Unkept Promise is a 1949 pro-temperance propaganda comic about the apparent dangers of alcohol, illustrating this with the story of a family man who immediately goes on a hard downward spiral after trying just one glass of booze.
OUR TROPERS HAVE BEEN BETRAYED!:
- Acquired Error at the Printer: One of the comic's sources is "champion miler Gill [sic] Dobbs."
- The Alcoholic: After trying just one glass of booze, a man named John Miller goes from a perfectly functional man to a low-down drunk who forecloses on his house, loses his job, and repeatedly ends up in the drunk tank, his family falls into poverty, and apparently his hat turns blue.
- Anti-Alcohol Aesop: Natch, to the point where it absolutely refuses to give the other side a chance to make its own argument.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Exaggerated with Mr. Miller, who loses all self-control the moment he takes his first drink and becomes a drunk. Also, according to the comic, all forms of alcohol in any amount cause drunkenness, even moderate drinking.
- Creator Provincialism: The story is implied to take place in the United States, and as such, at no point are the drinking habits of wine-growing countries in Europe even discussed.
- Dry Crusader: The high-school kids become the so-called "Legion of Truth" after they hear only anti-alcohol arguments from people who are against alcohol to begin with.
- False Dichotomy: Meta example; as far as this comic is concerned, you're either The Teetotaler or The Alcoholic. Even moderate drinking is (wrongfully) portrayed as a gateway into alcoholism.
- Foul First Drink: Downplayed; the narrative states that Mr. Miller didn't like the taste of his first drink... not that it prevented him from asking for more.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Mr. Miller, previously The Teetotaler, takes his first drink after his business goes into a slump. This is depicted as the start of his Descent into Addiction.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: This comic outright argues that one drink of any alcoholic beverage is all it takes to turn someone into an alcoholic. That said, one character, upon hearing about Mr. Miller's Descent into Addiction, has to admit that "Miller did slide fast—even for an alcoholic."
- Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: The comic repeatedly uses statistics to back its arguments against alcohol. One notable example is citing Healy and Bronner's claim that "28 to 45% of all juvenile delinquents come from homes where there is excessive drinking." Apparently, Healy and Bronner couldn't agree as to which percentage was the more realistic-sounding scenario.
- Liquid Courage: Defied; among the people the high-school students talk to is a football coach who argues that athletes should never use alcohol, using the arguments of Knute Rockne (who supported Prohibition to his death in 1931) and Gil Dodds to support his claim.
- Propaganda Piece: Being a post-Prohibition temperance-driven tract against the apparent dangers of alcohol, it makes no distinction between alcohol use and alcohol abuse.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: While the comic accuses people who sell alcohol of pushing their booze onto young people by lying to them (and states that people who would otherwise drink should think for themselves), the "Legion of Truth" (a group of Dry Crusaders) is not condemned for pushing their anti-alcohol agenda on young people, often using Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics to do so.
- Take That!: People who support alcohol in moderation aren't even given a fighting chance in this comic. Every character who drinks is depicted as grossly beholden to the liquor industry, which is depicted as Obviously Evil.
