Paul Mavrides (born 1952) is an American artist, best known for his critique-laden comics,

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, graphics, performances and writings that encompass a disturbing yet humorous catalog of the social ills and shortcomings of human civilization. Mavrides worked with

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, ...

pioneer

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 ...

on ''

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' is an underground comic about a fictional trio of stoner characters, created by the American artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in ''The Rag'', an underground newspaper published in A ...

'' from 1978 to 1992. Mavrides has been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the

press of the 1970s and '80s. Mavrides is a founding member of the

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...

, having been a member of the organization since its earliest days. He is a co-author of ''Revelation X: The "Bob" Apocryphon: Hidden Teachings and Deuterocanonical Texts of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs'' ( Fireside Books, 1994).

Career

Mavrides came 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 ...

in 1975, and was soon working with San Francisco-based comics creator

Jay Kinney Jay Kinney (born 1950) is an American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist. Kinney has been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the underground comix press of the 1970s and '80s. Kinney was a member, along w ...

on "Cover-Up Lowdown", originally a weekly panel cartoon which was collected and published by

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...

in November 1977. This strip satirized political cover-ups of the day, as well as those of recent history, such as the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

. Kinney and Mavrides then collaborated on the political anthology '' Anarchy Comics'', which was published sporadically 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 ...

between 1978 and 1987. Mavrides contributed comics to all four issues of ''Anarchy Comics'' as well as editing the final issue. Mavrides illustrated several stories for

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...

in ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

''. He also had work in such alternative comics titles as '' Young Lust'' (

), ''Real War Stories'' (

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

), and the '' Brought to Light'' trade paperback (Eclipse). Mavrides was credited as art director for ''

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

'', a 1999 documentary on marijuana. He designed the record jacket for The Nuclear Beauty Parlor. Mavrides is also a collagist, photographer and painter.

''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers''

In 1978, Mavrides joined Gilbert Shelton and Dave Sheridan to co-produce ''Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' comics stories. Together, with Shelton and Mavrides writing, and Mavrides, Sheridan, and Shelton producing the artwork, the three of them produced the comix that were later collected into ''Freak Brothers'' issues #6 & 7. Following Sheridan's death from complications of cancer in 1982, Mavrides became Shelton's steady partner in all further ''Freak Brothers'' material. The two of them embarked on an ambitious project (begun in 1982 and serialized in issues #11 and 12 of the ''

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 ...

'' series, but not published in the comics series ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' until 1984): a full color, three-volume story arc entitled "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers in The Idiots Abroad". In 1984, Shelton, who had spent parts of 1980 and 1981 in Europe, moved back to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

for good and the ''Freak Brothers'' collaboration became a trans-Atlantic affair. The last full issue of new Freak Brothers material came out in 1992.

Legal battles

In 1991, Mavrides protested against a resolution by the State of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to levy a sales tax on comic strips and comic books. He challenged the law in court, with assistance from the

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses. Charles Brownstein served as the organiz ...

, arguing that the comic strip is a communications medium that should be classed with books, magazines, and newspapers (which are not subject to sales taxes due to

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

provisions). In 1997, a ruling in Mavrides' favor was handed down by the California State Board of Equalization.

Depictions in other media

Science fiction author and mathematician

Rudy Rucker Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...

created the character Corey Rhizome based on Mavrides. Rhizome features in the novel ''Freeware'' as a creator of semi-sentient toys, many of which have deviant or anti-social personality traits based on Rhizome's personality. Rhizome, whom Rucker described as "Mavrides as evil toymaker", is a profligate user of moon grown hybrid marijuana that he smokes via complex

vaping An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such ...

hardware.

References

External links

*
ClickMedia: Paul Mavrides
includes a biography, interview and a portfolio of selected works.

by Wesley Joost and Jon Randall
"The Things He Did on ''Grass'',"
by Michael Sragow, ''Salon'', June 15, 2000; interview about Mavrides' art direction of a marijuana documentary {{DEFAULTSORT:Mavrides, Paul 1952 births American comics artists American Splendor artists American SubGenii Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area Underground cartoonists Living people