Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix (Hardcover)

~ Denis Kitchen (Author), James Danky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It’s no longer much of a novelty to see mainstream comics artists’ work in museums and galleries, and now underground comics, the 1960s bastard offspring of comics and the counterculture, are the focus of a traveling exhibition that this book complements. The 50-plus artists represented include seminal figures from the movement’s earliest days, like Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton; second-generation undergrounders like Art Spiegelman and Charles Burns, who would make their biggest mark in the later alternative-comics scene; and 1980s figures working in the underground spirit, such as Drew Friedman and Howard Cruse. Three innovative mainstream comics artists whose freewheeling approach was influential on the movement—Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and Will Elder—are represented with pages they did for underground zines. Viewing the well-reproduced original drawings reveals a level of craft that belies the underground scene’s scruffy image. It may seem ironic that works by these often-vulgar anti-establishment artists have wound up on gallery walls, but these well-chosen examples, augmented by a handful of informative essays, make a strong case for their legitimacy. --Gordon Flagg

Product Description

The impact of American underground comix is profound: They galvanized artists both domestically and abroad; they forever changed the economics of comic book publishing; and they influenced generations of cartoonists, including their predecessors. While the works of Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman are well-known via the New Yorker, Maus, and retrospective collections, the art of their contemporaries such as Gilbert Shelton, Trina Robbins, Justin Green, Kim Deitch, S. Clay Wilson, and many other seminal cartoonists who came of age in the 1960s is considerably less known.

Underground Classics provides the first serious survey of underground comix as art, turning the spotlight on these influential and largely underappreciated artists. Essays from curators James Danky and Denis Kitchen, alongside essays by Paul Buhle, Patrick Rosenkranz, Jay Lynch, and Trina Robbins, offer a thorough reflection and appraisal of the underground movement. Over 125 original drawings, paintings, sculptures, and artifacts are featured, loaned from private collections and the artists themselves, making Underground Classics indispensible for the seriousminded comics fan and for the casual reader alike.

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Product Details Hardcover: 144 pages Publisher: Abrams ComicArts; Co-edition with Chazen Museum of Art edition (May 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0810905981 ISBN-13: 978-0810905986 Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.9 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #374,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	55% buy the item featured on this page: Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix 4.6 out of 5 stars (5) $19.77
	32% buy The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb 4.1 out of 5 stars (32) $14.58
	6% buy The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics 4.9 out of 5 stars (10) $25.74
	4% buy Masterpiece Comics 4.4 out of 5 stars (11) $13.57

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Really, really good, May 13, 2009 By  Amy Gall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    As someone who is fairly new to comics I was skeptical when one of my friends suggested I look at this book. I was familiar with R. Crumb but I wasn't even alive when the Underground Comix movement was taking place. But as I started flipping through the art and reading the essays at the beginning, I found myself laughing out loud and nodding my head. It's pretty amazing how much the comics that were made forty years ago are still relevant today. They deal with sex and drugs, but also race, political organizing, money, the lameness of the establishment, all that good stuff. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the fact that all of the art is shown in its original state, so you get to see some of the artists' thought processes and it just feels more accessible and real. After hoarding my friend's copy for a while, I not only bought a copy for myself but I gave one to my parents who were actually around for the heyday of the underground movement. They both got all nostalgic about where they were when they first read Zap or Snarf magazine and it sparked some interesting conversations. I highly recommend this book for just about anyone who is interested in not only comics and art, but sarcasm, subversive humor, and fun. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Self-important look back at an important phenomenon, September 26, 2009 By  Jean E. Pouliot (Newburyport, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    I always loved comics as a kid, but was really too young (and too naive) to have been exposed to the underground comics movement that started in the late 60 and early 70s. By my day, even Mad magazine had become a rather tame affair. "Underground Classics" was a way for me to fill this gap. The book's first half includes articles about the genre's history and artists. The focus was on publishing and distribution, which was an important aspect of the movement. But there is precious little about the art itself -- little about the passions driving such craziness as Zap! and Air Pirates and The Fabulous Furry, Freak Brothers. It is obvious that the artists were anti-establishment in orientation and opposed to the saccharine creation of more mainstream comic art. But this was never spelled out. Worse, Paul Buhle's long article on the "undergrounds" was pedantic and full of the kind of bloviating nonsense that the genre itself would have skewered without mercy. The second half of the book is much more satisfying. We get to see the original art that made it into the comics, complete with erasures and corrections and registration marks. Unfortunately, we get only a panel or two from each artist, hardly enough to appreciate their genius. Bill Griffiths is represented by a couple of covers -- on from Zippy. We get a few covers from the master, Robert Crumb. But we do get page after page of titillating eye candy from a variety of other super-talented and driven comic artists. The art is great -- no holds are barred, and no topic (Jesus at a faculty party?) is taboo. There is plenty of drug use, political commentary, savage satire and wild sex (with a female yeti, no less). The book left me wanting more -- much more. It's worth it for that. But by the end, and without benefit of an insider's knowledge, I still had little idea of how the roiling passions of the 1960s were transformed into such wild and unrestrained art, and how it might have affected its readers and future generations of artists. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, June 15, 2009 By  D. Seidman (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book is one of a kind. It situates the rise of underground comics into the broader history of the 1960s/1970s (or, with the 1960s/1970s at the center of the narrative -- it really covers the 1950s to the present). There are some superb essays -- one by the editors, one by comix buff and radical historian Paul Buhle. Trina Robbins ties together feminism and comix. The book is worth buying for the written material alone, but the scores of large, colorful pages depicting the work (sometimes in rare original and draft form) of well-known (and less well-known) artists is the real treat. Cumulatively, these images and the text accompanying them provide one of the best surveys of underground comics history. It's a hugely fun read. Anyone interested in comics, the 1960s, art history, feminism, etc., should check this book out.		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars An informed and informative historical overview Modern comics have their origin in the newspaper illustrated cartoon strips of the late 19th century and evolved into 'comic books' in the late 1920s, becoming an indispensable... Read more Published 4 months ago by Midwest Book Review 5.0 out of 5 stars Comix As Legitimate Art I purchased this after seeing the art exhibit at the Chazen Art Museum on campus at University of Wisconsin. The exhibit is terrific. Read more Published 4 months ago by Stan Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Abrams ComicArts; Co-edition with Chazen Museum of Art edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810905981
• ISBN-13: 978-0810905986
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #374,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really, really good, May 13, 2009

