''Meng and Ecker'' was a British

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 ...

comic written by

David Britton David Britton (18 February 1945 – 29 December 2020) was a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded ''Weird Fantasy'' and ''Crucified Toad'', a series of small press magazines of the speculative fiction and horror genres. ...

and illustrated by Kris Guidio.Greenland, Colin (March 12, 2003). "The Thursday Book: A Wallow In The Sump Of The Popular Psyche". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. Comment; Pg. 21 It was published in 1989 by the controversial

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

-based company Savoy and lasted for nine issues before being banned in 1992 under obscenity laws.

Concept

The characters Meng and Ecker were inspired by Nazi doctor

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-'' Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , ...

.Foster, Jonathan (July 30, 1992). "Legal challenge on seizure of anti-Semitic fantasy". ''

''. Pg. 5 Authorities pulped thousands of copies of ''Meng & Ecker'' after finding the book "obscene and likely to corrupt."McCrum, Robert (March 16, 1997). "The Week In Reviews: Books: The Bare-Faced Cheek Of It". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. Pg. 16 In finding the comic obscene, the judge said, "This comic could be read - and possibly gloated over - by people who enjoyed vicousness and violence. It had pictures that would be repulsive to right-thinking people."Guardian staff. (July 31, 1992). "Lord Horror Book Is 'Not Obscene'". ''

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 ...

''. Pg. 7 Meng and Ecker also appeared in three controversial prose novels written by Britton: ''Lord Horror'' (1990), ''Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz'' (1996), and ''Baptised in the Blood of Millions'' (2001). The first novel, ''Lord Horror,'' was the first book to be banned in the United Kingdom since Hubert Selby's ''

Last Exit to Brooklyn ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr. The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s written in a brusque, everyman style of prose. Critics and fellow writers praised ...

'' was banned in 1968. The name 'Meng & Ecker' is a homage to a Manchester Tearooms, which operated near St Ann's Square for most of the twentieth century.

References

British comics Defunct British comics British underground comics 1989 comics debuts 1992 comics endings Fictional twins Fictional murderers Fictional cannibals Fictional Nazis Black comedy comics Comics controversies Male characters in comics Obscenity controversies in comics Obscenity controversies in literature {{UK-comics-stub