William "Willy" MurphyMurphy entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. Accessed Oct. 21, 2016. (October 12, 1936–March 2, 1976) was an American underground cartoonist and editor. Murphy's humor focused on hippies and the counterculture. His signature character was Arnold Peck the Human Wreck, "a mid-30s beanpole with wry observations about his own life and the community around him." Murphy's solo title was called ''Flamed-Out Funnies''; in addition, he contributed to such seminal underground anthologies as ''

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

'', ''

Bijou Funnies ''Bijou Funnies'' was an American underground comix magazine which published eight issues between 1968 and 1973. Edited by Chicago-based cartoonist Jay Lynch, ''Bijou Funnies'' featured strong work by the core group of Lynch, Skip Williamson, Rob ...

'', and ''

San Francisco Comic Book ''San Francisco Comic Book'' was an underground comix anthology published between 1970 and 1983. Conceived of and edited by Gary Arlington, the anthology highlighted the work of many of San Francisco's top underground talents, including Bill Grif ...

'', as well as the '' National Lampoon''. Murphy's work was of the "bigfoot" style of cartooning, with characters having long, droopy noses; and was characterized by strong, humorous writing.

Biography

Murphy was born in New York City in 1936.Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick. Murphy bio, ''The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974). Before becoming a cartoonist, he worked for eight years as an advertising copywriter at J. Walter Thompson in

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 ...

.Murphy entry
''Lambiek Comiclopedia''. Accessed Oct. 22, 2016. The upheaval of the late 1960s, including experimenting with drug use and opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, led Murphy to leave that world behind and dedicate himself to social commentary though his cartooning. In 1969, Murphy contributed to the all-comics tabloid ''

Gothic Blimp Works ''Gothic Blimp Works'', an all-comics tabloid published in 1969 by Peter Leggieri and the '' East Village Other'', was billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper". During its eight-issue run, the publication displayed comics in both color ...

''. Moving to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

around 1970, he was a key contributor to ''

'', and illustrated the cover of the fourth issue. Some time in the early 1970s, along with

Larry Todd Larry S. ToddTodd entry
''Who's Who of American Comics Books, 1928–1999.'' Accessed Sept. 19, ...

and Gary King, Murphy began hanging around the

Air Pirates The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies'' in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by Walt Disney Productions. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Bobby Lo ...

collective — Dan O'Neill,

Shary Flenniken Shary Flenniken (born 1950) is an American editor-writer-illustrator and underground cartoonist. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to '' National Lampoon'' and was on ...

, Bobby London, Gary Hallgren, and

Ted Richards Ted Richards (born 11 January 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Richards was recruited from Xavier Col ...

— and contributing to their projects. In early 1972, Murphy edited the comics section of ''Sunday Paper'', the ambitious but brief-lived broadsheet section of underground comics published by John Bryan. Murphy illustrated the convention program of Berkeleycon 73, the first comic convention that really highlighted underground comix. In 1973–1974, Murphy helped co-found the self-publishing venture

Cartoonists Co-Op Press Cartoonists Co-op Press was an underground comix publishing cooperative based in San Francisco that operated from 1973 to 1974. It was a self-publishing venture by cartoonists Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Jay Lynch, Willy Murphy, Diane ...

, with

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his ''Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the ...

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in th ...

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal comedy, surreal daily comic strip ''Zippy the Pinhead, Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are w ...

, Jerry Lane,

Diane Noomin Diane Robin Noomin ( Rosenblatt, May 13, 1947 – September 1, 2022) was an American comics artist associated with the underground comics movement. She is best known for her character DiDi Glitz, who addresses transgressive social issues such as ...

, and

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade'' and '' Ra ...

. Murphy illustrated three early stories by

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 ...

, which were published in Murphy's own ''Flamed-Out Funnies'' #1 ( Keith Green, 1975) and later appeared in one of Pekar's ''

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 ...

'' collections (although not in the actual comic book series ''American Splendor''). In 1976, Murphy and Gary Hallgren worked closely with

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 ...

and

on ''Give Me Liberty: a Revised History of the American Revolution'',

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 ...

' comic about the hoopla surrounding the

American Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

Death

After developing a cold, Murphy died suddenly of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

over the

Washington's Birthday Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...

weekend in 1976.Rip Off Press: Ted Richards
/ref> Cartoonists at Murphy's funeral included

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 ...

, and Justin Green. Richards, who was Murphy's best friend, wrote a eulogy for him which was later published in ''

'' #6 (Summer 1976).Richards, Ted. "The Outline," ''Arcade, the Comics Revue'' #6 (Summer 1976). That issue also featured a portfolio of Murphy's work. ''Flamed-Out Funnies'' #2 was published posthumously by

in November 1976. Some of Murphy's comics were also posthumously published in ''San Francisco Comic Book'' issue #5 and #7, released in 1980 and 1983 respectively.

Legacy

Murphy's work inspired later cartoonists like

, Paul Mavrides, and Wayno.Forbis, Wil
"An Interview with Wayno!"
''Acid Logic'' (April 16th, 2003).

Bibliography

* ''

'' #4 (

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by '' The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so countercultural that it ...

, 1969) * ''All Stars'' ( San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1970) * ''

'' #1–5, #7 (San Francisco Comic Book Company/

Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...

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 ...

, 1970–1983) * ''Air Pirates Funnies Tabloid'' (Air Pirates Collective, 1972) — contribution to the anthology * ''Dopin' Dan'' #1 (Last Gasp, May 1972) — contribution to Ted Richards' (mostly) solo title * ''Left-Field Funnies'' (Apex Novelties, late 1972) — contribution to anthology mostly by members of the

collective * ''El Perfecto'' (Print Mint, 1973) — contribution to anthology raising money for the

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

Defense Fund * ''

'' #8 (

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...

, Nov. 1973) * ''Short Order'' #2 (Family Fun, 1974) — contribution to anthology edited by

* ''Apex Treasury of Underground Comics'' (Links Books/Quick Fox, 1974; reprinted by Quick Fox, 1981) — reprints of material from other publications * ''Manhunt Comix'' #2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, Dec. 1974) — contributions to anthology edited by Terry Richards * ''

'' #1–6 (Print Mint, 1975–1976) * ''Flamed-Out Funnies'' #1–2 (Keith Green/

, Summer 1975–Nov. 1976) * ''Two Fools'' (Saving Grace, a division of Keith Green Industrial Realities, 1976) — with

References

External links