Print Mint (1974-76)
A couple years after dropping out of college, an aspiring artist named Jim Pinkoski began working at Comics and Comix, a Berkeley comic-book retailer and distributor run by Bud Plant, Bob Beerbohm and John Barrett. Surrounded by comic-book creators and publishers, Pinkoski demonstrated his exceptional illustration skills with contributions to Spaced Out and Lair of Madness in 1972. (more…)
Print Mint (October 1973)
Justin Green was certainly one of the most introspective and honest cartoonists ever. Show + Tell Comics, while not as famous as his Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary masterpiece, is also a brutally honest look at his childhood. Justin’s work was inspiring to many cartoonists and comic writers. Art Spiegelman has stated that Binky Brown made his novel Maus possible. Though Justin’s symptoms are evident in this comic book, it was not until years later that he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Show + Tell Comics is about the best companion piece you could have for his more famous Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary manifesto. (more…)
Print Mint (1976)
Manuel “Spain” Rodriguez was one of the pioneers of underground comics, contributing to the East Village Other and producing the first all-comics tabloid, Zodiac Mindwarp. Rodriguez joined the mass migration of underground comic creators from New York to San Francisco in 1969, where he joined the exclusive club of Zap Comix contributors. His signature character is Trashman, hero of the working class, but Rodriguez produced a broad array of comics for many early undergrounds like Insect Fear, Thrilling Murder, and Snatch Comics. (more…)
Print Mint (1971-1973)
Real Pulp Comics is a terrific two-issue anthology that came along in the heyday of underground comics and during the peak of Roger Brand as both a comics creator and an editor. Brand had a vibrant creative mind and encyclopedic knowledge of comic book history, which made it all the more sad that he was also a relentless alcoholic and drug addict who died at the ridiculously young age of 42 in 1985. But from the late ’60s through the mid ’70s, Brand was one of the most entertaining and productive characters in the underground. (more…)
Last Gasp September 1974
All nite comix… • Shooting the Bull • Abracadabra • Unsolicited Brochure with Dumpy & the Grenade Hearted Broccoli • Wonder Wart-Hog Takes a Brief Sojurn in Outer Space • Wonder Wart-Hog • Beyond the Exorcist • A Bug Story • Mexico 1200 (more…)
Last Gasp 1971
Image of the Beast is an adaption of the Jose Phillip Farmer novel by the same name. I haven’t read the novel, but if it is as creepy and savage as the comic, it would make for a terrific midnight read! Tim Boxell (Grisly) artwork throughout. (more…)
Last Gasp August 1971
This 44-page underground was originally supposed to be Bogeyman #4, but Last Gasp or somebody figured it would be better under a different title. Regardless, this is a terrific and gruesome but often funny underground-style horror comic featuring Rory Hayes (of course), Kim Deitch, Spain, Bill Griffith, S. Clay Wilson and Justin Green, among others.
Rip Off Press (1977-78)
Avid fans of underground comics already know that Bill Griffith’s Zippy the Pinhead transcends the genre and appeals to all manner of fans of offbeat pop culture comics. Zippy is a microcephalic character who was based in part on Schlitzie the Pinhead, who appeared in the classic 1932 horror film, Freaks. If you haven’t seen the creepy Tod Browning film, it’s well worth checking out, as it holds up quite well today and (six decades later) also inspired an excellent four-issue comic-book adaptation by Jim Woodring and F. Solana Lopez. (more…)
Last Gasp (1997)
The 90’s were just around the corner and Crumb was pissed…and thankfully Last Gasp gave him a platform to voice his anger and bitterness. Originally written and drawn in 1986, Crumb brings back Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont! Color Covers, Black & White Interior (more…)
Last Gasp (1997)