A Trip to the Comic Store
Wherein we take a deep dive into some favorite buys
I (Nora) recently moved to central Ohio where I discovered a thriving comic scene. I’ve only just scratched the surface, but have found that many comic book shops exist near me. Visiting Dark Star Books and Comics, in Yellow Springs, spurred an idea for a column in which Amaris and/or I spotlight a recent exciting comic find.
I was thrilled to see the huge array of old comics in the store, and Frank Marcucci, the store’s comic book expert, pulled a large stack of Underground comix for me to peruse—I grabbed an issue of Wimmen’s Comix from Last Gasp publisher out of Berkeley. (These were collected in an anthology by Fantagraphics, which is great, but there’s just nothing like the original…).
This issue—#7—focused on “Outlaws” and featured many female creators including Roberta Gregory, Lee Mars, and Joyce Farmer and was published in 1976. Like all of Wimmen’s Comix, the issue was edited by two of the collective—this time Mel Gebbie and Dot Bucher. These editors changed each issue to keep the vision communal and fresh.
The theme of “outlaws” result in comics that are funny, terrifying, fantastical, and mundane. There’s sex, violence, and drugs, all things outlawed by the Comics Code Authority in the mainstream comics at the time.
Two stories that stood out were ones based on real women. The first, “Pirates,” depicts the life of actual swashbucklers Mary Read and Anne Bonny who took to the seas in the early 1700s. In some reports, and in the comic, by Rae Page Stimler, the two were lovers as well as fierce fighters.
The second comic is a one page, quiet tale: “Corruption’s Gleam.” Here, Jeanette Washington refused to pay for a subway ride in protest of the cost. Absurdly, this act leads to jail-time, an unfolding that Heather Green captures with intricate strokes.
Then, there is the story about a young woman turned murderer, who kills men because “they’re the only guys who stay stiff long enuff!”
Do you all have any favorite recent purchases? Let us know in the comments!
Links to check out:
-I went down a bit of a rabbit-hole in trying to see if Heather Green (the creator behind “Corruption’s Gleam”) was related to Justin Green - the guy behind one of the first autobiographical comics from 1972 and Keith Green, his brother who published underground comix. I couldn’t find any definitive evidence they are all related, but I like to imagine them as a comix dynasty.
-I tried to find out what happened to Jeanette Washington, and found this story from 1971 about rising subway costs associated with a bond to be voted on: “Mrs. Jeanette Washington, a spokesman for the group, which she said was made up of 40 different organizations, asserted: ‘The bond issue is a swindle. The blacks and the poor will lose out because it won't save the 30‐cent fare. Only the businessmen will make money.’”
-I’m also much closer to the renowned Billy Ireland Museum, now, and need to visit their archives and exhibits ASAP! Has anyone been?