History Main / UndergroundComics

* ''Webcomic/TheParkingLotIsFull'': A daily gag comic from the early 90s that was popular for its bleak humor and surreal scenarios, although it's more recognized today for spawning the popular "It's Goofy Time!" meme from a 1998 strip.

* ''ComicBook/ThinBlueLine'': Self-published by Mike Baron when no publisher would accept it. It was pulled from Reddit for "misinformation and racism", forcing Mike to turn to Website/{{Indiegogo}} and Website/{{Kickstarter}} to fund it.

* ''ComicBook/TheIntertidalZone'': An educational comic made by Stephen Hillenburg to teach his oceanography class about sea life. While the comic was never published (with only a few pages available on the web), it famously served as the basis for Stephen's hit animated series ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

* ''ComicBook/JawbreakersLostSouls'': An Indiegogo funded comic staring a group of ex-superhero mercenaries that has been surrounded by controversy since day one of its reveal.

!!Examples:

%% The Cherry Comics page was cut by the P5--we're not going to have a page for it, so don't bother making a wick.
* ''Cherry Comics'': DumbBlond [[EverybodyHasLotsOfSex has lots of sex]] in a PornWithPlot usually stylized after ComicBook/ArchieComics (when drawn by Cherry's creator, Larry Welz, not by Mark Bodé).

* Creator/DoriSeda
* Creator/GerhardSeyfried: a German Underground Comics artist from Berlin-Kreuzberg. Often collaborated with fellow Berlin artist Ziska Riemann.

* [[Creator/IsaacBaranoff Isaac M. Baranoff]]: Modern day underground cartoonist known for FunnyAnimal comix. Creations include:
** ''ComicBook/{{Horndog}}'': A pot-smoking, skirt-chasing anthropomorphic dog on a planet inhabited by {{Funny Animal}}s.

* Creator/LyndaBarry's early work in the late 70s: bizarre, {{Gonk}}-filled musings about sex and the relationships between men and women. These were mostly published in alternative weeklies as disjointed strips ''Ernie Pook's Comeek''.

* Creator/RobertCrumb:
** ComicBook/FritzTheCat: An anthropomorphic cat who seeks self-fulfilling pleasures, including drugs and sex, who proclaims himself to be a deep poet seeking "the truth". Adapted as a [[WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat 1972 film]] by Creator/RalphBakshi. A second film, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat'' (which had no involvement from Crumb or Bakshi), was released in 1974.
* ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'': A trio of hippies in search of marijuana, various forms of psychedelic drugs, sex, and cheap thrills.

* ''The Angriest Dog in the World'': A surrealist comic strip by Creator/DavidLynch. Each strip depicts the titular dog growling and tied up to a post in the backyard, while non sequiturs from his unseen owners are heard from a window.

* Creator/VaughnBode was a very early, and, until his premature death in 1975, extremely popular underground cartoonist. His ''Cheech Wizard'' comics were a regular feature in the Film/NationalLampoon, and he was an influence on filmmaker Creator/RalphBakshi.
** ''Das Kämpf'', from 1963, was one of the very first underground comics.
** ''ComicBook/CheechWizard'': A philosophical talking yellow wizard's hat interacts with anthropomorphic lizards and attractive babes; inspired a limited special edition shoe and matching hoodie from Puma, a custom toy from Kidrobot, a lot of graffiti artists and a line in Music/BeastieBoys' "Sure Shot".
** ''ComicBook/{{Cobalt 60}}'': A lone mutant riding a two-legged beast across a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

** ComicBook/AngelfoodMcSpade: A satire of American racism and blackface iconography.
** ComicBook/FritzTheCat: An anthropomorphic cat who seeks self-fufilling pleasures, including drugs and sex, who proclaims himself to be a deep poet seeking "the truth". Adapted as a [[WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat 1972 film]] by Creator/RalphBakshi. A second film, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat'' (which had no involvement from Crumb or Bakshi), was released in 1974.
** Mr. Natural
** Whiteman

* Creator/BobbyLondon:
** ComicBook/DirtyDuck: Bobby London's comic strip, published in underground comics, and later in ''National Lampoon'' and ''Playboy''. Artistically influenced by George Herriman; the comic's protaganist is also similar to [[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]]. Not to be confused with the 1975 film of the same name, which was actually titled ''WesternAnimation/DownAndDirtyDuck'', produced by Creator/RogerCorman, and starring [[Music/TheTurtles Flo & Eddie]]. While it does feature a duck, it has nothing in common with the comic strip, and does not feature the comic's main character.
** ''ComicBook/MertonOfTheMovement'': A household of ostensible revolutionaries who were basically unmotivated stoners - done in the style of Elzie Segar (Thimble Theater).

* ''Los Hooligans'': A comic strip that followed the adventures of a brother and sister who always got into trouble. The strip was created by Creator/RobertRodriguez for his college newspaper, with one of the strip's characters later becoming the mascot for his production company.

* Creator/TedRichards:
** ''Dopin' Dan'': A look at the everyday boredom and frustrations of a private's life in a big Army base.
** ''The Forty Year Old Hippie'': first published in the later 1970s, about a guy who never abandoned the hippie lifestyle (and it looks like it's added another forty years to him.)

