Going underground
Going underground |
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Page 12 of 36  Young Lust (Company and Sons, 1977) with art by Jay Kinney/Larry Todd Bizarre Sex (Kitchen Sink, 1972), from Milwaukee, was another successful anthology (unsurprisingly, with a name like that). It too contained copious quantities of graphic copulating, and similarly looked back to the 1950s, this time to the science fiction genre. One strap-line, for instance, announced: 'The Giant Penis That Invaded New York!' Contributors included Denis Kitchen and Richard 'Grass' Green, one of the few black contributors to the underground. These anthologies were certainly important, but there were contemporaneous developments in the underground that were equally as groundbreaking, though for different reasons. The early 1970s, in particular, saw a boom in comix by and for women, and the growth of a subgenre of horror titles. Both forged new paths, and allowed an opportunity for creators to get involved with the comix movement who might otherwise not have had the chance or the inclination. The women's comix were revolutionary in the sense that they were the first time, generally speaking, that women creators had been given the scope to produce stories by themselves. It was true that in the past there had been a few examples of female newspaper cartoonists, but in the comics industry, the writing and drawing had been done almost exclusively by men. If women were involved at all, they were relegated to backstage roles such as colouring or lettering. The pioneering female comix creators were Trina Robbins, Willy Mendes and Lee Marrs. Robbins was the most influential of the three, nicknamed the 'Queen of the Underground', and put together the seminal all-women anthology It Ain't Me Babe (Last Gasp) in 1970. The statement of intent on the cover, 'Women's Liberation!', indicated a radical political slant, though Robbins' own art style was essentially traditional: uncluttered, glamorous and sometimes almost 'art deco'. The same year, Robbins collaborated with Mendes, whose style was contrastingly psychedelic, on All Girl Thrills (Print Mint). At the same time, Lee Marrs was working on Pudge, Girl Blimp (Last Gasp), about an overweight office worker, and her neuroses about men, which was eventually published in 1974.  Bizarre Sex (Kitchen Sink, 1972), art by Bonis Kitchen.  Cover,It Ain't Me Babe (Last Gasp, 1970). Art: Trina Bobbins. The pioneering women-only anthology, dedicated to 'Women's Liberation'. |