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The Funny Papers Trilogy #3
Dugan Under Ground: A Novel
In This Sex! Drugs! Kosmic Trooths! And a Comic Book Rebel Named Looby!
In his earlier novels, Funny Papers and Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies , Tom De Haven embarked on a dazzling tour of twentieth-century America, revealed through the world of the comic strips and their creators. Now in Dugan Under Ground , he transports us to explosive underground comics scene of the sixties.
It's 1967, the Summer of Love. Roy Looby, a gifted young cartoonist, deserts his mentor, the legendary strip man Ed Biggs, and heads to join the drop-outs and musicians in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury. In the reckless spirit of the times, Looby creates "The Imp Eugene," a libidinous comic book character who is a far cry from Biggs' signature figure, Derby Dugan--the cheerful icon of a more optimistic generation. Just like his real-world counterpart, hippie cartoonist R. Crumb, Looby is soon celebrated and vilified for his creation. And then he disappears, rumored to have lost his mind during the drug-fueled creation of a cartoon masterpiece.
A fabulous, strange trip across a wildly changing America, Dugan Under Ground is a rich, inventive tale about the suffocations of jealousy, the regrets that kill the spirit, and the mythic qualities of American popular culture.
In his earlier novels, Funny Papers and Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies , Tom De Haven embarked on a dazzling tour of twentieth-century America, revealed through the world of the comic strips and their creators. Now in Dugan Under Ground , he transports us to explosive underground comics scene of the sixties.
It's 1967, the Summer of Love. Roy Looby, a gifted young cartoonist, deserts his mentor, the legendary strip man Ed Biggs, and heads to join the drop-outs and musicians in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury. In the reckless spirit of the times, Looby creates "The Imp Eugene," a libidinous comic book character who is a far cry from Biggs' signature figure, Derby Dugan--the cheerful icon of a more optimistic generation. Just like his real-world counterpart, hippie cartoonist R. Crumb, Looby is soon celebrated and vilified for his creation. And then he disappears, rumored to have lost his mind during the drug-fueled creation of a cartoon masterpiece.
A fabulous, strange trip across a wildly changing America, Dugan Under Ground is a rich, inventive tale about the suffocations of jealousy, the regrets that kill the spirit, and the mythic qualities of American popular culture.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2001
41 people want to read
About the author
Tom De Haven
39 books38 followersTom De Haven is the author of five novels: Freaks' Amour, Jersey Luck, Funny Papers, Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, and Dugan Under Ground; a collection of three related novellas, Sunburn Lake; and a three-novel series, Chronicle of the King's Tramp, which includes Walker of Worlds, The End-of-Everything Man, and The Last Human. His latest novel for young adults, The Orphan's Tent, was published in 1996, and his latest graphic novel, Green Candles, in 1997. He has previously published two young adult novels, two graphic novels, and various other innovative fiction projects.
De Haven has a richly varied experience as a writer, having worked as a freelance journalist, an editor, and a film and television scriptwriter. His book reviews appear regularly in Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times Book Review. His awards include a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and he has twice won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Before joining VCU's faculty, De Haven taught at Rutgers and Hofstra University.
De Haven has a richly varied experience as a writer, having worked as a freelance journalist, an editor, and a film and television scriptwriter. His book reviews appear regularly in Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times Book Review. His awards include a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and he has twice won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Before joining VCU's faculty, De Haven taught at Rutgers and Hofstra University.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 9, 2012
Usually the final book in a trilogy adds resonance to the entire series. In this case, readers may enjoy Dugan Under Ground better if they haven't yet read its predecessors--in particular, Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, the second book in the series. Dugan Under Ground is a fun, vibrant romp, full of wonderful period detail. But the characters don't resonate the way characters in an exceptional tale do--or as they do in Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies.
To put it another way: If you read Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, you'll laugh and you'll cry. If you read Dugan Under Ground, you'll laugh. Which in and of itself isn't a terrible thing.
To put it another way: If you read Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, you'll laugh and you'll cry. If you read Dugan Under Ground, you'll laugh. Which in and of itself isn't a terrible thing.
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July 15, 2010Probably my favorite out of the Derby Dugan trilogy. Also, if you can, try to find the hardcover edition with the great Kim Deitch cover!
October 4, 2019
The final book of the Dugan Trilogy is the hardest to follow and toughest to take. That's intentional, because the "under ground" in the title refers, in part, to the psychedelic underground comix of the 1960s and 70s. Sequential storytelling takes a back seat to devastating portraits of artists and their obsessions with their creations. "I...wasn't sure whether the pattern was thematic or just schizophrenic, a work of genius or a freak-out in eight hundred tiny pictures." Does that intrigue you? Then dive in!
Note 1: This is not a graphic novel.
Note 2: You don't need to read the two previous books, Funny Papers and Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, to understand this one, but they add depth to the narrative. (Better be careful there; my language is getting as pompous as this book's Joel Clark!)
Note 1: This is not a graphic novel.
Note 2: You don't need to read the two previous books, Funny Papers and Derby Dugan's Depression Funnies, to understand this one, but they add depth to the narrative. (Better be careful there; my language is getting as pompous as this book's Joel Clark!)
July 17, 2008
A character driven story about the rise and fall of comic characters (comic strips/comic books) and their authors as each is linked to their era/creation and how the authors get stuck and suffer from their stasis. Lots of humor, nice details and symbolism. The cover of the book will acquire new meanings once you've read the novel.
June 7, 2011
I enjoyed this wacky romp through the fictional world of the Brothers Looby. A fun read for those interested in comix/comic history as told through fictional characters.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews