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64-521: Bill Spicer (born October 1, 1937) is an American editor and publisher who spearheaded the 1960s movement away from commercial comics, opening the gateway to underground , alternative , and independent comics, notably with his publication Graphic Story Magazine . Born in Los Angeles , Spicer began reading science fiction fanzines in 1951–52. He learned professional lettering techniques while working at an ad agency from 1955 to 1967, and he became

128-504: A 1979 Inkpot Award . In 2000, the American Association of Comicbook Collectors Fandom Service Award went to Spicer for his significant contribution to the hobby of comic book collecting and his pioneering work with EC fanzines. Underground comix Robert Crumb , Gilbert Shelton , Barbara "Willy" Mendes , Trina Robbins and numerous other cartoonists created underground titles that were popular with readers within

192-521: A letterer with Western Publishing in 1967. Three years earlier, he had entered the publishing arena himself after placing a want ad in a fanzine seeking contributors. After responses from artist Landon Chesney and others, he launched a 500-copy offset print run of Fantasy Illustrated #1 (February 1964) displaying a cover by Chesney and graphic stories in a variety of genres. This included an adaptation of Eando Binder 's 1940s pulp novella " Adam Link 's Vengeance", illustrated by D. Bruce Berry , which won

256-567: A major publisher of alternative and underground cartoonists' work. As of the 2010s, reprints of early underground comix continue to sell alongside modern underground publications. The 2010s Foreskin Man , a comic book published to protest against circumcision , has been referred to as "comix" by some reviewers. British cartoonists were introduced in the underground publications International Times ( IT ), founded in 1966, and Oz founded in 1967, which reprinted some American material. During

320-597: A range of standard consumer products such as clocks, books, tins of cleaning powder, and toilet brushes which have hidden compartments for cannabis and non-camouflaged "stash boxes" which are tins or wooden containers for storing marijuana; and legal highs such as whipped-cream chargers (which contain nitrous oxide ) and Salvia divinorum (both of which are illegal in some countries and some US states for recreational purposes). Some head shops also sell items used for home cultivation of marijuana plants, such as hydroponic equipment and lights and guidebooks on cultivation. Since

384-707: A renaissance in the genre in the United Kingdom , through titles like Brain Damage , Viz , and others. After the death of King Features Syndicate editor Jay Kennedy , his personal underground comix collection was acquired by the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Ohio. The University of California, Berkeley 's Bancroft Library has a large underground comix collection, especially related to Bay Area publications; much of it

448-480: A strip about a trio of "freaks" whose time is spent attempting to acquire drugs and avoid the police, both of which first appeared in the self-published Feds 'N' Heads in 1968. Wilson's work is permeated by shocking violence and ugly sex; he contributed to Zap and created the infamous The Checkered Demon , a portly, shirtless being who is frequently called upon to kill the various demented bikers, pirates, and rapists who populate Wilson's universe. Spain worked for

512-476: A visit to London, American comics artist Larry Hama created original material for IT . The first UK comix mag was Cyclops , started in July 1970 by IT staff members. In a bid to alleviate its ongoing financial problems, IT brought out Nasty Tales (1971), which was soon prosecuted for obscenity. Despite appearing before the censorious Old Bailey Judge Alan King-Hamilton , the publishers were acquitted by

576-533: Is funny about rape and murder?" Because of his popularity, many underground cartoonists tried to imitate Crumb's work. While Zap was the best-known anthology of the scene, other anthologies appeared, including Bijou Funnies , a Chicago publication edited by Jay Lynch and heavily influenced by Mad . The San Francisco anthology Young Lust ( Company & Sons , 1970), which parodied the 1950s romance genre, featured works by Bill Griffith and Art Spiegelman . Another anthology, Bizarre Sex (Kitchen Sink, 1972),

640-407: Is legal, cannabis dispensaries often double as head shops. Notably, in the state of Florida , items "designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, or nitrous oxide into the human body" are illegal. At the same time, "pipes primarily made of briar, meerschaum, clay, or corn cob" are legal. Smart shops are shops (prominently found in

