''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' is an

underground comic Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

about a fictional trio of stoner characters, created by the American artist

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 ...

. The Freak Brothers first appeared in ''

The Rag ''The Rag'' was an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas from 1966–1977. The weekly paper covered political and cultural topics that the conventional press ignored, such as the growing antiwar movement, the sexual revolution, gay l ...

'', an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968, and were regularly reprinted in underground papers around the United States and in other parts of the world. Later their adventures were published in a series of comic books. The lives of the Freak Brothers revolve around the procurement and enjoyment of

recreational drugs Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

, particularly

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. The comics present a critique of

the establishment ''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant social group , group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific ...

while satirizing

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

. Fat Freddy's Cat appears in many of the stories, spinning off his own cartoon strip (which appeared as part of the Freak Brothers comic page, in the manner of older comic strip double features) and later some full-length episodes. An animated TV series adaptation, ''The Freak Brothers'', was released on

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

on November 14, 2021.

Publication history

The Freak Brothers first appeared in ''

'', an

published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968. Their debut was in an advertising flyer for a winter 1968

film short A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

called ''The Texas Hippies March on the Capitol''. Freak Brothers strips soon became popular and, thanks to the

Underground Press Syndicate The Underground Press Syndicate (UPS), later known as the Alternative Press Syndicate (APS), was a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines that operated from 1966 into the late 1970s. As it evolved, the Underground Press Syndicate crea ...

, were regularly reprinted in

underground paper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

s around the United States and in other parts of the world. The Freak Brothers' first comic book appearance was in '' Feds 'n' Heads'', self-published by Shelton in the spring of 1968 (and later re-issued in multiple printings by Berkeley's the

Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...

). They also appeared in the first two issues of

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 ...

's ''

Bijou Funnies ''Bijou Funnies'' was an American underground comix magazine which published eight issues between 1968 and 1973. Edited by Chicago-based cartoonist Jay Lynch, ''Bijou Funnies'' featured strong work by the core group of Lynch, Skip Williamson, Robe ...

''. In 1969 Shelton and three friends from Texas founded

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Corporation, Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and Distribution (business), distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as ...

in San Francisco, which took over publication of all subsequent Freak Brothers comics. The first compilation of their adventures, ''The Collected Adventures of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', had its first printing in 1971 and has been continually in print ever since. A weekly ''Freak Brothers'' comic strip was syndicated by Rip Off Press to

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

and

student publication A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

s in the 1970s, along with the related strip '' Fat Freddy's Cat''.Fox, M. Steven
"Rip Off Comix — 1977-1991 / Rip Off Press,"
Comixjoint. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2022. In addition to those strips, new adventures appeared in magazines such as ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

'', and ''

Rip Off Comix ''Rip Off Comix'' was an underground comix anthology published between 1977 and 1991 by Rip Off Press. As time passed, the sensibility of the anthology changed from underground to alternative comics. The anthology was originally a byproduct of th ...

''; these too were collected in comic book form. Shelton continued to write and draw the series until 1992, in collaboration with Dave Sheridan (1974–1982, his death) and

Paul Mavrides Paul Mavrides (born 1952) is an American artist, best known for his critique-laden comics, cartoons, paintings, graphics, performances and writings that encompass a disturbing yet humorous catalog of the social ills and shortcomings of human ...

(1978-1992). The majority of the comic books consist of one or more multi-page stories together with a number of one-page strips; many of the latter have a one-row skit featuring Fat Freddy's Cat at the bottom of the page. Issues #8-10 contained only the long-form story "The Idiots Abroad", which ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'' listed as #44 of the "100 Greatest Comics of the Century." The UK newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said of a 2003 reprint of the story that, "The graphic quality is, even in slightly muddy reproduction, astonishing. Depictions of various European cities recall

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

in their accuracy and detail ... As for the subject matter, considering the dates of composition, it has hardly dated."

