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Underground/Newave Comix: Post Your Obscure, Undocumented or Rarely Discussed
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534 posts in this topic

Dream Me A World - Quark II (first and second printing)

Published by: first printing (Comix World); second printing (Blue Moon); Contributors: Jerry Goebert; Brad Foster;  Date: first printing (1981); second printing (1982); Price: no cover price; Page Count: 8 pages

Size: first printing (mini, 4.25 x 5.50); second printing (magazine, 8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: 636; Print information: first printing (100 copies); second printing (maybe 20 copies)

Determined to be Different - Quark I

Published by: Blue Moon; Contributors: Jerry Goebert; Brad Foster;  Date: 1982; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 8 pages

Size: magazine, (8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: not listed; Print information: one printing; maybe 20 copies

Ever have tried to locate a Quark 1 mini, but had no success? Quark II was published at least a full year before Quark 1. When it was finally published it was released as a magazine sized issue with a mag sized Quark II, as stand-alone contributor giveaways with the production of Major Comix. By the way, both issues of Quark were also published in Major Comix. I belive that both were reissued much later on as minis sometime post 2000.

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Yummy Fur Comics #1 (first, second and third printings)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (July 1983); second printing (September 1983); third printing (July 1984); Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 8 pages

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first printing (150 copies); second printing (150 copies); third printing (reportedly 300 copies)

Important: The information provided in the up-coming Yummy Fur postings was supplied) was supplied by a contemporary of Chester Brown's (JC) who was present during the launch of the series. I am protecting their privacy, but wish to supply credit for their time and knowledge. The images are provided by examples from my collection. I would like to also credit two of collecting colleagues (VM and BC) with inspiring me to collect this series when I was in my "true undergrounds only" phase.

Chester Brown first self-published Yummy Fur  Comics under the Tortured Canoe banner a few years before the Vortex edition of the series. When examples are offered on the market, they are often incorrectly referred to as an "ashcan" (an edition produced for copyright protection) or a promotional (submitted to companies with an eye for potential publication). This series follows the zeitgeist of the newave movement, where someone with something to say could and should self-publish using DYI friendly print technology.

There are a number easy tells to distinguish the various printings of Yummy Fur Comix #1. The first printing has a hand written, pencil, cover price and a very different cover from subsequent printings. The back cover of the first printing is rubber stamped with an address and publication date that is different than the second and third printings.

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Yummy Fur #2 (first, second, third and fourth printings)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (July 1983); second printing (August 1983); third printing (January 1984); fourth printing (August 1984); Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 8 pages

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first printing (150 copies); second printing (150 copies); third printing (unknown); fourth printing (unknown)

Yummy Fur #2 is notable for a few reasons. It marks the first appearance of Chester Brown's signature character: Ed the Happy Clown. The word "Comix" is dropped from the series title to become Yummy Fur. There is a date overlap between issue #1 and #2, meaning that Chester Brown did not take a wait-and-see approach and the series was under simultaneous development.

The first printing can be easily distinguished from the other three later printing by the presence of a hand written, pencil, cover price. The back covers of all four printings supply the collector with everything they need to know about publication history.

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Yummy Fur Broadsides

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: September 1983; Price: no price; Page Count: single sided one page

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: 136 printed as 31 variants

To avoid confusion, I am going to jump dates and first provide the background story behind the Yummy Fur Broadsides. Chester Brown was apparently dissatisfied with the front cover of Yummy Fur #3 (see below).  He silkscreened 136 new designed blanks that featured two speech balloons and an initial vignette. He then reportedly produced 31 separate variants using a rubber stamp to fill in the white area, until he came up with the final cover design for the third and fourth editions of Yummy Fur #3. The final design also became the basis for the front cover of Vortex's Yummy Fur #1 in 1986. Presented below are two of the variants, including the final design that uses the word "gerbils".

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Yummy Fur #3 (first, second, third and fourth printings)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (August 1983); second printing (August 1983); third printing (January 1984); fourth printing (August 1984); Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 8 pages 

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first printing (150 copies); second printing (150 copies); third printing (unknown); fourth printing (unknown)

Outlined below is the front cover of the: first printing (25 cent penciled price); second printing printed cover price and the revamped broadside design of the third and fourth printings (indistinguishable from the front):

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Yummy Fur #4 (first printing)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (September 1983); Price: 40 cents; Page Count: 12 pages;

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first printing (and only?); number of copies unknown

Yummy Fur #4 begins to drift into territory that is different from earlier issues. Chester Brown increased both the page count and the issue price. Although I cannot say this with 100% certainty, there is a possibility that there was only one printing for this issue. Hence the price jump? The last story of the issue also features the earliest copy write (1979) of the entire series.

