COMICS

Holy social conscience, Batman: Two comic strip characters will tackle social problems in October. Spider-Man has been named 1988 National UNICEF Day Safety Chair. The redoubtable web-spinner will tour the country “to help trick-or-treaters for UNICEF have a safe and enjoyable time while collecting money for children overseas.” Marvel Comics is donating 800,000 mini-comics to be used as “safe treats” and UNICEF fund-raisers. Beginning Oct. 3, cartoonist Tom Batiuk will devote two weeks of his strip, Crankshaft, to the problem of adult illiteracy in America. The title character, a curmudgeonly school bus driver, will enroll in an adult education class after admitting that he has never read to his granddaughter because he doesn’t know how--a problem he shares with an estimated 27 million Americans.