Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

who played a key role in 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, ...

movement with his ''

Bijou Funnies ''Bijou Funnies'' was an American underground comix magazine which published eight issues between 1968 and 1973. Edited by Chicago-based cartoonist Jay Lynch, ''Bijou Funnies'' featured strong work by the core group of Lynch, Skip Williamson, Ro ...

'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

''Um tut sut''.Lynch bio
Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Accessed Mar. 8, 2017. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. Lynch was the main writer for ''

Bazooka Joe Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka (chewing gum), Bazooka bubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recogniza ...

'' comics from 1967 to 1990; he contributed to '' Mad'', and in the 2000s expanded into the children's book field.

Biography

Lynch was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

, and grew up in

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a Borough (New Jersey), borough located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907, an increase of 113 ...

, later moving to Florida. At age 17, Lynch moved to Chicago in 1963, where he attended

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

at nightRosenkraz, Patrick. "FEATURES: Jay Lynch, 1945-2017," ''The Comics Journal'' (MAR 6, 2017). and worked a string of odd jobs, including running a service bar for the

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

troupe Second City.

Comix

Lynch's first published cartoons were for the

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

humor magazine, the ''Aardvark''; he also contributed to a wide range of college humor publications. Lynch soon graduated to professional humor magazines like '' Sick'', ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'', and ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, ...

''; and when the

underground press The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

movement started in the mid-1960s he became a regular contributor to papers like the '' Chicago Seed'', and (thanks to the

Underground Press Syndicate The Underground Press Syndicate (UPS), later known as the Alternative Press Syndicate (APS), was a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines that operated from 1966 into the late 1970s. As it evolved, the Underground Press Syndicate crea ...

) the ''

Berkeley Barb The ''Berkeley Barb'' was a weekly underground newspaper published in Berkeley, California, during the years 1965 to 1980. It was one of the first and most influential of the counterculture newspapers, covering such subjects as the anti-war mov ...

'', the ''

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground press, underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so counterc ...

'', ''

Fifth Estate The Fifth Estate is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and online social networks. The "Fifth" Esta ...

'', and others. Beginning in 1967, Lynch became the lead writer for the ''

'' comics, a gig he kept until 1990. In 1967, Lynch teamed up with fellow Chicago transplant

Skip Williamson Mervyn "Skip" Williamson (August 19, 1944 – March 16, 2017) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Williamson's art was published in the '' National Lampoon'', ''High Times'', ''the Realis ...

to publish the underground newspaper ''The Chicago Mirror'', which in 1968 after three issues was renamed and reformatted into the

anthology ''

''. As Ben Schwartz writes, ''Bijou Funnies'' "... would become Chicago's answer to

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

's ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap' ...

'', ... with early work by Lynch,

Spiegelman Spi(e)gelman(n) (German for "mirror man") is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Art Spiegelman (born 1948), American comics artist *James Spigelman (born 1946), Chief Justice of New South Wales *Jeffrey Spiegelman, American politic ...

Gilbert Shelton Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', and '' Wonder ...

and

." ''Bijou Funnies'' was heavily influenced by '' Mad'' magazine, and, along with ''Zap'', is considered one of the titles to launch the underground comix movement.Fox, M. Steven
"Bijou Funnies,"
ComixJoint. Accessed Oct. 21, 2016. ''Bijou Funnies'' lasted 8 issues (from 1968 to 1973); a selection of stories from ''Bijou Funnies'' were collected in 1975 in the book ''The Best of Bijou Funnies'' (Quick Fox/Links Books). Lynch's best known comic book stories involve the human-cat duo Nard n' Pat, recurring characters in ''Bijou Funnies''. Nard is a bald middle-aged man of conservative tendencies, and Patrick is his more "hip" talking cat. Nard n' Pat were featured in two issues of their own comic, the first one published by

Cartoonists Co-Op Press Cartoonists Co-op Press was an underground comix publishing cooperative based in San Francisco that operated from 1973 to 1974. It was a self-publishing venture by cartoonists Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Jay Lynch, Willy Murphy, Dian ...

in 1974 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press was a self-publishing venture by Lynch,

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California) is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s, remaining active in the decades that followed with a variety of books and comics, somet ...

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited t ...

, Jerry Lane,

Willy Murphy Willy Murphy (October 2, 1936–March 2, 1976) was an American underground cartoonist. Murphy's humor focused on hippies and the counterculture. His signature character was Arnold Peck the Human Wreck, "a mid-30s beanpole with wry observations a ...

Diane Noomin Diane Robin Noomin ( Rosenblatt, May 13, 1947 – September 1, 2022) was an American comics artist associated with the underground comics movement. She is best known for her character DiDi Glitz, who addresses transgressive social issues such as ...

, and

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

that operated in 1973–1974), and the second issue published by

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

in 1981. The weekly comic strip ''Phoebe and the Pigeon People'', by Lynch and illustrator Gary Whitney, ran in the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s; Kitchen Sink Press published 3 issues of a ''Phoebe & the Pigeon People'' comic book collecting material from the strip in 1979–1981. Up until his death, Lynch had scans of more than 500 editions of the strip ready for any publisher who saw the potential of a ''Phoebe and the Pigeon People'' book.Schwartz, Ben
"Culture Jamming,"
''Chicago Reader'' (June 25, 2004).

