Going underground
Going underground |
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Page 14 of 36  Cover, Wimmin's Comix (Last Gasp. 1976). Art: Melinda Gebbie. The best-known early example was probably Skull (Rip Off, 1970), which came complete with a mock EC logo and the EC-style strapline, 'Tales Contrived To Flip You Out Of Your [Skull]'. It included work by Rory Hayes, Richard Corben, Jack Jackson, Greg Irons, Tom Veitch and others, which veered from the disturbingly experimental ('The Clean-Up Crew', by Veitch and Irons, about a gang that scrapes human remains out of car wrecks on the road), to the altogether more traditional (issue four was devoted entirely to versions of HP Lovecraft tales). Other horror titles from the period include Bogeyman (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969), Fantagor (Richard Corben, 1970), Insect Fear (Print Mint, 1970), Up From The Deep (Rip Off, 1971), Snarf (Kitchen Sink, 1972), Death Rattle (Kitchen Sink, 1972), Gory Stories (Shroud, 1972), Deviant Slice (Print Mint, 1972) and Two Fisted Zombies (Last Gasp, 1973). Certain artists excelled in this kind of material. At one end of the spectrum, there was Rory Hayes, whose primitive, and, frankly, badly-drawn, art relied on energy and excess for its impact. He even rivalled S Clay Wilson on occasion in this respect. Unfortunately, women came off very badly in Hayes's work, typically appearing only to be dismembered or sexually degraded. At the other end of the scale, there was Richard Corben, whose 'professional', superbly crafted strips were in the style of 'Ghastly' Graham Ingels (Corben signed his name 'Gore' as a tribute); though it should be said that he too suffered from the curse of sexism, and his women tended to be melon-chested bimbos. Corben was a master of shadow and lighting, but was also skilled when it came to colour work with an airbrush. Thus, his cover artwork was much in demand.  Covers, Skull (Rip Off, 1972) with art by the underrated Greg Irons;  Gory Stories (Shroud, 1972), art by J Pound. |