by Gilbert Shelton (Editor), Paul Buhle (Introduction by), Jay Kinney (Foreword by)
"Underground comix," an artistic expression of rambunctious rebellion in the Vietnam War era, were exploding in 1969 when Radical America, a journal affiliated with Students for a Democratic Society, published a memorable comic art edition. Its principal artist and editor, Gilbert Shelton, whose Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers would be enjoyed in many editions across the world, brought to the project his Texas pals Frank Stack and Jack Jackson. Also on hand, among others, were Chicago comics innovators Jay Lynch and Skip Williamson. Together, these and other contributors issued a veritable artistic manifesto: a new vernacular art had arrived!
A half century after its original appearance, Radical America Komiks retains its rebellious spirit and its rollicking humor. Dopey but also militantly antimilitarist, the comics in this reprinted volume speak to the ideas, sentiments, and artistic experiments of a generation.
Longtime underground artist Jay Kinney, coeditor of the satirical series Young Lust and Anarchy Comics, adds a foreword, and Radical America editor Paul Buhle offers an extensive introduction to the saga of comic art, radical and otherwise.
Author Biography
In the 1960s, Gilbert Shelton contributed to various underground comix and designed concert posters before creating the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. He then set up Rip Off Press, from which Freak Brothers strips were soon syndicated, borrowed, or stolen by a host of publications. Paul Buhle was the editor of Radical America in the late 1960s. He has edited comics biographies of figures including Emma Goldman, Che Guevara, Rosa Luxemburg, and Isadora Duncan. Jay Kinney was an active participant in the underground comics movement from 1968 through the 1980s. He cofounded the romance comic satire Young Lust and founded Anarchy Comics.