Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Grass Roots by Grass Roots by Gilbert Shelton. After Freak Brothers #3 was published in 1973, Gilbert Shelton had recycled most of his existing Freak Brothers srips into comic books, leaving very little stuff for a fourth issue. It was 1974, and the golden era of underground comics was over, scuttled by the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on obscenity and further strained by the great newsprint shortage of 1973. Shelton and (which he co-founded in 1969) could have packed up the Freak Brothers franchise and settled for reprinting the first three issues into perpetuity. It was a great run and they'd sold truck loads of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. But they didn't do that. No, the Freak Brothers were far too popular to let them fade into historical obscurities. Instead, Shelton recruited Dave Sheridan ( Mother's Oats Comix, Tales from the Leather Nun ) to help him with the artwork and wrote enough new stories for another 52-page Freak Brothers . The book was finally completed and published in 1975, satisfying legions of Freak Brothers fans across the globe. The first printing was 100,000 copies, a solid number matching some of the better-selling overground comic titles from the same era (yet selling for three times the standard cover price of overground comics). Freak Brothers #4 is a great comic book featuring a slew of one-pagers and one classic epic, "The 7th Voyage, A Mexican Odyssey." In this 24- page adventure, the Freak Brothers travel to Mexico to pick up some weed and encounter one mishap after another. The story certainly ranks, along with "Grass Roots" and The Idiots Abroad, as one of the all-time great long-form Freak Brothers stories. HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES: There are nine printings of this comic book, all by Rip Off Press. Unlike every other Freak Brothers issue documented in his Price Guide (which have no quantities cited for any of the printings), Jay Kennedy reports that the 1st printing was 100,000 copies. It is currently unknown how many copies were produced during any of the other printings, but I would guess Rip Off printed at 50,000 copies or more for the early printings (up to the 6th or 7th), given the track record for previous sales. It seems strange to me that this issue is the only one of the 14 Freak Brothers comic books that is currently out of print (the others are available at the Freak Brothers Factory Store for $4.95 each). The print editions are easy to tell apart, since each one has a distinct cover price, which are identified below: 1st printing: 75-cent cover price. 2nd printing: Two versions; one with a $1.00 cover price, one with no cover price. 3rd printing: $1.25 cover price. 4th printing: $1.50 cover price. 5th printing: Two versions; one with a $2.00 cover price in a white circle, one with a $2.00 cover price in a blue circle along with a $2.75 price for sale in Canada. 6th printing: $2.50 cover price. 7th printing: $2.95 cover price. 8th printing: $3.25 cover price. 9th printing: $3.95 cover price. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in “Grass Roots” Because you’re all decent, deity-fearing, upstanding citizens you’re probably utterly unaware of the extensive sub-culture which has grown up around the recreational abuse of narcotic pharmaceuticals – and so, of course, am I – but it must be said: those counter-culture chaps certainly know how to craft a comic tale. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers shambled out of the Underground Commix counter-culture wave in 1968; initially appearing in Berkeley ’s Feds ‘n’ Heads , before creator Gilbert Shelton and a few friends founded their own based Rip Off Press in 1969. This effective collective continued to maximise the madness as the hilarious antics of the “Freaks” (a contemporary term for lazy, dirty, drug-taking hippy folks) captured the imagination of the open-minded portions of America and the world. In 1971 they published the first compilation: The Collected Adventures of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers – which has been in print all around the planet ever since – and soon assorted underground magazines and college papers were joined by the heady likes of Rip Off Comix , High Times and Playboy (and numerous foreign periodicals) in featuring the addictive adventures of Freewheelin’ Franklin, Phineas T. Freakears and Fat Freddy Freekowtski (and his cat): siblings in sybaritic self-indulgence. Always written by Shelton and, from 1974 illustrated by Dave Sheridan (until his death in 1982) and ; the disjointed strips (sorry; just could not resist) combined canny satirical cynicism, surreal situations, scatological sauciness and an astounding grasp of human nature in brilliantly comedic episodes that cannot fail to amuse anyone with a mature sense of humour. All the strips have been collected in various formats (in Britain by the fabulous folks of ) and have been happily absorbed by vast generations of fans – most of whom wouldn’t read any other comic. Despite the hippy-dippy antecedents and stoner presentiments, Shelton is irrefutably a consummate professional. His ideas are always enchantingly fresh, the dialogue is permanently spot-on and his pacing perfect. The stories, whether half-page fillers, short vignettes or full blown sagas, start strong and relentlessly build to spectacular – and often wildly outrageous, hallucinogenic yet narrative-appropriate – climaxes. And they’re so very, very funny. Without Shelton and the Freaks the whole sub-genre of slacker/stoner movies, from Cheech and Chong ’s assorted escapades to Dude, Where’s My Car? and all the rest – good, bad or indifferent – wouldn’t exist. