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The Unofficial Underground Comix thread...
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2,279 posts in this topic

$717k w/ BP today.  That's R. Crumb hitting new ground for this Fritz the Cat cover from the Felix Dennis estate (he died in 2014, the movie Hippie Hippie Shake was about OZ magazine and Sienna Miller played his girlfriend in the movie.  She became known for wearing a murkin for the movie.  All the copies and negatives of this movie were destroyed, required by the insurance co.  So nobody will ever seen it. Now here's the crazy part, my girlfriend at the time and I saw the movie years ago, we got advanced screening passes to see it in Sherman Oaks were they ask the audience after questions and I pointed out that they could add more of the beautiful art which wasn't shown.  I also pointed out that there was also a plot point about one specific piece of art that was supposed to be well known, I think a centerfold piece, that for some reason wasn't included in the film even though they talked about it more than once.  I thought maybe they hadn't gotten permission yet to show while filming.  I never found out what the art piece was they were referring to.)  Frazetta painting last years sells for a surprising low of $50k and R. Crumb this year skyrocketing...  Is this a sign of the new Underground Comix resurgence, at least in OA, since it's being reported as the highest price ever publicly paid for a piece of original art from an American comic book (those Tintin art pieces in Europe can go for millions)?  https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/robert-crumb-r-crumb-s-fritz-the-cat-cover-original-art-ballantine-1969-/a/7163-91033.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

Edited by 50 Cent #II (1st)
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20 hours ago, 50 Cent #II (1st) said:

I come back here to read and learn more about the underground comics.   I never have anything to post cause I dont actively collect the stuff except if I can get a Zippy related item.

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On 5/27/2017 at 5:24 PM, 50 Cent #II (1st) said:

Wow, that was a steal! I have to admit, I've certainly been slacking when it comes to scouring eBay for deals.

Edited by Brother J
checked and saw it was indeed an auction...
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Thought I would post a pic. of this rare item since Craig Yoe who published it just asked me for a pic. (funny enough he waited over 6 years to respond to the IM)  I've never seen another copy or it even mentioned anywhere since I got it in 2011.  The one most know is the "Special Edition" with the Rick Griffin cover that's in comic book format, but this is the regular edition tabloid paper from 1972. One of these days I'll get the Rick Griffin cover comic book and compare the two.  

JLYC1.jpg

Edited by 50 Cent #II (1st)
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Can anyone tell me if Wildman Comics and Stories #11 exists? I picked up a couple more issues of that series, so I am looking to complete it. First, I had to figure out that the first two issues were the issues of Wildman published by Megaton Comics. I was able to find scans of every cover to the series but #11. I don't know if others feel this series is an underground, but since it was done by Grass Green, I regard it as one.

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On 6/23/2017 at 5:10 PM, Brother J said:

Can anyone tell me if Wildman Comics and Stories #11 exists? I picked up a couple more issues of that series, so I am looking to complete it. First, I had to figure out that the first two issues were the issues of Wildman published by Megaton Comics. I was able to find scans of every cover to the series but #11. I don't know if others feel this series is an underground, but since it was done by Grass Green, I regard it as one.

I had a quick search but, like you, was unable to find a scan of the front cover of #11. I'm not sure why they would have skipped a number, but it's possible.

I've never looked into this series, though the covers look nice. Other than having been drawn by an artist who worked in underground comix, is there anything typically underground about the contents themselves (illicit drug use, sex, etc.)?

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1 hour ago, comixbible said:

I had a quick search but, like you, was unable to find a scan of the front cover of #11. I'm not sure why they would have skipped a number, but it's possible.

I've never looked into this series, though the covers look nice. Other than having been drawn by an artist who worked in underground comix, is there anything typically underground about the contents themselves (illicit drug use, sex, etc.)?

I have not read them. I usually like to have a complete set of something before I start reading.

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On 5/18/2017 at 7:35 PM, 50 Cent #II (1st) said:

$717k w/ BP today.  That's R. Crumb hitting new ground for this Fritz the Cat cover from the Felix Dennis estate (he died in 2014, the movie Hippie Hippie Shake was about OZ magazine and Sienna Miller played his girlfriend in the movie.  She became known for wearing a murkin for the movie.  All the copies and negatives of this movie were destroyed, required by the insurance co.  So nobody will ever seen it. Now here's the crazy part, my girlfriend at the time and I saw the movie years ago, we got advanced screening passes to see it in Sherman Oaks were they ask the audience after questions and I pointed out that they could add more of the beautiful art which wasn't shown.  I also pointed out that there was also a plot point about one specific piece of art that was supposed to be well known, I think a centerfold piece, that for some reason wasn't included in the film even though they talked about it more than once.  I thought maybe they hadn't gotten permission yet to show while filming.  I never found out what the art piece was they were referring to.)  Frazetta painting last years sells for a surprising low of $50k and R. Crumb this year skyrocketing...  Is this a sign of the new Underground Comix resurgence, at least in OA, since it's being reported as the highest price ever publicly paid for a piece of original art from an American comic book (those Tintin art pieces in Europe can go for millions)?  https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/robert-crumb-r-crumb-s-fritz-the-cat-cover-original-art-ballantine-1969-/a/7163-91033.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

All right, I didn't get an answer over in another thread, so I'll ask here:

This book is not a key, I paid under $10 for it.  But, since it's the 1st Fritz the Cat, why the heck ISN'T it a key book?

 

Scan10001.jpg

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23 hours ago, OtherEric said:

This book is not a key, I paid under $10 for it.  But, since it's the 1st Fritz the Cat, why the heck ISN'T it a key book?

ok, let me take the opposite point, why should it be a key? 

 

My reasons why it may not be:
 

1. Crumb was not happy with the way the character was handled during the movie business, was angered by the movie and decided to kill off the character in The People's Comics

2. I don't think underground comix first appearances are generally reasons for books to be worth a ton. It's usually more to do with scarcity or cultural significance.

3. I could be wrong, but Help! #22 doesn't appear to be THAT difficult to find. I've seen many copies over the years.

 

 

 

Edited by Brother J
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6 hours ago, Brother J said:

ok, let me take the opposite point, why should it be a key? 

 

My reasons why it may not be:
 

1. Crumb was not happy with the way the character was handled during the movie business, was angered by the movie and decided to kill off the character in The People's Comics

2. I don't think underground comix first appearances are generally reasons for books to be worth a ton. It's usually more to do with scarcity or cultural significance.

3. I could be wrong, but Help! #22 doesn't appear to be THAT difficult to find. I've seen many copies over the years.

 

 

 

I don't think #1 really applies; generally a creator's views on their creation are incidental to how the public regards them.  Although it does have the effect of removing the character from the public eye.  #2, fair enough; although I would argue Fritz was one of the most culturally significant characters to come out of the Undergrounds, partly because of the movie.  #3; I'm not sure how much rarity actually affects a book being key or not.  But again, you're probably right that, compared to most undergrounds, Help! #22 isn't that hard to track down.

It still seems odd to me that the book is not particularly broken out from the rest of the run.

Thank you for your thoughts on the matter!

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