forty year old hippie
forty year old hippie
Rip-Off Press 1978-79
Ted Richards was one of the most talented comic creators in the underground, though he didn’t explore the themes of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll in the same way as his peers. In fact, Richards rarely did comics about sex or rock ‘n roll, but he did do plenty about drugs, especially marijuana. To some degree, Richards, who is now a print and Web designer, disavows his underground comic work, even claiming at one time that Dopin’ Dan didn’t actually smoke pot (I can’t find that link anymore, but I swear it’s true). That doesn’t make Richards a bad character by any stretch, as he was just protecting his livelihood. And today you can find him proudly displaying a Forty Year Old Hippie comic (only #2) on his website.
Both issues of the Forty Year Old Hippie serial are well illustrated and usually well written, if a bit cloying in places (e.g., “The Potty Monster Story” from #2, available in its entirety on Richards’ website). Richards has a finely honed sense of humor and it’s abundantly evident in these comics. Ted Richards may be all grown up now, but in his days of youth he was a fine comic creator with a keen sense of humanity, no matter the culture.