Characters

The Freak Brothers are not siblings. They are a threesome of

freak A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature ...

s (similar to, but distinct from,

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

s) from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. * Freewheelin' Franklin Freek, although laid-back, is the most street-smart of the trio. Apparently he has always been on the streets and it appears that he is several years older than the others. He is certainly old enough to be troubled at times by impotence. In one story he reveals that he grew up in an orphanage and never knew his parents. Tall and skinny, he has a big bulbous nose, a waterfall mustache and a ponytail. He wears cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. In one strip, he runs into an ex-girlfriend who has a child that bears a striking resemblance to him. He does his best to evade them and is relieved when she does not recognize him. In another strip, when he meets his own (possible) father, the same plot is inverted. Depending on the level of colorization used in the strip in question, Franklin's hair is red, blonde, or light brown. * Phineas T. Phreak is the intellectual and idealist of the group. He has enough mastery of chemistry to create new drugs and takes an avid interest in politics. Of the three, he is the most committed to social change and environmental issues. He is from Texas and while his mother is relaxed and open-minded, his father is a card-carrying member of the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

. He is the hairiest of the brothers—tall and skinny with a thick bush of black hair, a beard, a nose bearing more than a passing resemblance to a

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

, and glasses. He is the stereotypical left-wing radical, bearing a superficial resemblance to

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

Jerry Rubin Jerry Clyde Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was an American social activist, anti-war leader, and counterculture icon during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman. He is known for being one of the ...

. * Fat Freddy Freekowtski is the least intelligent of the trio and is most likely to be preoccupied with food. He is fat, with curly yellow hair and a mustache. His compulsion to eat is the subject of several of the adventures of the group. Fat Freddy frequently gets "burned" during drug transactions; when he does "score" he typically contrives to lose the drugs in various ways, such as by dumping them out of a shopping bag in front of a cooling fan, which then blows them out the window onto a police car. Fat Freddy comes from an unexceptional large family in Cleveland. In ''The Idiots Abroad'', Freddy visits the Polish village of Gfatsk, where everybody happens to look like him. He is driven away by an angry mob as soon as they hear the name Freekowtski. Other recurring characters include: * Fat Freddy's Cat appears mainly in his own, separate strip at the bottom of the one-page Freak Brothers strips (getting his start just as

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...

did). He also has several multi-page stories devoted to him. Many of his strips parallel a storyline in the corresponding Freak Brothers story, and often have themes of a

scatological In medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces. Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet (and thus where it has been), health and diseases su ...

nature. He has several "nephews" who refer to him as "Uncle F." and sometimes finds himself confronting an organized army of cockroaches or a huge tribe of mice who share the apartment with the Freak Brothers. He is far smarter than his owner (whom he frequently refers to as "the

obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

one") and regards the Freak Brothers with amused contempt, sometimes using their headphones as a litter box. He is also the subject of several spin-off collections of stories. * Norbert the Nark, an inept

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

agent who is continually trying, and failing, to arrest the Freak Brothers. * Hiram "Country" Cowfreak, a hippy who grows vast quantities of

at his isolated farmstead. He is referred to as the Freak Brothers' "cousin". * Dealer McDope, one of the trio's dealers. He is often mentioned in the strips but rarely appears in person. The character was initially created by Dave Sheridan for the Rip Off Press title ''Mother's Oats Comix''. * Tricky Prickears, The star of a comic book within the comic that the Freak Brothers enjoy reading. He is billed as "The Freak Brothers' favorite law enforcement officer" Tricky is a blind, deaf and reactionary detective and the character is a parody of

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

, to the extent that Shelton drew his stories in a different style, resembling that of Tracy's creator

Chester Gould Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the '' Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains. ...

. * Governor Rodney Richpigge, a stereotypically rich, corrupt politician whom the Freak Brothers hold in general contempt. The Governor's son is a cocaine dealer.

Storylines and themes

Drug use is the predominant theme that runs throughout all volumes of this title. The protagonists "live in a state of blissful torpor relieved only by bursts of paranoia or stimulant-induced frenzy." Marijuana is the most frequently mentioned, but numerous other

stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...

s and

hallucinogen Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorized ...

s are mentioned as well.

Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

is usually missing from the list. In one adventure, Franklin is shown to turn down an offer of "smack" when hitching a ride. Food is a recurring subject. These stories most often involve Fat Freddy and his marijuana-induced "munchies" (increased appetite). The squalor engendered by the Brothers' indolence is often highlighted; several strips feature the household's

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

population, ruled over by a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

. Several stories satirize

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

s, particularly the U.S. government. These stories invariably show

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s and their agents as

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

, incompetent, or both. The theme of foreign travel is sometimes explored, most notably in the three-part ''Idiots Abroad'' series. It is common for the story-lines to begin with an air of realism, but rapidly descend into comic

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. Classic Freak Brothers stories include: * ''Grass Roots'': The Brothers find a year's supply of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

and move to the country with the proceeds. They snort it all in two days. The Brothers are joined by a trio of hippie women who join them in their misadventures: the dilapidated farmhouse, Freddy's run in with a hillbilly moonshiner, the rumor of gold on the property, and Phineas running for sheriff. * ''Chariot of the Globs'': Fat Freddy's Cat is abducted by aliens.''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' #4 (Rip Off Press, Nov. 1975). *''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in the 21st Century:'' The Brothers experience life in the future. *''Knock 'em Dead:'' The Brothers form a punk band. * ''The 7th Voyage of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: A Mexican Odyssey'': The Brothers holiday in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, are thrown in jail and escape with the help of

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

Don Longjuan, in an oblique parody of the

Carlos Castaneda Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with '' The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the ...

books. * ''The Idiots Abroad'': The Brothers are split up attempting to travel to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

hoping to score cheap dope down there, yet none of them manages to reach

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

; Fat Freddy accidentally joins a group of nuclear terrorists in Scotland before disrupting the

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...

military parade in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, USSR and being subsequently sold to slavery in Africa; Franklin is almost killed by a native apocalyptic South American cult before joining a group of pirates; while Phineas ends up in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

and becomes the world's richest man after founding a new religion.

Catchphrases

The Freak Brothers comics include several

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

Film and TV adaptations

In 1978, without permission from Gilbert Shelton, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers appeared in the full-length

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

'' Up in Flames''. The story involves the brothers' attempts to raise cash to make their rent deadline (the trio being in danger of being evicted from their apartment). Fat Freddy gains employment at a local food store run by graphic artist

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

's character Mr. Natural (also used without permission). In 1979,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

paid Shelton and Rip Off Press $250,000 for the rights to make a live-action ''Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' film. Shelton received the bulk of the money, which enabled him to live part-time in Europe. Meanwhile, the Universal-produced ''Freak Brothers'' film never made it to the production stage. In 2006, the company Grass Roots Films began production on a feature-length

clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

film based on the series, called ''

Grass Roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

'', co-produced by German distribution company X Filme. In 2013, work on the film stopped. An animated television series adaptation titled ''The Freak Brothers'', based on the characters and set in modern San Francisco, was released on

on November 14, 2021. The series was preceded on May 6, 2020, by a mini-episode titled "Kentucky Fried Freaks". The series features

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) for eight seasons, running from 2014 to 2022. Davidson's ...

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...

, and

Tiffany Haddish Tiffany Sara Cornilia Haddish (born December 3, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. After guest-starring on several television series and lead role on a cable drama, Haddish gained prominence for her role as Nekeisha Williams on ...

as voice actors for the three Freaks and the cat respectively.

Courtney Solomon Courtney Solomon (born September 1,1970) is a writer, director, producer, and entrepreneur from Toronto, Ontario. He has been involved with production, marketing and distribution of over 80 movies. Life and career At 19, he formed Sweetpea Ente ...

and

Mark Canton Mark Canton (born June 19, 1949) is an American film producer and executive. Life and early career Canton was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York, the son of Shirley and Arthur Canton, who worked in the film industry on marketing and publ ...

serve as executive producers, with

Jeffrey Scott Edell Jeffrey Scott Edell is an American entrepreneur in the entertainment, media, and tech industries. Jeffrey Edell is best known as serving as a top executive at numerous entertainment and technology organizations such as: CEO and president of Sound ...

serving as Co-Executive Producer, alongside

Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...

and

Blake Anderson Blake Raymond Anderson (born March 2, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter, and fashion designer. Beginning in 2006, Anderson helped create and join the sketch-comedy troupe Mail Order Comedy, which produced online videos ...

who also provide voice acting. The series is animated by Starburns Industries studio, which also worked on ''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

''. In May 2022 the series was renewed for a second season.

