Alternative Visions
Alternative Visions |
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Page 5 of 29  Teen Plague In the 1980s, one anthology in particular made a huge impact: Raw (Raw Books and Graphics, 1980). The title was the brainchild of a New York based couple, Art Spiegelman, a veteran of the underground, and Francoise Mouly, a fine artist interested in European comics. The first thing they did was to set up a publishing company, Raw Books and Graphics, with the idea of putting out material that would not be undertaken anywhere else. In this way, the company would become a mecca for quirky and visionary illustrators, artists and comics creators. The origins of Raw itself were rooted in Spiegelman's desire to provide a platform for avant-garde comic work. In order to emphasize this, an unusual format was adopted - 11 x 14 inches - in order to show off the artwork better. This was at a time when other New York art-scene tabloids were also appearing in a large size -magazines like Interview and Skyline - and it was hoped that Raw, as well as being sold from specialist comics shops, would be also be shelved in newsagents next to them. As such, it was pointedly not intended to be 'mass market', and had a modest initial print run of 5000. In terms of content, Raw had certain connections with Spiegelman's last big comics project, Arcade, in that it featured new work by many of the old stars of the underground, including: Robert Crumb, Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Justin Green and Lynda Barry. Like Arcade, it featured jokey cover straplines that were very comix-esque, such as 'The Graphix Magazine that Lost its Faith in Nihilism' and 'The Graphix Magazine That Overestimates the Taste of the American Public'.  Dog Boy  Page from 'Jimbo' (1381). Art/script: Gary Panter. The punk-influenced Panter was known as 'the king of the ratty line' - a style as different from Burns' as could be imagined. |