| by Ron Jacobs
( December 24,
2012, Virginia, Sri Lanka Guardian) When I lived in Berkeley, California during
the 1970s and 1980s, I probably spent more money at Comics & Comix on
Berkeley's Telegraph Ave. than at any other store except for those that sold
beer and food. At the time, underground comix were still
published frequently enough so one could get something new every few weeks.
Plus, there were always old publications to buy. Sometime in 1978 the first
issue of Anarchy
Comics was published. The red cover caught my eye immediately upon entering
the store (as it was intended to do, no doubt). I skimmed the comic, saw
artwork I recognized and forked over the coins to the clerk. "You'll like
that," he said. "Got some Spain in there, some other cool shit."
We talked for a couple minutes and I left. My friends and I got into our van
and drove back to our house in East Oakland. We had some weed, beer and a
handful of comix. Our eviction was still a week away. We were set for the
evening.
A
mélange of history, utopian speculation, social commentary and just
plain fun, Anarchy
Comics were
the brainchild of cartoonist Jay Kinney. Previously known for his work
with the comic Young
Lust and
theBijou Funnies series, Kinney decided to explore his
interest in the history and philosophy of anarchism via comic books. When
the first issue came out, it sold quickly. In part, this was because of
the cartoonists it featured; Spain Rodriguez, Gilbert Shelton (of Austin’s
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers), the Frenchman Paul Mavrides, JR Burnham,
Epistoliery and Volny on the Kronstadt uprising, Clifford Harper of Britain’s
Class War Comix , Melanie Gebbies, and Kinney himself. The publisher was
none other than Ron Turner, whose dystopian Last Gasp comix foretold a grim
future of ecological devastation and human despair.
Over
the next ten years, three more issues of Anarchy Comics would
be published. Always entertaining and informational, they continued to
include most of the aforementioned artists, while adding others along the way,
including underground legend Greg Irons and Marvel artist Steven Stiles.
Spain’s contributions continued to highlight anarchist history: Durruti in the
Spanish Civil War and Italy’s Roman Spring of 1977; Harper turned his pen to
more contemporary social criticism; Mavrides and Kinney collaborated on
both. The highlight of this collaboration is the story titled “Kultur
Dokuments” that appears in issue number two. This story begins with a
tale about a not-too-distant future where the Picto family, depicted with
paper-cutouts, lives a two-dimensional life proscribed by the state whose goal
is to take over everyone’s brain. As the family members succumb, only the
teenage son avoids that fate. After being locked into his room by his
parents, he finds a comic book that is the best parody of the classic Archie
comic series ever published. Titled “Anarchie,” it is the story of
Anarchie and his friend Ludehead engaged in shenanigans typical of the actual
characters except with a twist of rebellion. Suffice it to say, I never
looked at Archie comics the same after reading this.
Recently,
PM Press published the entire collection of Anarchy Comics in
one volume. Besides the content of the individual comic books, Kinney has
included his tale of their genesis, a foreword by Paul Buhle, some ephemera and
short biographies of each cartoonist. Besides being an important event in
the history of comics and underground culture, PM’s republication of these
comix gives an entirely new generation the opportunity to read, appreciate and
be inspired by the art, humor and intelligence that went into them.
Speaking
of comic characters, there are very few who are older than the German
Kasper. The classic figure of the trickster, known in every human culture
from Coyote to Star Trek’s Q, the Kaspers of human culture are here to
point out our shortcomings and our foibles; our injustices and our
selfishness. Their sense of humor is not always that funny and their
finger pointing is often taken quite poorly. This is as it should
be. In Germany, they are known as the Kasperle and appear in Fasching
parades, political protests and on television. They are loved for what
they say and hated because they blame us all for being complicit.
The
Bread and Puppet Theatre has spent more than four decades doing what
tricksters do. This is why it is only right that the recently published
book from Peter Schumann, the troupe’s founder and inspiration, should be about
this Kasper. A collection of cartoons drawn over the past several years,
Schumann’s Planet
Kasper takes
on capitalist globalization, its wars and its proselytizers. This Kasper
is a clever, subversive commentary on the culture and cruelty of modern
capitalism. It is drawn with primitive lines evoking not only the puppets of
the Bread and Puppet theatre, but also their predecessors from old
Europe. The parables told are simple and pointed. The solutions to
the problems presented are equally so. It is the illusions that we
believe that prevent us from seeing this truth. Kasper’s task, like all
tricksters, is to destroy those illusions. Utilizing metaphor, sarcasm,
and even a little scatological humor, Peter Schumann’s trickster does his
best. The rest is up to us.
Comics
and cartoons are often meant to be funny. They can also be an
effective means of relaying history and ideas. In addition, the best
comics are also subversive. The ultimate combination of art, words and story
can turn the reader’s world upside down or at least into a twist, challenging
previously held notions. If we accept these criteria to define quality
comic art, then Jay Kinney’s Anarchy Comics and
Peter Schumann’sPlanet Kasper are both at the top of the form.
Ron Jacobs is
the author of The Way the Wind Blew: a History of the Weather Underground and
Short Order Frame Up.
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