Underground COMIX-What set them apart from the mainstream+How it influenced the ADULT ANIMATION industry

Just like with animation and live-action movies during the relative beginning of the AMERICAN film industry which had a censorship policy that was seriously enforced until a certain point,

The AMERICAN COMICS INDUSTRY also had a censorship....

More like APPROVAL SYSTEM.....

That dictated what can or what cannot be allowed in a Mainstream Comic.

Basically, the COMICS CODE was created in a similar fashion to the HAYS CODE,

To prevent any suggestive content that would cause MORAL PANIC.

But unlike the HAYS CODE which was created in the early to mid 1930s during the GREAT DEPRESSION,

The COMICS CODE AUTHORITY was created during the 1950s which was after WWII but also during the days of MCCARTHYISM.

You have the understand that in the 1950s, there was fear of COMMUNISTS within the AMERICAN Public Conscience.

There were reports of the BURNING OF COMICS in some cities at the time due to the nature of scary or suggestive comics that Adults at the time thought would ruin the brains of children.

So in a similar way that the HAYS OFFICE was created to prevent local governments from censoring the films themselves,

THE COMICS CODE INDUSTRY was also created to prevent said governments from meddling but also to placate and appease the conservatives of the time period.

Fast-Forward into the 1960s during the COUNTER-CULTURE MOVEMENT,

There were disgruntled artists and storytellers who wanted to seriously rebel against the COMICS CODE because it creatively stifles the artists from doing what they want to tell.

But what these UNDERGROUND ARTISTS want to tell the world is that they want to tell the world how things are now(for the 60s and beyond)

They want to let people know of the realities of the world instead and not mask the issues that affect the reader.

These stories often dealt with DRUGS, SEX, VIOLENCE, ROCK MUSIC, etc.

Believe it or not, these comics were often POPULAR with the STONERS and PUNKS due to a perception that that demographic would read these kinds of comics.

And most of the time, UNDERGROUND COMICS were indeed sold in shops that often specialized in recreational drugs like CANNABIS.

It gave rise to the careers of such artists like ROBERT CRUMB, GILBERT SHELTON, REED WALLER, etc.

SHELTON's famous comic THE FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS

was a culmination of a stroke of inspiration after SHELTON smoked his first toke after a trip to MEXICO in 1959.

It follows the exploits of FRANKLIN, PHINEAS, and FAT FREDDY as they explore SAN FRANCISCO neighborhood while stoned and avoiding the authorities.

(HEY, it was the 1960s!)

Another ROBERT CRUMB

He also took psychedelic drugs but rather than dope, it was LSD.

One of his TRIPS did however help him inspire his characters that he created.

He created such characters like MR. NATURAL

He's also famous for his comic FRITZ THE CAT

If these comics look familiar, that's a good guess.

But these comics predate the 1972 RALPH BAKSHI film going as far back as 1965.

And FRITZ was portrayed as more malignant than he ever

compared to the BAKSHI film which despite it's original X-Rating, FRITZ's personality was toned down considerably  to make him more likeable to the audience.

ROBERT CRUMB is also well known for his cartoons using his favorite pen

And he also does what I call SCANLINE INKING where he adds vertical lines to accentuate his styling of shading on his drawings which to me not only enhances the detail but also compliments the mood of the drawing

I've mentioned in past blogposts about OMAHA THE CAT DANCER.

Compared to all the other UNDERGROUND COMIX out there who's appeal was drug usage, sex comedy, shock value, etc.

OMAHA THE CAT DANCER took a different approach where SEX is used but in more of a dramatic feel to the story lines.

It's about the life and times of a former stripper named SUSAN JENSEN(OMAHA) whom she and her newfound friends have to navigate life in MIPPLE CITY, MINNESOTA after a new BLUE LAW is passed in CITY HALL

And then things start falling apart when events like attempted assassinations,

a tycoon father's murder,

OMAHA's past failed marriage

and CHUCK's childhood issues start to get in the way of the characters trying to find a new life for themselves.

It's pretty dramatic but powerful.

