Keith Green (c. 1951Keith Green entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Accessed Dec. 27, 2016.–1996) was an American publisher,

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

, and

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

. Starting out in the late 1960s as an

underground comix 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, ...

distributor, in the early 1970s, he published comics, and by the mid-1970s he had become a New York City art dealer. He was the younger brother of cartoonist Justin Green.

Biography

Underground comix

Based in

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 ...

as a teenager, Green distributed underground comix starting in ''circa'' 1969. He published comics during 1971–1977, with the bulk coming in 1975–1976, under such names as Keith Green / Industrial Realities and the imprint Saving Grace. Green started out by doing later printings of comics published by other publishers. Around 1971, he produced the fourth through eighth printings of

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 ''Big Ass Comics'', originally published by

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 1969. Around the same time, Green reprinted Robert Williams' ''Coochy Cooty Men's Comics'', originally published by 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 ...

in 1970. In 1976, he produced new printings of

Ted Richards Ted Richards (born 11 January 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Richards was recruited from Xavier Col ...

' ''Dopin' Dan'' #1-2, originally published by

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 ...

in 1972–1973. When the self-publishing cooperative

Cartoonists Co-Op Press Cartoonists Co-op Press was an underground comix publishing cooperative based in San Francisco that operated from 1973 to 1974. It was a self-publishing venture by cartoonists Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Jay Lynch, Willy Murphy, Diane ...

started up in 1973, Green acted as salesman/distributor. In 1974, Green interviewed

for ''Inside Comics''. Thanks to his visit to Crumb and his girlfriend, fellow cartoonist

Aline Kominsky Aline Kominsky-Crumb (née Goldsmith; August 1, 1948 – November 29, 2022) was an American underground comics artist. Kominsky-Crumb's work, which is almost exclusively autobiographical, is known for its unvarnished, confessional nature. In 201 ...

, Green helped finance their collaborative work, '' Dirty Laundry Comics'' #1, published by Cartoonists Co-Op Press in summer 1974. The bulk of Green's publishing output was in 1975–1976, when he produced original comics by

S. Clay Wilson Steve Clay Wilson (July 25, 1941 – February 7, 2021) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson attracted attention from readers with aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas ...

, Jim Osborne,

Willy Murphy William "Willy" MurphyMurphy entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Acc ...

, Jerry Lane, and

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 ...

. (Spain later said that Green was "quirky" and that publishing with him "was a mistake.") Green's final publishing venture was ''The Snatch Sampler'' (1977), a 164-page book that reprinted material from ''Snatch Comics'' #1–3 (Apex Novelties/Print Mint) featuring Crumb, Wilson, Osborne,

Victor Moscoso Victor Moscoso (born July 28, 1936) is a Spanish–American artist best known for producing psychedelic rock posters, advertisements, and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first of the rock poster artists of ...

, Robert Williams, and

Rory Hayes Rory Hayes (August 8, 1949 – August 29, 1983) was an American underground cartoonist in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His comics were drawn in an expressionistic, primitivist style and usually dealt with grim subject matter such as para ...

Art dealer

Green relocated to New York City around 1975, eventually operating the Keith Green Gallery on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

in New York City in the late 1980s. Artists he represented included Shaoul Smira,

Marina Karella Marina Karella ( el, Μαρίνα Καρέλλα; born 17 July 1940) is a Greek artist and the wife of Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark. Life Marina Karella was born in Athens on 17 July 1940 to industrialist Theodor Karella and Elly Chali ...

Dragan Malešević Tapi Dragan Malešević Tapi ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Малешевић Тапи; 22 January 1949 – 29 October 2002) was a Serbian painter. Although by vocation an economist, he is generally considered one of the leading painters of Serbian hyperrea ...

, Anders Bertil Knutsson, Ivonne Baki, Basil Alkazzi, and a group of late-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-period avant-garde

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

artists.Dubin, Zan
"ART NEWS: Chris Burden Retrospective at Newport,"
''Los Angeles Times'' (April 17, 1988).

Death

Keith Green died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on July 1, 1996.Arsenault, Marc. "Underground Distributor Keith Green Dies," ''The Comics Journal'' #189 (Aug. 1996), p. 34.

Titles published

* '' Dirty Laundry Comics'' (co-published with

, Summer 1974) –

and

Aline Kominsky-Crumb Aline Kominsky-Crumb (née Goldsmith; August 1, 1948 – November 29, 2022) was an American underground comics artist. Kominsky-Crumb's work, which is almost exclusively autobiographical, is known for its unvarnished, confessional nature. In 20 ...

* ''D.O.A. Comics'' #1 (Oct. 1976) – Jim Osborne * ''Felch Cumics'' (Aug. 1975) – Robert Williams,

, Jim Osborne,

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleoart, paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worke ...

and other contributors * ''Flamed-Out Funnies'' #1 (Summer 1975) –

Willy Murphy William "Willy" MurphyMurphy entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Acc ...

; later continued by

* ''Middle Class Fantasies'' #2 (Oct. 1976) – Jerry Lane; continued from

(also reprinted issue #1) * ''The Snatch Sampler'' (1977) – reprints material from ''Snatch Comics'' #1–3 (Apex Novelties/Print Mint) featuring Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Robert Williams, Rory Hayes, and Jim Osborne * ''Subvert Comics'' #3 (1976)Rodriguez, Spain. ''Trashman Lives!'' (Fanatagraphics Books, 1997), p. iv. –

; continued from

* ''2'' (2 issues, 1975–1976) –

; second issue called "Two Squared" * ''Two Fools'' (1976) –

and

Willy Murphy William "Willy" MurphyMurphy entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Acc ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Keith Comic book publishers (people) Distributors Underground comix 1951 births 1996 deaths American art dealers