Week 6 – Underground Comics (3 Points)

    For context, I read The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers No. 2, The Dirty Duck Book, Gay Comics No. 1, Girl Fight Comics No.1 and Little Green Dinosaur No.1.

    The obvious thread between many of these comics is sex, violence and expressions of repressed homosexuality. While some of the gay comics were somewhat romantic and nonsexual, many were eager to depict sex. Penises were prevalent in nearly every comic.

    To take is a step further, underground comics are a collection of the thoughts and stories of the underrepresented. Gay Comics was the first time I read a comic from the perspective of a black character that discusses real world racism, at least from the selection of comics I have read for this class.

    And given that the Comics Code Authority banned sex and violence from commercial comics, it is not a surprise that underground comics is riddled with offensive content. There will always be a market for such things. Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers contained a level of vulgarity and ugly character design that made it especially reminiscent of modern adult animations like Family Guy, Big Mouth and anything that appears on Adult Swim after midnight.

    In comparison to modern graphic novels, at least in the case of gay relationships, much of the sex stuff has been left behind in favor of telling longer and broader stories. I favor this shift because it detaches homosexuality from sexual acts. Not to say it can’t be there, but all of the Gay Comics depicted some form of nudity or sex paired with gay relationships. Now, I’m happy just to see gay characters holding hands or giving each other a quick smooch.