African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
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, ...
writer, publisher, and promoter. Along with other such notables as Richard "Grass" Green,
Guy Colwell
Guy Colwell (born March 28, 1945) is an American painter and occasional underground cartoonist. Although not African-American himself, Colwell's comics often portray blacks in strong roles in stories of life on the streets. His " Figurative Soci ...
, and Fuller's long-time business partner and friend, Raye Horne, Fuller made sure that the voices of black comic book creators were heard in a time when their artistic efforts were largely ignored.McCabe, Caitlin "Profiles in Black Cartooning: Larry Fuller," Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website (February 17, 2016). On the topics of race and sexuality, Fuller mastered the art of delivering social commentary in humorous form.
Biography
Military service
In the mid-1960s Fuller served with the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
at the
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
Minot Air Force Base
Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2 ...
, in
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
.
''Ebon'' and early career
Moving to the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
(the heart of the underground comix industry), in his late twenties, Fuller came up with the idea of an "authentic" African-American superhero, Ebon. After searching for an artist for more than a year, Fuller took art classes with the assistance of the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
, and then ended up drawing Ebon himself, " swiping" many poses from established superhero artists like
Gil Kane
Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...
and
John Buscema
John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
. ''Ebon'' #1 was published in January 1970 by
Gary Arlington
Gary Edson Arlington (October 7, 1938 – January 16, 2014) was an American retailer, artist, editor, and publisher, who became a key figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s.Yardley, William"Gary Arlington, a Force in Unde ...
. (The back cover was a house ad for Arlington's comic book shop, the San Francisco Comic Book Company, an epicenter of the underground comix movement). ''Ebon'' is considered by many to be the first comic book title to star a black superhero (
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
's
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
predating Ebon but not having his own title). Nonetheless, ''Ebon'' was a bad fit with the largely white, adult audiences of underground comix, and didn't meet with much success.Rifas, Leonard "Racial Imagery, Racism, Individualism, and Underground Comix," ImageTexT (2004). Accessed Apr. 14, 2009.
Shortly afterward, Fuller (in the guise of "Hairy" Larry Fuller) adapted H.P. Lovecraft's "The Ter'ble Old Man" for
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
Impaled is a death metal band from Oakland, California. The band's name is a backronym, standing for "Immoral M ...
's 1971 comic ''Laugh in the Dark'' #1.
Ful-Horne Productions
In 1975, Fuller teamed up with Raye Horne to form Ful-Horne Productions (later known as Fulhorne), putting out the sex-themed comics ''White Whore Funnies'' and the then ground-breaking ''
Gay Heart Throbs
''Gay Heart Throbs'' was an underground comic featuring gay erotica. Only three issues were published, in 1976, 1979, and 1981. It has been described as the first gay comic. It was edited by Larry Fuller (cartoonist), Larry Fuller.
The short-liv ...
''. ''White Whore Funnies'' was produced on high-quality paper; it was one of the few underground comics to also be distributed in porn shops. Fuller and Horne also published the anthology series ''The New Funny Book'' from 1975–1978, which featured contributions by artists such as
Danny Bulanadi
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to:
People
* Danny Altmann, British immunologist
*Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
*Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...
,
Alex Niño
Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine.
Biography
Early life and career
Alex Niño was born ...
Dan O'Neill
Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates.
Education
O'Neill attended the University of Sa ...
,
Ian Akin
Ian Akin (born July 28, 1959, in California) is a comic book artist, known primarily for inking. Along with his inking partner, Brian Garvey, Akin worked on many superhero comics (mostly for Marvel Comics) from 1982 to 1988.
Biography
Akin grew ...
, and numerous others.
Later forming Fuller Inkwell, Fuller went on to periodically publish other sex-themed titles, such as ''Adults Only!'' (1979–1987) and ''HandJob Library'' (1991).
Awards
In 2007, Fuller was the recipient of the Pioneer Award at the 2007
Glyph Comics Awards
The Glyph Comics Awards is for the best comics made by people of color from the last calendar year. The goal is to award the People of Color for their awesome work in the comics industry and also to inspire young writers from diverse backgrounds t ...
Gay Heart Throbs
''Gay Heart Throbs'' was an underground comic featuring gay erotica. Only three issues were published, in 1976, 1979, and 1981. It has been described as the first gay comic. It was edited by Larry Fuller (cartoonist), Larry Fuller.
The short-liv ...
'' (also known as ''Gay Heartthrobs'') (3 issues, Ful-Horne Productions, 1976–1981)
* ''Adults Only!'' (3 issues, Fuller Inkwell, 1979–1987)
* ''HandJob Library'' (Fuller Inkwell, 1991)
; Writer/artist
* ''Ebon'' (Gary Arlington, 1970)
* "H.P. Lovecraft's The Ter'ble Old Man," ''Laugh in the Dark'' #1 (Last Gasp, 1971)
* "Draw!" (Kid Cunt), ''White Whore Funnies'' #2 (Fuller Inkwell, 1978)
; Writer
* "Big Guns on the Panseyrosa" (Kid Cunt), ''Gay Hearthrobs'' #1 (Ful-Horne Productions, 1975)
* "Egad! The Fantastic Hunter" and "Lorok" (art by Danbold anny Bulanadi, ''The New Funny Book'' #2 (Fulhorne, 1977)
* "The Ballad of Kid Sadistic" and "The Wild Sex Fantasy of Mrs. White" (art by James Davis), ''White Whore Funnies'' #2 (Fuller Inkwell, 1978)
* "Some Tight White Ass" (pornographic limericks illustrated by James Davis), ''White Whore Funnies'' #3 (Fuller Inkwell, 1979)
; Inker
* ''The Decorator'' (written and illustrated by "Grass" Green) (
Eros Comix
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 founde ...
, 1992)
* ''Horny No. 4'',"Up from The Ghetto! Part 4", "Honey-Talk Tomson in One Horrible Lonely Night...", (written and illustrated by "Grass" Green) (
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 ...