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Post by benday-dot on Sept 5, 2014 12:02:10 GMT -5
That's a good response dupont. Maybe the difference can be summed as "these are underground comics, but not necessarily comics of the underground."
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 5, 2014 12:26:53 GMT -5
As I go through my underground collection after all these years, I regret not spending more time and effort in filling in the gaps and missing titles. I didn't start accumulating them until the late 70s. I went thru the various stores and comic shops down at Grenwich Village and probably picked some up at various comic conventions. And of course bought what came out thru the direct market in the 70s and 80s. But unfortunately I never really tried to track down what was not easily found back then. I look forward to whatever Rob Allen or anyone else posts that I've missed Finishing the Ls and beginning the Ms Little Greta Garbage #1 by R.L. Crabb 1990. Tomorrow,Tomorrow,I Love You Tommorrow,You're Only A Day Away  Lonely Nights Comics 1986 by Dori Seda. Dori does not take a back seat to any underground male artist  Merton Of The Movement #1 1972. It’s the companion book to Left Field Funnies, same creators and characters  Miami Mice Comics Rip Off Press #1-3 1985-86 by Mark Bode. Vaughn's son Mark does a TMNT style underground. I should have passed on this.In hindsight its not an underground even if its from Rip Off Press  Mickey Rat #1 (1972), #3 (1980) and #4 (1982) by Robert Armstrong. Now this is how you do underground vermin. Armstrong's art was a bit crude at first but greatly improved by #3  |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 5, 2014 17:23:10 GMT -5
So undergrounds went for 50 cents back in the late 60s/early 70s. About 3 times the price of a comic. About the price of a gallon of gas. About the price of a joint. They were not considered cheap Mr Natural #1-3 by Robert Crumb , Crumb's iconic creation from 1970 gets his solo book although # 1 has a 1 page Shuman the Human story and a 1 page Little Johnny I-Can't-Print-His-Last-Name story #2 from 1971 and #3 from 1977 continue the geezer's tale  Mod #1 1981 is mostly helmed by Terry Beatty. You do get some Zippy the Pinhead pages from Bill Griffith but its mostly parody stories written or illoed by Beatty  Model By Day Rip Off Press #1 and 2 by Kevin J Taylor. Upon review I don't think it’s a true underground. Yes its from Rip Off, Taylor has done previous undergrond work and theres lots of sex But it becomes too much of a super heroine story done straight to convince me I put it in the wrong box  Mom's Homemade Comics #2 1969 and #3 1971 #2 has a Denis Kitchen cover and he provides most of the inside art #3 More from Denis but Skip Williamson,Jay Lynch,Crumb and others help out. Theres a page where you see all of their high school photos.  |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Sept 5, 2014 17:53:33 GMT -5
Model By Day...that looks like something I would read and at least one issue is available at Lone Star. I'd read the Lonely Night Comics too.
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 5, 2014 19:39:12 GMT -5
I started buying undergrounds about 1974. I probably saw my first ones at one of Phil Seuling's Comic Art conventions, and then I found a couple of head shops in my home town. I was going to head shops to buy comix before I started smoking grass (that's what we called it then). When I quit buying Marvel and DC in 1978, the only things I continued to buy whenever I found a new issue were the Freak Bros. and First Kingdom. Moving on to C and D, we have: Captain Guts - all three issues. All Larry Welz, a decade before Cherry. Lots of social & political satire. Ish posted the cover to #1; here are #2 & 3:   The Collected Cheech Wizard - not the same as the Schizophrenia book that Ish posted, which will be in the S's. This image shows the original Company & Sons edition from 1972 but I probably have the 1976 Print Mint version. The title implies that this is a collection of previously-published material but I don't know where any of it appeared. It's not the Cheech Wizard material from National Lampoon.  Dopin' Dan - Ted Richards' ongoing story of a hippie in the army. I have issue #3 of 3.  Dr. Atomic - this was one of my favorites. Larry Todd's dope-smoking doctor introduced me to lots of marijuana lore. I have the first three issues (of six); I had a copy of #4, "The Pipe and Dope Book" but it got away from me during college.     I also have the first 4 of Steve Ditko's books filed under "D", because they were numbered that way on the covers starting with #3, but I don't have time to write them up now. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 6, 2014 10:30:45 GMT -5
Back when I began buying undergrounds later in the 70s, I don't recall any authoratative refrence books on the subject. A Price Guide finally appeared I believe in the late 80s that finally gave you a clue of what had been published. I know I got it somewhere at home and need to dig it out. Lets finish off the Ms Monolith 1972 from Larry(Cherry Poptart) Welz . A 16 page fantasy story called Escape From The Dead City. A SF and an adventure story too. Welz non-humor side. Thats some baaaad jukebox on the cover  Moondog got a 1969 issue with no number so I'm guessing #1 from George Metzger .A booklength fantasy-adventure with our hero Moondog #4 from 1979 has 3 weird adventure strips all from Metzger  Mother Oats Comix 1969 Dave Sheridan and his Dealer McDope strip. Assisted by a P. Schrier. Interesting how the humorous stories veer off into some mind-bending imagery  Motor City Comics #1 1969 by our old friend Robert Crumb. Zoot suited Boingy Baxter. Lenore Goldberg and her Girl Commandos. Eggs Ackley and Smelly Old-Cat also appear #2 (1970) has a long Lenore story with back-ups including Shuman the Human and The Simp and The Gimp  |
