Mei Man: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

Chapter 234 The Dirty Three Years

Although the cooperation with the brewer was discussed, the business of Ke Lin's imported wine did not start immediately.

First of all, he needs to set up an import company to deal with related business.

Secondly, the abolition of a bill was not just a matter of lip service. It took nearly a year for Roosevelt to formally initiate the abolition process to the abolition of Prohibition.That is to say, during this period, there is enough time for Colin to complete the pre-purchase and preparation work.

In fact, he had already arranged for Jack Leibovitz to rent a suitable warehouse in a port near London, which was specially used to store the purchased Scotch whiskey and gin. Once the "No.18 Amendment" was officially abolished, this batch of wine was shipped to the United States to seize the wine market.

After dealing with the matters related to the imported wine, Colin did not stop because of it.

He knew very well that with Roosevelt's coming to power, although the Great Depression could not be completely ended, the entire economy of New York and even the United States would undergo earth-shaking changes.

The downfall of Hoover proved that laissez-faire passivity does not make the economy better, but worse.Therefore, it is obviously impossible for Roosevelt, as the successor, to continue the old path of failure of the other party, and it is almost an established fact to strengthen intervention in the economic market.

Of course, Ke Lin, who was one of the drafters of the other side's 'New Deal', was particularly aware of this point.

During this period of time, with the end of the anti-world affairs, he devoted more energy to the management of the positive world.

Not only did it arrange for Jack Leibovitz to go to the UK to look for British brewers such as Dewar and Gordon to discuss cooperation issues, but he also asked people to find some objects in their memories in China.

Unlike the convenient Internet channels of later generations, even the telephone was not convenient during the Great Depression.

Finding someone in this era is not a problem that can be solved by tapping the keyboard.

Even with the basic information provided by Ke Lin, it took almost half a month to find the target.

When Colin received the letter and confirmed that it was correct, it was already a week later.

This letter from San Francisco made Colin start thinking about it.

However, before he could take action, what happened in New York forced him to stop.

Because, the sandstorm is coming.

That's right, the 30s were not only a time of the Great Depression, but also a time of sandstorms.

Throughout the 1930s, unprecedented sandstorms swept across the western United States, and also affected Chicago and even... New York. This unprecedented sandstorm began in 1930 and lasted for nearly ten years. Therefore, throughout the 30s, Known as the "Dirty 30's".

This huge sandstorm disaster that spread across the entire western United States was a natural disaster even more a man-made disaster.

Originally, there were large tracts of prairie in the United States, where Indians hunted and killed bison for a living. However, with the development of animal husbandry and agriculture, especially after World War I, the price of wheat soared, farmers in the south turned the prairie into farmland one after another. It also caused huge damage to natural vegetation.

In the early 30s, a great drought culminated in huge dust storms.

The biggest one occurred on May 1934, 5, scraping for three consecutive days.

By 1934, an estimated 3500 million acres of arable land had been rendered useless, directly affecting nearly 40 square kilometers, and the dust storm's long-lasting impact on the region's economy.

Meanwhile, some 250 million people left Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma in the 20s as a result of the Dust Bowl.

It was the largest migration in U.S. history, and 44 people lost their lives in Oklahoma alone.

The uprooting of millions of people also impoverished countless families, and the occurrence of the Great Depression cast a shadow over migration.

"...Don't go out, prepare a handkerchief to protect your mouth and nose. An unprecedented huge sandstorm will appear in New York in three days. Please be prepared and pay attention to personal safety."

During the radio broadcast, the radio station constantly appealed to the public to prepare for the upcoming sandstorm.

It has been almost two years since the dust storm that swept across the west, but not everyone believed in his existence.

Especially the people living in New York, they have never had the experience of sandstorms before, so it is difficult to feel too much about this disaster. Many people regard it as a rumor on the radio station, while more people don't care.

"This is New York."

"Sandstorm, how could it be blown so far..."

Even the people at the Messenger Newspaper were a little skeptical about the rumors of sandstorms. Among them, Old John, who lived in New York the longest, had never experienced sandstorms in his life. They couldn't imagine what that overwhelming black storm was. Feel.

Not to mention Old John and the others, even Colin would not know much about the sandstorms of this era if it weren't for the books that specifically recorded the "Dirty 30s".

And it was because of the "dirty 30s" that he knew that the threat of sandstorms was greater than he had imagined.

So, in the past few days trapped in New York by the sandstorm.

Colin not only let Little John collect the raging effects of sandstorms in the past few years, but also drew them into the story of "Superman".

……

"Outside the number, outside the number!"

"The latest issue of "Superman" is out!"

On the streets of New York, covering his mouth and nose with a piece of cloth, Jimmy waved a newspaper and ran in the streets and alleys.

"Give me a copy of the Daily Courier..."

Stretching out his hand to stop Jimmy, the pedestrian's gaze paused for a moment on the rag on the newsboy's face, and he couldn't help but wonder.

"You are this?"

Handing a folded newspaper to the pedestrian in front of him, Jimmy stretched out his hand and pulled the cloth in front of his mouth, and said in a muffled voice, "This is to protect against the arrival of sandstorms. Mr. Colin from the "Daily Courier" specially gave it to the newsboy. what they have prepared."

"Sandstorm?"

Hearing the newsboy's answer, the pedestrian frowned: "Isn't this a rumor? How could a sandstorm come to New York?"

"You wouldn't think so if you read today's Daily Courier."

After receiving the coin from the passerby, Jimmy carefully put it away and pulled the fabric on his face before turning around and continuing to sell the newspapers in his hand.

Taking his eyes away from the back of the newsboy leaving, the passer-by put his eyes on the "Daily Courier" in his hand with some doubts.

"Dirty America!"

First of all, the first thing that catches the eye is the headline written in huge words on the front page.

Pedestrians originally thought that the filth mentioned in the newspaper refers to the poor law and order and crime problems in the country, but unexpectedly, it refers to the sandstorms that occurred in the west.

Immediately afterwards, shocking photos appeared under the title.

These photos were collected by Colin specially for Little John. The photos of the sandstorms raging in the past few years are from the town of Trite, Texas. Because of the raging sandstorms, the entire town has been abandoned.

In the photo, a wooden shed is buried in the gravel, only the beams of the roof are faintly visible.In the distance are bare bushes, and the dead branches of the orchard are like coke that will shatter at the touch.

"Is there a school over there?"

What shocked passers-by the most was a photo about the school.

Under the impact of the sandstorm, the entire school was turned into ruins, leaving only one chimney and two walls standing there.

"Are the dust storms really coming back?"

Looking at the shocking photos in the "Daily Courier" in front of him, the pedestrian felt that his breathing seemed to be a little suffocated. He looked up at the gloomy sky in New York, and his heart subconsciously tightened a little.

"Perhaps, I should have made some preparations earlier."

With uneasiness and fear of sandstorms in their hearts, pedestrians continued to flip through the newspapers in their hands.

The "Superman" serialized in this issue seems to be very different from the past.

At the beginning of the comic, an extremely vast scene first appeared. There were no plants on the black land, not even stones, and a black figure was moving in it.

Immediately afterwards, in the next frame, the figure will raise the shovel and shovel it down towards the ground, and a large amount of sand will be scooped up by him.

The figure looked up, and a black wall appeared at the end of the screen.

Metropolis, Daily Courier.

Clark: "Huge sandstorm?"

Superman learned the news about the dust storm from the editor.

Edit: "That's right, a huge dust storm has swept across the entire west. Kent, I need you to go there and take relevant photos. Some meteorologists predict that this sandstorm may come to the metropolis."

After receiving the task from the editor, Clark went to the town where the sandstorm was the worst.

Austin: "You are?"

Clark: "Clark, I'm a reporter from the Daily Courier, and I'm here to investigate matters related to sandstorms."

In the small town, Clark saw the old man who was still living there, and learned about the sandstorm from him.

Austin: "It's going to be days when you can't see your fingers."

The animals were blinded and suffocated.

Farmers cut open their stomachs and found that their stomachs were full of fine sand. The horses galloped in the storm, and the children coughed and vomited, dying of what doctors called "pneumoconiosis."In desperation, every family sent their children away, hugged their loved ones or shook hands with others, such instinctive actions would cause two people to fall down, because the static electricity generated by the dust storm was too strong.

Austin said that he has experienced many disasters in his life, including the great flu, war, and economic crisis, but nothing can compare with the black dust storm.

At that time, even the simplest thing in life—breathing—became a threat.

"The sandstorm is coming!"

Just as Clark was interviewing Austin, there was a loud shout.

It turned out that another sandstorm appeared in the town. While everyone was hiding, Clark also took this opportunity to transform into a superman. He wanted to find out the truth about this sandstorm.

In the small town, Superman saw the huge black wall, which was what the mud raised by the sandstorm turned into.

Near the sandstorm, Superman felt the horror of the disaster more clearly. He saw the house and the land covered by the sandstorm.

Not only humans are afraid of this disaster, but even animals are powerless to resist.

Rushing into the sandstorm, Superman wanted to find the murderer who caused the sandstorm, but he flew in the sandstorm for a long time but could not find him.

Finally, on a piece of dry land where the vegetation was largely destroyed, he found the source of everything. From the barren land, there was a constant gust of wind blowing the yellow sand, and finally formed a sandstorm that swept everything.

Then, in the sandstorm, Superman rescued a weak figure. From his mouth, Superman knew that this used to be a large grassland. However, with the cutting of land, the endless expansion made the grassland become what it is today. Deserts and sandstorms are also interpreted in this way.

Superman: "It turns out that sandstorms are made by humans themselves."

When he saw the truth clearly, Superman fell into silence.

With a breath, he blew out the sandstorm that seemed to be continuously generated, preventing this disaster from raging.

However, the crisis has not been resolved because of this. Superman knows that as long as the earth is destroyed, the sandstorm will not disappear.

He can save mankind and prevent disasters, but he cannot save the environment destroyed by humans.

At the end of the story, Superman returned to Metropolis and wrote what he saw as a news report.

The sandstorm in the metropolis seemed to be stopped, but Clark fell into deep confusion.

Thought-provoking comic content.

If we say, the previous battle between Superman and General Zod is considered to be the most thrilling battle scene in the history of comics.

Then, the description of the sandstorm in this sentence has caused a lot of public debate from a completely different angle. In the whole story, there is no super villain on the stage, but the human being protected by the superman is in a certain sense. Speaking of it, it replaced the role of the villain.

This is obviously a subversion of the Superman story in a certain sense.

Those who were saved became the creators of disasters.

The creative concept of superheroes going deep into social topics was also born from this.

"Colin Luper used four-panel cartoons to describe the memories of sandstorms that have been deeply rooted in people's hearts for 30 years, and made us think about the occurrence of disasters from different angles!"

At the same time, this issue of the "Daily Courier" will also be collected by the museum in the future.

"Colin Luper's comics always carry a profound imprint of the times. The Superman he described is not only a superhero living in the comic metropolis, but also a character who is in touch with the times. From the "Superman" In the story, we can see what happened in that era, the security of the Great Depression, life and even disasters.”

"It is precisely because of Colin Luper's creative technique that the image of Superman has always been vivid. With the continuous growth of the times, not only has he become our child, but also our children. Children's children are inseparable in childhood memories. The missing part..."

(End of this chapter)