#01 Eco-nuts
#01 Eco-nuts
Published April 15, 1970 / 36 pages / Last Gasp
Last Gasp’s first comic book ever was intended to be a benefit book for the ecology center that Ron Turner volunteered for, but the center rejected the book after it was published, leaving Turner to sell the 20,000 copies on his own. All’s well that ends well: Turner ended up turning Last Gasp into the longest-lasting underground comics publisher in history.
Slow Death Funnies #1 is packed with one-pagers and short stories that skewer the auto industry, corporate polluters, overpopulation, litterbugs and even (presciently) the soft drink industry. Notably absent, any criticism of the publishing and pulp paper industry, which pollutes air and streams, but comics publishers aren’t immune from hypocrisy and demagogues usually go for the easiest targets, while depending on the very industries they “skewer” (how did all those comics get distributed, anyway? Solar powered trucks?)
Some of the writing is a little dated in this book, but the spirit of the messages still comes through strong. Slow Death #1 presents a nice variety of early underground art by some of its finest practitioners, with highly detailed drawings. This is one of those (many) underground comics that could have benefitted from having a larger printing format.
COMIC CREATORS Greg Irons • • Willie Mendes • Gary Grimshaw • Dave Sheridan • Jim Osborne • Jim Evans • Randy Tuten • Gilbert Shelton • Fred Schrier • Rory Hayes • Jeffery Hayes • Ron Cobb • Jack Jackson • Kim Deitch • Robert Crumb • Tony Auth
