Book Review: Dirty Pictures

Book Review: 'Dirty Pictures' by Brian Doherty

3 / 5 Stars

'Dirty Pictures' (439 pp.) was published by Abrams Press in 2022. The author is a senior editor at Reason magazine and has published books on various pop culture phenomena, such as the Burning Man festival and its adherents.

'Dirty Pictures' joins Mark James Estren's 1993 book, 'A History of Underground Comics', and Patrick Rosenkranz's 'Rebel Visions', from 2008, as histories of the comix movement. But I should stress that 'Dirty Pictures', unlike Estren's and Rosenkranz's books, does not have any illustrations. This likely is due to the complexities of getting permissions to reproduce artwork (something that got Dez Skinn's 2004 book, 'Comix: The Underground Revolution', in trouble). I was unperturbed by the absence of graphics, but some reviewers at amazon are decidedly unhappy with this aspect of 'Dirty Pictures'.

'Dirty Pictures' traces the history of comix, through the experiences of some of the more well-recognized artists, printers, and publishers in the field. Chronologically, 'Dirty Pictures' covers the inaugural efforts by artists to self-publish comix in the early 1960s, and concludes with the state of the endeavor in the late 2010s. Doherty bookends his narrative with Robert Crumb, which is sensible, as Crumb is the foremost practitioner of comix. 

Given that 'A History of Underground Comics' and 'Rebel Visions' more or less end their observations in the mid- to late- 1970s, Doherty's book has merit in terms of covering the decades when comix slowly transformed from 'floppies' printed in black-and-white on low-grade paper, to 'independent' comics and graphic novels issued by well-respected publishing houses.

 As far as the heydays of the 1970s are concerned, 'Dirty Pictures' doesn't offer any real revelations as compared to what already has been presented in Rosenkranz's book, although Doherty does provide some newer anecdotes and observations related to him via interviews with the ever-dwindling cohort of artists who came on the scene in that era. Doherty does shed considerably more light on the mechanics of printing and distributing the books, and the economics of this process, which is where I found 'Dirty Pictures' to be informative.

Doherty also gives attention to the at-times fractious relationships between the genre's major artists, which was somewhat inevitable given the transgressive nature of comix and the willingness of Crumb and S. Clay Wilson to produce material that violated the peace n' love vibe of the hippie era. Egos, and arguments, and snits, and refusals to invite artists to contribute to some titles, were not rare in the 70s and early 80s.  

There are a number of areas where, in my opinion, 'Dirty Pictures' misses the mark:

• The author's prose is stilted, and often features lengthy, run-on sentences where I had to do more work than I wanted to to fish out subjects and objects from awkwardly constructed clauses. Things reach an exasperating level on page 389, which entirely is one sentence, riveted together with semicolons, related in a kind of breathless, stream-of-consciousness, Hipster argot. 

• As an author of books dealing with liberal / left-wing topics, and as an editor for a progressive magazine, Doherty obviously is compelled to provide Equity and Inclusion to his overview of comix. Accordingly, the contributions of women to the field is overstated, and inevitably, Aline Kominsky Crumb is heavily referenced.

• For a book dedicated to an art form, 'Dirty Pictures' gives scant attention to the process by which the profled art actually was created. We never are informed as to how Crumb and Spain and Deitch and Charles Burns made their works: did they all sit down with Number 2 pencils and a sheet of Bristol Board ? Nor is the influence of the newer, digital technologies that were available in the 1990s for comix creation given much shrift.

• A major feature of comix was their humor. From the start they were intended to be funny and they succeeded, with storytelling that was outrageous, and provocative, and in contempt of 'bourgeoisie' values. Reading my copies of 'Freak Brothers', 'Young Lust', 'Mickey Rat', and 'Checkered Demon' still makes me laugh out loud. Yet this aspect of comix gets little attention in 'Dirty Pictures', with the author intent on belaboring the social-political-cultural implications of 'serious' works, like 'Maus'.

I'm comfortable with giving 'Dirty Pictures' a three-star Rating. If you are a fan of comix and interested in the history of the medium, then the book will be a worthwhile read. However, those looking for a less pedantic, and more accessible, overview of comix probably are better off consulting the books by Rosenkranz and Estren.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Free Comic Book Day

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

Free Comic Book Day, May 2023

If, 40 years ago you had told me that in the future there would be a 'Free Comic Book Day', and that the popular underground title 'The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' would be one of those free comics that anyone could come in and pick up, I would not have believed you.

And yet, here we are. One of the titles participating in the May 2023 Free Comic Book Day is a sampler of Freak Brothers comics from the 1970s up to the present day. I'm sure Gilbert Shelton, the Freak Brothers' creator, who is alive and well on the verge of his 83rd birthday, is pleased to see his stuff now become a part of the culture, as opposed to the counterculture.

Fantagraphics is using this sampler to promote their ongoing series of collected reprints of the Freak Brothers comics. Four books, out of a planned seven volumes, have been issued so far.

