The Unofficial Underground Comix thread... 14 14

[deadleg]

On 5/17/2018 at 5:59 PM, OtherEric said:

Found in a dollar bin today.

I just happened to read this for the first time today. 

[Robot Man]

I recently found this. Wonder Warthog Magazine #1. Would this be considered an underground?

[Robot Man]

Also found a bunch of Help Magazines. This is issue #22 from Jan 1965. Is this Crumb’s first published work? Pretty sure 1st Fritz the Cat?

[wpbooks01]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

I recently found this. Wonder Warthog Magazine #1. Would this be considered an underground?

There were 2 issues of WWH and I keep mine with my UG!

[OtherEric]

3 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Also found a bunch of Help Magazines. This is issue #22 from Jan 1965. Is this Crumb’s first published work? Pretty sure 1st Fritz the Cat?

I think it's Crumb's first nationally distributed comic work... which is several qualifiers.  I think he had done greeting card work before this, and there may have been some locally published and/or self published material before this.  But I'm far from an expert.  Yes on first Fritz publication.

[CDNComix]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 9:16 PM, Robot Man said:

I recently found this. Wonder Warthog Magazine #1. Would this be considered an underground?

Yes, WW "Hogs of Steel" #1 and #2 are definitely considered to be undergrounds. And if you could not tell from the content, both issues were identified in the "bible" of underground collecting guides - Jay Kennedy's Guide.

I would be a little more diplomatic with responding if "Help" is an underground.  There was some debate/discussion about this a little back in this very thread.  I would say, although "Help" is not a true underground, it does have every right to be in an underground collector's collection.  If that makes any sense.

Edited June 8, 2018 by CDNComix

[OtherEric]

5 hours ago, CDNComix said:

I would say, although "Help" is not a true underground, it does have every right to be in an underground collector's collection.  If that makes any sense.

That makes perfect sense.  It's an overground that published some of the first true underground material before the undergrounds actually existed.  Maybe call it an honorary underground?

[oldmilwaukee6er]

 

Color separations from Fred Todd / Rip Off Press- (L) Wonder Wart Hog postcard, (R) Freak Brothers birthday card. Just picked up the WWH postcard yesterday from a local dealer/ collector. 

[OtherEric]

Found in the wild yesterday.  Not quite as rare as its reputation suggests, but still not super common.  And, of course, pretty much a must have book for historical reasons.

[OtherEric]

And a small pick-up today:

[OtherEric]

And this came in today, completing my run of the title.  #13 seems to be the hardest issue to track down by a large margin if you're not picky on what printing you get; does anybody know why?

[wpbooks01]

[OtherEric]

@wpbooks01

You win. 

I'm still happy to have put together the run for myself.

[wpbooks01]

I wasn't aware I was in a contest. I just wanted to show you another way to enjoy a run of Zap. I have one that is all 1st printings, and I have one that is made up of cheap copies I've bought over the years, in various states, that I decided to have custom bound for a lot cheaper than the collected edition Fantagraphics put out. It's nice to have it at my fingertips on a shelf, instead of in a box I'd have to dig up and excavate if I wanted a taste, or a whiff, of the old UG spirit. But okay....I'll accept!

[OtherEric]

1 hour ago, wpbooks01 said:

I wasn't aware I was in a contest. I just wanted to show you another way to enjoy a run of Zap. I have one that is all 1st printings, and I have one that is made up of cheap copies I've bought over the years, in various states, that I decided to have custom bound for a lot cheaper than the collected edition Fantagraphics put out. It's nice to have it at my fingertips on a shelf, instead of in a box I'd have to dig up and excavate if I wanted a taste, or a whiff, of the old UG spirit. But okay....I'll accept!

Sorry if that came across a little rough; it was meant as a complement... the verbal equivalent of .  Those are a pair of stunningly beautiful books.

I'm actually surprisingly late to the UG game... for some reason, I never really looked into them much until recently.  I think it was finding a few in a sleazy bookstore in San Fransisco that I couldn't resist finally giving them a try.  (For some reason, it just feels more RIGHT to me to get them down there.  Super happy that's where I found the Air Pirates issue in the wild that's further up the page.)

[wpbooks01]

Which sleazy bookstore? I live in SF and haunt what's left of them almost daily. I'll post a few of my recent finds from such a place a little later,

 

I actually took it as a compliment, I'm just emoji-inept. Thanks!

Edited July 12, 2018 by wpbooks01

[OtherEric]

3 hours ago, wpbooks01 said:

Which sleazy bookstore? I live in SF and haunt what's left of them almost daily. I'll post a few of my recent finds from such a place a little later,

 

I actually took it as a compliment, I'm just emoji-inept. Thanks!

Kayo Books was the one I was thinking of.  I've gotten UG's at multiple stores down there, including Aardvark and Green Apple in addition to Kayo, but Kayo is the only one I would call sleazy... In part because they would consider it a compliment, I think.  It's definitely the classiest sleazy bookstore I've ever seen, though.

Kayo is the only one I've seen more than a very small random handful of UG's at, though.

[wpbooks01]

I bought a good ton of UG at Kayo when they had their 'closing' sale and everything was 90% off. I haven't been back since, as whenever I walk by the store is locked up. Have you been recently? I never thought of the store as 'sleazy' just that they do sell sleaze. There were indeed stores in SF I would call 'sleazy' but they're mostly gone. Green Apple I've bought collected editions from but never an actual UG, and just last week at Aardvark I picked up the run of "Tales Of Toad" and a couple of ROP UG Classics issues, all for under $15. Found a copy of Aline Kominsky's Power Pak in a quarter bin at an LCS a few months ago, just in time for her appearance at the 9th Ave. branch of Green Apple, and got her to sign it and my 1st Zap bind. She had to be reminded that she contributed to #16, as she was at first reluctant to sign it claiming she doesn't autograph collections of Rawbert's work! it was mildly amusing to watch her recall that she was indeed a Zap-ster!

[wpbooks01]

This was created with many of the UG I picked up at Kayo, mentioned above. Sorry if some of the scans are sideways. They weren't that way originally but something gets lost in the upload translation to this forum and I'm too lazy to figure out how to shift the guilty pix.....all necks be aware!

 

[OtherEric]

I was at Kayo last month, it’s obviously smaller but they’re still able to hit my wallet hard.  I only get down to SF about once a year.  They’ve been great about setting up appointments both times I’ve been since they cut back.

You are correct that it’s not really sleazy in the usual sense... although I do think the description fits in that they do proudly sell sleaze.  Calling them that just amuses me.