''Big Apple Comix'' is an early independent comic book published by

Flo Steinberg Florence Steinberg (March 17, 1939 – July 23, 2017) was an People of the United States, American publisher of one of the first independent comic books, the underground comics, underground/alternative comics hybrid ''Big Apple Comix'', in 1975. Ad ...

in 1975. A historically important link between

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, ...

and what would later be called

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

, this 36-page, 6" × 9" hybrid with glossy color covers and black-and-white interiors contains 11 sometimes sexually frank stories by such mainstream creators as

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Sup ...

, Archie Goodwin,

Denny O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolve ...

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

, and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

. The creators were mainly friends of Steinberg, working for a low page rate. Most of its stories revolve around

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(colloquially known as

the Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...

) during a particularly low ebb in the city's finances, crime situation, race relations, and infrastructure.

Publication history

The one-shot comic book was among a handful of 1960s-1970s precursors of the independently produced comics that first proliferated with the 1980s rise of " direct market" comic-book stores. Other such early links between

and modern independents include

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an a ...

's ''

Star*Reach ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher be ...

'' and Wood's own '' witzend''. Critic Ken Jones, in a 1986 retrospective review, suggested that ''Big Apple Comix'' and

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...

's ''High Adventure'' may have been "the first true alternative comics". The comic featured writer-editor Goodwin displaying his cartoonist abilities; Adams and a fledgling

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows ''M*A*S*H'' ...

sharing vertically split pages to parallel a street prostitute with a

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

using sex to further her career; and Wood's story "My Word", a bitter parody of the

Al Feldstein Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine '' Mad''. After retiring from ''Mad' ...

-scripted "My World" that Wood illustrated in

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...

' '' Weird Science'' #22 (Dec. 1953).

Linda Fite Linda Fite is an American writer and editor who wrote the entire run of the Marvel Comics series '' The Cat'' (1972). Biography Linda Fite was hired by Marvel as an editorial assistant/production assistant. Though she continually appealed to edit ...

and

John Verpoorten John Verpoorten (May 15, 1940 – December 15, 1977) was an American comic book artist and editorial worker best known as Marvel Comics' production manager during the latter part of the Silver Age of Comic Books and afterward, during a seminal peri ...

handled production work for the comic, released with an indicia date of September 1975. Steinberg printed 20,000 copies.

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

, for which she ran its mail-order Captain Company division, allowed her to store inventory in the company's storage space. She recalled in 1984 that, "I did make my expenses and a little besides." Afterward, the men's magazine ''Cheri'' and the French magazine ''L'Echo'' each reprinted "My Word" and "Over & Under", with Steinberg passing along the reprint fees to the creators.Steinberg in

Source: *Front cover by

*Foreword by

(writer), Michele Robinson Brand (tentatively identified as artist) *"The Man Without A City" by Stu Schwartzberg (writer),

Marie Severin Marie Severin (; August 21, 1929 – August 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics. She is an inductee of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame and the Harvey Awards ...

(artist), pp. 3–5 *"Peep Shows" by Archie Goodwin (writer-artist), pp. 6–7 *"My Word" by Wally Wood (writer-artist), pp. 6–8 *"Can You Spot the New York Air Breather?" (no writer or illustrator credited), p. 11 *"The Tube" by Wally Wood (writer),

(artist), pp. 12–14 *"A Nice Place To Visit, but..." by

, p. 15 *"Over & Under" by

(artist, "Over"),

(penciler, "Under") and Ralph Reese (inker "Under"); writer(s) uncertain, pp. 16–20 *"New York City: The Future" by Paul Kirchner, p. 21 *"The Battery's Down" by Alan Weiss, Howard Weiss, pp. 22–26 *"Lotsa Yox" by

(pencils) and Wally Wood (inker), pp. 27–28 *"The Silent Minority" by Mike Ploog, pp. 29–30 *"Token" by Herb Trimpe p. 31-34 *"Backword" by

*Back cover by Ralph Reese

References

External links

*Additional, December 1, 2007. *{{cite magazine, title=Special Fabulous Flo Steinberg Celebration, magazine= Comic Book Artist, number=18 , date=April 2002 American comics titles One-shot comic titles 1975 comics debuts Underground comix

Publication history

Contents

References

External links