* ''ComicBook/TheSagaOfWhiteWill'': About as underground as it gets, the comic was scripted by William Luther Pierce, the head of the American white supremacist organization The National Alliance and author of ''Literature/TheTurnerDiaries'' and ''Literature/{{Hunter|WLPierce}}''. The comic is a pure [[AuthorTract propaganda piece]] against blacks and multiculturalism and only got a single issue.

* Creator/GilbertShelton:
** ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'': A trio of hippies in search of marijuana, various forms of psychedelic drugs, sex, and cheap thrills.
--->"Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."
** ComicBook/WonderWarthog: A long-running superhero parody strip. Wonder Warthog's secret identity is the mild-mannered reporter Philbert Desanex. (Occasionally, however, Shelton has depicted Wonder Wart-Hog and Desanex as two distinct individuals, with Wonder possessing the ability to reside inside the reporter's body.) Distinguishes underground comics from alternative comics, as alternative comics do not focus on superheroes, which are considered to be mainstream.
* Creator/FrankStack:
** ''ComicBook/TheAdventuresOfJesus'': Often considered the first true underground comic, Frank Stack's strip and book series featured Jesus Christ as its main protaganist in order to satirize modern culture and the hypocrisy of so-called Christians. Stack drew the series as "Foolbert Sturgeon" early on, but later drew new strips under his own name, because the alias was too ridiculous.
** ''Dr. Feelgood'': A ghetto psychiatrist, whose sole patient is a neurotic academic white guy who recounts his dreams and experiences.

* Tijuana Bibles are an early form of underground comics. Often they were solely pornographic parodies of mainstream comics (featuring characters ranging from Blondie and Dagwood to Mickey and Minnie Mouse), but there were also Tijuana bibles that featured original characters, a rarity in the comic book industry at the time, as during the early days of comic books, the medium almost solely published reprints of newspaper comics. Today, they're best remembered for being the most direct precursor to modern RuleThirtyFour culture.

Underground comics (or "comix") are small press or self-published comic books that first emerged in [[TheSixties the 1960's]]. They came about as an artistic response to the mainstream, [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code Authority]]-approved comics, which focused on superheroes, war, romance, and juvenile humor, while ignoring many of the real-life issues affecting their readers. Underground comics took on these topics forbidden in the mainstream, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence. They were most popular from the late 1960's to [[TheEighties the early 1980's]].

As the comic industry has matured (or at least become more tolerant), these pioneering works have [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny lost some of their original power]]; SliceOfLife, [[{{Gorn}} extreme violence]], and [[HotterAndSexier sex]] have all found their way into mainstream comics nowadays, but that doesn't mean these comics are any less important or entertaining.

Still other underground comics were important not for the sex and violence, but because they could be experimental in other ways; exploring subject matter that was [[SliceOfLife mundane]] rather than fantastic, or [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible experimenting with]] the [[ComicBookTropes medium of comics itself]].

* ''ComicBook/OmahaTheCatDancer'': A very explicit SoapOpera with FunnyAnimal or [[FurryComic Furry]] characters.

The Underground Comix influence waned during TheEighties due to a number of reasons. The counterculture of TheSixties had fallen out of relevance. These comic books had very limited printing and distribution. They were often found only in head shops (stores that specialized in cannabis paraphenelia). The rise of Indy Comics (or Independent Publishers; meaning almost everyone who was not Marvel or DC) opened the door for comic books published in a diverse range of genres that were not necessarily edgy, pornographic, taboo, or subversive, but simply providing alternatives to the superhero genre.

* ''ComicBook/TheSagaOfWhiteWill'': About as underground as it gets, the comic was scripted by William Luther Pierce, the head of the American white supremacist organization The National Alliance and author of ''Literature/TheTurnerDiaries'' and ''Literature/{{Hunter}}''. The comic is a pure [[AuthorTract propaganda piece]] against blacks and multiculturalism and only got a single issue.

* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'': Originally started as a self-released webcomic until Magazine/ShonenJump offered to re-publish the manga with new artwork, leading it to become one of the most popular Japanese franchises in mainstream media.

Underground comics (or "comix") are small press or self-published comic books that first emerged in [[TheSixties the 1960's]]. They came about as an artistic response to the mainstream, [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code Authority]] approved comics, which focused on superheroes, war, romance, and juvenile humor, while ignoring many of the real-life issues affecting their readers. Underground comics took on these topics forbidden in the mainstream, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence. They were most popular from the late 1960's to [[TheEighties the early 1980's]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'': A webcomic by Christine Weston Chandler which follows her adventures as the mayor of the fictional town Cwcville, which she must routinely defend from evil doers and internet trolls with the help of her [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Hedgehog]] son "Sonichu". Besides its poor art and writing, the comic is highly controversial due to the author's personal life and for using the names and likenesses of real people she knew in a negative light.
* ''ComicStrip/SpaceMoose'': A perverted, nihilistic moose-like alien and his room-mates violates every behavioral norm and societal taboo they can find.

