The British Library’s collection of American comix is extraordinarily rich and anyone who researches the US underground will be interested in its holdings. What follows is a short explanation of where the collection comes from and what it contains. I’m sure many readers of this blog know and use the Alexander Street database for underground and alternative comics, but there are lots of good reasons to go to the original objects themselves (if you want to analyse page size or bindings, for example). There are some rare titles in the BL archives and a handful of the comics listed below have been inscribed by their creators.
The collection was donated by J.B. Rund, who runs Bélier Press, based in New York City. Bélier has an important place in underground comix history, publishing three deluxe book collections in the second half of the 1970s: R. Crumb’s Carload O’ Comics (1976), Art Spiegelman’s Breakdowns (1977), and Crumb’s The Complete Fritz the Cat (1978). Rund collected an extensive archive of underground comix, becoming friends with many creators in the process. I interviewed Rund in 2013 about his life, collecting activities, and the books and comix he published. You can listen to that fourteen-hour interview if you are visiting the British Library.
So how can you read the comix in the collection for yourself? First, you will need a Reading Room card for the British Library. The comix from the Rund collection available for public consultation are primarily deposited under the BL shelfmark General Reference Collection Cup.806.g.1. The comix at this shelfmark have to be consulted in the Rare Books and Music Reading Room at the BL. You can’t call up specific titles using the BL catalogue: talk to someone at the Inquiry Desk about which items you particularly want to see. There are a LOT of comics under this shelfmark and below is a list of the American underground comix you’ll discover there.
Before I sign off, this is just a sample of the material in the J.B. Rund Collection. The BL has many other items and the work of R. Crumb is well represented – if there is something you want to look at it is worth searching the BL’s online catalogue!
Cup806g1
1. GREY PRESERVATION BOX (SMALL), UNTITLED
Contains 9 minicomics:
- Various creators, Zap 7 [?]
- Leslie Cabarga, Buddy Baker “Crooner for hire”
- “Jud” Green, Underground Cartooning Course
- Griffy, Young and Lustless
- [Leslie Cabarga?], Modern Medical Romances
- Various creators, Self-Destruct
- Trina Robbins, Sally Starr, Hollywood Gal Sleuth
- Diane Noomin, Canarsie Creeps
- [Leslie Cabarga?], A Plain Talk with Puerto Ricans
2. GREY PRESERVATION BOX (SMALL), UNTITLED
Contains 4 minicomics:
- Art Spiegelman, Zip-a-Tunes and Moiré Melodies featuring Skeeter Grant’s Skinless Perkins
- Art Spiegelman, Work and Turn
- Crank Collingwood [S. Clay Wilson], The Saga of Yukon Pete
- Art Spiegelman, Every Day Has Its Dog
3. BROWN BINDING, UNTITLED
Contains 6 comics:
- Various creators, Bizarre Sex 1-4, 6-7
4. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “THE LOWBROW ART”
Williams, Robert. The Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams. San Francisco: Rip Off Press, 1982.
5. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “RIPOFF”
Contains 1 comic:
- Various creators, Rip Off Comix 7
6. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “MISTER INFINITY”
Includes:
- Art Spiegelman, The Compleat Mister Infinity [minicomic]
7. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “COMIX INTERNATIONAL”
Contains 3 comics:
- Comix International 1-3
8. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “FUNNY WORLD”
Contains 11 items:
- Funnyworld 12-22
9. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “BIJOU FUNNIES”
Contains 6 comics:
- Bijou Funnies 2-7
10. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “BIJOU FUNNIES”
Contains 1 comic:
- Bijou Funnies 1
11. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “COMIX BOOK”
Contains 5 comics:
- Comix Book 1-5
12. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “THE YUM YUM BOOK”
Crumb, R. The Yum Yum Book. San Francisco: The Scrimshaw Press, 1975.
13. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “ALL KINDS COMICS” [it possibly reads “ALL KINES COMICS”]
Contains 5 comics:
- Promethean Enterprises 1-5
14. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “SNARF”
Contains 9 comics:
- Snarf 1-9
15. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “SONDERBAND”
Griffith, Bill. U-Comix Sonderbad 23. [Linden?]: Volksverlag, 1979.
16. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “RIP OFF COMIX AND PHOEBE AND THE PIGEON PEOPLE”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators, Rip Off Comix 3, 12
- Jay Lynch and Gary Whitney, Phoebe and the Pigeon People 3
17. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “SPACED”
Contains 3 comics:
- James Pinoski, Spaced 1-2
- S. Clay Wilson, The Checkered Demon 2
18. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “PORTFOLIO”
Contains 1 comic:
- S. Clay Wilson, untitled [comic book version of his art portfolio]
19. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “GAY COMIX”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators, Gay Comix 1-3
20. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “DOPE COMIX”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators, Dope Comix 1-3
21. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “MOM’S HOMEMADE COMIX”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators [esp. Denis Kitchen], Mom’s Homemade Comix 1-3
22. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “SUBVERT COMICS”
Contains 3 comics:
- Spain Rodriguez, Subvert Comics 1-3
23. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “ANTHOLOGY OF SLOW DEATH”
Turner, Ron, ed. Anthology of Slow Death. [Berkeley]: Wingnut Press, 1975.
24. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “DR. ATOMIC”
Contains 3 comics:
- Larry S. Todd, Dr. Atomic 1-3
25. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “INSECT FEAR”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators, Insect Fear [1]-3
26. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “SPACED”
Contains 1 comic:
- James Pinoski, Spaced 1
27. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “BIJOU”
Contains 1 comic:
- Various creators, Bijou Funnies 8
28. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “MICKEY RAT COMIX”
Contains 3 comics:
- Various creators [but mainly Robert Armstrong], Mickey Rat 1-3
29. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “TALES OF TOAD”
Contains 3 comics:
- Bill Griffith, Tales of Toad and Other Stories 1-3
30. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “FREAK BROTHERS”
Contains 1 comic:
- Gilbert Shelton, The Collected Adventures of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
31. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “FANTAGOR”
Contains 1 comic:
- Various creators, Fantagor 1
32. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “CHICAGO MIRROR”
Contains 3 items:
- Jay Lynch, editor, Chicago Mirror 1-3
33. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “FANTAGOR”
Contains 4 comics:
- Various creators, Fantagor 1-4
34. BROWN BOX, ENTITLED “YOUNG LUST” (IN PENCIL)
Contains 6 comics and one book collection:
- Various creators, Young Lust 1-6
- The Young Lust Reader
35. BROWN BOX, ENTITLED “ZIPPY” (IN PENCIL)
Contains 3 comics and two book collections:
- Bill Griffith, Zippy Stories 1-3
- Griffith, Bill. Zippy: Nation of Pinheads. Berkeley: And / Or Press, 1982.
- Griffith, Bill. Zippy Stories. Berkeley: And / Or Press, 1981.
36. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “14 PARTS SEE FRONT FOR CONTENTS”
Contains 14 items, not all comix, including:
- Various creators, Short Order Comix 2
- Various creators, Anomaly 3-4
- Bill Griffith, Yow 1-2
- Various creators, Voice of Comicdom 16-17
37. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “17 PARTS SEE FRONT FOR CONTENTS”
Contains 17 comics:
- Bill Griffith, Joe Schenkman, and Art Spiegelman, Short Order Comix 1
- Various creators, Anarchy Comics 2
- Various creators, Laugh in the Dark 1
- Various creators, Lean Years
- Bill Griffith, Griffith Observatory 1
- Various creators, The Tortoise and the Hare 1
- Various creators, Wet Satin 1
- Various creators, Brain Fantasy 2
- Various creators, Mondo Snarfo 1
- Various creators, Air Pirates Funnies 2
- S. Clay Wilson, 2 issues 1-2
- Various creators, Grim Wit 1-2
- Kim Deitch, Corn Fed Comics 2
- Justin Green, Binky Brown meets The Holy Virgin Mary
38. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “16 PARTS SEE FRONT FOR CONTENTS”
Contains 16 comics:
- Various creators, Conspiracy Capers 1
- Various creators, Weird Fantasies 1
- Various creators, Up from the Deep 1
- Justin Green, Show + Tell Comics
- Various creators, Merton of the Movement 1
- Various creators [esp. Kim Deitch], Eating Raoul
- Various creators, 50’s [sic] Funnies
- Various creators, Enigma 1
- Various creators, Tales from the Berkeley-Con 2.2
- Various creators, Bicentennial Gross-Outs 1
- Various creators, Dopin’ Dan 1
- Larry S. Todd, Tales of the Armorkins
- Various creators, Paranoia
- Aline Kominsky and Diane Noomin, Twisted Sisters
- S. Clay Wilson, Bent
- Various creators, Compost Comics
39. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “7 PTS”
Contains 7 comics:
- Various creators, Mickey Mouse Meets the Air Pirates Funnies 1
- Bobby London, The Dirty Duck Book 1
- Various creators, Weirdom Comix 15
- Jay Lynch, Nard n’ Pat 1
- Various creators, Barbarian Women 2
- Various creators, Tales from the Plague 1
- Richard Corben, Rowlf
40. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “4 PTS”
Contains 4 comics:
- Various creators, Turned On Cuties
- Kim Deitch, Corn-Fed Comics
- Trina Robbins, Fight Girl Comics 2
- Various creators, Purple Cat 1
41. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “16 PARTS SEE FRONT FOR CONTENTS”
Contains 16 comics:
- Various creators [esp. Skip Williamson], Snappy Sammy Smoot
- Various creators, Hungry Chuck Biscuits 1
- Various creators, Left-Field Funnies 1
- Various creators, Teen-age Horizons of… Shangri La 1
- Robert Williams, Coochy Cooty Men’s Comics 1
- Various creators, Roxy Funnies 1
- Various creators, Consumer Comix
- Spain and Algernon Backwash [?], Mean Bitch Thrills
- RC, John Richardson, and Jan Strnad, Fever Dreams 1
- Trina Robbins, Girl Fight Comics
- Various creators, Corporate Crime Comics 1-2
- Aline Kominsky-Crumb, The Bunch’s Power Pak Comics 1-2
- Howard Cruse, Barefootz Funnies 1-2
42. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “2 PTS”
Contains 2 comics:
- Various creators, Berkeley Con Programme Book
- Various creators, Douglas Comix
43. GREY PRESERVATION BOX, ENTITLED “3 PTS”
Contains 3 half-sized comics:
- S. Clay Wilson, Pork
- Various creators, Sleazy Scandals of the Silver Screen 1
- Bill Griffith, Art Spiegelman, Spain Rodriguez, and Justin Green, Four Sketches and a Table of Useful Information
44. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “THE APEX TREASURY OF UNDERGROUND COMIX”
Donahue, Don, and Susan Goodrick, eds. The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics. New York: Links Books, 1974.
45. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “THE CHECKERED DEMON”
Contains 2 comics:
- S. Clay Wilson, The Checkered Demon 1 and 3
46. BLUE BINDING, ENTITLED “PHOEBE AND THE PIGEON PEOPLE”
Contains 2 comics:
- Jay Lynch and Gary Whitney, Phoebe and the Pigeon People 1-2
(I’ve numbered these boxes / bindings for this list – there is no numbering on the boxes or bindings themselves)