Merry Christmas from Buster Brown!

Practically a century before that mischievous Calvin hooked up with Hobbes there was another young couple terrorizing parents everywhere, R. F. Outcault's Buster Brown and his dog Tige!

 

 

Happy 100th Birthday Jack Cole!

Writer/artist extraordinaire, Jack Cole, creator of Plastic Man, would be 100 years old today! He was born on December 14, 1914 and died on August 13, 1958(1958-08-13) at the tragically young age of 43.




Jack Cole appears on the cover of his Plastic Man #1 (1943) which sports a cover that wonderfully illustrates Cole's sense of the absurd next to his dark morbidity.

Zippy the Pinhead

Zippy the Pinhead burst onto the comics scene in the Underground comic Real Pulp #1, March 1971. Zippy is not just a comic; it's an experience; a way of thinking and interacting with the world.

Zippy, based on the freak show performer Zip the Pinhead, is a free spirited, free thinking simpleton who gets himself in and out of all kinds of crazy trouble.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers NSFW

The other big Underground Comix artist besides R. Crumb of the late 60's and early 70's was Gilbert Shelton, the creator of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #2, 1972

Kaz' Delirious from Weirdo #10

Kaz has a unique sense of humor and fascinating design sense. He loves to put the grotesque into 'cute comics'. He seems to be inspired as much by classic cute comic strips like Nancy and Sluggo, and Popey as much as by the offensive underground comics like S. Clay Wilson's Captain Pissgums.

Check out Delirious, an early comic by Kaz which appeared in R. Crumb's Weirdo #10, July 1984.

Happy 71st Birthday R. Crumb!

Robert Crumb (born August 30, 1943) is the founding father of the underground comic art movement of the late 60's and early 70's. He started off his career drawing LSD inspired comics but went on to do some very influential auto-biographical comics as well as some very impressive biographical work of blues singers as well as literary people such as Kafka. His latest work is a faithful adaption of the book of Genesis.


 

Reid Fleming, the Worlds Toughest Milkman by David Boswell

Reid Fleming came out of nowhere. In the 1986 world of comics this work had no piers and no other work to compare it too. It sure as heck didn't fit in with the superhero dominated market, and didn't resemble anything from the irreverent 1960's underground comics either. I remember seeing the add and thinking, "How much fun could a Milkman be?" Boy was I surprised at what I found.

 

Joe Pi from Top Ten by Alan Moore and Gene Ha

Top Ten is a world where after WWII the Americans put all of their super powered beings into one city, Neopolis. In this city everyone has a super powers or is special in some way. And like all cities, it also has it's mistreated minorities. In Neopolis it's "clickers" or robots or artificial intelligence.
Joe Pi is the new cop on the beat, a token minority, and worse, he's taking the place of an officer that died in the line of duty. And her partner is none too happy about it.

The surrealistic world of the Flaming Carrot by Bob Burden

Flaming Carrot Comics is a phenomena that sprung from the independent comics explosion of the early 80's. It's irreverent, crude, and incomprehensible at times but a it's pure exuberant joy!

The Flaming Carrot lovingly satirized the superhero comics genre that we all knew and loved. It was like a Golden Age superhero comic on acid.

Gumby Summer Fun Special by Art Adams and Bob Burden

In the mid 80's, Gumby the little green boy of clay, was hot and Comico the comic company decided that they wanted to put out his comic. What resulted was a little Copper Age gem.

The Many Faces of R. Crumb (NSFW)

One of my favorite early Crumb works is 1972's XYZ Comics. In it Crumb is in full flower, allowing his mind (and pen) to go wherever it chooses. Sure many of the comics are absurd, though with the absurdness are occasional insightful strips touching on the profound.

Have a Top Ten Christmas!

Welcome to Alan Moore's wacky world of  Top Ten where even Santa is a repeat offender for breaking and entering!

Mark Beyer's "Agony" and our ecstasy!

In the 80's I grew up loving RAW Magazine and anything to do with it. One of their regular artists was Mark Beyer. He was a naive artist who took perverse pleasure in satirizing the hardships of life.

Afrodisiac by Jim Rugg

Like the best comic creators, Jim Rugg is an amazing blend of low brow pop culture and high brow conceptual art.