704-591: The Bijou Funnies book highlighted comics by Lynch, Green, Crumb, Shelton, Spiegelman, Deitch, Skip Williamson , Jay Kinney , Evert Geradts , Rory Hayes , Dan Clyne, and Jim Osborne. Similarly, and around this time, the publishing cooperative And/Or Press published The Young Lust Reader (1974), a "best-of" collection from Griffith and Kinney's Young Lust anthology, and Dave Sheridan and Fred Schrier 's The Overland Vegetable Stagecoach presents Mindwarp: An Anthology (1975). And/Or Press later published

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768-526: The East Village Other before becoming known within underground comix for Trashman and his solo titles Zodiac Mindwarp and Subvert . Williamson created his character Snappy Sammy Smoot , appearing in several titles. Underground horror comics also became popular, with titles such as Skull (Rip Off Press, 1970), Bogeyman (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969), Fantagor (Richard Corben, 1970), Insect Fear (Print Mint, 1970), Up From

832-624: The Print Mint , Rip Off Press , Last Gasp , and Krupp Comic Works (Kitchen Sink Press). For much of the 1970s, Rip Off Press operated a syndication service , managed by cartoonist and co-owner Gilbert Shelton , that sold weekly comix content to alternative newspapers and student publications . Each Friday, the company sent out a distribution sheet with the strips it was selling, by such cartoonists as Shelton, Joel Beck , Dave Sheridan , Ted Richards , Bill Griffith , and Harry Driggs (as R. Diggs). The syndicate petered out by 1979; much of

896-827: The U.S. Supreme Court , in Miller v. California , ruled that local communities could decide their own First Amendment standards with reference to obscenity. In the mid-1970s, sale of drug paraphernalia was outlawed in many places, and the distribution network for these comics (and the underground newspapers) dried up, leaving mail order as the only commercial outlet for underground titles. In 1974, Marvel launched Comix Book , requesting that underground artists submit significantly less explicit work appropriate for newsstands sales. A number of underground artists agreed to contribute work, including Spiegelman, Robbins and S. Clay Wilson , but Comix Book did not sell well and lasted only five issues. In 1976, Marvel achieved success with Howard

960-534: The counterculture scene. Punk had its own comic artists like Gary Panter . Long after their heyday, underground comix gained prominence with films and television shows influenced by the movement and with mainstream comic books, but their legacy is most obvious with alternative comics . The United States underground comics scene emerged in the 1960s, focusing on subjects dear to the counterculture : recreational drug use , politics, rock music , and free love . The underground comix scene had its strongest success in

1024-575: The environmental movement . Anarchy Comics focused on left-wing politics , while Barney Steel's Armageddon focused on anarcho-capitalism . British underground cartoonists also created political titles, but they did not sell as well as American political comics. Artists influenced by the underground comix scene, who were unable to get work published by better-known underground publications, began self-publishing their own small press, photocopied comic books, known as minicomics . The punk subculture began to influence underground comix. In 1982,

1088-437: The underground comix of Robert Crumb and other counterculture cartoonists, which had little access to the established channels of newsstand distribution. The shops' popularity eventually waned with the aging of that era's baby boomer generation, as well as a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Miller v. California , that found that local communities could decide their own First Amendment standards concerning obscenity. In

1152-549: The underground newspaper the Berkeley Barb and his full-length comic Lenny of Laredo was published in 1965. Another underground paper, the East Village Other , was an important precursor to the underground comix movement, featuring comic strips by artists including Crumb, Shelton, Kim Deitch , Trina Robbins , Spain Rodriguez , and Art Spiegelman before true underground comix emerged from San Francisco with

