What goes around, comes around, and here we are back at square one with the "issue zero" of Slow Death, one of the longest running titles of the original wave of underground comix, premiering in 1970. Here we have a 128 page softcover trade edition filled with all new comics work (and one Crumb reprint), in (mostly) full color and black and white. Featuring a host of Slow Death alumni along with a few fresh faces from the newer generations of cartoonists, the stories here address climate change and impending doom in one way or another, and to varying degrees of ghastliness (although WIlliam Stout's opening contribution starts things off on a relatively optimistic note). This anthology includes what must be one of the very last stories Richard Corben drew, which is fitting given his long association with the title.
This massive, oversize hardcover collects the complete run of the underground comix series, Tits & Clits. Conceived and edited by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevli – who together created the entirety of the first two issues – the series was originally published between 1972 and 1987 and served to push the boundaries of Feminism and the Women's Liberation Movement into the comics world. This collection also includes, in their entirety, Pandora's Box and Abortion Eve, two early stand alone undergrounds, also both written and drawn by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevli.
Given the title, it's no surprise that women's bodies and sexuality were the focus of Tits & Clits, and that no topic was off limits. Birth control, abortion, menstruation, masturbation, a wide sampling of consensual sexual encounters – real and fantasy – and plenty more are covered in these pages. While the tone here is largely satiric – think a Mad Magazine take on Our Bodies, Ourselves for the underground comix reader – there was still room for earnest thoughts and real feelings.
Readers can get up to speed with historical context and more by reading the introductory essay by the book’s editor, Samantha Meier. For anyone desireing a better idea of what to expect, Fantagraphics has provided a brief preview HERE.
