Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of

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 ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

books and comics. They have a long-standing relationship with underground comix 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 ...

History

The company was founded in 1975 by Tony and Carol Bennett as Hassle Free Press, a U.K. publisher of underground titles like

's ''

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 ...

'' and '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', as well as work by British creators such as

Hunt Emerson Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

and

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequel '' Heart of Empire'', as well as the ''Grandville'' series of books. He collaborated ...

. Around 1978 or 1979 the company changed its name to Knockabout Comics. It has published works by

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 ...

(''My Troubles With Women'', ''R. Crumb Draws the Blues'', ''R. Crumb's America''). In the 1980s 13 issues of the eponymous ''Knockabout'' anthology were produced. Graphic designer and cartoonist

Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Marv ...

was the company's chief designer from 1985 to 1992. Knockabout has frequently suffered from prosecutions from U.K. customs, who have seized work by creators such as Crumb and

Melinda Gebbie Melinda Gebbie (born 1937) is an American comics artist and writer, known for her participation in the underground comix movement. She is also known for creating the controversial work ''Fresca Zizis'' and her contributions to ''Wimmen's Comix ...

, claiming it to be obsceneKnocking about with Tony Bennett
,

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story by Allen Adler and Irvi ...

, September 13, 2006 or promoting drug use. The company currently has a diverse catalogue of titles and, with

Top Shelf Productions Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia. Top Shelf pu ...

has co-published '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century'' and '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV: The Tempest'', both by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

and Kevin O'Neill. (The previous installments were published by

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, and

America's Best Comics America's Best Comics (ABC) is a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics. History ''America's Best ...

, all of which are imprints of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

.) Since the late 1990s, when

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 ...

essentially stopped publishing comics, Knockabout has become the main English-language publisher for Gilbert Shelton, including such titles as ''

'', ''

Wonder Wart-Hog Wonder Wart-Hog (the "Hog of Steel") is an underground comic book character, a porcine parody of Superman, created by Gilbert Shelton and first published in 1962. Over the years, Shelton has worked on the strip in collaboration with various write ...

'', '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', and '' Not Quite Dead''.

Titles (selected)

Original titles

* ''Knockabout Comics'' (13 issues, 1980–1988) * ''Knockabout Trial Special'' (1984) *''Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament'' (1987) — by Neil Gaiman,

, Dave McKean,

, et al. * ''Hard to Swallow'' (1988) — John Dowie &

* ''Seven Deadly Sins'' (1989) — anthology featuring

Lew Stringer Lew Stringer (born 22 March 1959 in England) is a freelance comic artist and scriptwriter. Biography Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular '' Brickman'' character; these were read by ...

, Neil Gaiman,

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

, Davy Francis, et al. * ''Firkin'' (7 issues, 1989–1991) — by

and Tom Motley * '' Not Quite Dead'' (6 issues, 1993–2010) — by

and Pic; originally co-published with

*'' A Disease of Language'' (2005) — adapted by

Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of ''From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-au ...

, from

's "The Birth Caul" and "Snakes and Ladders" with interview from ''Egomania Magazine'', hardcover, 160 pages, * '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III'' (2009–2012) — by

and Kevin O'Neill; co-published with

*''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

'' (2016) — novel by

* '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV: The Tempest'' (2018–2019) — by

and Kevin O'Neill; co-published with Top Shelf Productions

Reprints and collections

* ''

'' (9 issues, 1976–1992) * ''Fresca Zizis'' (1985) —

* ''Opium'' (1986) — Daniel Torres * '' Fat Freddy's Cat'' (7 issues, 1988) * ''My Troubles With Women'' (1990) — by

* '' R. Crumb Draws the Blues'' (1992) * '' R. Crumb's America'' (1994) *''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

'' (2000) — by

and

, trade paperback *''Bolland Strips!'' (2005) — by Brian Bolland *''Yesterday's Tomorrows: Rian Hughes Collected Comics'' (2007) — by

, 256 pages, * ''

The Bojeffries Saga ''The Bojeffries Saga'' is a series of comics stories written by Alan Moore and drawn by Steve Parkhouse which have been published by a number of different companies since their debut in 1983 in the UK comics anthology ''Warrior''. It features a ...

'' (co-published with

, Feb. 2013)

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{Authority control Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1975 British comics British companies established in 1975