run-of-the-mill drug dealers) in the drug trade have reasons that go far and above making money and gaining prestige. Particularly in Gotham City, it can be argued that these villains are using drugs as a mechanism to fuel their insanity and commit even more crimes! If the Joker were to start selling his laughing gas in the form of a drug (which had happened before), do you think it would be so that he could settle down in a nice home in Nantucket? He would use that money in order to construct elaborate schemes of producing chaos in Gotham and capturing the Batman. If the Scarecrow began selling a low-potent version of his fear gas to gangsters, he would probably just take all that money to develop a substantially more dangerous version of the gas, which he would then unleash upon the city and watch it degenerate into panic. If Two-Face made all the money in the world, his neuroses would not be able to stop him from robbing a Double Mint Gum factory. In the panel above, who even knows why Professor Pyg is selling his drug? Other than him being completely insane.

What we see here is that the sale of narcotics in Gotham City seems closer to a front company for the real crimes. And, as it happens, these supervillains are the ones controlling the trade; most mobsters have been marginalized a long time ago.

So, what would be the effect of decriminalization in these two worlds? Note that I'm not talking about full-blown legalization, including government regulation of narcotics, taxation, and the ability to buy marijuana from your local supermarket. This would simply put most former suppliers out of jobs. I'm referring to decriminalization in the sense that it would allow the drug dealers to continue controlling the supply and sale of the narcotics. This is sort of like what goes on in Amsterdam with marijuana sales. Holland never technically legalized the sale of the drug--the authorities just don't enforce their laws against them. So despite the fact that there are now shops, there is still an illegal market for the drugs.

Now, I confess that I, myself, have never led or even been a part of any drug organization or criminal gang. Yet, I think if legality were no longer a concern and that these dealers were given a free pass by the authorities to continue their operations without hassle (and assuming they could make the same profits), these sorts of extra crimes would diminish. No snitches, no murdering witnesses. And I'm not the first to make the argument that decriminalization could potentially reduce crime. However, in comic books, crimes could potentially increase, since decriminalization would actually be providing supervillains with an even easier means of obtaining funds!

Of course, this need not necessarily be the case. In fact, with the reduction of criminal penalties for selling drugs, this would surely increase competition on real-Earth. New, underground organization would spring up, now unrestrained by the possibility of being incarcerated. This means that the supply of drugs would increase and prices would go down, which could imply that individual dealers would be making less than they were previously. If this is the case, then it is entirely possible that the increased competition would lead to an increase in crime.

However, it is also possible that the market size would increase such that even with the diminished price, dealers would still be selling more quantity and making the same, if not more. Furthermore, the increase in crime generated by the new competition might not be as significant as the reduction in crime from decriminalization. So, there could indeed be a net reduction.

Here's another reason why the sale of drugs is particularly fascinating in comics: there are much harder and much more dangerous drugs on the market. Again, since the major trade is controlled by our most notorious supervillains, many of them happening to be mad scientists or chemical geniuses, there is a constant influx of new, extremely sinister narcotics. One of my favorite examples is from Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan's Batman: Cacophony miniseries, in which Maxie Zeus obtained some of the Joker's patented laughing gas and combined it with ecstasy to form an extremely potent new drug, called "chuckles." He then proceeded to make a fortune selling this drug on the black market, much to the Joker's anger.

Some of these drugs don't even have a market among the general populace, but rather with gangsters involved in other activities. In the panels depicted above, Professor Pyg had developed a drug/virus that served to actually destroy people's identities. I imagine that even most drug users wouldn't exactly hop on this train. However, gang lords and leaders of prostitution rings who need to poison their enemies/women? There's your market right there.

Even if the sale of drugs was completely legalized in comic books, there would still be a black market for this stuff. I highly doubt that the FDA would approve a drug that erased people's identities. Even still, one of the reasons these drugs are in such abundance and do so well in comics is, again, because they are illegal. Both suppliers and buyers have more of an interest in potent drugs. If the purchase of illegal drugs is such a high-risk endeavor, then it would generally be more worth it to the buyer to get something more substantial. Similarly, it is quite risky for suppliers to transport more low-potency drugs, when they could also transport the harder ones and sell them for a higher price.

Consider the era of Prohibition in the 1920s. As Norman E. Zinberg and Kathleen M. Fraser wrote, "People did not take the trouble to go to a speakeasy, present the password, and pay high prices for very poor quality alcohol simply to have a beer. When people went to speakeasies, they went to get drunk."

In conclusion, drugs in comic books is a more complicated business than i initially considered.