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Anarchy Comics #1-4
Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection
Anarchy The Complete Collection brings together the legendary four issues of Anarchy Comics (1978–1986), the underground comic that melded anarchist politics with a punk sensibility, producing a riveting mix of satire, revolt, and artistic experimentation. This international anthology collects the comic stories of all thirty contributors from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. In addition to the complete issues of Anarchy Comics , the anthology features previously unpublished work by Jay Kinney and Sharon Rudahl, along with a detailed introduction by Kinney, which traces the history of the comic he founded and provides entertaining anecdotes about the process of herding an international crowd of anarchistic cats. Contributors Jay Kinney, Yves Frémion, Gerhard Seyfried, Sharon Rudahl, Steve Stiles, Donald Rooum, Paul Mavrides, Adam Cornford, Spain Rodriguez, Melinda Gebbie, Gilbert Shelton, Volny, John Burnham, Cliff Harper, Ruby Ray, Peter Pontiac, Marcel Trublin, Albo Helm, Steve Lafler, Gary Panter, Greg Irons, Dave Lester, Marion Lydebrooke, Matt Feazell, Pepe Moreno, Norman Dog, Zorca, R. Diggs (Harry Driggs), Harry Robins, and Byron Werner.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 26, 2014
Excellent! I remember picking up a copy of issue #2 of this title at the comics shop back in the day and finding it fascinating reading. Anarchy was one of the comics that bridged the gap between the undergrounds and the indie titles of the '80s. We have underground stalwarts like Gilbert Shelton and Spain Rodriguez, as well as cartoonists who would go on to greater fame in the '80s and '90s like Norman Dog, Gary Panter and Steve Lafler. As with any anthology title, some pieces are stronger than others, but overall the quality is high. This collected volume includes some extras from Jay Kinney's sketchbook as well as a previously unpublished Sharon Rudahl story about Victoria Woodhull. Highly recommended!
February 16, 2021
I absolutely love this series, and the reproduction, extras, and extensive introduction are amazing. The only reason this isn't a five star book is because of some scattered weak stories, a few of which are acknowledged by the editor in his introduction as not up to par. The high points, though, are consistent, fascinating, and many, including some great historical work by Spain Rodriguez, brilliant stories by Melinda Gebbie, and new and old material by Sharon Rudahl.
February 24, 2020
2.5 stars
This is inside baseball anarchism, anarchism for people who use the word “comix.”
In particular, I found the historical pieces drab and confusing for those (i.e., me) not already familiar with anarchist theory and history.
That said, like pretty much every anthology I’ve ever read, there are a few really good pieces:
WILDCAT by Donald Rooum (1981)
Two anarchists (a bespectacled stork and a cat in a turtleneck) try to explain the philosophy to the not-yet-converted, before the cat decides that violence is more interesting than discussions of theory.
“WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?” (1981) pairs Clifford Peter Harper’s expressionistic illustrations with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s moving condemnation of government in theory and practice.
I’m also a fan of Norman Dog’s “You Rule the World!” (1987), an anarchism-themed choose your own adventure story where you can gain military power, become president, invent eternal life serum, or defect to Russia, but every storyline ends with nuclear holocaust.
But still—a lot of this collection was hard to get through, even though it’s comics.
Also, I may not be the target audience.
This is inside baseball anarchism, anarchism for people who use the word “comix.”
In particular, I found the historical pieces drab and confusing for those (i.e., me) not already familiar with anarchist theory and history.
That said, like pretty much every anthology I’ve ever read, there are a few really good pieces:
WILDCAT by Donald Rooum (1981)
Two anarchists (a bespectacled stork and a cat in a turtleneck) try to explain the philosophy to the not-yet-converted, before the cat decides that violence is more interesting than discussions of theory.
“WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?” (1981) pairs Clifford Peter Harper’s expressionistic illustrations with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s moving condemnation of government in theory and practice.
I’m also a fan of Norman Dog’s “You Rule the World!” (1987), an anarchism-themed choose your own adventure story where you can gain military power, become president, invent eternal life serum, or defect to Russia, but every storyline ends with nuclear holocaust.
But still—a lot of this collection was hard to get through, even though it’s comics.
Also, I may not be the target audience.
March 8, 2021
Somehow expected more of this book, so got a bit disappointed of how slow I was reading a comic book. If I start a book I feel responsibility to finish it and I think it's the only reason I continued. Comic book should not take 2 months to read.
Most of the illustrations had a nice style and aesthetically I enjoyed them, although contentwise I liked maybe one third of the stories. My favorites were the historical ones. I normally feel quite bored reading battle stories, but to my surprise I can enjoy them in a format of a comic.
It's not a bad book, but maybe a bit outdated? Or maybe it's intended for a small group of people who would truly enjoy and appreciate such publication and I feel I'm not one of them.
Most of the illustrations had a nice style and aesthetically I enjoyed them, although contentwise I liked maybe one third of the stories. My favorites were the historical ones. I normally feel quite bored reading battle stories, but to my surprise I can enjoy them in a format of a comic.