If dramas not your thing, then maybe this shown below should be:

It's been a while since I last posted about LIFE IN HELL on this blog....

This was MATT GROENING's inaugural work that put him on the map

It's a series of comics made by MATT GROENING where he vents his frustrations living in LOS ANGELES after he moved there in the 1970s and suffering through things like the VIETNAM DEFICIT, RISING GAS PRICE, LOUSY JOBS HE WAS ASSIGNED TO, etc.

As cynical as the comics can be about L.A life, they can somehow be entertaining when done right.

Things can be lampooned like LOVE & SEX LIFE

Unprepared Parental Responsibilities

Raging against your job(and your boss)

The Fear of DEATH 

This strip here was referencing the COLD WAR during the fears of

ANDROPOV, ABLE ARCHER, etc.

Good thing we made it own unscathed since Christmas 1991

Making fun of your own Childhood

And some of the stories used BINKY as a stand-in for MATT GROENING during his early adulthood

A lot of times, There were printings that used two human characters who go by the name of AKBAR & JEFF

I've read that these two are MATT's failed attempt at drawing CHARLIE BROWN and the reason they pretty much took over the comic through out most of the mid to late 1980s was because MATT's then girlfriend(later EX-WIFE)DEBORAH KAPLAN did not appreciate using BINKY & SHEBA together to lampoon the arguments the couple had in real-life, that and MATT became more involved with TELEVISION so he ended up dedicated panels involving AKBAR & JEFF exchanging jabs

Pontificating their relationship

 

Playing games

Getting into weird situations

Spending time with their family

Starting their own businesses

And they were even used to lampoon then current events.

Such as the AIDS epidemic

and criticism of participation in the 1991 GULF WAR

But alas, All good things must come to an end.

SHELTON would stop making comics about the FREAK BROTHERS in 1997 but he didn't completely abandon it.

Just that he's a creative consultant on THE FREAK BROTHERS on TUBI

ROBERT CRUMB isn't all that active aside from commissions or social media posts.

This one's the more recent 

where CRUMB states he doesn't like the loud sound of FIREWORKS

circa the UNITED STATES' 250th Anniversary.

And we all know the story about how pissed off CRUMB was about RALPH BAKSHI's film which forced CRUMB to kill off his character.

OMAHA THE CAT DANCER had issues with REED WALLER & the late KATE WORLEY during production

that put the comic on limbo for a while until things were sorted out....

And then WORLEY's death nearly put the comic's future into jeopardy.

And MATT GROENING......

Well....

MATT GROENING's career has flourished in the years with TELEVISION ANIMATION since it provides him the adequate income when compared to newspapers.

And it's all thanks to this STRIP that caught the eye of JAMES L BROOKS.

MATT would end his LIFE IN HELL strip in 2012 when the last one was printed that year due to declining readership with physical newspapers and MATT refusing to post new comics on ONLINE SOURCES like some artists do.

But it's important to see how important the UNDERGROUND COMIC scene was back in the day which led to all sorts of Artists finding success in an industry that they can let them have the carte blanche to do what they want without a bureau breathing down their necks

Although there were adult CARTOONs in the 1970s, 

The early ones that were not made by RALPH BAKSHI's unit were often mishandled or misinterpreted.

Cartoons like DOWN AND DIRTY DUCK or TARZOON:SHAME OF THE JUNGLE often misunderstood that an ADULT CARTOON is not all about the SEX but rather it's more about the SOCIAL SATIRE.

Films like HEAVY TRAFFIC, COONSKIN, HEY GOOD LOOKIN, etc. were all about the SOCIAL SATIRE of the times.

HEAVY METAL managed to get it right, mostly by sticking close to much of the MAGAZINE's source material......

Shows like THE SIMPSONS

FAMILY GUY

KING OF THE HILL

etc.

Wouldn't have been possible without the UNDERGROUND COMIX scene really hitting back in the 60s so we all owe a THANK YOU to artists like 

SHELTON, CRUMB, etc.

For making their publications possible.