Sky Pirates of Valendor

I want to put this on the table. It’s been clawing at me for some time – underground comics and indie comics. What the heck is the difference? There is a difference in the meanings to these words. However in my eyes, they mean the same thing. It’s just a point of view. It’s not just a point of view on the meaning of the word but how you write your comics. It’s all about what you want your comics to say.

Here is a brief history.

It all started with porn. Don’t think it didn’t because it did. Underground comics’ roots extend back to the twenties right up until 1967 in what was called Tijuana bibles. These little booklets were porno comics of popular comic characters like Blondie, superheroes, and anything else they could find to grab people’s attention.

These little porn books would snub their noses at straight-laced people of the time and make fun of culture’s restrictions on the invisible rules of sexuality. Then with the change of the times, the content began to change. Soon the sex was replaced with counterculture themes. Soon drugs began to sneak in with the hippie movement, political humor crept into the words, and soon people began to laugh at what was being written. You see the more you try to squash something, the harder it will squeeze out the cracks and get into people’s heads. The underground comics were the perfect platform for people to express their views without having to be censored or edited.

During the fabulous seventies when R. Crumb’s stories hit the big silver screen, the underground scene exploded. Some people would decide to do autobiographical comics like Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor. Other underground companies would spring up like Kitchen Sink, Zapp Comix and Bizarre Sex.
A time would come for underground to change into indie, a change that will allow people to see things in a different light. In 1977 Jan and Dean Mullaney started Eclipse Comics. Wow – a comic copy that wasn’t Marvel or DC! A new way of thinking hit the shelves in your local stores! However they still held messages that the common man could read. You see, right there is the change! Did you see it? Undergrounds are now being sold alongside the dark knight and the guy in blue tights!

These new comic companies could now explore concepts that the two big names would never touch! New ideas could be written and new blood could reflect the times they live in. Gone were the days of naked hippies and Mr. Natural poking fun at the establishment. Gone were the days of free love and open drug use. Welcome to the days of new ideas. These new ideas would be used to usher in new readers on the wings of super beings and slither through night alongside vampires.

Two different voices need to be heard. The underground comics cut a path into this world to make fun and point out the flaws in our society. Indie comics have paved that rough dirt road to the comic book store shelves. Yes it is the road I walk. I write comics about an eight foot bear with a shotgun. I write about ex-wives and an assassin that really don’t like each other. I write about a captain in search of the next job that’s going to put a gold coin in his pocket. I write about flying ships from my childhood and I hope you hear my voice.

Now please keep in mind this is a very short history. There could be pages and pages devoted to this and I am likely to have missed a few things here and there. Plus my poor wife has to read though this. I don’t want to put her to sleep. If you want to correct me, please comment.