1962 Comic Strips: A Summary

Source*: Curtis, Dal. Rex Morgan, MD. 12 Feb - 31 Dec 1962, Publishers Syndicate (Chicago, IL). 
*p. 18-76 on disk from King Features Syndicate.


All comic strips are posted online by special permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc.

• January 1 - February 11: MISSING
• February 12 - May 12: Susie Conover, meningitis
• Harris intends to marry Emily Conover, the single mother of daughter Susie, but can't stand children
• Susie falls ill, and when Rex shows up, Harris insists he leaves and waits for the "specialist" that he has phoned in; Susie only wants Rex
• Susie has meningitis, and is placed "in contagion", and falls into a coma
• After 2 doses of hydrocortisone, Susie eventually pulls through
• Harris has a change of heart about his priorities, and decides he loves both Emily and Susie
• May 10 - August 23: Sindoo and his "Rest Home"
• Elsa's husband, Larry Farnum, is worried that Elsa is mentally ill and needs hospitalization, but her mother (Mrs. Krone) is horrified at the idea and refuses
• Mrs. Krone finds a "Dr. Sindoo", who doesn't charge fees but asks for "contributions" - Miss Georgi Fleece, working with Sindoo, suggests an initial contribution of $500
• Sindoo whips one of his workers, Grif, for leaving bruises on an elderly patient (Grif does not appear to be mentally sound)
• Rex checks in with the medical society, which doesn't have any information on Sindoo
• Grif takes Elsa away from from Sindoo's to protect her from others; he harms anyone who tries to come near her - this all seems very King Kong...
• Grif holds Elsa hostage at a farmhouse, thinking he's protecting her; he fractures Sindoo's skull with the butt of a shotgun, threatens to shoot Rex but Elsa screams and stops him
• Grif turns out to be Sindoo's brother
• Teaching moment! 8/21/62 (see image)

Rex Morgan, MD - August 21, 1962     © King Features Syndicate

• Miss Fleece has a mysterious past that Rex knows about
• In the end, Elsa is hospitalized and given a good prognosis
• August 24 - November 23: Allison Poole
• Rex avoids getting into a fight when Allison's playboy, Tony, instigates problems because of a double-booked table at a fancy restaurant
• Allison lures Rex to her home feigning an emergency, just to hit on him; Tony follows and sees him there, runs Rex off the road after he leaves her house
• When the police show up, they make a point to mention he was wearing his safety belt - nice touch (see image)

Rex Morgan, MD - September 19, 1962     © King Features Syndicate

• Rex has a severe concussion, and doesn't remember anything about that night
• June overhears Tony [aggressively] admitting to Allison that he ran Rex off the road; she gives him a good wallop (there's an awful lot of face slapping in this series...)
• Tony eventually admits to Rex that he ran him off the road, but does so in the same sentence as his request for help with Allison - she's left Tony a note saying "there's so little time left" for her
• Rex already had suspicions when she was unaware her cigarette was burning her fingers
• Neuro exam! 11/13/62
• Diagnosis with a neuro consult: syringomyelia, "a crippling disease...and the course...downhill"
• Allison is discharged, as there is no more medical intervention
• November 23 - December 7: Dr. Keith Cavell's Surprise Visit
• Even those Melissa fakes a heart attack to keep Keith from leaving town (without Rex and June knowing) we still get a picture of how Keith treats angina: a nitroglycerine tablet under the tongue

Rex Morgan, MD - November 27, 1962     © King Features Syndicate

• December 3 - TBD: Intern, Dr. Tracy Heath
• Rex heads to hospital to help a new female intern, Dr. Tracy Heath, handle a head injury with lacerations - he automatically assumed it was a man, and had to be corrected by the nurse
• A 3-car automobile car crash results in chaotic scenes at the emergency department
• hemorrhage and transfusion
• compound fracture
• Tracy is offended by Keith's comment, "...if I knew they were turning out pretty interns like you, I might cut down on my off time!"
• Interns make $25/month! 12/22/62
• Tracy gets a call from a worried Paul (who we don't yet know)
• December 28 - January 3, 2012 - Mrs. Williams, diabetes
• Mrs. Williams, a diabetic patient who won't stay on a diet, comes in - she's frank about not liking female doctors, and Tracy lets her have it for not following doctor's orders:

Rex Morgan, MD - December 29, 1962     © King Features Syndicate

• Rex is also blunt with Mrs. Williams about her diabetes. Teaching strip, 1/1/63 (see image)
• Rex goes on to lecture Tracy that disciplining patients is not the way to handle them, even when they don't follow orders

Rex Morgan, MD - December 31, 1962     © King Features Syndicate

Rex Morgan, MD - January 1, 1963    © King Features Syndicate