For those of you who like Image Comics, Dark Horse, or even smaller publishers; for those of you who like Maus, Love and Rockets, Cerebus, and any other independently printed comic, you should also like a little comic that paved the way for the underground comix scene – an early version of independent Zap Comix, by Robert Crumb. There were some hit and misses before Zap Comix was published; Zap began the trend. Created by über-humor cartoonist Robert Crumb and a friend, Zap started self-publishing through hippy shops until Print Mint took over production. The success astonished the industry proving there was an audience for alternative comics far before the direct market came around. Though the underground certainly existed without Zap, Zap allowed dozens of artists find their voice without censorship and with an audience. Crumb became the biggest success, spawning an X-rated animated film based on his Fritz the Cat.

Initially, underground comix had little influence on the mainstream. Present day comics reflect the styles much more. Marvel Comics and Vertigo push their censoring limits as well as employ veteran underground artists including Brian Bolland and Richard Corben. Furthermore, mainstream comic shops include a wider variety of clean, but more avant-guard alternatives to superhero fanfare. Every small press publisher owes its opportunity to the road Zap paved over thirty years ago.

Originally published Oct. 26, 2007