1216-538: The 1980s, sexual comics came into prominence, integrating sex into storylines rather than utilizing sexual explicitness for shock value. The first of these features was Omaha the Cat Dancer , which made its first appearance in an issue of the zine Vootie . Inspired by Fritz the Cat , Omaha the Cat Dancer focused on an anthropomorphic feline stripper. Other comix with a sexual focus included Melody , based on

1280-699: The 1980s, some head shops have sold clothing related to the heavy metal or punk subculture , such as band T-shirts and cloth patches with band logos, studded wristbands, bullet belts, and leather boots. Other items offered typically include hashish pipes, "one hitter" pipes ; pipe screens; bongs (also referred to as water pipes ); roach clips (used for smoking the end of a marijuana "joint"); vaporizers used for inhaling THC vapor from cannabis; rolling papers ; rolling machines ; small weighing scales ; small ziplock baggies; cannabis grinders (i.e. herb grinders ); blacklight -responsive posters and blacklights; incense ; cigarette lighters ; "stashes", which include

1344-423: The 1980s; he could be considered part of a "second generation" of underground-type cartoonists, including such notables as Mike Diana , Johnny Ryan , Bob Fingerman , David Heatley , Danny Hellman , Julie Doucet , Jim Woodring , Ivan Brunetti , Gary Leib , Doug Allen , and Ed Piskor . Many of these artists were published by Fantagraphics Books , which was founded in 1977 and through the 1980s and '90s became

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1408-736: The 2000s, some head shops also sell e-cigarettes and the flavoured liquids used with these devices. American head shops originated in the 1960s in cities with high concentrations of college-age youth, often growing out of independently owned poster or candle stores. Historically, U.S. head shops proliferated on St. Mark's Place in New York City 's East Village , in West Los Angeles , in San Francisco 's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, and in Chicago 's Old Town . Sources cite

1472-570: The Best Fan Comic Strip award in the 1964 Alley Awards . With the third issue, an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs ' "The End of Bukawai" by Spicer and Harry Habblitz also won an Alley Award. With the introduction of the column "Graphic Story Review" by Richard Kyle, the focus began to shift to articles, reviews, and interviews in addition to the stories, resulting in a change to a new title, Graphic Story Magazine with issue #8 (Fall 1967). Issues #12 and #14 were devoted entirely to

1536-458: The Cat , and Mr. Natural . Crumb also drew himself as a character, caricaturing himself as a self-loathing, sex-obsessed intellectual. While Crumb's work was often praised for its social commentary, he was also criticized for the misogyny that appeared within his comics. Trina Robbins said: "It's weird to me how willing people are to overlook the hideous darkness in Crumb's work... What the hell

1600-589: The Deep (Rip Off Press, 1971), Death Rattle (Kitchen Sink, 1972), Gory Stories (Shroud, 1972), Deviant Slice (Print Mint, 1972) and Two Fisted Zombies (Last Gasp, 1973). Many of these were strongly influenced by 1950s EC Comics like Tales from the Crypt . The male-dominated scene produced many blatantly misogynistic works, but female underground cartoonists made strong marks as well. Edited by Trina Robbins , It Ain't Me, Babe , published by Last Gasp in 1970,

1664-831: The Duck , a satirical comic aimed at adult audiences that was inspired by the underground comix scene. While it did not depict the explicit content that was often featured in underground comix, it was more socially relevant than anything Marvel had previously published. By the mid-1970s, independent publishers began to release book-length collections of underground comics. Quick Fox/Links Books released two important collections, The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics , published in 1974, and The Best of Bijou Funnies , released in 1975. The Apex Treasury featured work by Crumb, Deitch, Griffith, Spain, Shelton, Spiegelman, Lynch, Shary Flenniken , Justin Green , Bobby London , and Willy Murphy ; while

1728-672: The Metropolis and the full-color Weird Fantasies . Spicer continued as a Western Publishing letterer from 1967 to 1982. He also lettered for Dark Horse, Another Rainbow, Fantagraphics. From 1988 to 2005, he lettered manga for Viz . He also lettered two comic strips in the 1980s, Rick O'Shay and Conan the Barbarian . He was contracted by Richard Kyle to letter Jack Kirby 's " Street Code ", published 1990 in Argosy (magazine) issue two. In addition to his Alley Awards , Spicer won

