Pete Loveday is a British underground cartoonist. He is best known for his series of comics charting the adventures of hippie character Russell, including ''Big Bang Comics'', ''Big Trip Travel Agency'' and ''Plain Rapper Comix'' printed by AK Press. Since its initial publication in 1981, ''Big Bang Comics'' is Britain's most successful underground comic book series. His style is reminiscent of US underground comic creators

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 ...

and

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 ...

, with a similar use of cross-hatching. Recurring themes in Loveday's comics are drugs,

Rock festivals A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...

, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

. ''Plain Rapper Comix'' #2 is Loveday's pamphlet in comic book form on a history of hemp and why it would be beneficial for the environment to replace tree paper with

hemp paper Hemp paper is paper varieties consisting exclusively or to a large extent from pulp obtained from fibers of industrial hemp. The products are mainly specialty papers such as cigarette paper, banknotes and technical filter papers. Compared to wood ...

. This was the first publication in modern times to be printed on such paper. The Russell comics have been collected in book form, ''Russell, The Saga of a peaceful man'' published by John Brown Publishing. The character of Russell reappeared in the ''Big Trip Travel Agency'' series published by

AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, S ...

in six volumes released between 1995 to 2012. Issue 2 notably featured

The Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its popul ...

. After Big Trip 5 (1999), Russell's story was to be continued in Volume 6, which it seemed would never appear. Then in 2012, to many fan's delight, AKPress made Big Trip 6 available through their website and through a mainstream Internet retailer where some reviews of Loveday's classic comics can also be read. As a champion of

British small press comics British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. They're comparable to similar movements internationally, such as American ...

, he drew many multi-artist jam strips in B. Patston's '' Psychopia''. He drew a Russell comic in Danny King's ''Blah, Blah, Blah!'' He used to have a stall at Glastonbury Festival, selling his comics and other items and now, after a gap of more than a decade, has a stall at the

Secret Garden Party The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon in England. This location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its ...

and Beautiful Days, both festivals for which he produces artwork. He has experienced some problems with his eyesight although has remained prolific, producing a wide range of artwork including advertising posters (including an unlikely 1998 campaign for Nike) through greetings cards, postcards, CD and record sleeve designs, book illustrations to flyers, and T-shirt designs. In July 2018, Freedom Seeds, a UK based

seed bank A seed bank (also seed banks or seeds bank) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease res ...

, named a

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

strain ‘Big Trip’ in tribute to Loveday. Pete created a logo for the product. Loveday attributes his black sense of humour to having spent the 1969 Summer of Love disembowelling chickens in a poultry processing factory, a traumatic experience that left him with a morbid fear of death. He currently lives in Devon with his wife Kate.

References

External links

Pete Loveday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loveday, Pete Underground cartoonists British comics artists Living people Counterculture festivals activists Year of birth missing (living people)