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, ...
and mainstream
comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
artist. His style evokes the work of early American cartoonists such as
George Herriman
George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip ''Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience a ...
,
Cliff Sterrett
Clifford Sterrett (; December 12, 1883 – December 28, 1964) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Polly and Her Pals''.
Biography
Born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where his father was a druggist, Cliff Sterr ...
and
Elzie Crisler Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist. He created Popeye in 1929, introducing the character in his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''."E. C. Segar", in Walker, B ...
.
Biography
As a child, London was "pen pals" with comedian
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...
, who provided critiques on London's youthful cartoons.Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. ''The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics'' (Links Books/Quick Fox, 1974), p. 153. His first professional cartooning was for the left-wing ''
National Guardian
''The National Guardian'', not to be confused witThe Guardian British newspaper was a left-wing independent weekly newspaper established in 1948 in New York City. The paper was founded by James Aronson, Cedric Belfrage and John T. McManus in ...
'' in the late 1960s. He created his underground newspaper
comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
''Merton'', in New York in 1969. He also drew cartoons for '' Rat Subterranean News'' before moving to the West Coast.
The nucleus of the Air Pirates collective began to form in c. 1970 when London met Ted Richards at the office of the '' Berkeley Tribe'', an underground newspaper where both were staff cartoonists. (London later drew a highly fictionalized account of their experiences at the ''Tribe'' in his story "Why
Bobby Seale
Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an African American revolutionary, political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization the Black Panther Party (BPP) ...
Dan O'Neill
Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates.
Education
O'Neill attended the University of S ...
at the media booth,RINGGENBERG, S.C "Bobby London and the Air Pirates Follies," Comix Art & Graffix Gallery (May 12, 1998). where Flenniken was producing a daily Sky River newsletter on a mimeograph machine. Before the festival was over the four of them produced a four-page tabloid comic, ''Sky River Funnies'', mostly drawn by London.
In early 1971, O'Neill invited Flenniken and Richards, along with London and Gary Hallgren, a Seattle cartoonist they had met at the festival, to San Francisco to form the Air Pirates collective. The Air Pirates lived together in a warehouse on Harrison Street in San Francisco, where London and Flenniken began a relationship that turned into a short-lived marriage.
London developed the raunchy '' Dirty Duck'' strip in 1971. ''Dirty Duck'' had been originally published by the ''
Los Angeles Free Press
The ''Los Angeles Free Press'', also called the "''Freep''", is often cited as the first, and certainly was the largest, of the underground newspapers of the 1960s. The ''Freep'' was founded in 1964 by Art Kunkin, who served as its publisher un ...
'' and subsequently in
books
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' is an underground comic about a fictional trio of stoner characters, created by the American artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in ''The Rag'', an underground newspaper published in ...
''. His non-
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
work also appeared in underground titles such as ''Merton of the Movement'', ''Left Field Funnies'', ''Douglas Comics'', ''Facts O' Life Funnies'' and ''El Perfecto Comics''. In 1972, London moved ''Dirty Duck'' to the original '' National Lampoon'' where it was a regular monthly feature until 1976; it continued to run in ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' for over 25 years.
In 1978, London won the Jury Yellow Kid Award for Best Artist-Writer, presented at
Lucca Comics & Games
Lucca Comics & Games is an annual Comic book convention, comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Italy, traditionally held at the end of October, in conjunction with All Saints' Day. It is the largest comics festival in Europe, and the secon ...
. He contributed illustrations to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Op-Ed page from 1976 to 1981, and wrote and drew the ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.King Features from 1986 to 1992, at which point he was fired for doing an
allegory
As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
about
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
.
In the summer of 2000, London unveiled a family-oriented comic feature for ''
Nickelodeon Magazine
''Nick Magazine'' is a defunct American children's magazine inspired by the children's television network Nickelodeon. Its first incarnation appeared in 1990 and was distributed at participating Pizza Hut restaurants; the version of the magazine ...
'' entitled ''Cody''. He wrote and storyboarded episodes of '' Dexter's Laboratory''Bobby London at LinkedIn. and ''
The Powerpuff Girls
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network. The show centers on Blossom ...
'' for
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
in 2003 and 2004, and contributed character designs for King Neptune and Mindy of ''
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy film, animated adventure comedy film based on the television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by series creator Stephen Hill ...
''. In 2018, London contributed to the design of
Mike Quinn
Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Denve ...
's character Agnes Packard for the '' Mighty Magiswords'' second season episode, "Pachydermus Packard and the Camp of Fantasy".https://www.facebook.com/Ratfink/posts/10217976087739330?comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22O%22%7D
London returned to comic books for the first time in 30 years with contributions to the
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-nominated box set from
Rhino Records
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
, ''Weird Tales of
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...
Lambiek
Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum
Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the prov ...