Underground/Newave Comix: Post Your Obscure, Undocumented or Rarely Discussed 7 7

[ImmortanJoe]

Just wondering if you have ever seen a copy of small run indie that was sold through Silver Snail (Queen Street location) in the early 1990s called Dirty Rotten Chickenlips ?  Would love to see a copy if anyone has one.

[CDNComix]

10 hours ago, ImmortanJoe said:

Just wondering if you have ever seen a copy of small run indie that was sold through Silver Snail (Queen Street location) in the early 1990s called Dirty Rotten Chickenlips ?  Would love to see a copy if anyone has one.

Interesting, even though its a little beyond the date brackets of the this thread. To be truthful, I have never heard of it and will ask around and respond if some info turns up. Thanks.

[CDNComix]

My Big Banana (green and gold, matte cover variant)

Published by: Wagtale Comix; Contributors: Teri Milke; Russ Brutsche; Katrina; Jerry Carlson; Bob Bergman; Pace; Date: 1969; Price: 75 cents; Page Count: 52 pages;

Size: comic (6.5 x 9.5); Kennedy #: 1338; Print information: one printings; two colour variants; number of copies unknown;

I would describe My Big Banana as a hippie illustrated version of the Song of Solomon. A very early underground with true colour covers produced as two (and maybe three) colour variants.

I would not consider it to be an ultra-rare as a whole, since copies of the “blue and yellow” glossy cover regularly appear on the market about once ever year or two. However, copies of the matte, “green and gold” cover version, shown here, are almost non-existent. More of a teal than a green.

Fogel cites a third colour variant in his 2015 guide - blue/grey. Based on the "quality" of some of the other scholarly acumen published by that group, I will reserve the existence of the third variants to be "unconfirmed" until I locate an actual copy. It would not surprise me if the "blue/grey" turns out to be a "black/grey" photocopy.
 

Edited May 1, 2021 by CDNComix

[CDNComix]

Har Dee Har Har Comics (newsprint double cover edition with sketches)

Published by: Sphincter Productions; Contributor: Greg Sadowski; Date: 1978; Price: 50 cents; Page Count: 24 pages (double cover edition; outer newsprint cover with sketches on front and back insides);

Size: digest (5.5 x 8.5); Kennedy #: 949; Print information: one printing; two main variants; single cover with standard stock; double cover with outer newsprint cover and inner standard cover; 100 copies with an amended citation by Kennedy of 500 copies;

A few interesting things going on with this title.

In the Kennedy guide, Jay failed to note that the “newsprint edition” had double cover and that the newsprint cover wrapper was on the outside and not on the inside (standard stock). Any newsprint version that I have seen has double covers, where the extra newsprint cover was added to the standard comic.

Why would Sadowski do that? In order to have a vehicle for the hand sketched doddles that he added to his special edition. I am aware that some newsprint editions do not have the doodles.

This would nicely reconcile the 100 vs 500 copy citation, perhaps there were 500 non-newsprint standard copies of which 100 copies received the special treatment by Sadowski (extra cover with sketched).

Interesting to note that a few post Kennedy, on-line citations about HDHH claim that it published while Sadowski attended a New Jersey High School. Definitely possible, but is it accurate? There are a few specialized underground collectors who follow stuff like this (undergrounds made by students). You would have to ask one, or Sadowski. Probably better off not to ask Fogel.

IMO that sort of overly specialized underground collector saddens me greatly, even worse are the tiny fraction within this tiny group who actually grew-up in New Jersey, like Sadowski. Double sad, like the double cover of HDHH.
 

Edited May 8, 2021 by CDNComix

[salamandersleaze]

hello! new user here. I am so so happy to have found this forum. My people! I have looked through everything you guys have posted, but will continue to analyze more and more and continue to do so. this is the exact realm of comic collecting I am interested in - sub underground comics would you say? ahaha... Im also ecstatic that people are still posting here. on many of the other underground threads I have ran into, all the content is a couple of years old and it is apparent that people don't post there anymore. 

like most people here, I have vigorously studied comixjoint, however I actually don't have the Kennedy price guide. I do have artsy fartsy funnies however, which is a pretty good resource, although not much information about specific comics is given.

im going to post a couple of pics from my collection, and will continue to do so in the coming days/weeks/months/years. my collection is not at all as big as most of you guys, but everything I have is super pared down and stuff that im really interested in, which is this same genre of "sub-underground" comics, publications, etc. the stuff Im going to post is stuff that no one here has posted before, although I do have a decent amount of the stuff posted here, but I wouldn't want to bore you guys with stuff that's already been posted. 

