''Rip Off Comix'' was an

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, ...

anthology published between 1977 and 1991 by

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and '' Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...

. As time passed, the sensibility of the anthology changed from underground to

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

. The anthology was originally a byproduct of the Rip Off Press syndication service, which, starting in the early 1970s, sold weekly content to

alternative newspaper An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

s and student publications.Fox, M. Steven
"Rip Off Comix — 1977-1991 / Rip Off Press,"
Comixjoint. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2022. The syndication service was discontinued by 1979, but strips produced by such cartoonists as

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 W ...

Joel Beck Joel Beck (May 7, 1943 – September 14, 1999) was a San Francisco Bay Area artist and cartoonist. His comic book, ''Lenny of Laredo'', one of the earliest underground comic books of the 1960s, was the first underground comic book published ...

, Dave Sheridan, Ted Richards,

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 comedy, surreal daily comic strip ''Zippy the Pinhead, Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are w ...

, and Harry Driggs (as R. Diggs) were published in early issues of ''Rip Off Comix''. For much of its run, the series served as a vehicle for Shelton's work, particularly Wonder Wart-Hog and

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 Au ...

. For a period, ''Rip Off Comix'' was billed as "the International Journal of Humor and Cartoon Art," and became a showcase for the work of European cartoonists.

Publication history

The first ten issues of ''Rip Off Comix'' were standard comic book size and were published approximately every 6 months. From issue #11 onward ''Rip Off Comix'' was published magazine-size. The title suffered a four-year hiatus between issue #12 (1983) and the next issue, #14 (1987); issue #13 was skipped in the numbering. From that point forward the title was published quarterly until it was canceled in 1991. As a result of skipping issue #13, even though the series ended with issue #31, only 30 issues were published in total. Running for 14 years, ''Rip Off Comix'' was the second-longest-running title of any published by Rip Off Press (trailing only ''

'' title).

Overview

's Wonder Wart-Hog was a recurring character in issues #1-12 (1977–1983) (with the exception of issue #7). Shelton, Tony Bell, and Joe E. Brown, Jr. collaborated on the Wonder Wart-Hog storyline "Battle of the Titans", chapters 1–5, published in issues #8-12, a collaboration that spanned 20 years from the start to the finish of the story. Wonder Wart-Hog's last appearance in the title was in issue #22, published in 1989. Shelton's

were also frequently featured in early issues, appearing in issues #1–14 (skipping only issue #7). In addition to strips by Shelton, Beck, Sheridan, Richards, and Driggs; work by

Frank Stack Frank Huntington Stack (born October 31, 1937 in Houston, Texas) is an American underground cartoonist and fine artist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt, Stack published ...

, and Griffith's strip "Griffith Observatory" were constants of early issues as well. One of

Fred Schrier Fred Schrier (born 1945 in Ohio) is an artist, writer, and animator, best known as partner to the underground comic book artist Dave Sheridan. Together, using the name "Overland Vegetable Stagecoach," they worked on ''Mother's Oats Funnies'', pu ...

's last comics pieces appeared in issue #3 (Mar. 1978). With issue #8 (Apr. 1981), ''Rip Off Comix'' opened the doors of the anthology to European contributors with a new feature called "Cartoonists of the World". That issue featured a section on

British cartoonists British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, including

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell ...

Leo Baxendale Joseph Leo Baxendale (27 October 1930 – 23 April 2017) was an English cartoonist and publisher. Baxendale wrote and drew several titles. Among his best-known creations are the '' Beano'' strips ''Little Plum'', ''Minnie the Minx'', ''The Bash ...

Edwin Pouncey Edwin Pouncey (born June 1951), also known by the ''nom de plume'' Savage Pencil, is an English comics artist, musician, and music journalist. Biography As Savage Pencil and otherwise, Pouncey has contributed to magazines such as ''Sounds'' ...

, Steve Moore, Edward Barker, and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

. Issue #9 highlighted " comix from France", including Jean-Marc Reiser, Bernard Willem Holtrop, Florence Cestac, and Charlie Schlingo. Issue #10 had a special section on

Spanish cartoonists Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, C ...

