Innovators are inevitably controversial. Eva le Gallienne
In 1967, the soon-to-be-infamous cartoonist Robert Crumb published Zap Comix #0. Supported by the works of fellow San Francisco-based cartoonists Rick Griffin, Spain Rodriguez and S. Clay Wilson, Zap was an overnight sensation in headshops across the country. Political dissidents everywhere pricked up their ears, and picked up their pens. With the impact of Zap, the underground comix (preferred spelling) scene was born.
Soon every cause had a title to rally behind: black panthers, feminists, gays and lesbians, pot-smokers, pro-lifers, pornographers and repentant Presbyterians all tuned into sequential art.
Corporate Crime Komics and Radical America Komics reflected various liberal political views of the day. Jesus Meets the Armed Services specifically addressed the Vietnam War protests and draft-card-burnings. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers poked acerbic fun at drug-addled hippies. The titillating silliness of Omaha the Cat Dancer, and the gritty satire of comix like Mickey Rat,Dope and Cocaine, enraged and delighted in turn. In short, underground comix revealed themselves as contemporary, provocative, uncensored expressions that ignited new interest in the comic book format.
Although vibrant, the underground comix market wasn't very large. Most of the tiny comix publishers lived hand-to-mouth, using the profits of one issue to pay for the next. Print runs were generally low, but over the next decade, the list of underground comix titles kept on truckin', easily into the thousands.
The late 80s saw a resurgence of vitality in independent comic book publishing. Fed up with the lumbering banality of mainstream Marvel and DC titles, many artists started producing work of a decidedly subversive ilk. Since that time, sequential art has developed and matured in surprising ways. Favoring anti-heroes over superheroes, current indie favorites like Love and Rockets,Eightball,Acme Novelty Library,Dork,Johnny the Homicidal Maniac,The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Strangers In Paradise join together adult content and deep philosophical concerns with unique artistic style and innovative graphic storytelling.
Check out the comix-style graffiti art of street artist Curt Eichelberger. His preferred medium, spray paint on plexiglass, produces amazing, almost luminous, results. His acrylics on wood have an organic feel in their texture, shapes and colors.