good jive
good jive
Pooo Bear Productions 1972-73
All of the stories in Good Jive Comix are by Richard “Grass” Green, who is one of my favorite underground artists. Green broke ground in the comics industry as one of the first black comic illustrators. His underground work was daring, sexy and funny, and so are these comic books.
Richard Edward “Grass” Green (May 7, 1939 – August 5, 2002) was an African American cartoonist notable for being the first black participant in both the 1960s fan art movement and the 1970s underground comics movement. In the 1960s, Green’s Harvey Kurtzman-like zany, action-packed, humorous comics parodies appeared in numerous fanzines. His “outrageous” 1970s and 1980s underground work used searing humor to expose America’s racism and bigotry.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Green was given the nickname “Grass” by his childhood friend Ronn Foss, with whom he later collaborated in editing two issues of the magazine Alter Ego. Beginning in 1964, Green’s fan art appeared in such fanzines as Alter Ego, Star-Studded Comics, Fantasy Illustrated, The Buyer’s Guide to Comics Fandom, Rocket’s Blast Comicollector, Komix Illustrated, Super-Hero, and Masquerader.
In 1967, Green broke into the professional comics world, collaborating with Roy Thomas on “The Shape” in Charlton Premiere #1. In the late 1960s, Green drew several more humorous strips for Charlton Comics, mostly in Go-Go Comics. (He also had work published in Bill Pearson’s witzend.) He then became involved in the underground comix movement, where his work was published in Super Soul Comix (Kitchen Sink Press) and a Wildman and Rubberroy series. Super Soul Comix #1 (1972) sold 200,000 copies. In the 1990s, Green produced work for, among other places, Eros Comics.