While the occasional nudity that appeared in the Freak Brothers is absent in this sampler, the vinateg stoner is well accounted humor for. It's sign of the times that stuff that would have scandalized parents - had it been handed out in 1973 - now is regarded as banal. Also front and center is the political satire that Shelton made intrinsic to the Freak milieu. 

My local comic shop had plenty of copies of this Free Comic Book Day sampler available. I of course recommend getting a copy (if you haven't done so already). It's a jolt of nostalgia for Baby Boomers, and for the younger people, a portal into long ago times and places that are well worth experiencing.

National Lampoon, May 1978

National Lampoon, May 1978

Ahh, Spring is here, and with it, the May, 1978 issue of National Lampoon.

This is a pretty good issue, perhaps as a result of P. J. O'Rourke taking over the duties of Editor.

The advertising includes the latest album from Paul McCartney and Wings, and an album from the comedy duo of Proctor and Bergman. The Proctor and Bergman album is available at YouTube. It's New York City, Jewish, satirical humor. I can't say I'm impressed, but that's how it was, back in '78........

There is a satirical take on the 'Nancy Drew' stories:

'The Appletons' now is running in the magazine and would stay with the Lampoon till its end in 1990. May, 1978 saw a three-page color version of the comic.

'Foto Funnies' delivers some stoner humor.

An advertising parody takes aim at getting a child through mail-order.

Shary Flenniken's 'Trots and Bonnie' strip is a jocular look at strange noises in the night.

Also delivering some good laughs is 'Spritz Family Rubenstein', by John Weidman, with art by Val Mayerik. Even if you're not Jewish, it's going to draw some smiles. 

(Although......... the color printing register for this comic was off, quite a bit. Back in '78, the Lampoon rarely used full process color for its comics pages, and relied on traditional CMYK printing. If the acetate sheets weren't carefully aligned with one another, the final print could be.......fuzzy.)

And we'll close with....... some oddball signs. For some reason the Lampoon editorial staff really liked this feature, and ran it continuously. Getting these images in the first place relied on readers sending in prints of candid photographs they took with their Polaroids or Kodaks. That's how it was done back in '78, long before smartphones, and their integrated cameras, even existed.

There you have it, Springtime humor from long, long ago........

Magician by Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards

'Magician: The Lost Journals of the Magus Geoffrey Carlyle'
by Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards
Paper Tiger, 1982

This odd little book of 128 pages was published by Paper Tiger in 1982. While most of the Dragon's World / Paper Tiger catalog was devoted to presenting overviews of the works and techniques of artists active in the fields of science fiction and fantasy illustration, the company did release illustrated fiction titles, of which 'Magician' is representative.

In 1982 the authors were well-established in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, with Holdstock the recipient of the British Science Fiction Association award for his novelette 'Mythago Wood'. Given the emphasis his fantasy fiction imparts to the cultural and religious mores and practices of ancient Britain, Holdstock was well qualified to write 'Magician'.

For his part, Malcolm Edwards was an editor of magazines such as Interzone, and fiction and art books. such as 'Alien Landscapes'. He thus was familiar with the process of creating illustrated books.

With 'Magician', Holdstock and Edwards play it straight all the way. The book purports to be a collection of writings about magic and spellcasting discovered in a secret laboratory housed under the grounds of 'Rockhurst Manor', a 16th century mansion constructed on a site in the Wiltshire Downs with a lengthy history of occult associations. The laboratory was used by one Geoffrey Carlyle, aka 'Rofomagus', 1496 - 1571 (?).

The book is an easy read, with large-font type. Its chapters detail, in a forthright manner, the mechanics of various occult endeavors such as summoning demons and shades, scrying the future, acquiring familiars, and mixing potions for one purpose or another.

One thing that the authors do to promote a sense of verisimilitude to the narrative, is to detail the ingredients and labors associated with casting spells and performing magic. 

Given that the ingredients can be quite unpleasant ('....the spawn of a frog that has been seeped with the juice of hellbore, mixed with semen collected after copulation with a beast, and fouled with the blood of worms, slugs and other creatures of the low earth'), and the more powerful spells require nine or more days of fasting on the part of the mage, it is clear that magic is not a trivial pursuit. 

Magic also is quite dangerous, particularly when involving the summoning of demons; the slightest error on ther part of the summoner can leave him or her vulnerable to a quick and painful death by the hand (or talons) of the summoned entity.

The book has copious illustrations, by Dan Woods. These are competent, but not remarkable. There is some nudity, presumably to signal to parents that 'Magician' is not intended for a juvenile readership.

'Magician' can be had for reasonable prices from used book vendors. Who will want a copy ? Well, if you are fond of the fantasy fiction of the 1970s and early 1980s, when the genre was starting its ascent to a commercial juggernaut, then the book will be entertaining. Those with a fondness for the witchcraft and occult pop culture craze of those years, likely will find the book to be a an affectionate spoof of titles such as 'The Modern Witch's Spellbook' (1971) by Sarah Lyddon Morrison. 

For my part, I'm kind of wondering what would happen if I were to donate a copy to my local middle school's library.........?!

