History and nature of the 'underground' comic

A loose definition of an underground comic would be: a comic that both in form and content, visually and linguistically, is not restricted by any convention of social taboo. They were originally associated with the underground press which evolved out of an ideal of 'no censorship'. These papers in the US opposed the war in Vietnam, supported soft and hallucinogenic drug use, minority groups, sexual freedom, women's liberation, and political anarchism.

As a result, what shines through the comic medium is the open-mindedness about human and artistic experience that was the spiritual core of the 'movement'. The most successful of the comic authors developed comic book or newspaper strips about stock characters in situations which were familiar to the lifestyle of the readers. Hence the vicarious interest in activities of Harold Hedd, Mr Natural and other heroes or anti-heroes of comic life.

Robert Crumb's work is both a product and critique of the alienation and materialism in US society. His fantasy characters exhibit traits we all reveal in our more extreme and sympathetic moments and it is this feature that gives them lasting literary—pictorial merit. Any shallow political posturing or counter-cultural myth-making is avoided by his deft treatment of the mental and emotional interaction of his characters

But what is lost in Human the Schuman and Mr Natural's endless questions-behind-answers is any critique of society. Crumbs strength as an artist means that he is unable or unwilling to view society as a whole in his comics and pinpoint the real causes of the failure of the US social system.

I'm really gettin' pissed off!

Gilbert Shelton's original character was Wonder Warthog, a pig-like Superman, but he made his fame with the creation of the Furry Freak Brothers. This still-running strip concerns itself with the amoral and self-indulgent life of a trio of hippies. These characters transcend the restricted surroundings of their Bohemian existence with a reworking of old themes based on commonplace occurences. Lately however the series has lacked new ideas and has become a stereotyped repetition of 1960's drug and political themes.

Those comics attempting social realism while admirable in their satire of the American ruling classes rarely rise above a world-weary cynicism when portraying alternatives. Radical Rock and the Mountain are exceptions both portraying elements of idealistic communalism. The latter has an epic quality and ends with an implied warning of the fascistic tendencies of religious-based mass movements.

The former, despite, its adherence to the myth of youth power versus police power, is an excellent comic with some clean-cut portrayals of American negro life and a particularly discerning treatment of the older generation. This, the most politically developed of the comics to reach New Zealand, was banned because of a sexual sequence no more explicit than the line-drawings of a sex-manual. Or was it banned because of the politics?

The lack of self-censorship in the subjects of sex and violence is largely a reaction to the psychological repression of the 50's. The suppressed imagination of the authors of that period is released and provides the basis of the humorous qualities of the comics. The reader is amused and challenged by the revelation of activities pictorially which he could only deny the existence of in the past. Hence violence and explicitness are the central attractions of the comics. (S. Clay Wilson of Captain Guts fame represents this in the extreme).

The technique of exaggerating and exposing morbid fears is developed to the point where crudity becomes cathartic.

These categories are not exclusive, but in general the creative direction of each artist produces a comic suitable for its readers tastes.