It's not a bad book, but maybe a bit outdated? Or maybe it's intended for a small group of people who would truly enjoy and appreciate such publication and I feel I'm not one of them.
July 23, 2020
From my hero, Paul Mavrides, a priceless compendium of all four ANARCHY COMICS from when radicals still lived in the SF bay. Someone should reprint this every ten years! Both an excellent history and an indictment of our obsessively short memories --the stuff people are going back and forth about on social media (and I point out social media because it's with the same bad info and reactivity), the same social justice issues, reported in 1981 in comic form, and nothing's got better! This comic could become a classic document just for how much education time it could save people.
May 27, 2016
Mostly really great comic art by some heavies from the underground scene, like Spain Rodriguez and Paul Mavrides. Also some interesting stuff from European artists I hadn't heard of before. If you are dogmatic about anything, you will be infuriated by this collection, or at the very least, terribly offended. If you're here for the comics and not so much the anarchy, then this will be a lot of irreverent fun.
June 1, 2019
Not so relevant for today as I thought it was.
August 24, 2020
Its good that this is in print. A must for any budding Anarchists or anyone else on the far left.
January 31, 2022
Fun to read, and a great bridge from the last gasp of hippie underground comics to punk cynicism.
May 16, 2022
Despite one or two clever comics and an earnestness from at least 50% of the artists, belongs in the trash bin of history.
March 30, 2015
This one will occupy a place of honor in my comics collection. A totally unique publication, a mix of humor, political analysis, history, more humor, and a few totally weird indefinable things thrown in. Some great art, especially from Jay Kinney, Sharon Rudahl, Clifford Harper, Spain Rodriguez, and a bunch of others. Doesn't take itself too seriously but also allows for moments of seriousness when called for. A historical document from the late 70s and 80s, punk rock, intellectual, satirical, underground, stabs effectively at the Left, the Right, the State, those that wanna smash the State. Stabs with an ink pen, I mean.
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July 8, 2014Well, actually I read the comic books when I was a young anarchist back in the early '80s... made a big impression on me, definitely informed my hippie-punk hybrid anarchist attitude and aesthetic... Brought back memories to look at them again... Good stuff (mostly). Spain Rodriguez's depictions of the Spanish anarchists and Makhnovists are the most didactic.
November 1, 2014
A mixed bag as any collection like this is bound to be, but the best stuff shows what can be done with comics when very smart people produce them. Also, having Jesus be left behind at the Rapture for being Jewish was sheer comedic brilliance.
July 15, 2015
I loved the style and the premise, but not nearly enough substance, as all the stories were 1-3 pages long and didn't really get a chance to develop as much as I'd like. Totally awesome to see the early work from Melinda Gebbie, though.
March 15, 2016
I think I paged through some of these in the distant past. They seem familiar and a bit nostalgic. Arts not the point in these, though some of it's pretty good. Punk Rock! Etc.
December 9, 2016
Light on actual clear discussion of concepts but heavy on obsessively dense theory talk and punk stereotypes dressed as Crumb style comix.
April 26, 2017
Some I really liked, but most I didn't care for.
I tried not to rate according to my expectations, but I was hoping for more explanations and arguments for anarchism than there were. Most of the comics just assumed that you already had a fair knowledge of what they were talking about. It seems to me like the magazine was more of a club for anarchists than a medium for informing and spreading knowledge. Which is fine, just know that going in.
Additionally, a lot of the comics were pretty dull to read. They were messy and cluttered and I didn't really enjoy them.
That being said, there were a handful that I really enjoyed and am glad I read this collection just for them.
The history ones appealed to me. They were a bit dry, but didn't assume a whole lot of information, were typically somewhat interesting and gave me lots of events and people to research.
No Exit was a favorite of mine. Quite hilarious.
Control! was exactly what I was looking for! Funny and absurd, but it explained some anarchist concepts quite well. Very readable too.
Wildcat was another great one. It defended anarchy against common critiques, and also made a comment about the more extreme and.. visible methods some anarchists have used to garner attention. I thought it was very well done.
The Radical Reflections comics always made me laugh as well.
I tried not to rate according to my expectations, but I was hoping for more explanations and arguments for anarchism than there were. Most of the comics just assumed that you already had a fair knowledge of what they were talking about. It seems to me like the magazine was more of a club for anarchists than a medium for informing and spreading knowledge. Which is fine, just know that going in.
Additionally, a lot of the comics were pretty dull to read. They were messy and cluttered and I didn't really enjoy them.
That being said, there were a handful that I really enjoyed and am glad I read this collection just for them.
The history ones appealed to me. They were a bit dry, but didn't assume a whole lot of information, were typically somewhat interesting and gave me lots of events and people to research.
No Exit was a favorite of mine. Quite hilarious.
Control! was exactly what I was looking for! Funny and absurd, but it explained some anarchist concepts quite well. Very readable too.
Wildcat was another great one. It defended anarchy against common critiques, and also made a comment about the more extreme and.. visible methods some anarchists have used to garner attention. I thought it was very well done.
The Radical Reflections comics always made me laugh as well.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews