Red Scare

by Saily Marrero

Liam Francis Walsh’s Red Scare is an action-packed story full of magical flying powers, secret agents, and adventure set in 1950s America, the age of polio, UFO sightings, and the Red Scare. The art style is a call back to its 1950s setting, borrowing from earlier superhero comics and noir styles with clearly defined outlines, stark contrasting shadows, and onomatopoeia (Crack! Oof! Bump! Klump!) littered throughout its pages. Walsh explores various medical issues like bullying, polio, disability, and mental health through its middle school heroine, Peggy, and other characters.

The main medical issue explored in the story is Peggy’s struggles with Polio. Polio which is short for poliomyelitis is caused by the poliovirus (p 231). People afflicted with the disease have fever, fatigue, headaches, stiffness, pain in limbs, have trouble breathing, and even paralysis (World Health Organization, 2023). Although Peggy has mostly recovered from her polio illness, she is still experiencing symptoms from post-polio syndrome such as muscle or joint pain, fatigue, muscle wasting, and breathing problems (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). Her doctor explains, “we’d like to see muscle growth at this stage, if the patient is going to make a full recovery” (210), hinting that Peggy has yet to fully recover from her illness. Throughout the book we see Peggy “huff huff” as if struggling to catch her breath, constantly falling, and stumbling into things either because of her muscle weakness or her crutches. Even when the doctor recommends regular exercise as a form of physical therapy, a common treatment for post-polio syndrome (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022), Peggy becomes discouraged as she holds her breath and her legs shake with each difficult step she takes. With all these limiting factors in her life after illness, it is easy to see why she takes advantage of her newfound powers of flight.

At another point, Peggy has a nightmare of being in an iron lung (110-111). One of the worst symptoms of Polio was muscle paralysis which could affect the chest muscles and stop patients from breathing properly, so the iron lung was created to assist patients with breathing difficulties (Science Museum, 2018). As described by the Science Museum in London, the iron lung “was a huge metal box attached to bellows in which the patient was encased. The continuous suction from the bellows kept the patient breathing” (Science Museum, 2018). Because most of their body was encased in the iron lung, patients had very little mobility and any itch or discomfort had to be fixed by others (Science Museum, 2018). Such treatment probably made a huge impact in Peggy’s life, and, like her father’s PTSD, she also has nightmares about her time in an iron lung as part of her polio treatment. Although it’s never explained how long she was in an iron lung, patients received this treatment from a few weeks to months depending on the severity of their polio (Science Museum, 2018). This shows readers the long-lasting impact of a serious illness both physically and mentally. Luckily, by the end of the book, Peggy understands she must work to get better and begins taking her physical recovery more seriously.

Moreover, we see various characters struggle with different disabilities. The most prominent example is Peggy’s difficulty walking but she’s not alone, her father has a missing eye and both his legs amputated above the knee, making him a double amputee. We see how their disabilities affect them in different ways. Peggy is frustrated and in pain when walking or doing her exercises, while her dad has difficulty getting around the house and coping with PTSD, resulting in him being essentially bedridden. Although we know post amputation surgery can create phantom limb sensations, fall risks, and pain, we don’t see these things take place in the story (John Hopkins Medicine, 2024).

Meanwhile, we see an example of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through Peggy’s dad, a veteran of the Korean war. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, people are more likely to develop PTSD after having a long intense traumatic event, getting injured, or experiencing combat, all of which we know Peggy’s dad experienced. Apart from that, we see other symptoms associated with PTSD like reliving an event  (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2024), like on page 94, when he wakes up to see a shadowy soldier entering his room only to realize it’s Peggy in the next panel. He mostly stays in his room, has become more irritable, and has negative thoughts, all signs pointing to PTSD (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2024). In one conversation with Peggy, he even admits “I’m not that man anymore. The war took that from me… maybe… I should have died over there” (137). It’s clear that his trauma from the war and amputations are affecting his relationship with his children and wife.

We see othering and its consequences, bullying, play out throughout the novel. Othering as defined by the Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology “refers to the process whereby an individual or groups of people attribute negative characteristics to other individuals or groups of people that set them apart” and can go as far as creating irrational fear and hatred towards those being othered (Rohleder, 2014). The most notable example of this is how characters react to those with communist ties. For example, Jess and her family are harassed by their peers for their ties to communism. At school, Jess is confronted, called names, and bullied by other kids in school (105 – 109) and later a violent mob with torches and bricks surround her family’s home (140 – 145). It’s not until Peggy’s dad speaks up that the mob calms down and disperses. This shows how othering can have a big impact on the people who are being othered, and more importantly how speaking up can save someone.

At the end of the book readers can find an author’s note about the inspiration behind Red Scare as well as more information about the events of the book like the atomic age, the fear of communism, and of course the history of polio in the United States. Walsh also shares early character designs and drafts of the book and further explanations on creating the comic.

Reference list

John Hopkins Medicine. (2024, 2024-06-11). Amputation. John Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved July 18, 2024 from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/amputation

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2022, March 23, 2022). Post-Polio Syndrome. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved July 16, 2024 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-polio-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355669

Rohleder, P. (2014). Othering. In T. Teo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology (pp. 1306-1308). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_414 

Science Museum. (2018, October 14, 2018). The Iron Lung. Science Museum. Retrieved July 16, 2024 from https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/iron-lung

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2024, 20240102). PTSD: National Center for PTSD – PTSD Basics. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/what/ptsd_basics.asp

World Health Organization. (2023, October 24, 2023). Poliomyelitis. World Health Organization. Retrieved July 18, 2024 from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/poliomyelitis

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Saily Marrero, M.S.I. is the Nursing & Health Studies, Psychology, and Biology Librarian at the University of Miami. She enjoys reading Graphic Novels and Romance.