Book Review: The Best of Omni Science Fiction 1980

Book Review: 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction'
Edited by Ben Bova
1980

2 / 5 Stars

In 1973 Kathy Keeton, Bob Guccione's girlfriend, and later wife, asked / insisted on being the CEO of a magazine. Guccione assigned her to Viva, a new 'international magazine for women', and something of a knockoff of Playgirl (which had debuted that same year).

Viva ran through money without earning much in revenue, and folded in 1979. According to Gay Haubner, who worked at Viva as Keeton's secretary, Keeton - whose previous business experience was limited to Exotic Dancing - saw Viva as something of a dabble:

I reminded Miss Keeton of appointments with her hair dresser, dermatologist, astrologer, interior decorator, and jeweler. I fetched packs of Virginia Slims and made cups of tea. After Miss Keeton left for the day, I went into her office to remove and file every paper from her desk; she liked to start fresh every morning. I looked at that empty white desk and wished my mind were as blank.

...........But Viva was only kept alive because of the cascade of cash generated by Penthouse.

Even as Viva foundered, Keeton pressed Guccione to provide her with another outlet, this time, a 'science fiction / science fact' magazine called Omni. The first issue came out in October 1978, and revolutionized the slowly dying enterprise of science fiction periodicals. 

To Keeton's credit, Omni was an immediate success, and stayed in print into 1997.

'The Best of Omni Science Fiction', published in 1980, was an anthology of stories appearing in the first year of the magazine, at which time Ben Bova served as editor.

Interspersed with the stories are pictorial essays, several of which are excerpts from the illustrated novels produced by Harry Harrison in the late 1970s: Mechanismo and Planet Story. Another portfolio came from the art book Immortals of Science Fiction (1980). 

My capsule summaries of the contents:

Found, by Isaac Asimov: a computer, orbiting the Earth inside a customized spaceship, develops error messages. What the repair team discovers is unsettling. A decent enough tale from Asimov. 

Count the Clock that Tells the Time, by Harlan Ellison: Ian Ross lives a remarkably boring life, and as penalty, he finds himself trapped in a Limbo devoted to those who waste time.

This is yet another story where Harlan, in a very earnest and sensitive way, seeks to tell us something Profound about the Human Condition. I was bored.

Body Game, by Robert Sheckley: grandfather is decrepit, and in need of a new body. Could Dapper Dan's Living Model store have what he needs ? A satirical tale from Sheckley.

Unaccompanied Sonata, by Orson Scott Card: in a world where Art is outlawed, Christian Haroldsen risks life and limb to produce music.

This story won considerable praise from the critics and was nominated for a 1980 Hugo award for best short story. It has not aged well, and stands as an exemplar of how sci-fi, at the end of the 70s, simply was recycling themes and motifs (in this case, the lone rebel / holdout who defies Authority because that's what all good humanists must do).  

Iceback Invasion, by Hayford Pierce: the Russians decide to take over the USA by the simple expedient of illegal immigration. A comedic tale, with a political shading that probably would not pass editorial review nowadays.

No Future in It, by Joe R. Haldeman: a short tale about time travel. There is a twist at the very end.

Galatea Galante, by Alfred Bester: Dominie Mainwright decides to create a synthetic woman, a 'Perfect Popsy' that no man can resist.

This easily is the worst tale in the anthology. Bester clearly was trying to display his facility at writing comedic, New Wave sci-fi, but 'Galatea' is an overwritten mess. The adjective 'cringey' didn't exist in 1980, but if it did, it would have applied to 'Galatea Galante'.

Kinsman, by Ben Bova: our Editor decides to apply his Privilege, and prints an excerpt of his 1979 novel here in the pages of Omni. In this excerpt, astronauts training to be space shuttle pilots, annoyed by the hazing meted out by their superiors, decide to turn the tables.

Half-Jack, by Roger Zelazny: a slight tale about a cyborg who 'roams the stars, seeking fulfillment'. Sniff.

Sand Kings, by George R. R. Martin: the odious Simon Kress buys an 'alien ant farm' populated by an unusual species of insect. The so-called Sand Kings may not be quite as tractable as Simon expects them to be........

This is the best story in the anthology.

The anthology closes with an interview with Arthur C. Clarke, with Clarke touching on his 'retirement' from writing sci-fi following the publication of his 1979 novel 'The Phantoms of Paradise' (a clunker about a space elevator). Clarke also addresses UFOs, spoon-bender Uri Geller, and life in Sri Lanka.

The verdict ? 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction' sits quite comfortably in two-star Rating territory. Editor Bova, in an effort to establish that he new magazine was legit, preferentially sought out contributions from 'name' authors, and more than a few of those contributions were underwhelming. 

But it's also important to note that one year after 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction' appeared on shelves, the magazine would publish William Gibson's short story 'The Gernsback Continuum', and in 1985, the cyberpunk classic 'Mozart in Mirrorshades' by Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner. So however unadventurous Omni may have seemed in 1980, ultimately the magazine was heading in the right direction.