''Blab!'' was an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

edited by Monte Beauchamp that featured a mixture of

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

and illustrated features focused predominantly on

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

, and

lowbrow art Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, is an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1960s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture, graffiti, and ...

. The first two issues (1986–87) were published by Beauchamp's own imprint, Monte Comix. In 1988

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

took over the title, publishing issues #3-8 as well as printing new editions of issues #1 and 2. Issues #9–18 were published annually by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

between 1997 and 2007 in a 120-page, 10" x 10" square format featuring both black-and-white and color art. In 2010

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...

revived the series for two issues under the title ''Blab World''. In 2003,

Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children. The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. ...

published the book collection ''New & Used Blab!''. As the title suggests, one half of the book consists of selections from previous issues while the other half (bound

dos-à-dos Dos-à-dos (French for "back-to-back") may refer to: *Dosado or do-si-do, dance move *Dos-à-dos binding In bookbinding, a dos-à-dos binding ( or , from the French for "back-to-back") is a binding structure in which two separate books are bo ...

style) features new works by frequent contributors. Several solo books by individual ''Blab!'' contributors were published with the subtitle "A Blab! Storybook". Dark Horse Comics announced that the anthology would return in May 2023 under the title ''Comics and Stories That Will Make You BLAB!''https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/3657/get-ready-blab-dark-horse-and-yoe-books

Contributors

* Doug Allen *

Gary Baseman Gary Baseman (born September 27, 1960) is an American artist, cartoonist, and animator who investigates history, heritage, and the human condition (especially love, longing, and loss). Through iconography and visual narratives that celebrate “ ...

Stéphane Blanquet Born in 1973, near Paris, France, multimedia artist Stéphane Blanquet is a prolific figure in the contemporary art scene since the end of the 1980s. Biography Contemporary art Born in 1973, near Paris, France, multimedia artist Stéphane Bl ...

* Marc Burckhardt * Charles Burns * Rob & Christian Clayton *

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typical ...

Sue Coe Sue Coe (born 1951) is an English artist and illustrator working primarily in drawing, printmaking, and in the form of illustrated books and comics. Her work is in the tradition of social protest art and is highly political. Coe's work often inc ...

* Joe Coleman *

Al Columbia Al Columbia (born 1970) is an American artist known for his horror and black humor-themed alternative comics. His published works include the comic book series ''The Biologic Show'', the graphic novel/art book '' Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear ...

Howard Cruse Howard Cruse (May 2, 1944 – November 26, 2019) was an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics. First coming to attention in the 1970s during the underground comix movement with ''Barefootz'', he wa ...

* Charles Dallas *

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in t ...

* Daniel Divox *

Mary Fleener Mary Fleener (born September 14, 1951) is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls ''cubismo'', derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions. Her f ...

* Drew Friedman *

Camille Rose Garcia Camille Rose Garcia (born November 18, 1970) is a California-based lowbrow/pop surrealism artist. She produces paintings in a gothic, "creepy" cartoon style. She cites as influences Walt Disney and Philip K. Dick. Early life and education Garc ...

* Justin Green *

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited to ...

Matti Hagelberg Matti Hagelberg (born 1964 Kirkkonummi) is a Finnish comic book artist, illustrator, graphical designer and teacher. He attended the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and achieved a Master of Arts degree. Hagelberg is the only famous Finni ...

Tom Huck Tom Huck, also spelled Hück, (born 1971), is an American printmaker best known for his large-scale satirical woodcuts. He lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri, where he runs his own press, Evil Prints. He is a regular contributor to BLAB! of ...

* Kaz * J. D. King *

Kris Kuksi Kris Kuksi is an American artist. In 2006 he was among approximately fifty finalists in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition organised at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Education Kuksi received his Master of Fine Arts fr ...

Peter Kuper Peter Kuper (; born September 22, 1958) is an American alternative comics artist and illustrator, best known for his autobiographical, political, and social observations. Besides his contributions to the political anthology ''World War 3 Illustr ...

Terry LaBan Terry LaBan (born July 19, 1961) is an alternative/underground cartoonist and newspaper comic strip artist. He is known for his comic book series ''Cud'', and his syndicated strip ''Edge City'', created with his wife, Patty LaBan, a couples and ...

Gary Leib Gary David Leib (October 29, 1955 – March 19, 2021) was an American underground cartoonist, animator, and musician. Best known for the comic book '' Idiotland'' (a two-man anthology produced with Leib's long-time collaborator, Doug Allen), Lei ...

* Laura Levine *

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his ''Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...

Archer Prewitt Archer Prewitt (born 1963 in Frankfort, Kentucky) is an American musician and cartoonist associated with the independent music scene in Chicago, Illinois. Biography Music Prewitt enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute and began drumming in ...

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

* Sergio Ruzzier *

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

* Ryan Heshka *

Richard Sala Richard Sala (June 2, 1954 – May 7, 2020) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, and comic book creator with a unique expressionistic style whose books often combined elements of mystery, horror and whimsy. Biography Richard Sala was born in ...

Gilbert Shelton Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', and ''Wonder W ...

Frank Stack Frank Huntington Stack (born October 31, 1937 in Houston, Texas) is an American underground cartoonist and fine artist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt, Stack published wh ...

Gary Taxali Gary Taxali is a Canadian artist known for his cartoon-style illustrations. Biography Gary Taxali was born in Chandigarh, India and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His family persuaded him to pursue art at a young age. In 1991, Taxali graduat ...

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (2012 ...

* Robert Williams *

Skip Williamson Mervyn "Skip" Williamson (August 19, 1944 – March 16, 2017) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Williamson's art was published in the '' National Lampoon'', ''High Times'', ''the Realis ...

* Brook Slane

References

* * *

External links

BlabWorld.com

''The Blab! Show'', a gallery show of ''Blab!'' contributors
Comics anthologies Fantagraphics titles Kitchen Sink Press titles {{comics-stub