''Anarchy Comics'' is a series of underground

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s published by

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

between 1978 and 1987, as part of the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

subculture of the era. Edited by

Jay Kinney Jay Kinney (born 1950) is an American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist. Kinney has been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the underground comix press of the 1970s and '80s. Career Kinney was a member, ...

(#1-3) and

Paul Mavrides Paul Mavrides (born 1952) is an American artist, best known for his critique-laden comics, cartoons, paintings, graphics, performances and writings that encompass a disturbing yet humorous catalog of the social ills and shortcomings of human civ ...

(#4), regular contributors to ''Anarchy Comics'' included

Melinda Gebbie Melinda Gebbie (born 1947) is an American comics artist and writer, known for her participation in the underground comix movement. She is also known for creating the controversial work ''Fresca Zizis'' and her contributions to '' Wimmen's Com ...

Clifford Harper Clifford Harper (born 13 July 1949 in Chiswick, West London) is a worker, illustrator, and militant anarchist. He wrote ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'' in 1987. He is a long-term contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper and many other publications. ...

, and

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...

, as well as Kinney and Mavrides. (Kinney, Mavrides, and Rodriguez had been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the

press of the 1970s and '80s.)

Publication history

A total of four issues of ''Anarchy Comics'' were published between 1978 and 1987, with individual issues appearing in 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1987. Each issue of ''Anarchy Comics'' was created by an international cast of

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

or sympathetic contributors. Each issue included a mixture of fiction, history, commentary, and artwork, with wide ranges in style and format. Only the first issue remains in print. A collected edition titled ''Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection'' () was published in December 2012 by

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007 by a small collective of people, that specializes in radical literature. Previously based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the press relocated to Binghamton, New York, in 2022. Bookstores In ...

Contributors

Each issue of ''Anarchy Comics'' showcased an international cast of artists who identified as anarchists or

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

. An example of this is

, a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

, who was considered of "sufficient

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

bent" to be included.

List of contributors

The following is a list of each contributor in alphabetical order.

Themes

Anarchism

Overtly anarchist in its bent, all content included was based on anarchist philosophy and history. The humor of each anthology was satirical in nature, mocking both mainstream culture as well as traditional leftist ideas of revolution.

Punk rock

Roger Sabin Roger Sabin (born 1961) is an English writer about comics and lecturer at Central St. Martins. Work Sabin is best known for his book ''Adult Comics'' which has gone through a number of editions, remaining in print for 20 years and is the stand ...

, an English historian of comics and subculture, noted a number of connections between the comic and the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

subculture of the '70s, suggesting that Jay Kinney "clearly hoped to pick up a share of the punk market with this very political comic." The covers of issues No.2 and No.3 both feature archetypal "punk" characters, and issue No. 2 features the short comic "Kultur Documents", a punk rock parody of

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

. Sabin also analyzes "Too Real", Jay Kinney's short comic from the first issue, as being jointly inspired by a combination of

Situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

and punk rock imagery. Sabin noted that many of the comics didn't have any relationship to Punk culture, but thought that the comic may have introduced radical ideas to a generation of new, young punks.

Issues

* **"Too Real" by Jay Kinney **"Nestor Makhno" by Spain Rodriguez (originally published in T.R.A.; 1976) **"Smarmy Comics" by Jay Kinney **"The Quilting Bee" by Melinda Gebbie **"Blood and Sky" by Spain Rodriguez **"Gilbert Shelton's Advanced International Motoring Tips" by Gilbert Shelton **"Liberty Through The Ages" by Epistolier and Volny, with translation by Berangere Lomont (originally published in ''L'Echo Des Savanes'' No.29; 1977) **"What's The Difference" by J.R. Burnham **"Owd Nancy's Petticoat" by Clifford Harper **"Safehouse" by Dohrn **"On Contradiction" by M. Tsetung **"Today's Rhetoric" by 'Spud' Silber **"Some Straight Talk About Anarchy" by Paul Mavrides * * *

References

External links

Anarchy Comics
distributed by AK Press.
Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection
published by PM Press. {{Underground comix works 1978 comics debuts 1987 comics endings Anarchist comics Anarchist fiction Comics magazines published in the United States Last Gasp titles Underground comix