The World of 'Adults Only' Comic Books

The row of newly released books at is shelved alphabetically against the wall stretching nearly the whole length of the store.

Just stopping short, a bashful patron sheepishly pretends to show interest in the new Wonder Woman, Warlords of Mars or X-Men; with the desire to venture past the sign that declares the area around the bend off limits to anyone under the age of 18.

More often than not, readers are confronted with certain themes that are commonly found in new comics; vampires, zombies galore and images of action-packed violence, which definitely has a valid entertainment value, but such can also cause one to cringe at such sights.

Then there’s the comic relief offered by the world of adult comic books, chock-full of X-rated illustrations and delightfully bizarre humor, some current, some retro, some being from different countries all together, but all them being extremely entertaining nonetheless. Some may feel the propensity to scoff at such books; dismissing them as nothing more than smut, but to think that anyone is without a single perverted funny bone in their body is completely asinine.

For those of you that do revel in raunchy humor, this is right up your alley guaranteed to put to shame any dirty joke or filthy one-liner that might be slipped into a conversation at the gym, around the water cooler, or while slurping appletinis at the newest upscale saloon.Either way, the all-encompassing assortment of mature titles has got your guilty pleasures covered.

Oh, Robert Crumb, how can the readers of your numerous classics ever thank you for providing them with titles such as Mystic Funnies, Art and Beauty, Zap Comics and The Weirdo among countless others under the flag of Last Gasp Comics. If you happen to be an Amazon-esque woman on roller skates, Mr. Crumb would gladly accept a piggyback ride as a token of appreciation.

Although many of the books offered by Last Gasp are reprints, Crumb has recently released his rendition of The Book of Genesis; hardbound and beautifully illustrated with Adam and Eve in their entire nude free-spirited glory that only Crumb could master. This book is a real masterpiece that puts a different spin on a definitive religious parable that would leave Ann Coulter stammering in frustration not knowing how to bash the story while not offending her base.

However, some of the books of this genre are very obscure, mixing social interpretations from the time of their production (a lot of leftover “free love” from the hippie era), with wildly cross-hatched art and characters that seem to droop and flail across the page with an odd, yet amusing salacious fervor that evokes laughs coupled with art that’s characteristic of that era of comic books: the free-wheeling Seventies and early Eighties.

Last Gasp suggests that you “lower your reading standards” with Mickey Rat, by Robert Armstrong. This sleazy character veers away from the sexy, and brings the reader’s focus to an indecent behavior of another kind. In one scene, Mickey spikes the punch at a party with cheap white wine, lemonade and Ju-Ju Bees sending a house full of yuppies into a swirling delirium. Indeed, this is fun stuff. The lack of sexual content in this particular story is replaced by pure debauchery perpetrated by a repugnant, yet lovable, flabby louse.

There’s no need to be shy; these books were written by adults for adults. No one will think of you as a dirty reprobate slinking around wearing nothing but a soiled trench coat, only to emerge from your pigpen once a week to replenish a stock of Cheetos and porn, I promise. So fret not clean citizen, your mom won’t be scouring underneath your mattress for these books.