 

one question: is soliciting trading condoned here? I understand that it probably isn't, but I just have seen some amazing stuff that you guys have that appeals to my specific interests, and if you wanted to, I would be more than happy to trade you something of comparable rarity. feel free to reach out to me if anything you see catches you eye and you are interested in trading. 

 

ok! next, my first post 

 

[salamandersleaze]

 

 

"OMAR" by David Omar White (1967) 

This is a large (11x14) portfolio of David Omar whites pen drawings. White was active from the early 60s and had a prolific output until his death in 2009. He is probably most famous for his album cover of The transfiguration of blind Joe death by John Fahey. While these are not comics, they certainly fit into the canon of what I'm interested in, especially seeing that it was published before Zap 1. his lifework and crosshatching work is phenomenal. I'm not sure how rare this is, but Im guessing that it only appears on the marketplace around once or twice a year. the book states that it is a quarterly publication, but I've been unable to find any more info on if any subsequent issues were published. 

[salamandersleaze]

Purple Warp #8-9

publisher: The Clandestine Comics Company (Hartford, Connecticut)

year: 1972 (?) 

dada comic publication. some copies of purple warp aren't too hard to find online, but this one is pretty awesome because of the mini mini comic stapled to the inside spread. contributors: all sorts of unknown underground people. tom hosier, al greener, Jim Gardiner, + many more. Justin Green and Bill Griffith contribute, although im more interested in the other guys. the most interesting thing in this is probably the mini comic inside, with all sorts of people in it drawing faces, including ed Romero, Brian bolland, and lots of other weird names. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by salamandersleaze

[CDNComix]

1 hour ago, salamandersleaze said:

one question: is soliciting trading condoned here? I understand that it probably isn't, but I just have seen some amazing stuff that you guys have that appeals to my specific interests, and if you wanted to, I would be more than happy to trade you something of comparable rarity. feel free to reach out to me if anything you see catches you eye and you are interested in trading. 

Welcome aboard yourself "salamandersleaz"!

I love your posts and based on that I believe you have found the right space within the CGC. This thread was intended to discuss the lessor known "underground" and "small press" titles. The stuff not on comixjoint, which Steve Fox has done a great of already promoting.

If you want to sell something than just offer a reach out that is external to this thread via a PM. CGC rules not mine. In fact I will contact you shortly.

I have never in fact have heard of "OMAR" (David Omar White), maybe because it's a little earlier and not a true comix. But it is a definitely a book I now have an interest in and will be searching for. Thanks for posting it!

Purple Warp is one of my favourite comix groups. I am still working on getting the first five issues. I was intending to post them as group when I completed the entire set (50 years from now), but you beat me to it!

You mentioned that you do not have a Kennedy guide. I do recommend getting a cheap used one, so you can save yourself the grief of unintentionally buying something like a Purple Warp 8-9 without the "Faces" insert. I (and most other collectors) have purchased something in the past without realizing its incomplete and have to purchase another copy.

[salamandersleaze]

Michael Hurley comics

Michael Hurley is a singer songwriter that was active in the Greenwich village folk scene in the 60s, and still performs and makes music. He does all of the art for his album covers, and also does comics featuring characters that also reoccur throughout his songs, such as Boone & Jocko (which are named after dogs he had as a kid) Uncle Gaspard, Mama Molasses, and many others. I'm lucky enough to have 2 of his comics. His comics are not easy to come by, and I went half in on a group of 4 with my friend who found them last year after searching for 3+ years. They are self published, and as far as I know, he just prints them whenever he feels like it. These are issues 2 & 3, and most of the content is dated from the 70s, 70, and 77, but the $5 price tag makes me think that these issues were published later. I have seen other variants of these issues too online with different color cover stock, which feeds into my theory that he just prints them whenever he feels like it. His drawing style is great -  sparse, naive, and very sub-underground in nature. He mixes classic folk storytelling elements with underground themes and his own personal and unique whimsy. Treasures!!

[comixbible]

Those Hurley comics are quite nice. They turned up in a search about five years ago and I've searched for them on and off. As far as I can tell, he's repinted some of them, at some point. I tried contacting him directly, though he never replied.