In popular culture

Fat Freddy's Drop Fat Freddy's Drop is a New Zealand seven-piece band from Wellington, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by mus ...

, formed in the late 1990s, is a

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, band that took its name from the ''Freak Brothers'' comics. According to the band, individual doses of a certain type of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

popular in Wellington at that time had the image of Fat Freddy's Cat printed on it. Dropping — common slang for taking LSD — Fat Freddies became the inspiration for the band's name. Director

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...

said the look of

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

's lead character, Larry "Doc" Sportello, in Anderson's 2014 adaptation of the

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...

novel ''

Inherent Vice ''Inherent Vice'' is a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to investigat ...

'', was based in part on Freewheelin' Franklin Freek:

Sports

The

ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...

supporters of

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

Italian football (soccer) team

Ternana Calcio Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

, from the Italian Umbrian city of

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

are called "The Freak Brothers". Like many Italians ultras, they are linked with the political left.

Places

Fat Freddy's Restaurant, in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Ireland, has arcana and other memorabilia relating to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy's Cat. There is also an inn in

Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, called "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Stagger Inn".

Bibliography

''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' series

Almost all of the titles in the series have a title in words. Issues #0–7 and #12–13 are in black and white; issues #8–11 were produced in both color and black-and-white editions. * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 0: ''Underground Classics'' #1 (Jan. 1985) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 1: ''The Collected Adventures Of...'' (1971) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 2: ''Further Adventures of those...'' (Mar. 1972) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 3: ''A Year Passes Like Nothing'' (1973) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 4: ''Brother, Can You Spare 75¢ for the...'' (Nov. 1975) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 5: ''Grass Roots'' (May 1977) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 6: ''Six Snappy Sockeroos'' (June 1980) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 7: ''Several Short Stories'' (1982) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 8: ''The Idiots Abroad, Part I'' (1984) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 9: ''The Idiots Abroad, Part II'' (1985) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 10: ''The Idiots Abroad, Part III'' (1989) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 11 (1990) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 12 (1992) * ''Freak Brothers'' No. 13 (1997)—black-and-white reprints of stories from ''Thoroughly Ripped'' (Rip Off Press, 1978) plus a new cover and one story never before printed in the U.S.: "The Plant" * ''Fifty Freakin' Years with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' (Knockabout Comics, 2017)—new strips by Shelton, as well as his written introduction

Compilations and collections

Several compilation titles have been published that merge several of the original titles into one book. * ''Thoroughly Ripped with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy's Cat!'' (Rip Off Press, 1978) —full-color collection of stories from ''

'' magazine published from Dec. 1976 to Sept. 1978 (as well as one story from ''

'' magazine). Book came in two editions, one of which included a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

called "It's a Raid". * ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in Grass Roots'' (Rip Off Press, 1984) —full-color reprints of material from comic book issues #5 and 7. * ''The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', Volume One (

Knockabout Comics Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative books and comics. They have a long-standing relationship with underground comix pioneer Gilbert Shelton. History The company was founded in 1975 by Tony and Caro ...

, 2001) —reprints comic book issues #0–7 and 12 * ''The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', Volume Two (Knockabout Comics, 2004) —color reprints comic books issues #8-11 and 13. (Note: according to the reverse title pages, the second volume has the same ) * ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus'' (Knockabout Comics, 2008) —collection of the entire series, including some stories and covers done after publication of the "Complete" books. Includes everything from the two books above, except for the covers of ''Rip Off Comics'' 15 and 21, which do not show the Freak Brothers.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Rip Off Press, Inc., publishers of the Freak Brothers comics in the U.S.

Knockabout Comics, publishers of the Freak Brothers comics in the U.K.

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Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

. Archived from th
original
on April 13, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, The 1968 comics debuts 1997 comics endings American comics adapted into films American comic strips Comics adapted into animated films Comics adapted into animated series Comics set in the 1960s Comics set in the 1970s Comics set in the 1980s Comics set in the 1990s Comics set in San Francisco Psychedelia Underground comix