1792-801: The Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street in San Francisco as the first head shop in the United States . Operated by United States Army veteran Ron Thelin and his younger brother Jay, it opened on January 3, 1966. Four months later Jeff Glick opened "Head Shop" on East Ninth Street in New York City. Also in 1966, The Birmingham Balloon Company opened at 113 Fry Street in Denton, Texas . From 1968 to c. 1975, head shops served as an important outlet for underground newspapers and

1856-456: The Rings (1978) and Forbidden Zone (1980). The animation sequences – created by Help! contributor Terry Gilliam – and surrealistic humor of Monty Python's Flying Circus have also been partly attributed to the influence of the underground comix scene. Despite the form's influence on the culture at large, however, by 1972, only four major underground publishers remained in operation:

1920-533: The United States between 1968 and 1975, with titles initially distributed primarily though head shops . Underground comix often featured covers intended to appeal to the drug culture, and imitated LSD -inspired posters to increase sales. These titles were termed "comix" in order to differentiate them from mainstream publications. The "X" also emphasized the X-rated contents of the publications. Many of

1984-611: The alternate press. Wally Wood published witzend in 1966, soon passing the title on to artist-editor Bill Pearson . In 1969, Wood created Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon , intended for distribution to armed forces bases. Steve Ditko gave full vent to his Ayn Rand -inspired philosophy in Mr. A and Avenging World (1973). In 1975, Flo Steinberg , Stan Lee's former secretary at Marvel Comics , published Big Apple Comix , featuring underground work by ostensibly "mainstream" artists she knew from Marvel. Film and television began to reflect

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2048-410: The broader realms of artistic and literary culture. Arcade lasted seven issues, from 1975 to 1976. Autobiographical comics began to come into prominence in 1976, with the premiere of Harvey Pekar 's self-published comic American Splendor , which featured art by several cartoonists associated with the underground, including Crumb. Comics critic Jared Gardner asserts that, while underground comix

2112-644: The city's Mission District was "underground headquarters": living and operating out of The Mission in that period were Gary Arlington , Roger Brand , Kim Deitch , Don Donahue , Shary Flenniken , Justin Green , Bill Griffith & Diane Noomin , Rory Hayes , Jay Kinney , Bobby London , Ted Richards , Trina Robbins , Joe Schenkman , Larry Todd , Patricia Moodian and Art Spiegelman . Mainstream publications such as Playboy and National Lampoon began to publish comics and art similar to that of underground comix. The underground movement also prompted older professional comic book artists to try their hand in

2176-697: The city, with Ron Turner 's Last Gasp and the Print Mint based in Berkeley . Last Gasp later moved to San Francisco. By the end of the 1960s, there was recognition of the movement by a major American museum when the Corcoran Gallery of Art staged an exhibition, The Phonus Balonus Show (May 20-June 15, 1969). Curated by Bhob Stewart for famed museum director Walter Hopps , it included work by Crumb, Shelton, Vaughn Bodé , Kim Deitch , Jay Lynch and others. Crumb's best known underground features included Whiteman , Angelfood McSpade , Fritz

2240-718: The closet, along with bong pipes and love beads, as Things Started To Get Uglier". One of the last major underground titles was Arcade: The Comics Revue , co-edited by Spiegelman and Bill Griffith . With the underground movement encountering a slowdown, Spiegelman and Griffith conceived of Arcade as a "safe berth", featuring contributions from such major underground figures as Robert Armstrong , Robert Crumb , Justin Green , Aline Kominsky , Jay Lynch , Spain Rodriguez , Gilbert Shelton , and S. Clay Wilson (as well as Griffith and Spiegelman). Arcade stood out from similar publications by having an editorial plan, in which Spiegelman and Griffith attempted to show how comics connected to