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Yummy Fur #5 (first and second printings and colour variant)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (January 1984); first printing hand coloured front (January 1984); second printing (June 1984); Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 8 pages 

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first printing (300 copies); first printing hand coloured front (3 copies); second printing (300 copies)

Besides the hand coloured variant the only way to distinguish between the first and second printing is by referencing the back covers. Chester Brown produced three presentation copies of the first printing with a hand coloured front cover for the three mentors who had supported/mentored him during creation of publication of Yummy Fur.

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Yummy Fur #6 (first and second printings)

Published by: Tortured Canoe; Contributors: Chester Brown; Jessica; Date: first printing (April 1984); second printing (September 1984); Price: 25 cents; Page Count: 8 pages 

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: first and second printings (300 copies each)

Yummy Fur #6 is the last issue of "ashcans" to be published by Tortured Canoe.

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Yummy Fur #7 (first and second printings)

Published by: self-published; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (September1985); second printing (September 1985); Price: no cover price; Page Count: 24 pages 

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: two printings; number of copies unknown

Chester Brown selected to self-publish Yummy Fur #7 under his own name rather then using the Tortured Canoe imprint. The two printings are virtually indistinguishable except that the second printing has a small numeral "2" in the lower right corner of the back cover. The stock used for the second printing seems to be yellower or has yellowed over time when compared to an identically stored first printing. The stock for the second printing also possesses a little less opacity, where the design on the opposite page tens to show through more easily.

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Yummy Fur #1-6 (first and second printings)

Published by: self-published; Contributors: Chester Brown; Date: first printing (February 1985); second printing (maybe September 1985); Price: no cover price; Page Count: 52 pages 

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: post Kennedy; Print information: two printings; number of copies unknown

Prior to the publication of Yummy Fur #7, Chester Brown anthologized issues #1-6 as self-published digest. The printings are (again) easily distinguished. A photo image of Brown appears with expanded credits on the inner back cover of the first printing, while the second printing has a blank page with the "gerbils" cover opposite. In the second printing the photo image and abridged credits is moved to the back cover that has a small numeral "2" in the lower right corner. The inner guts of the first printing are a very light gray stock. I also have an untrimmed example of the first printing, shown below sandwiched between the other two printings.

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Dusty Rack Dramas

Published by: TL Comics; Contributors: Bruce Shane; Date: 1976; Price: 50 cents; Page Count: 28 pages

Size: magazine, (8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: 650; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown

I personally would have liked Kennedy to have provided a colour image of Dusty Rack Dramas in his guide. To me its cover just oozes "underground". Bruce Shane described his project as "a disaster" and is probably the reason why copies are not frequently found in the marketplace - they never were sold or permitted to enter it. 

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The Drawings of John Colton, vols. 1 and 2

Published by: Duplex Planet Productions; Contributors: John Colton; David Greenberger;  Date: 1979; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 20 pages

Size: mini (4.25 x 5.50); Kennedy #: not listed; Print information: 50 copies per volume

David Greenberger is a self-described collector of the past and stories of old people. While working a residential facility in the late 70s, he befriended an elderly, ex-prizefighter named John Colton (picture below). Because of his career, Colton had sustained progressive neurological damage and enjoyed drawing as means to alleviate some of the symptoms. Greenberger decided to capture his life story in a two volume, mini set that only featured Colton's drawings. These are definitely not underground, newave or even meet of the definition for most as being a comic, but these are definitely compelling and tell us lots about both Colton and Greenberger.

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Pork Roast (first and second printings)

Published by: UBC Fine Arts Gallery (first); Pink Primate Projects (second); Contributors: Avis Lang Rosenberg (editor)Allison (curator); many artists see credits below;  Date: 1981; Price: no cover price (first); $2.95 (second); Page Count: 84 pages

Size: magazine, (7.0 x 10.0); Kennedy #: not listed; Print information: two printings; copies unknown

If your underground comix collection contains a substantial amount of adult-only, inappropriate or plain misogynistic material, you might consider adding a copy of Pork Roast to your collection and possibly avoiding both you and your collection being sent to hell. As the secondary title states, Pork Roast features "250 feminist cartoons" from various contributors from around-the-world as part of a gallery retrospective that was held in 1981 in Vancouver. Its reprints material from some well known underground artists, including Jay Kinney, Aline Kominsky (aka Mrs. Crumb) and Trina Robbins.

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Pork Roast had two back-to-back printings with some easy to distinguish tells:

  1. Pink Primate Projects publishes the second edition - stated on the fourth inner page with two distinct publication dates
  2. the first edition has darker magenta pigs on the front cover, while the second edition has lighter pink pigs
  3. the second edition has a price of $2.95 printed on the upper back cover

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Fungus

Published by: Gahd Daemitt Publications; Contributors: Leslie Cabarga; V. King Date: 1969; Price: 50 cent; Page Count: 12 pages

Size: magazine, (8.5 x 11.0); Kennedy #: 796; Print information: one printing; number of copies unknown

Fungus is an early high school effort by Leslie Cabarga and may be his earliest "published" work. It is definitely an underground with an uncommon silver age publication date.

