WEEK 6: UNDERGROUND COMICS

For this week, I read a selection of underground comics on the course resource page. I did manage to read through Robert Crumb’s Mr. Natural as well, and I honestly don’t know how to comprehend most of these. To put it bluntly, I didn’t enjoy reading any of these comics. It was kind of like a culture shock to me since I had never seen or heard anything like these before. The humor was too crude and sexual for my taste, and the drawings were also hard to follow sometimes. I found a lot of the comics to have too much going on in one panel, and having unsettling body proportions. It was strange how much illegal sexual activity was found in these comics, like child molestation and bestiality. Overall, it was chaotic and overwhelming to look at. I understand that the times were very different and that these were a form of artistic expression against the societal norms, hence the term “underground,” but there were so many times where these comics just went way overboard. Explicit content is not always “dirty” when put in artistic context, and sometimes it brings a higher level of meaning to the piece. I am forgiving of it when it is deemed necessary and done respectfully. However, I felt like these comics were just trying too hard. I don’t really understand the reason as to why these artists made such a big effort in upsetting people like this, but I guess that was all part of the underground comic culture. It made me wonder why they decided to pursue this type of path with their art. It must have been a strong desire for defiance, otherwise there is no need to publish such graphic work.  

Moving past the initial shock factor, I don’t think a lot of these are even successful comics. Comics are a visual approach to storytelling, and I found no substance in most of these underground comics. It felt like the artists were more focused on displaying explicit material than telling a strong story. At least now I know what to stay away from in regards to comics.