The Underground Comix influence waned during TheEighties due to a number of reasons. The counterculture of TheSixties had fallen out of relevance. These comic books had very limited printing and distribution. They were often found only in head shops (stores that specialized in cannabis paraphenelia). The rise of Indy Comics (or Independent Publishers; meaning everyone who was not Marvel or DC) opened the door for comic books published in a diverse range of genres that were not necessarily edgy, pornographic, or subversive, but simply alternatives to the superhero genre.

The Underground Comix influence waned during The80s due to a number of reasons. The counterculture of TheSixtes had fallen out of relevance. These comic books had very limited printing and distribution. They were often found only in head shops (stores that specialized in cannabis paraphenelia). The rise of Indy Comics (or Independent Publishers; meaning everyone who was not Marvel or DC) opened the door for comic books published in a diverse range of genres that were not necessarily edgy or subversive, but simply alternatives to the superhero genre.

** ComicBook/FritzTheCat: An anthropomorphic cat who seeks self-fufilling pleasures, including drugs and sex, who proclaims to be a deep poet seeking "the truth". Adapted as a [[WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat 1972 film]] by Creator/RalphBakshi. A second film, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat'' (which had no involvement from Crumb or Bakshi), was released in 1974.

** ComicBook/WonderWarthog: His secret identity is the mild-mannered reporter Philbert Desanex. (Occasionally, however, Shelton has depicted Wonder Wart-Hog and Desanex as two distinct individuals, with Wonder possessing the ability to reside inside the reporter's body.) Distinguishes underground comics from alternative comics, as alternative comics do not focus on superheroes, which are considered to be mainstream.

* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'': Originally started as a self-published webcomic until an artist from Magazine/ShonenJump offered to re-release the manga with new artwork, leading the series to become one of the most popular Japanese franchises in mainstream media.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'': A webcomic by Christine Weston Chandler which follows her adventures as the mayor of the fictional town Cwcville, which she must routinely defend from evil doers and internet trolls with the help of her [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Hedgehog]] son "Sonichu". Besides its poor art and writing, the comic is highly controversial for the author's personal life and for using the names and likenesses of real people she knew in a negative light.

* ''ComicBook/TheIntertidalZone'': An educational comic made by Stephen Hillenburg to teach his oceanography class about sea life. While the comic went unpublished with only a few pages available on the web, it famously served as the basis for Stephen's hit Nickelodeon series ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

* ''ComicBook/{{Buzz}}'', published by Creator/OniPress and telling the story of a world where spelling bees are SeriousBusiness and a form of combat.

* ''ComicBook/GodNose'': Considered [[TropeMakers one of the first]] (if not the first) underground comic; self-published by Jack "Jaxon" Jackson in 1964, it features {{God}}, Jesus and a satirical look at life in TheSixties.

* ''ComicBook/TheSagaOfWhiteWill'': About as underground as it gets, the comic was scripted by William Luther Pierce, the head of the American white supremacist organization The National Alliance and author of ''Literature/TheTurnerDiaries'' and ''Literature/{{Hunter}}''. The comic is a pure [[AuthorTract propaganda piece]] against blacks and multiculturalism and only got a single issue.
* ''ComicBook/JawbreakersLostSouls'': An Indiegogo funded comic staring a group of ex-superhero mercenaries that has been surrounded by controversy since day one of its reveal.
* ''ComicBook/GodNose'': Considered [[TropeMakers one of the first]] (if not the first) underground comic; self-published by Jack "Jaxon" Jackson in 1964, it features {{God}}, Jesus and a satirical look at life in TheSixties.
* Creator/LyndaBarry's early work in the late 70s: bizarre, {{Gonk}}-filled musings about sex and the relationships between men and women. These were mostly published in alternative weeklies as disjointed strips ''Ernie Pook’s Comeek''.

* Creator/RobertCrumb
** AngelfoodMcSpade: A satire of American racism and blackface iconography.

* TedRichards:

* GilbertShelton

-->"Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."
** WonderWarthog: His secret identity is the mild-mannered reporter Philbert Desanex. (Occasionally, however, Shelton has depicted Wonder Wart-Hog and Desanex as two distinct individuals, with Wonder possessing the ability to reside inside the reporter's body.) Distinguishes underground comics from alternative comics, as alternative comics do not focus on superheroes, which are considered to be mainstream.
* FrankStack:
** ''TheAdventuresOfJesus'': Often considered the first true underground comic, Frank Stack's strip and book series featured Jesus Christ as its main protaganist in order to satirize modern culture and the hypocrisy of so-called Christians. Stack drew the series as "Foolbert Sturgeon" early on, but later drew new strips under his own name, because the alias was too ridiculous.

* TijuanaBibles are an early form of underground comics. Often they were solely pornographic parodies of mainstream comics (featuring characters ranging from Blondie and Dagwood to Mickey and Minnie Mouse), but there were also Tijuana bibles that featured original characters, a rarity in the comic book industry at the time, as during the early days of comic books, the medium almost solely published reprints of newspaper comics. Today, they're best remembered for being the most direct precursor to modern RuleThirtyFour culture.