[salamandersleaze]

He's the best. My friend had a similar experience, trying to contact him directly and him never replying... Ive heard the best way to get comics from him is to go to his shows, but who knows... ha 

[salamandersleaze]

Clodomiro y el programa 81 (1981)

Nicaraguan communist propaganda. Awesome that its in comics form. No idea how many were printed, although I haven't been able to find any others online. Looks like it was put out by the ministry of planning, although who knows if that's an actual government entity or an underground group. Cool item, unlike anything I have in my collection. A lot of it is data and facts that Clodomiro leads the worker through. I need to brush up on my Spanish so I can fully get through it, but it doesn't look like its wasting much time making jokes, pure propaganda piece. 

[comixbible]

My primary area of collecting is British alternative and underground comix, but I also collect such comix from all countries that have produced them. I'm not referring to reprinted U.S. material, but comix by native artists/writers. Aside from that, I also collect obscure, regional comix that were published in North America. It's exhausting, but a labor or love. With that being said, I have a bunch of comix that, like the Michael Hurley books, were either given out or sold at gigs. These seem to be some of the more difficult types of books to collect because they were so ephemeral. The people who received them were, most likely, not comic collectors, so they either trashed them or put them in a box of memories, to be, perhaps, forgotten. I digress! Here's one such comic from my collection. It's not much to look at, but it's fun, nonetheless.

Infliktors Comix #1: Beat the Sh*t Out of Another As*hole (1977, Boston, Massachusetts).

 

[salamandersleaze]

British stuff in 77 was probably as exciting in a different but also extremely similar way as stuff coming out of San Francisco circa 68-69... this looks awesome, were the infliktors a punk band?

[salamandersleaze]

Never mind, this is boston! Still looks awesome. 

[comixbible]

1 hour ago, salamandersleaze said:

Never mind, this is boston! Still looks awesome. 

Yeah, they were a punk band. Part of the fun of collecting this stuff is that I also research and document it, so I'm always finding myself going down one rabbit hole or another. I had never heard of The Infliktors before, but wound up listening to, and enjoying, some of their music.

 

[comixbible]

The British stuff from the '70s was pretty eclectic. Some of it was inspired by what was being done in the States, but there was also a lot of homegrown content being produced that was distinctly British. Here's one of my favorite British comics, one that's now very obscure.

Wonderbook (David Jarrett, 1975). This one is A4 (the British equivalent of our 8-1/2" x 11", but 8-1/4" x 11-3/4"). David Jarrett passed away before I had the chance to track him down and interview him, so it took a fair bit of effort to source this one. He was friends Heathcote Williams (the late British poet), who I was in contact with before his passing. It was through his help that I finally found someone who was kind enough to supply me with a copy.

 

[salamandersleaze]

4 hours ago, comixbible said:

Yeah, they were a punk band. Part of the fun of collecting this stuff is that I also research and document it, so I'm always finding myself going down one rabbit hole or another. I had never heard of The Infliktors before, but wound up listening to, and enjoying, some of their music.

 

 

4 hours ago, comixbible said:

The British stuff from the '70s was pretty eclectic. Some of it was inspired by what was being done in the States, but there was also a lot of homegrown content being produced that was distinctly British. Here's one of my favorite British comics, one that's now very obscure.

Wonderbook (David Jarrett, 1975). This one is A4 (the British equivalent of our 8-1/2" x 11", but 8-1/4" x 11-3/4"). David Jarrett passed away before I had the chance to track him down and interview him, so it took a fair bit of effort to source this one. He was friends Heathcote Williams (the late British poet), who I was in contact with before his passing. It was through his help that I finally found someone who was kind enough to supply me with a copy.

 

yeah, this song is awesome! thanks for sharing... definitely cool to see all the little nooks and crevices of different underground subcultures that comics made their way into. too often, comix made in the "underground" get labeled as being just straight up underground comics, as if it was a self isolated and organized scene but... it was so chaotic and seeped into so many different parts of avant grade and experimental arts culture, and we're still here today, barely picking up the pieces ( and having an awesome time at that)

 

this cover looks awesome. damnm=, I want to see what these look like inside! any frame of reference for print scale? "picturepoetry" that's a great phrase 

[OtherEric]

This is about the extent of my UK underground/small press items.  I've actually got all 5 issues of Near Myths, but the #1 is the only one with a scan handy. 

Have never seen a copy of Brainstorm Comix #1, I've seen a few copies of the last issue but not at prices I really want to pay.

[CDNComix]

11 hours ago, comixbible said:

Those Hurley comics are quite nice. They turned up in a search about five years ago and I've searched for them on and off. As far as I can tell, he's repinted some of them, at some point. I tried contacting him directly, though he never replied.

I was wondering if you were going to reply this when I first saw the post! It was "comixbible" (the most knowledgeable collectors that I know, but I only know one) who pointed this series out to me a few years ago.