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Post by MDG on Sept 6, 2014 14:54:17 GMT -5
I realized this afternoon, I never got around to actually bagging my undergrounds. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2014 16:43:55 GMT -5
I realized this afternoon, I never got around to actually bagging my undergrounds. Great stuff man. Victor Moscoso's Color is worth a mention, and a psychedelic trip of funny, violent, and sexually explicit artwork. It was the first underground work published in full color, as well as the first to become a full-fledged 11-minute short film entitled Cosmic Comics.  |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 6, 2014 17:21:43 GMT -5
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 7, 2014 1:57:57 GMT -5
I've decided to hold the Ditko books until the end - after I get to Z I'll post about various alternative publications that were not exactly undergrounds. Now I just barely have time to post about my 2 E comix: Enigma! - the cover is the best thing about this one. Mostly Hector Tellez and Tom Gasparotti with a short story by Larry Todd and a Ralph Reese illo.  Eternal Comics - this one of the comix that tried to put the psychedelic experience on the page. Mostly by John Thompson with a little help from Crumb and Griffin, and quotes from William Blake and Allen Ginsberg.  |
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Post by benday-dot on Sept 7, 2014 10:39:24 GMT -5
Obviously and justifiably Vaughn Bode has showed up several times here on this great thread, but am I the only one, with an interest in the undergrounds, or otherwise, who really doesn't care for his art?
His squashed and "smushed" panel and figure work I find a little inscrutable. Larger panels might have helped, but I'm likely being a philistine, even with the profession that any of this is high art contains it's own inherent betrayal of the principle, whatever that be.
I've seen some much earlier Bode work, from I think Galaxy or possibly Argosy, where he presents in a much more straight illustrative manner, in the course of sci-fi fantasy covers and spot illos. His underground cartooning came to represent his signature style, and that which his many fans would most identify, but, I don't know, I've never become a fan or stood him up on my personal pantheon of iconic underground artists.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2014 11:59:10 GMT -5
Thanks for the info Bronzeagebrian. Great to learn something new. What year did that short film get released? And did anything else pre-date 1972's Fritz The Cat?
Actually, I may be wrong about it being the first underground comix film...as Fritz The Cat likely came out first. I think the Cosmic Comics short film was released in 1974? Details are sketchy at best, as there is not much known about the film in question. It's off the grid, and hasn't appeared in any form online yet. Last I heard an underground comix site was trying to get the film onto DVD, but that was a few years ago. The film remains an enigma for now... |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 7, 2014 13:32:49 GMT -5
Thankfully Marvel never bought up the rights to underground characters or we'd might have seen something like Underground Team-Up with Fritz the Cat squaring off against Mickey Rat. Or Wonder Wart-Hog joining the Avengers. Shudder. Lets just get through the Ps Our Story Thus Far #1 (1983 ) and #2 (1985) by Brad Foster Billed as The Ultimate Artist Jam, one artist would complete one page and send it to the next person in line who'd continue the storyline. Of course it died before completion. Here's a list of its most noted contributors: Mark Heike,Rich Larson,Tim Boxell,George Erling,cat yronwode,Trina Robbins,Jim Thompson,Rick Geary,Doug Potter,Valentino,Kebin Eastman,Peter Laird,Kerry Gammill,Matt Wagner.Chester Brown,Phil Foglio and Kenneth Smith 56 contributors in total.The only cover I found on the web is for a #3 which I didn't know existed  The People's Comics 1972 A great Robert Crumb box including an extra long Fritz The Cat story  The Further Fattening Adventures Of Pudge, Girl Blimp #3 1977 Lee Marrs and her best known creation. The books extra fat at 48 pages  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2014 14:08:38 GMT -5
Thankfully Marvel never bought up the rights to underground characters or we'd might have seen something like Underground Team-Up with Fritz the Cat squaring off against Mickey Rat. Or Wonder Wart-Hog joining the Avengers. Shudder. Well, they didn't buy up the rights to underground characters, but Marvel did try their hand at semi-underground comix....  -M |
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 7, 2014 23:15:38 GMT -5
Mother Oats Comix 1969 Dave Sheridan and his Dealer McDope strip. Assisted by a P. Schrier. Interesting how the humorous stories veer off into some mind-bending imagery. Ish, is there any chance that that's "F. Schrier"? My Balloon Vendor comic features Fred Schrier and Dave Sheridan. |
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