Don Donahue
Encyclopedia
Don Donahue was a comic book publisher, operating under the name Apex Novelties, one of the instigators of the underground comix
movement in the 1960s.
In San Francisco in 1968, Donahue traded his hi-fi tape player to poet Charles Plymell
to publish the first issue of Robert Crumb
's Zap Comix
on his printing press. Donahue later purchased the equipment and founded Apex Novelties, which published numerous influential comics from that movement, including work by S. Clay Wilson
, Kim Deitch
, Shary Flenniken
, Justin Green, Bill Griffiths
, Spain Rodriguez
, Gilbert Shelton
, Art Spiegelman
. He was known for publishing material by radicals, including the Symbionese Liberation Army
(best known for kidnapping Patty Hearst
).
The partner of cartoonist Dori Seda
, he inherited the rights to her work following her death at the age of 37, and published Dori Stories, a compilation of her comics.
Donahue died of cancer on October 27, 2010.
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which 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, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
movement in the 1960s.
In San Francisco in 1968, Donahue traded his hi-fi tape player to poet Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell is a poet, novelist, and small press publisher. Plymell has been published widely, collaborated with, and published many poets, writers, and artists, including principals of the Beat Generation....
to publish the first issue of Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
's Zap Comix
Zap Comix
Zap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
on his printing press. Donahue later purchased the equipment and founded Apex Novelties, which published numerous influential comics from that movement, including work by S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson is an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix,...
, Kim Deitch
Kim Deitch
-Sources:* at Lambiek's Comiclopedia-External links:* Ford, Jeffrey. *Heller, Steven. **...
, Shary Flenniken
Shary Flenniken
Shary Flenniken 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 one of the editors of the magazine for two years...
, Justin Green, Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths was a poet and Anglo-Saxon scholar associated with the British Poetry Revival.-Overview:...
, Spain Rodriguez
Spain Rodriguez
Manuel Rodriguez , better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, is an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the biker gang, the Road Vultures, provided inspiration for his work, as did his left-wing politics.-Biography:Born in Buffalo, New...
, Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert Shelton is an American cartoonist and underground comix artist. He is the creator of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog, Philbert Desanex, Not Quite Dead, and the cover art to The Grateful Dead's 1978 album Shakedown Street.He graduated from Lamar High...
, Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
. He was known for publishing material by radicals, including the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
(best known for kidnapping Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
).
The partner of cartoonist Dori Seda
Dori Seda
Dorthea Antonette "Dori" Seda was an artist best known for her underground comix work of the 1980s. Her comics combined exaggerated fantasy and ribald humor with documentation of her life in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.- Biography :Seda was originally a painter and ceramics...
, he inherited the rights to her work following her death at the age of 37, and published Dori Stories, a compilation of her comics.
Donahue died of cancer on October 27, 2010.
Titles published
- Best Buy Comics (Feb. 1979) – Consists primarily of R. Crumb material originally published in CoEvolution QuarterlyCoEvolution QuarterlyCoEvolution Quarterly is a descendant of Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog. It eventually became the Whole Earth Review.-History:...
- Black and White Comics (June 1973) – R. Crumb
- Cunt Comics (1969)
- Funny Aminals (1972) – anthology title featuring the Art SpiegelmanArt SpiegelmanArt Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
three-page strip "Maus," the inspiration for MausMausMaus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is a biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between descriptions of Vladek's life in Poland before and during the Second World War and Vladek's later life in the Rego Park neighborhood of... - Jiz (1969) – anthology featuring R. Crumb, S. Clay WilsonS. Clay WilsonS. Clay Wilson is an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix,...
, Victor MoscosoVictor MoscosoVictor Moscoso is an artist best known for producing psychedelic rock posters/advertisements and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and '70s....
, Rory Hayes, Spain RodriguezSpain RodriguezManuel Rodriguez , better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, is an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the biker gang, the Road Vultures, provided inspiration for his work, as did his left-wing politics.-Biography:Born in Buffalo, New...
, and Jay LynchJay LynchJay Lynch is an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. He has contributed to Mad, and in 2008, he expanded into the children's book field.-Early life and career:Born in Orange,... - King Bee (1969) – Anthology featuring several of the Zap Comix artists
- Left-Field Funnies (1972) – anthology
- Mr. NaturalMr. Natural (comics)Mr. Natural is a comic book character created and drawn by 1960s counterculture and underground comix artist Robert Crumb. The character first appeared in the premiere issue of Yarrowstalks .-Characterization:...
(1970) – R. Crumb - Snatch Comics (1968) – Principally by R. Crumb (using various pseudonyms) and S. Clay WilsonS. Clay WilsonS. Clay Wilson is an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix,...
- Terminal Comics (1971)
- Your Hytone Comics (Feb. 1971) – R. Crumb
- Zap ComixZap ComixZap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
(1968) – R. Crumb