2304-523: The common aspects of the underground comix scene were in response to the strong restrictions forced upon mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority , which refused publications featuring depictions of violence, sexuality, drug use, and socially relevant content, all of which appeared in greater levels in underground comix. Robert Crumb stated that the appeal of underground comix was their lack of censorship: "People forget that that

2368-589: The country. Some attacks were traced to disgruntled drug dealers. One petrol bomb attack occurred in the home county of the then Minister for Justice , Dermot Ahern, and hours later, plans for legislation for regulation of head shops got underway. Many head shop products became illegal in Ireland on 23 August 2010 when the new Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 became law. The Act empowered Gardaí (Irish police) to seek court orders to close head shops suspected of selling drug-like products, with

2432-479: The distribution of underground comix changed through the emergence of specialty stores. In response to attempts by mainstream publishers to appeal to adult audiences, alternative comics emerged, focusing on many of the same themes as underground comix, as well as publishing experimental work. Artists formally in the underground comix scene began to associate themselves with alternative comics, including Crumb, Deitch, Griffith, Lynda Barry , and Justin Green . In

2496-578: The first issue of Zap Comix . Zap and many of the first true underground comix publications began with reprints of comic strip pages which first appeared in underground papers like the East Village Other , the Berkeley Barb , and Yarrowstalks . In February 1968, in San Francisco, Robert Crumb published (with the help of poet Charles Plymell and Don Donahue of Apex Novelties ) his first solo comic, Zap Comix . The title

2560-486: The first paperback collections of Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead comics. By this time, some artists, including Art Spiegelman , felt that the underground comix scene had become less creative than it had been in the past. According to Spiegelman: "What had seemed like a revolution simply deflated into a lifestyle. Underground comics were stereotyped as dealing only with Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills. They got stuffed back into

2624-475: The first underground comic. Shelton's own Wonder Wart-Hog appeared in the college humor magazine Bacchanal #1-2 in 1962. Jack Jackson 's God Nose , published in Texas in 1964, has also been given that title. One guide lists two other underground comix from that year, Vaughn Bodē 's Das Kampf and Charles Plymell 's Robert Ronnie Branaman . Joel Beck began contributing a full-page comic each week to

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2688-783: The hippie counterculture in the late 1960s, and at that time, many of them had close ties to the anti-Vietnam War movement as well as groups in the marijuana legalization movement like LeMar, Amorphia, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws . Products sold may include magazines (e.g., about cannabis culture, cannabis cultivation, tattooing, and music), clothing, and home décor (e.g., posters and wall hangings illustrating drug culture themes such as cannabis, jam bands like The Grateful Dead , Phish , psychedelic art , etc.). Some head shops also sell oddities, such as antique walking sticks and sex toys . Since

2752-509: The influence of underground comix in the 1970s, starting with the release of Ralph Bakshi 's Crumb adaptation, Fritz the Cat , the first animated film to receive an X rating from the MPAA . Further adult-oriented animated films based on or influenced by underground comix followed, including The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat and Down and Dirty Duck . The influence of underground comix has also been attributed to films such as The Lord of

2816-442: The investigation, government officials also targeted customers of the shops, arresting those who were in possession of drugs like cannabis and heroin . Chong was caught by sending shipments through the mail. Today, online head shops have also become prevalent; there are hundreds of head shops willing to sell their products online. The legality of cannabis varies widely in the United States, but in states where medical cannabis

2880-482: The jury. In the wake of its own high-profile obscenity trial, Oz launched cOZmic Comics in 1972, printing a mixture of new British underground strips and old American work. When Oz closed down the following year cOZmic Comics was continued by fledgling media tycoon Felix Dennis and his company, Cozmic Comics/H. Bunch Associates, which published from 1972 to 1975. While the American underground comix scene

