Underground Comics

Underground comics are probably a genre that will never really appeal to my tastes as to what I’m looking for in a sequential art form. Looking through each option we could choose to read, I found it very difficult to be engrossed by the content. Not only did I not enjoy the overall art styles that were depicted through each one, but I also felt offended by some of the themes like racial slurs and untactful, raw, sexual depictions. I ended up choosing “Mr. Natural”. However, I’m sad to say that while this was the one most enjoyed, it really doesn’t say much.

Reading Mr. Natural before being exposed to other underground comics during class has helped me reflect and compare. Mr. Natural has by far a much better sense of depicting its illustrations than every other comic I read during class. The latter was much more crude, lacking rhythm and every other aspect that would appeal to me as an artist. You could argue that the point of underground comics isn’t really about the art but more about the freedom to depict any subject matter you want and to do it in a censor-free environment. However true, I can’t shake off the visuals. Underground comics are still comics. They are meant to be read through images because it is a form of sequential visual storytelling. I felt like this was lacking in both “visual” and “storytelling” aspects. To me it felt more like an outlet of ideas and the fact that these were publish still impresses me. I don’t really see these as good stories rather than an excuse to publish controversial themes.