week 6: underground comics 6

    amongst the underground comics which i have read for this assignment, a common thread is a dedication to going purposefully against social and artistic norms. they have an objective of stirring the pot in such a way as to possibly push for some kind of change, or they may just be doing it because these are people who are less sensitive than others and find it funny when people are insulted by things they can calmly deal with.

    for example, in air pirates funnies, they use images of cartoony, simple characters associated (at the time) with animation and news comics. However they pervert these images and add things like penises and vaginas and show these cute characters activity having sex with each-other. They are also very direct in having these characters use curse words. They ignore the rules of social convention (at the time) and sometimes they ignore the rules of copy right, showing characters like mickey mouse and friends doing things like having sex. 

    Regardless, these kinds of pushes for social change can see very positive results. many comics discussing things which were considered taboo, but really should be. Gay comics showcased the LGBT community at a time when they where heavily discriminated against. their approach was also far less abstract than that of the air pirates. They used the drawing of the comic medium to emphasize certain points, however they play everything fairly seriously. Which makes sense because they where most likely written by gay man and women and all other genders who where finally given the ability and a platform to share their voice.

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