2944-479: The life story of Sylvie Rancourt and Cherry , a comedic sex comic featuring art similar in style to that of Archie Comics . In 1985, Griffith's comic strip Zippy the Pinhead — which originally appeared in underground titles — was syndicated as a daily feature by King Features . Between 1980 and 1991 Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus was serialized in Raw , and published in two volumes in 1986 and 1991. It

3008-472: The material produced for it was eventually published in the company's long-running anthology Rip Off Comix , which had debuted in 1977. Griffith's strip, Zippy , which had debuted in 1976 as a weekly strip with the syndicate, was eventually picked up for daily syndication by King Features Syndicate in 1986. Critics of the underground comix scene claimed that the publications were socially irresponsible, and glorified violence, sex and drug use. In 1973,

3072-508: The mid-1970s, the sale of drug paraphernalia was outlawed in many places, and the distribution network for underground comics and newspapers dried up. In addition, the retail mainstream discovered and co-opted aspects of the head shop's market niche, such as acid rock and eco-friendly products. Head shops exist and are legal in Ireland, and were reported by authorities to be opening at a rate of one per week in January 2010. The legality of

3136-406: The onus on the owners to prove they are not doing so. In the United States , head shops are legal so long as they only sell items used for legal substances. Shops typically place signs stating that the products sold are "for tobacco use only" or "not for use with illegal substances". In many head shops, a sign will be posted (and often reiterated verbally) stating that customer references regarding

3200-506: The pornographic anthologies Jiz and Snatch (both Apex Novelties, 1969). The San Francisco Bay Area was an epicenter of the underground comix movement; Crumb and many other underground cartoonists lived in San Francisco 's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the mid-to-late 1960s. Just as importantly, the major underground publishers were all based in the area: Don Donahue 's Apex Novelties , Gary Arlington 's San Francisco Comic Book Company , and Rip Off Press were all headquartered in

3264-494: The predecessors of the underground comix scene. American comix were strongly influenced by 1950s EC Comics and especially magazines edited by Harvey Kurtzman , including Mad (which first appeared in 1952). Kurtzman's Help! magazine, published from 1960 to 1965, featured the works of artists who would later become well known in the underground comix scene, including R. Crumb and Gilbert Shelton . Other artists published work in college magazines before becoming known in

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3328-557: The shops was discussed in the Seanad Éireann , and a motion was passed requesting the Government to regulate the sale of products. Some politicians were in favour of outlawing the shops whereas others argued that prohibiting the purchases of legal intoxicants would be a "huge mistake" which would allow illegal street dealers to thrive. During early 2010, a number of incidents of firebombing and arson against head shops took place around

3392-494: The underground scene. Early underground comix appeared sporadically in the early- and mid-1960s, but did not begin to appear frequently until after 1967. The first underground comix were personal works produced for friends of the artists. Perhaps the earliest of the underground comic strips was Frank Stack 's (under the pseudonym Foolbert Sturgeon ) The Adventures of Jesus , begun in 1962 and compiled in photocopied zine form by Gilbert Shelton in 1964. It has been credited as

3456-744: The use of the shop's products for illegal drug use will result in the suspension of all sales for that time period, and/or removal of the customer from the shop. In some shops, simply saying the word " bong " is grounds for removal from the shop. Head shops have been targeted by the Drug Enforcement Administration . In 2003, The U.S. Department of Justice indicted fifty-five people on charges of selling drug paraphernalia in Idaho , Texas , Iowa , Pennsylvania , Florida and Ohio as part of Operation Headhunter and Operation Pipe Dreams , including comedian Tommy Chong . During

3520-533: The work of Basil Wolverton . Interviews included Alex Toth (#10). Will Gould (#11), John Severin (#13), Gahan Wilson (#15) and Howard Nostrand (#16). After the run ended with issue #16, Spicer then launched Fanfare , a magazine devoted to all aspects of popular culture. In 1971, Spicer partnered with Michael Moore and Fred Walker to form the Los Angeles Comic Book Company , which published Mickey Rat , L.A. Comics , Mutants of

