DaCollector, Ruben :: GRUMMETT, TOM - NEW TITANS (MISC.)

New Titans - AIDS Awareness PSA

Artists: Tom Grummett (Penciller) , Al Vey (Inker)

3 Comments - 1,341 Views - 3 Likes

New Titans - AIDS Awareness PSA Comic Art

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Titans - AIDS Awareness PSA - Color

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Artwork Details

Title:	New Titans - AIDS Awareness PSA
Artist:	Tom Grummett (Penciller)
Artist:	Al Vey (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,341
Likes on CAF:	3 4
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	5/20/2019
Comic Art Archive:

Description

On Thursday, November 7th 1991, I was taking a shuttle from the Detroit airport into Ann Arbor, Michigan, to watch the Wolverines play the Northwestern Wildcats at the Big House, when suddenly the news came over an on board television system that Magic Johnson had just sat at a press conference to declare to the world that he was retiring immediately, due to finding out he had been infected with the HIV virus. My first thought was "Oh shit, Magic Johnson is going to die!". In those days, up until that moment, getting the HIV virus was tantamount to signing your own death warrant.

Only seventeen days later, news outlets across the globe announced the tragic death of one of my all time favourite musicians, Freddy Mercury of Queen. His death was as a result of contracting the HIV virus, which later turned into full blown AIDS. Due at least in some part to Freddy's insistence on keeping his terrible news private, he never got the chance to be put on a regiment of experimental drugs that could possibly have kept the HIV virus in check and kept it from developing into full blown AIDS, though we'll never really know.

At that time, very little was known about the virus or the disease, but governments across the globe did their best to inform the public about the few things they were certain of, such as the fact that it wasn't contagious and couldn't be "caught" simply by touching or talking to an infected person. However, as always happens when there is a full blown panic, most people were too terrified to listen and even worse, contributed to the misinformation about the disease by spreading all sorts of wild and crazy rumours. In 1993, roughly 18 months after Freddy Mercury's death and Magic Johnson's announcement that he had the HIV virus, DC Comics made a valiant effort to help educate people about HIV/AIDS, by producing and publishing an AIDS Awareness campaign featuring their characters.

As you can see by reading the page here, the writing really expresses the ignorance that was shared by so many people at the time, with Garfield Logan (aka Changeling) playing the role of the ignorant and uninformed. While it was a bit off putting seeing a favourite Titans team member being portrayed that way, I also knew it had nothing to do with the Titans continuity and SOMEBODY had to play that role in order to get the message across. I was impressed that DC Comics went to the effort to try and educate people by reaching out to their readers, and they should be commended for that.

Thankfully, all these years later we know so much more about the virus and disease, and it actually makes me cringe to this day, "hearing" Gar say those things. If you take a look at the additional image I've added above of the published ad, you'll be reminded that the primary character in the ad was some random woman in a white outfit. I have no idea why they thought that was better than to just leave Donna Troy (Troia) as the person to do the primary speaking parts, nor do I know who made the obviously quick and not very good art corrections, but either way this piece stands as a very unique effort to help educate readers to what was a horrible epidemic/panic up until that time, and having been drawn by one of my all-time favourite artists, I'm thrilled to own this piece.

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About the Owner

	Ruben DaCollector Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2008
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	http://www.ComicBookArtGallery.com
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Noah H
Member Since 2015

1 - Posted on 5/21/2019

I wonder why they added the woman in white? Great pick up!

Paul P Spiderversity
Member Since 2011

1 - Posted on 5/22/2019

Bravo to DC for attempting to educate people about a scary disease like AIDS through a visually pleasing & unthreatening format like comic books. It is too bad that they replaced Donna Troy, because she was drawn so beautifully by Grummett, but it is still a very effective PSA, and I'm sure it eased a lot of confused minds at the time.

S Riz
Member Since 2014

1 - Posted on 6/20/2019

A very important message indeed. Great pickup!

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