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Joint Effort (California and Chicago versions)

Published by: California (Jim Valentino); Chicago (Gary Whitney); Contributors: Jim Valentino; Gary Whitney; Date: 1980; Price: no cover price; Page Count: 12 pages

Size: digest, (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: 1073 and 1074; Print information: one printing; 100 copies per version

A neat double artist jam by mail that was done as two distinct versions. The Chicago version is pale yellow in colour and was sold by Gary Whitney in his hometown of Chicago. The California version (managed by Valentino) is white in colour and has a reversed order from its sister counterpart. It is interesting that Kennedy decided to grant two separate guide numbers to both sub-versions in his guide. Also of some interest is that the Chicago version is bound by a single staple and the California version is unbound - in my copies.

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On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 3:14 PM, ecgt said:

Hey, I think I know a few of these types. They can't be trusted as comic collectors. They tend to be too interested in "culture" and "context" and stuff like that. 

Hey, buddy this is an underground thread. Should read as "kulture" and "kontext".

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On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 10:10 AM, the blob said:

You should write a coffee table book about this "Obscure Underground: Crumb Wasn't The Only One Making Weird Comics In The 70s" as you might be the world's leading expert on this sort pf ephemera 

 

Thanks, you get one of the main points of this thread: its not all Freak Brothers, Felix the Cat

Ohh, that's too flattering coming form a super-collecting veteran like you. But that's simply untrue. Nearly everything that I know comes from: sharing with other similar minded collectors and learning from the: unofficial underground thread, the headcomix wiki, comixjoint.com etc. and the bible itself: the Kennedy Guide.

Numerous collectors other than myself, have way better collections and/or know a great deal more than I do, but we all have to start somewhere. Plus there are another group of collectors who have fantastic UG collections and/or who practically know everything, but choose to kept to themselves and rarely come into the light.

Sadly, there its seems that there aren't many of us, who are passionate items that are past-the-Crumbs or the pictured-in-the-Kennedy guide. I am glad that you took the time to browse and comment. Spread the word.

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1 hour ago, CDNComix said:

Thanks, you get one of the main points of this thread: its not all Freak Brothers, Felix the Cat

Ohh, that's too flattering coming form a super-collecting veteran like you. But that's simply untrue. Nearly everything that I know comes from: sharing with other similar minded collectors and learning from the: unofficial underground thread, the headcomix wiki, comixjoint.com etc. and the bible itself: the Kennedy Guide.

Numerous collectors other than myself, have way better collections and/or know a great deal more than I do, but we all have to start somewhere. Plus there are another group of collectors who have fantastic UG collections and/or who practically know everything, but choose to kept to themselves and rarely come into the light.

Sadly, there its seems that there aren't many of us, who are passionate items that are past-the-Crumbs or the pictured-in-the-Kennedy guide. I am glad that you took the time to browse and comment. Spread the word.

I don't know diddly about undergrounds. About 10 years ago I think I sold a Snatch 1 first print thinking it was a 4th print for not much. I would like to, but there is so much minutia. Eggs Ackley, before he passed, sold me a nice group of interesting stuff and threw in a bunch of extras, and it got me started. Before that I maybe had 25 "undergrounds." But you seem to know the really obscure stuff really well.

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On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 4:11 PM, the blob said:

I don't know diddly about undergrounds. About 10 years ago I think I sold a Snatch 1 first print thinking it was a 4th print for not much. I would like to, but there is so much minutia. Eggs Ackley, before he passed, sold me a nice group of interesting stuff and threw in a bunch of extras, and it got me started. Before that I maybe had 25 "undergrounds." But you seem to know the really obscure stuff really well. 

Sold an unrecognized Snatch #1, first printing - Ouch! If there's any underground/newave book that I have posted or that you had in mind that wish to have more information about, then just send me a PM! I would love to help and encourage someone else to get into the hobby, including buying something on the market (like eBay) at a fair price.

Or as mentioned before, www.comixjoint.com is a great resource for learning about the better known UGs (it's out-of-date concerning Big As* Comix #1, Freak Brothers #2), but it could have helped you with Snatch #1. Eggs (Howard Greber) was pretty active on the headcomix wiki and many of that gang are still active on the unofficial underground thread (started by Guy B.) found on this very forum.

I happen to enjoy the obscure end of the hobby, but you do not have know all the "minutia" to start collecting. Just ask, most of us enjoy sharing.

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