Do you want a deep dive into underground comics? Then this is the book for you. Learn how different cartoonists like Art Spiegelman and Robert Crumb found their way beyond the pen and paper, and how they chose their stories.

I was very interested in the topic of the underground comix movement when I studied graphic novels for a class last winter. I loved going in depth on the topic! The Comix movement was so important to the development of graphic novels today!

The author is well written and informative. I had a good time with this one!

I read a lot of comics so i was really interested to pick this up! I enjoyed every single one of the short stories and i found the writing to be really engaging! Definitely learned a lot despite already having a good background in the subject,

As a writer of comics myself, I appreciated this deep dive into the comics (or comix) and creators that shaped my own approach to the genre. Well researched and engagingly written.

This was an interesting collection of short stories. I found each chapter interesting. It was like entertainment and history together. thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Abrams Presss for an advanced copy of this history of comix and their creators.

A baby, made homeless by his planet's destruction is taken in by a loving couple, who helps him become a good citizen in his new home. Four busy bodies go into space, find that the journey has changed them, and go on to help others. That is pretty much the history of comics to most people. Sure there was your Sad Sack, or Carl Barks doing Uncle Scrooge, but to most people comics are the big companies, with some tiny independents with a mutant turtle or radioactive hamster making a ruckus, before going back to the men in capes and the Amazonian women. Maybe some will know Robert Crumb because there was a movie about a cat, and documentary on him, or they were hippies. However the fast world of the underground comix is not that well known to people, even comic book readers, unless they spot a Fantagraphics collection while picking up their pull list at the comic shop. Brian Doherty in his book Dirty Pictures:How an Underground Network of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits, Geniuses, Bikers, Potheads, Printers, Intellectuals, and Art School Rebels Revolutionized Art and Invented Comix, hopes to remedy that. And in this stately tome, he more than does.

The book is a narrative history, following the creators as they were born, how they developed, and what they worked on. The usual gang of geniuses are featured, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez. And others not so well known, and others who have been unfairly forgotten. Each are introduced and followed as the start on their paths, meet each other, work together, sometimes feud and sue, and for some gallery shows and fame, for others unfairly forgotten, or dead from excess, or broken hearts. The stories are interesting, tales of success when everyone doubted, to sad when somehow it all goes wrong. The list of creators is big, covering all the worlds of underground comix, including a few artists, I had heard of, but knew nothing about.

The research must have been daunting. Trying to tie stories together after so much time, in some places so much hatred, and in others so much drugs and alcohol. The writing is solid, and never meanders much, except when it has to. My only problem is a small one, the chapters just went on and on. I understand the chapters are covering a time period, but a break in a few spots might have been nice, but that is minor quibble. This is a major book bringing together a lot of creators and a huge span of time. I can't imagine it was easy, and I give Mr. Doherty major praise and kudos for his work.

A fantastic piece of reportage, biography and social history. The book shows the impact of comix on readers, creators and the big companies and their superhero books also. A really great book that a lot of readers will enjoy. Recommended for comic historians, pop culture enthusiasts and people who like to read about art and the creation of art. If these guys and gals could do it, so can anyone who is willing to try.

I've read a lot of histories of mainstream comics, but "Underground Comix" have always been a blind spot for me. That's no longer the case thanks to Brian Doherty's Dirty Pictures. It covers a lot of titles and creators I only have a passing knowledge of. A great addition to any comic fan's library.

"Dirty Pictures" serves as a history of comix and their eventual place in the field of literature, from the names you do know to the names you might not be as familiar with.