I stopped by Rubber City Comics today as I was in that area and I wanted to find out if they carried underground comics. Kenmore Comics only carries mainstream comics. Apparently the term is no longer in use -- is there no underground anymore? Perhaps online media has subsumed it?
Rubber City did have an old Zap for $75. But the owner of the shop didn't seem to think any of the old school underground people were putting out work. I recommended the ongoing graphic novels of Bill Griffith and his current book about Ernie Bushmiller.
I bought three comic books as pictured here. The Mask because of the subject and it is DC. Very happy to find the artwork of Curt Swan inside! The Metal Men is an updated version of my old faves. And Brazilian Wax was recommended to me by the proprietor, who thought I might like it. He was right!
Let's open the books and checkout a sample page of art in each:
The first page shown above, from The Mask #9 1987 calls me back to the DC comics of my youth. The Curt Swan/Kurt Schaffenberger art with an 80s upgrade in color -- not so pale pastel as the 50s -- and a joy to look at!
The second page from an updated Metal Men #1 (12 issue maxi series 2019). I loved the original Metal Men and look forward to reading their new adventures. The first big difference I note is the use of black margins throughout the book. The page above is from a double spread -- I really dig the machine cog shaped panels! I do not recognize any of the artists but am pleased to see that inks are by a woman, Michelle Delecki. The artwork overall looks great!
The third page is from the interior of Brazilian Wax (2022), which is a collection of what must be considered underground comics from Brazil, conveniently translated into English. And the recommendation was spot on! This is the kind of comic art that sings to me the most! Black and white comics allow the viewer to color them in their own imagination. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good color cover on every comic book. And I am very aware that I have not been paying attention to mainstream comics for a long time, during which color printing techniques have completely transformed the look and feel of comics.
Settling in for an afternoon of pleasant comic book reading!
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