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you… Freewheelin’ Franklin is the tough, street-savvy one who can pull the chicks best , Phineas T. Freakears is a wildly romantic, educated and dangerous (to himself) intellectual whilst Fat Freddy Freekowtski is us; weak-willed, greedy, not so smart, vastly put upon by an uncaring universe but oddly charming (you wish…) One last point: despite the vast panoply of drugs imbibed, both real and invented, the Freaks don’t ever do heroin – which should tell you something… ‘Grass Roots’ has slowly been adapted into a “claymation” movie for as long as I can remember – and still not completed yet – but the tale it is based on has been a favourite for even longer (since first produced serially in 1976) and this luxurious full-colour hardback edition from 1984 is the very best way in which to enjoy it… After a cartoon introduction from Shelton the intoxicating entertainment begins with a series of shorts strips ‘The Mellow Cab Man’ , ‘Violence on the Bus’ , an untitled culinary escapade, ‘Fat Freddy Demonstrates How to Use Rolling Papers’ and ‘Phineas and the Organic Mechanic’ after which the main event commences. After being evicted again for not paying rent, the Freaks luck into a caretaking gig at a palatial “haunted” mansion where the hapless fools find a huge stash of cocaine. After selling most of it to legendary independent vendor Dealer McDope they have enough cash to buy a forty acre farm, pick up a bevy of hitchhiker babes and set up in the agricultural narcotics game. They also have an entire year’s supply of cocaine for personal use… Their rural idyll suddenly turns painfully real when they blow all that coke (sorry: I’m just incorrigible, me) in two days and, stranded miles from the city, have no choice but to make the far-fetched farm pipe-dream work… It’s hard, unrewarding labour, the friendly locals aren’t and without drugs the girls are finding the boys less and less appealing. As the joys of getting back to nature pall things temporarily turn around when they “discover gold” on the property and the farm turns into the lawless boomtown of Rush City overnight. As picturesque Boondock County slowly succumbs to the imported blandishments of Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll, things seem to going great for the furry ones, but then the rains begin to fall on the desiccated, over-excavated soils of mining town. It rains and rains and rains… Anarchically sardonic and splendidly ludicrous, the madcap slapstick of the Freak Brothers is always an irresistible and joyously innocent tonic for the blues and these tales should be a compulsory experience for any fan of the comics medium. However, if you’re still worried about the content, which is definitely habit-forming, simply read but don’t inhale… © 1984 Gilbert Shelton. All rights reserved. Rip Off Press. World Suppliers of Laughter, Since 1969 Home of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. From the archive: Getting Down to Grass Roots. In this classic story by Gilbert Shelton and Dave Sheridan, which originally ran in dozens of college and alternative papers through the Rip Off Comics Syndicate, the Hirsute Trio comes into some unexpected cash. Tired of fighting landlords and paying rent, they decide to buy their own place in the country. On the way to their new "spread," they pick up three cute female hitchhikers and the fun begins. Are you ready for Phineas as Sheriff? The story is the basis for the planned Freak Brothers stop-animation feature film, which has been in pre-production for several years and will be made if they can raise the money. Grass Freak Brothers Gilbert Shelton adventure Archive. User login. This site and its contents are Copyright © by Rip Off Press. No portion may be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Online ordering is now enabled. To order by phone, you can call TOLL FREE: 888-978-3049 from inside the U.S. Our local number in Auburn, California is (530) 885-8183. You can also email us with details. Rip Off Press. World Suppliers of Laughter, Since 1969 Home of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Rip Off News. New Postage Rates for 2018. As has become standard, the USPS has posted new, higher shipping rates for the new year. In order to keep from going broke, Rip Off Press is forced to follow suit. Q: How much is shipping and handling? The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Series. Gilbert Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers made their first comic book appearance in 1968, in the pages of Feds 'n' Heads , published by Print Mint. From the archive: Getting Down to Grass Roots. In this classic story by Gilbert Shelton and Dave Sheridan, which originally ran in dozens of college and alternative papers through the Rip Off Comics Syndicate, the Hirsute Trio comes into some unexpected cash. Tired of fighting landlords and paying rent, they decide to buy their own place in the country. From the archive: Jack Jackson. , as he usually signed his , grew up in Pandora, under conditions rural in the extreme. From the archive: . Born in Philadelphia, PA on September 27th, 1947, Greg grew up loving to draw but without any formal art training other than a few courses in high school. It's possible he spent time drawing when he should have been doing other things: he ended up having to repeat the 10th grade at a military academy where, as he put it, he learned what he didn't want to do. From the archive: The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in "The Idiots Abroad" "One of the 100 Best Comics of the 20th Century" From the archive: R. L. Crabb. Otherwise known as "Crabman," R. L. Crabb grew up in the California foothills where he still makes his home. Many of his comix have featured the wildlife of the region. He did Junior Jackalope (which became Tales of the Jackalope for Blackthorne Press) for some years, and The Natural Enquirer for . Your Etsy Privacy Settings. 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