Art by Lou Fine from Smash #23, 1941.
Hey, it’s not hard to find politically incorrect stereotypes in 1940’s comics. For instance, the first two panels here feature the standard issue, evil Chinese crime lord with sinister claw-like hands. By the beard of Fu Manchu, that’s one creepy Asian!
But the comic goes one step further in the third panel—-using a derogatory term featuring one minority to insult another. (“Indian sign” is a hex or curse that you put on someone.)
Of course, a few years later (during World War II) the Chinese were the good guys. So it was the Japanese who were evil and creepy.
Meanwhile, back in the present…
See the revamped version of this art and with new, funny dialogue in today’s Last Kiss Comic.
