Going underground
Going underground |
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Page 33 of 36  Page from 'Stalin' (1975) a documentary piece by Spain Rodriguez What happened to the underground in the succeeding couple of decades is hard to sum up in a few words, and is something we shall be returning to. Essentially, it was overtaken by the appearance of new adult comics, which made the comix look even more time-warped. These new titles were sold from specialist 'fan' shops, which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as yet another retail network.28 They became known generically as 'alternative comics', and built on the achievements of the underground. On the one hand, there was a boom in 'alternative' science fiction and horror, while on the other, a new kind of avant-garde emerged, typified by a title called Raw, which was the brainchild of Art Spiegelman. Similarly, a new generation of creators blossomed, including names like Gary Panter, Dan Clowes and Peter Bagge, who were more influenced by punk than the old counterculture. In this environment, the old underground creators had to decide which way to go. Some were welcomed as contributors to the new alternatives. In fact Raw included work by Crumb, Griffith and others. Some went on to work for the American mainstream companies. This was the career path chosen most notably by the Britons Brian Borland, Dave Gibbons, Angus McKie and Bryan Talbot, and the American Richard Corben. Other artists went on to even greater fame by way of newspaper cartoons: in Britain, Steve Bell worked for The Guardian and Ray Lowry for The Independent, while in America, Bill Griffith's 'Zippy' became one of the most widely syndicated satirical strips in the country.  Page Arcade (1976). featuring a toad community with political problems, by Bill Griffith.  Panel from Arnold Peck (1976) by Willy Murphy.  'Some of My Best Friends Are' (1976) by Diane Noomin.  from Gay Comix (Kitchen Sink, 1987) |