Special Collections 401 Ellis Library Columbia, MO 65201 & Rare Books (573) 882-0076 [email protected] University of Missouri Libraries http://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/ Underground Comics Syndicate Proofs Collection Scope and Content Note The collection consists of a sample of underground comics published by Rip Off Press, and includes the work of comic artists Ted Richards, Fran Stack (Foolbert Sturgeon), Dave Sheridan, Gilbert Shelton, Harry Driggs (R. Diggs), Bill Griffith, J. Michael Leonard, Sheridan Anderson, Larry Gonick, and Joel Beck. Provenance The collection was donated as a gift to the University of Missouri, Special Collections and Rare Books on December 1, 1991, by artist Frank Stack. Biographical/Descriptive Note The Rip Off Press was founded on January 17, 1969, in San Francisco, California, by Fred Todd, Dave Moriarty, and cartoonists Gilbert Shelton and Jack Jackson. The first Comix Rip Off Press was published in 1969. As the underground comics market petered out in the mid-to-late 1970s, Rip off Press shifted its focus to other cartoonists and other comics (including their long- running anthology Rip Off Comix). After the collapse of the Direct Market in the early 1990s, Rip off Press began cutting costs and gradually pulled out of publishing. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Off_Press The Cartoonists: Gilbert Shelton was born May 31, 1940 in Houston, Texas. While attending the University of Texas at Austin, he published his early cartoons in the University of Texas humor magazine, The Texas Ranger. After graduation, Shelton moved to New York City and got a job editing automotive magazines. The idea for Wonder Wart-Hog came to him in 1961, and he created Fat Freddy’s Cat in 1969. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Shelton Ted Richards was born in 1946 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he moved to San Francisco in 1969, and became friends with Gilbert Shelton. He worked as a full-time cartoonist on several comic titles, including E.Z. Wolf. In 1976, Richards published The Forty Year Old Hippie in college newspapers, and as a syndicated feature in weekly alternative tabloids. The feature had two collections from the Rip Off Press. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Richards_(artist) Foolbert Sturgeon (Frank Stack) was born October 31, 1937, in Houston, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree in 1959. He received his M.A. (Master of Arts) degree at the University of Wyoming and studied at the School of Art Institute of Chicago and Academie de la Grande Chaumiere of Paris. Stack’s most prolific period as a cartoonist was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Among other titles, the Rip Off Press published his Feelgood Funnies, Doorman’s Doggie, and Amazon Comics. He worked under the name of Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid prosecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Stack Dave Sheridan was born on June 7, 1943, in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to San Francisco, California, in 1969, after graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art. He collaborated on several comic works published by the Rip Off Press. In 1974, he began collaborating on Gilbert Shelton’s The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers strips. These were syndicated by the Rip Off Press to alternative and college weeklies nationwide, and later collected into comix and anthologies. Dave Sheridan died on March 3, 1982. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sheridan_(cartoonist) R. Diggs (Harry Driggs) was born on November 3, 1935. While living in San Francisco in 1967, a small edition of his 28-page underground comic, The Life and Loves of Cleopatra was published. A redrawn edition was published under the pseudonym “R. Diggs.” A third edition was self- published by Driggs in 1977 and Rip Off Press put out a reformatted fourth edition with new comics by Driggs in 1991. Two volumes of his political cartoons were published by Rip Off Press in 1977 and 1979, under the title Great Diggs. He died on July 14, 2007. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Driggs Bill Griffith, William Henry Jackson Griffith, was born on January 20, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. He began his comics career in New York City in 1969. He began making underground comics and moved to San Francisco, California. In 1970 he joined the growing underground comix movement and is best known for his Zippy comic strip. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Griffith Underground Comics Syndicate Proofs Collection University of Missouri Libraries Page 2 of 5 J. Michael Leonard became part of the comic book scene in the mid to late 1970s. During that time, he produced some notable comic books, including Star Weevils. He later produced the Fresh Blood Funny Book while living in San Francisco, California. He currently lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, and has written a political humor cartoon, Out of My Mind, since 1996. Source: Comixjoint: comixjoint.com/freshblood.html Sheridan Anderson was born September 18, 1936, near Los Angeles, California, and moved with his parents and younger brother to Salt Lake City, Utah. There he attended the University of Utah and studied art. He later dropped out and became involved in the rock-climbing community, writing and drawing for various climbing publications and co-authoring books on the subject with Royal Robbins. In the 1980s Anderson lived in San Francisco, California, and made ends meet as a sign painter. Anderson died on March 31, 1984. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheridan_Anderson Larry Gonick was born on August 24, 1946, in San Francisco, California. He studied mathematics at Harvard University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1967, and his master's degree in 1969. He is best known for The Cartoon History of the Universe, a history of the world in comic book form, which he published in installments from 1977 to 2009. He also wrote The Cartoon History of the United States and adapted the format for a series of co-written guidebooks on other subjects. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Gonick Joel Beck was born in Ross, California, on May 7, 1943, and grew up in El Sobrante, California. While attending De Anza High School in Richmond, California, he began a lifelong friendship with cartoonist Roger Brand. Visiting U.C. Berkeley, he started submitting cartoons to the campus humor magazine. In the early 1960s, he drew studio cards for Box Cards, and published three underground comic books: Lenny of Laredo, Marching Marvin, and The Profit. In 1965, he was voted the nation’s top college cartoonist by Humor Magazine editors. Beck was a founding member and regular contributor to the underground anthology, Yellow Dog, published from 1968-1973. Joel Beck died on September 21, 1999, at Point Richmond, California. Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Beck Conditions of Use Access Materials do not circulate but are available to all users in the Special Collections Reading Room during service hours or by appointment. Permission to Publish or Display Underground Comics Syndicate Proofs Collection University of Missouri Libraries Page 3 of 5 The University of Missouri Libraries do not hold copyright on most collection materials, and therefore we do not charge usage fees or require permission to publish scanned images. The libraries encourage use of reproductions of Special Collections materials in publications, broadcasts, public displays and on web pages. However, please be aware that the user is responsible for determining copyright status and applying for permission to copyright holders. Collection Details 0.29 linear ft. Series Descriptions: Sample proofs of comics published by the Rip Off press, 1976-1979, which include the work of comic artists Gilbert Shelton, J. Michael Leonard, Sheridan Anderson, Ted Richards, Frank Stack (Foolbert Sturgeon), Dave Sheridan, Harry Driggs (R. Diggs), Bill Griffith, Larry Gonick, and Joel Beck. Series One – Rip Off Press Comics Inventory Series One – Rip Off Press Comics Box #1 FF 1 Fat Freddy’s Cat. E.Z. Wolf, Wonder Wart-Hog, The Forty Year Old Hippie, Advanced Motoring Tips, Nerds, Dr. Feelgood, Diggs, Dorman’s Doggie. 1976 FF 2 Diggs, Dorman’s Doggie, Wonder Wart-Hog, E.Z. Wolf, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Griffith Observatory, The Forty Year Old Hippie. 1977 FF 3 Diggs, The Forty Year Old Hippie, E.Z. Wolf, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog, Star Weevils, Griffith Observatory. 1977 FF 4 Diggs, Dorman’s Doggie, Wonder Wart-Hog, The Forty Year Old Hippie, Star Weevils, Fat Freddy’s Cat, E.Z. Wolf, Griffith Observatory. 1977 FF 5 Diggs, E.Z. Wolf, Star Weevils, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog, The Forty Year Old Hippie, Baron Von Mabel’s Backpacking, Woodlore and Outdoor Adventure, Griffith Observatory, Dorman’s Doggie, Advanced Motoring Tips, Packs. 1977, 1978 FF 6 Wonder Wart-Hog, Fat Freddy’s Cat, E.Z. Wolf, Von Mabel’s Backpacking, Dorman’s Doggie, The Forty Year Old Hippie, Diggs, Star Weevils. 1978 Underground Comics Syndicate Proofs Collection University of Missouri Libraries Page 4 of 5 FF 7 Diggs, Griffith Observatory, Star Weevils, Wonder Wart-Hog, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Von Mabel’s Backpacking, E.Z. Wolf, The Forty Year Old Hippie. 1978 FF 8 Griffith Observatory, Star Weevils, E.Z. Wolf, Wonder Wart-Hog, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Diggs, Footnotes. 1978 FF 9 Wonder Wart-Hog, E.Z. Wolf, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Dorman’s Doggie, Cartoon Cavalcade, Footnotes. 1978, 1979 FF 10 Wonder Wart-Hog, Footnotes, Fat Freddy’s Cat, Griffith Observatory, Diggs, The Forty Year Old Hippie, Zippy Stories, Cartoon Cavalcade. 1978, 1979 The finding aid for this collection was prepared by John C.