Friday, February 19, 2010

A lesson in rebellion

If I learned one thing from reading Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 80s is that the medium of the mini comic is one of the purest, cheapest and uncompromising forms of DIY culture there is.. Or was.. the Internet has made the art form a bit archaic. Many of the artists featured in this collection were influenced by a mix of punk rock, dada, the 60s underground comics of Crumb and his ilk and as a response to the oppressive policies of the Reagan administration. They were cheap to make and copy and quickly put together. The result is an almost stream of consciousness surrealism who's mere existence is rebellion. This is a child's first go at dirty drawings sprinkled with cynicism and experience. This book does a great job of collecting some of the best examples and putting them into historical perspective with interviews of the creators. This is a great introduction to and underground scene almost lost to the march of time and technology.- Brad Filicky

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