3584-709: Was Brainstorm Comix (1975–1978), which featured only original British strips (mostly by Bryan Talbot ). Hassle Free Press was founded in London in 1975 by Tony and Carol Bennett as a publisher and distributor of underground books and comics. Now known as Knockabout Comics , the company has a long-standing relationship with underground comix pioneers Gilbert Shelton and Robert Crumb , as well as British creators like Hunt Emerson and Bryan Talbot . Knockabout has frequently suffered from prosecutions from UK customs, who have seized work by creators such as Crumb and Melinda Gebbie , claiming it to be obscene. The 1990s witnessed

3648-450: Was associated with countercultural iconoclasm, the movement's most enduring legacy was to be autobiography. In the late 1970s, Marvel and DC Comics agreed to sell their comics on a no-return basis with large discounts to comic book retailers; this led to later deals that helped underground publishers. During this period, underground titles focusing on feminist and Gay Liberation themes began to appear, as well as comics associated with

3712-592: Was beginning to decline, the British scene came into prominence between 1973 and 1974, but soon faced the same kind of criticism that American underground comix received. UK-based underground cartoonists included Chris Welch, Edward Barker , Michael J. Weller , Malcolm Livingstone, William Rankin (aka Wyndham Raine), Dave Gibbons , Joe Petagno, Bryan Talbot , and the team of Martin Sudden, Jay Jeff Jones and Brian Bolland . The last UK underground comix series of note

3776-543: Was built by a deposit account at Gary Arlington 's San Francisco Comic Book Store. The collection also includes titles from New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The Rhode Island School of Design 's Fleet Library acquired a thousand-item collection of underground comix through a donation by Bill Adler in 2021. Head shop A head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures . They emerged from

3840-601: Was financially successful and almost single-handedly developed a market for underground comix. Within a few issues, Zap began to feature other cartoonists — including S. Clay Wilson , Robert Williams , Spain Rodriguez , and Gilbert Shelton — and Crumb launched a series of solo titles, including Despair , Uneeda (both published by Print Mint in 1969), Big Ass Comics , R. Crumb's Comics and Stories , Motor City Comics (all published by Rip Off Press in 1969), Home Grown Funnies ( Kitchen Sink Press , 1971) and Hytone Comix ( Apex Novelties , 1971), in addition to founding

3904-471: Was followed by an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and a Pulitzer Prize for Spiegelman in 1992. The novel originated from a three-page story first published in an underground comic, Funny Aminals [ sic ], (Apex Novelties, 1972). Alternative cartoonist Peter Bagge was strongly influenced by underground comics, and was reciprocally admired by Crumb, for whom Bagge edited Weirdo magazine in

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3968-452: Was influenced by science fiction comics and included art by Denis Kitchen and Richard "Grass" Green , one of the few African-American comix creators. Other important underground cartoonists of the era included Shelton, Wilson, Deitch, Rodriguez, Skip Williamson , Rick Griffin , George Metzger , and Victor Moscoso . Shelton became famous for his characters Wonder Wart-Hog , a superhero parody, and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ,

4032-405: Was the first all-female underground comic; followed in 1972 by Wimmen's Comix (Last Gasp), an anthology series founded by cartoonist Patricia Moodian  [ fr ] that featured (among others) Melinda Gebbie , Lynda Barry , Aline Kominsky , and Shary Flenniken . Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevli 's Tits & Clits Comix all-female anthology debuted in 1972 as well. By 1972–1973,

4096-475: Was what it was all about. That was why we did it. We didn't have anybody standing over us saying 'No, you can't draw this' or 'You can't show that'. We could do whatever we wanted". Between the late 1920s and late 1940s, anonymous underground artists produced counterfeit pornographic comic books featuring unauthorized depictions of popular comic strip characters engaging in sexual activities. Often referred to as Tijuana bibles , these books are often considered

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