The Hippie Years--page 2

Late in this era a small group of artists created several comic books parodying the stories and characters of Walt Disney. The Air Pirates Funnies and Dan O'Neills Comics and Stories became not only underground successes, but underground legends because of the artist's ensuing legal problems with the Disney Company. Disney did not like the "filthy" actions of the underground Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et. al., and sued on the grounds of trademark violation and copyright infringement. The trademark violation charge was dropped around 1979, but the copyright infringement suit continued. Even though the comics were obvious parodies (like the early Mad Magazine), the court ruled in favor of Disney, and the artists were sued for damages. For a more complete story on the Air Pirates, go to http://www.comic-art.com/intervws/londart.htm . The following are covers of those infamous comic books and a few of the spin-off comics. Click on a cover to see a larger image.
pirates1.jpg (202422 bytes)Air Pirates Funnies, Vol. 1, No. 1, July 1971. Published by Hell Comics, San Francisco. Art and stories by Dan O'Neill, Ted Richards, Gary Hallgren, and Bobby London.
pirates2.jpg (172938 bytes)Air Pirates Funnies, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 1971. Art and stories by Dan O'Neill, Ted Richards, Gary Hallgren, and Bobby London. Disney was not amused.
dan-1.jpg (183379 bytes)Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories. Vol. 1, No. 1. No date or publisher listed. Art and story by Dan O'Neill. Back cover by Gary London.
dan-2.jpg (206147 bytes)Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories. Vol. 1, No. 2. No date or publisher listed. Art and story by Dan O'Neill. One-pager by Gary Hallgren.
dan-3.jpg (205473 bytes)Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories. Vol. 1, No. 3. No date or publisher listed. Art and story by Dan O'Neill. Short story by Gary Hallgren.
tortoise.jpg (222431 bytes)The Tortoise and the Hare, No. 1. Published by Last Gasp Eco-funnies, Berkeley, California, 1971.  Art and stories by Gary Hallgren, Dan O'Neill, Shary Flenniken, Bobby London, and Ted Richards.
lawsuit.jpg (176666 bytes)Back cover of The Tortoise and the Hare, No. 1.
Notes: Episode #1, The Tortoise and the Hare, reprinted from Air Pirates #2, which is now banned in Boston, Berkeley and the rest of continental Disneyland. As of December 1971, Air Pirates #3 will not be allowed either. "Mickey's Son and Daughter" song by Lisbonna & Conners, recorded by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
ezwolf.jpg (219695 bytes)E.Z. Wolf, Vol. 1, No. 1, July, 1977. Published by Rip Off Press Inc., San Francisco. Art and stories by Ted Richards. A little late to be considered a Hippie era comic, but listed here as a footnote. Six years after the Disney lawsuit, Ted Richards again attempts a "Disney-style" comic. This time, there are no obvious Disney characters, only funny animals more akin to Walt Kelly then to Walt Disney.
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