Who put the "x" in autobiographix?
To understand the “x” in “autobiographix", we must, of course, go back to the 1960’s, when underground comix began to emerge. Robert (R.) Crumb is most often credited popularizing the term “comix” with his series Zap Comix, which began in 1968.
“Comix” popped up in newspapers all over the country in 1968, when a column talking about the youth of the day mentions the comix of “Robert Crumb, a young, mad genius” as a part of the “comic book revival” among the “rapidly expanding youth culture in America.”
Funnily, the first use of “comix” (in newspapers) we found was just 9 days earlier, on Nov 15th, when a reviewer disliked “Robert Crump” and his new collection, Head Comix:
“Paul Krassner, former Mad-man, was advised that a person has to be ‘zonked’ before reading Robert Crump’s comics and I can believe it. At times the the comics look as if the artist was trying for a trip by shooting ink with a fountain pen.” (Calgary Herald)
So, the “x” in comix was used by creators and readers to separate from the established comics of the time (which were bound to the Comic Code Authority’s strict rules), as well as to nod to the very graphic, “x-rated” material found in the pages . Over the years, the term has become more associated with indie comics, which don’t necessarily lean so heavily on sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.
Art Spiegelman (himself a part of the underground scene), said he uses the term because “I spell it c-o-m-i-x, so you are not confused by the fact that comics have to be funny, as in comic. You think it is a co-mix of words and pictures,” (Bongco, 51).
“Autobiographix” is a play off of “comix”—they are, after all, nonfiction or autobiographical stories told in comics form. We first ran across this term in Ray Zone’s introduction to Mary Fleener’s work in Life of the Party (1996). We like the way the “x” here captures the expansive opportunities for stories. They can discuss taboo subjects, or they can make you more aware of the mundane. Autobiographix can be honest and raw—or researched and peppered with hidden histories.
Links and Miscellany
We will talk more about Mary Fleener’s work in an upcoming post. For more information about her work in the meantime, you can visit: www.maryfleener.com
Director Terry Zwigoff has a funky and in-depth biopic about R Crumb called Crumb, which we recommend for your next movie night (1994).
Did anyone check out Comic-Con @ Home presentations? How was it? What do you recommend we check out? Let us know in the comments.