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its reliance on “comic Negroes,” as
well as a genuinely shocking fake
ad for canned “nigger hearts” in the
fi rst issue also indicated Crumb’s
willingness to employ outrageous
racial stereotypes, derived from ear-
lier cartoons and animated fi lms,
leading to decades of debate over
their subversive or irredeemably
racist meanings. If Mr. Natural
was a brilliant condensation of the
era’s fascination with (and perhaps
hoodwinking by) alternative life-
styles and modes of consciousness,
the naïve, dialect-speaking Afri-
can Amazon Angelfood McSpade
(her name alone a provocation) has
seemed to some critics less a wicked
commentary on the period’s vola-
tile racial and gender politics than
Crumb’s indulgence in racist and
sexist fantasy.
With issue #2, the semi- abstract
work of Griffi n and Moscoso (often
daring to distort classic Disney char-
acters) was added, along with the
outrageously violent, sex-drenched drawings of Wilson, whose uninhibited Checkered
Demon was one of the underground’s many embodiments of an entirely unrepressed id.
Whereas Crumb’s unsettling impact in part derived from his presenting taboo content
in the nostalgic style of earlier cartoons, and while Griffi n and Moscoso’s drawings were
built out of curving lines and mandala-like symmetries, Wilson’s incredibly dense panels,
ignoring the illusion of depth that might provide breathing space for his pirate and biker
characters, fully embraced the grotesque as an aesthetic style. Issue #3 added Gilbert
Shelton, whose Wonder Wart-Hog (a parody of superheroes ) adventures seemed more
willing to entertain readers than others. Th e issue also included the fi rst “jam,” a non-
narrative strip that included contributions from all of the issue’s artists, a group eff ort
that soon became an underground tradition. Th e issue was also a cleverly designed
“Special 69 Issue,” which could be read from either front or back, with a Moscoso mirror-
image spinning the reader around at the comic’s center. Issue #4 added Robert Williams,
whose talent for precise design distinguished his work from Wilson’s, despite their shared
affi nity for densely packed panels and odd creatures (such as Williams’ Coochy Cooty).
Th e “outlaw” status of underground comics was also fully affi rmed by the appearance ofTitle panel of “Whiteman,” issue #1 of Zap Comix. Sony
Pictures Classics/Photofest