MINESHAFT #31

When I was a young man you could find amazing underground comics at any number of venues. In those days the world of independent comic book publishing was pretty tough, but quality seemed to find a home and a way. Some comic book shops carried the work of the creators we now think of as masters of the subversive comic book world. And the old head shops almost always had shelves full of comic book works by the likes of Crumb, Spain, Lynch, Irons, London, and the many others who filled pages of amazing comix with disturbing fiction and dangerous facts.

These days there is still something of an alternative comics marketplace, but in relation to what was here from the 60s through the late 80s, it's pretty tame and frankly no more dangerous or expansive than watching a kitten at play. The good ol' days in the world of politics and comics are unfortunately faded.

Except for one digest magazine.

MINESHAFT. This publication is produced right here in my current home state of North Carolina. Within the pages of this booklet one can find some of the great old underground cartoonists and some of the best from recent years and some who are completely new to me.

It's like discovering the old magazines for the first time when I was a young man. Within these covers (and actually on the covers!) you can discover some of that old danger that made the undergrounds so exciting and important.

I highly recommend the magazine and suggest that you subscribe. (They accept Paypal!) It's the only place I've discovered in recent years that publishes the type of comics used to set us all on edge.

A new Jay Lynch cover (and interiors!)

Crumb!

Where else can you find a comic starring and quoting Slajov Zizek?!

And exquisite renderings from Robert Crumb's sketchbooks.