, including Guillem Cifré, Juan Mediavilla, Miguel Gallardo, Sento, Marti Riera Ferrer (Martí), Francesc Capdevila (Max), Joaquim Aubert Puigarnau (Kim), Nazario Luque, Javier Montesol, and Simonides. Issue #11 devoted a section to Dutch cartoonists, including

Joost Swarte Joost Swarte (born 24 December 1947 in Heemstede) is a Dutch cartoonist and graphic designer. He is best known for his ligne claire or ''clear line'' style of drawing, a term he coined. Comic series and characters by Swarte include ''Katoen en ...

, Kamagurka,

Peter Pontiac Peter Pontiac (born ''Peter J.G. Pollmann''; 28 April 1951 – 20 January 2015) was a Dutch cartoonist, comics artist and illustrator. He was the winner of the 1997 Stripschapprijs. Pontiac died on 20 January 2015, after a lengthy battle with se ...

, and

Evert Geradts Evert Geradts (born 9 June 1943, The Hague) is a Dutch cartoonist and former underground comics artist. He later became a prolific Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney C ...

. Shelton edited issues #11–12. With issue #11 (Fall 1982), ''Rip Off Comix'' converted to magazine format, adding text features as well as comix. It also began billing itself as "the International Journal of Humor and Cartoon Art". Shelton and Paul Mavrides began serializing "

in The Idiots Abroad" in issues #11 and 12. Issue #12 featured Danish cartoonists, including Storm Petersen, Fred Milton, Claus Deleuran, Ole Pihl, Peter Kielland-Brandt, Mardon Smet, Henning Kure, Sussi Bech, and Joergen Nielsen.

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. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

and Larry Todd contributed to issue #14; issue #15 featured a number of Franco-Belgian cartoonists, including Jean-Michel Thiriet, Frank Margerin, Philippe Vuillemin, Pierre Ouin,

Jean-Christophe Menu Jean-Christophe Menu (; born August 23, 1964) is a French underground cartoonist, graphic designer, comics scholar and publisher, son of the Egyptologist Bernadette Menu. He is best known for being one of the founders of L'Association, an infl ...

, Paul Carali, Charlie Schlingo, and Ray Goossens. Larry Marder and Don Simpson contributed a story to issue #17. Gilbert Shelton and the French cartoonist Pic's '' Not Quite Dead'' characters first appeared on the cover of issue #19 (Summer 1988), with their first adventure occurring in issue #25 (Winter 1989). Regular contributors in the late 1980s-early 1990s included such notable names as Mary Fleener, Dennis Worden,

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins bec ...

, Larry Welz, Mark Bodé, Joshua Quagmire,

J. R. Williams James Robert Williams (March 30, 1888 – June 17, 1957) was a Canadian cartoonist who signed his work J. R. Williams. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel ''Out Our Way''. As noted by Coulton Waugh in his 1947 book ''The C ...

Paul Ollswang Paul Ollswang was an American underground cartoonist, writer, organizer, radio host, and musician, whose primary working years were spent in Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern e ...

, Ace Backwords, Carol Lay, and

Nina Paley Nina Carolyn Paley (born May 3, 1968) is an American cartoonist, animator, and free culture activist. She was the artist and often the writer of the comic strips ''Nina's Adventures'' and ''Fluff'', after which she worked primarily in animati ...

, as well as

R. L. Crabb R. or r. may refer to: * '' Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler. * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbrevi ...

, Ronn Foss, Bruce Bolinger, Wayne Honath, Douglas Michael, Lindsay Arnold, The Pizz, George Parsons, and Lyndal Ferguson. Mack White's first professionally published story, "El Bandito Muerto", appeared in issue #26 (March 1990).

References

External links

* *
''Rip Off Comix'' section
of ComixJoint, including reviews of all 30 issues {{DEFAULTSORT:Rip Off Comix) 1977 comics debuts 1991 comics endings Underground comix Comics anthologies San Francisco Bay Area literature

Publication history

Overview

See also

References

Further reading

External links