Underground comics

The term "underground comics" is used to describe the industry of self-published, anti-establishment comic books that sprang up in the 1960s and has continued to the current day. Underground comics are noted for their lack of corporate control, which gives them the freedom to publish stories about literally anything, including subjects that many readers would consider shocking and offensive. These comics are often the produced by a single person, as opposed to mainstream comics, which are usually produced by a team including a writer, a penciler, an inker, a letterer, and an editor.

The initial wave of underground comics was written by and for the 1960s counter-culture and psychedelic movement, and a number of independent comics of this era were humorous (and unquestionably adult-oriented) stories about hippies and rebels who enjoyed the freedom of drugs, while putting up with persecution by evil police officers. As the genre grew and expanded, underground comics have ranged from small-press comics that grew to become mainstream (Elfquest and Cerebus the Aardvark), to comics created purely for artistic expression (Raw[?]), to adult-oriented pornography and humor (Cherry Poptart and Xxxenophile). They have filled a creative niche left by the glut of superhero comic books published by mainstream companies such as DC and Marvel Comics.

Nearly all of the panoply of web comics could be classified as underground comics.

Notable Underground Comics

• Air Pirates Comics[?] (sparked famous copyright lawsuit from Disney)
• American Splendor[?] (Harvey Pekar[?])
• Dykes to Watch Out For (Alison Bechdel)
• Eightball (Daniel Clowes[?])
• Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (Gilbert Sheldon)
• Hate[?] (Peter Bagge)
• King Cat Comics[?] (John P[?])
• Love and Rockets[?] (Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez[?])
• Optic Nerve[?] (Adrian Tomine)
• Raw Meat[?] (Max Cannon[?])
• Taboo (Eddie Campbell)
• Tank Girl[?] (Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin)
• Weirdo[?]
• Zap Comics[?] (Robert Crumb)
• Various comics about German Queer culture by Ralf König[?]

(Please add to the list)