By	Amy Gall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As someone who is fairly new to comics I was skeptical when one of my friends suggested I look at this book. I was familiar with R. Crumb but I wasn't even alive when the Underground Comix movement was taking place. But as I started flipping through the art and reading the essays at the beginning, I found myself laughing out loud and nodding my head. It's pretty amazing how much the comics that were made forty years ago are still relevant today. They deal with sex and drugs, but also race, political organizing, money, the lameness of the establishment, all that good stuff. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the fact that all of the art is shown in its original state, so you get to see some of the artists' thought processes and it just feels more accessible and real.

After hoarding my friend's copy for a while, I not only bought a copy for myself but I gave one to my parents who were actually around for the heyday of the underground movement. They both got all nostalgic about where they were when they first read Zap or Snarf magazine and it sparked some interesting conversations. I highly recommend this book for just about anyone who is interested in not only comics and art, but sarcasm, subversive humor, and fun.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Self-important look back at an important phenomenon, September 26, 2009

By	Jean E. Pouliot (Newburyport, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I always loved comics as a kid, but was really too young (and too naive) to have been exposed to the underground comics movement that started in the late 60 and early 70s. By my day, even Mad magazine had become a rather tame affair. "Underground Classics" was a way for me to fill this gap.

The book's first half includes articles about the genre's history and artists. The focus was on publishing and distribution, which was an important aspect of the movement. But there is precious little about the art itself -- little about the passions driving such craziness as Zap! and Air Pirates and The Fabulous Furry, Freak Brothers. It is obvious that the artists were anti-establishment in orientation and opposed to the saccharine creation of more mainstream comic art. But this was never spelled out. Worse, Paul Buhle's long article on the "undergrounds" was pedantic and full of the kind of bloviating nonsense that the genre itself would have skewered without mercy.

The second half of the book is much more satisfying. We get to see the original art that made it into the comics, complete with erasures and corrections and registration marks. Unfortunately, we get only a panel or two from each artist, hardly enough to appreciate their genius. Bill Griffiths is represented by a couple of covers -- on from Zippy. We get a few covers from the master, Robert Crumb. But we do get page after page of titillating eye candy from a variety of other super-talented and driven comic artists. The art is great -- no holds are barred, and no topic (Jesus at a faculty party?) is taboo. There is plenty of drug use, political commentary, savage satire and wild sex (with a female yeti, no less).

The book left me wanting more -- much more. It's worth it for that. But by the end, and without benefit of an insider's knowledge, I still had little idea of how the roiling passions of the 1960s were transformed into such wild and unrestrained art, and how it might have affected its readers and future generations of artists.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, June 15, 2009

By	D. Seidman (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one of a kind. It situates the rise of underground comics into the broader history of the 1960s/1970s (or, with the 1960s/1970s at the center of the narrative -- it really covers the 1950s to the present). There are some superb essays -- one by the editors, one by comix buff and radical historian Paul Buhle. Trina Robbins ties together feminism and comix. The book is worth buying for the written material alone, but the scores of large, colorful pages depicting the work (sometimes in rare original and draft form) of well-known (and less well-known) artists is the real treat. Cumulatively, these images and the text accompanying them provide one of the best surveys of underground comics history. It's a hugely fun read. Anyone interested in comics, the 1960s, art history, feminism, etc., should check this book out.