International influences
International influences |
|
Page 7 of 17  Approaching Centauri It should be noted that though this adult comics explosion is often perceived by British and American commentators as representing a peak of creative invention, like almost every other sudden expansion we have explored in different parts of the world, a large proportion of the material was not worth the paper it was printed on. For instance, in terms of content many of the comics included a great deal of sexism: these were essentially titles by men for men. In this respect, they followed the history of the undergrounds quite closely. This boom in mature comics eventually made it across the English Channel and then across the Atlantic Ocean. Individual strips were serialized in British and American anthology comics, while albums were reprinted and sold from the emerging network of fan-shops. Naturally, only the best or most 'sellable' work was selected for translation, which is another reason for skewed perceptions among critics. The albums appeared spasmodically in the 1970s, and then in the 1980s went through a boom as they became intertwined with the whole graphic novel phenomenon. For British and American publishers they represented an easy way to feed the new demand for longer length stories in book form. Publishers which were particularly associated with European albums included Titan Books, Marvel/Epic, NBM, Catalan, and Heavy Metal Publishing.  Page from Cods in Chaos (Titan Books, 1988) |