Trading cards

Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

' ''

Wacky Packages ''Wacky Packages'' are a series of humorous trading cards featuring parodies of consumer products. The cards were produced by Topps beginning in 1967, first in die-cut, then in peel-and-stick sticker format. There were 16 series produced betwee ...

'' and ''

Garbage Pail Kids ''Garbage Pail Kids'' is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the '' Cabbage Patch Kids'' dolls, which were popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garba ...

'', plus other Topps humor products. In 2002, he recalled his creative working methods and procedures with Len Brown and others at the Topps' Product Development Department:

''Mad'', children's books, ''Mineshaft'', and other work

During the 1990s, he began writing for '' Mad'', and he also devised products for ''Mad'' merchandising. Lynch and his wife Carole Sobocinski collaborated in the early 2000s on a series of fine art paintings, selling them under the joint pseudonym "Kringo." Lynch wrote two

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

for

Toon Books Toon Books is a publisher of hardcover comic book early readers founded by Françoise Mouly. With titles by such creators as Geoffrey Hayes, Jay Lynch, Dean Haspiel, Eleanor Davis, and Mouly's collaborator and husband, Art Spiegelman, Toon Books ...

in 2008–2009: ''Otto's Orange Day'', illustrated by Frank Cammuso, and ''Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever'', illustrated by

Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel (born May 31, 1967, in New York City) is an American comic book artist, writer, and playwright. He is known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his '' American Splendo ...

. Jay Lynch was a regular contributor to '' Mineshaft'' magazine from 2006 to 2018 with his work appearing in issues 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 (front cover), 24, 25, 30, 31 (front cover), 32, 33, and ''Mineshaft'' #35, with front cover art by

, which was the "Jay Lynch Memorial Issue".

Personal life and death

Lynch's first wife Jane Lynch was an occasional contributor to comics in the early 1970s, including pieces she wrote for ''Arcade'' #3 (an interview with

's character

Zippy the Pinhead Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...

) and

Skywald Publications Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazines. Skywald's or ...

's ''Psycho'' #17 (a story called "The Lunatic Class Of '64," illustrated by Emilio Bernardo). Lynch and his second wife, artist Carole Sobocinski, were married for twenty years. Lynch died from complications of lung cancer on March 5, 2017, in

Candor, New York Candor is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,172 at the 2020 census. The Town of Candor has a village named Candor. The town is south of Ithaca. History Settlement of the town began around 1794 on land p ...

Awards

In June 2009, Jay Lynch was nominated for a

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

in the category of "Best Cover Artist" for his '' Mineshaft'' #23 cover.

Bibliography

Underground comix

Solo series and as editor: * ''

'' #1–8 (Bijou Publishing Empire, Print Mint, Kitchen Sink, 1968–1973) — editor, contributor * ''Don Dohler's ProJunior'' (Kitchen Sink, Oct. 1971) — editor, contributor * ''Turned on Cuties'' (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972) — editor, contributor * ''Roxy Funnies'' (Head Imports, 1972) — editor, contributor * ''Purple Cat'' (Adam's Apple Distributing, 1973) — editor, contributor * ''Nard n' Pat'' #1-2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, 1974; Kitchen Sink, 1981) — Lynch solo series * ''Phoebe & the Pigeon People'' #1–3 (Kitchen Sink, 1979–1981) — collection of material from ''Phoebe and the Pigeon People'' strip with Gary Whitney (17-year run in the ''

'') As contributor: * ''

Gothic Blimp Works ''Gothic Blimp Works'', an all-comics tabloid published in 1969 by Peter Leggieri and the '' East Village Other'', was billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper". During its eight-issue run, the publication displayed comics in both col ...

'' #1–2 (1969) * ''Radical America Komiks'' (Radical America, Jan. 1969) * ''Bogeyman'' #2 (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969) * ''Bogeyman'' #3 (Company & Sons, 1970)

Children's books

As writer: * ''Otto's Orange Day'' (Toon Books, 2008) — illustrated by Frank Cammuso * ''Mo and Jo'' (Toon Books, 2009) — illustrated by

References

External links

Jay Lynch on Ning

''Mineshaft'': Jay Lynch

Jay Lynch interview (raw audio) for Underdog Zine, c. 1994

''Wacky Packages'' (Harry N. Abrams, 2008)

Greg Grant's Wacky Packages site

Jay Lynch 30-minute interview on ''The Nick Digilio Show'', June 27, 2004.

NPR interview, "Gagging on Products": Jay Lynch (June 10, 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Jay 1945 births 2017 deaths Alternative cartoonists American children's writers American comic strip cartoonists American comics writers American graphic novelists American humorists American satirists American satirical comics artists American satirical comics writers Mad (magazine) cartoonists People from Belmar, New Jersey Artists from Orange, New Jersey Novelists from New Jersey Underground cartoonists American male novelists Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) American male non-fiction writers Writers from Orange, New Jersey Writers from Monmouth County, New Jersey