Underworld, Vol. 1: Cruel and Unusual Comics

Underworld #1

by Kaz

In this series of stand-alone Naughty Bits collections, Gregory takes on pornography, shopping, yuppies, dating, menstru-ation, and much more. The lead character in most is Bitchy Bitch, the perma-nently PMS'd and PO'd embodiment of the female id, who also stars in her own series of cartoon shorts on the Oxygen Network's X-Chromosome animated series.The raunchiest collection, focusing on Bitchy's sexual excapades.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comix, Comic Strips, Art

80 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jennifer Thompson Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depraved and hilarious. So many decapitations.

[Ryan Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sat on my shelf for years, having scored it at a Half Price Books for $1 forever ago. A Mark Leyner introduction threw me off right away, as well as blurbs from Art Spiegelman and Daniel Clowes. Who the fuck is this dude?

These are absurdist comics, by all means. The Leyner intro makes all the sense in the world—except the actual content of it, which is essentially nonsense. In these single page, four panel comics we get lots of decapitations, murders, miscommunications, insanity-inducing doldrums, drug abuse, animals with diarrhea, alcoholics, and on and on. They’re playfully nihilistic and only occasionally creep into edgelord territory.

Some of the language hasn’t aged well and when the gallows humor itself tries a more satirical edge or punches down for cheap humor, it’s a bad look. The excuse of “it was the 90s!” isn’t a good one, or at least isn’t a good one in justifying Kaz as a recommendation to a contemporary audience who didn’t grow up in the era of the I MUST NOW SHOCK YOU 1990s. Some folks will be less likely to stomach it or see it as a bad part of a good thing, and rightfully so, since it’s childish and not funny at best and accepting of harmful language and stigmas at worst.

So, overall, lot of very funny strips and moments in here that’s hindered by the times it thrived in.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third printing = Summer 2000

I think Kaz would find it funny and appropriate that my copy came warped and bent-to-torment with food matter and other grab-a-sponge grunge all about the covers under the auspices of BetterWorldBooks "Acceptable"!

The 23rd week of 1993 was my favorite BY FAR. The pond duck commentary isn't funny at all- which is precisely his point. As long as it's framed as humor and ends with a punch-line people will be forced to recognize troublesome truths that they strive to ignore.

VERY rough figures:
10% genius
10% hysterical
50% humourous
10% didn't "get it"
10% adorably stupid
10% inexcusably stupid
but all disturbing and uncomfortable.

[Digi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll give it a 5 for it’s originality, and for delivering a funny joke more often than not, all within its four panels.

Some strips are morbid, some curious and some just funny. Nothing is taboo here. The characters are the dirty, drug addled and imperfect versions of famous American cartoon characters. Very funny.

[Jack Garton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Kaz. This is my kind of humour, the kind that I always feel kinda bad about around most other people. But Kaz gets it.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so pathetic but I had the biggest crush on Kaz when I was 24. I was so deeply impressed by his work and I was living in Fantagraphic Comics's basement store room, so when someone would actually TALK to Kaz on the phone about whatever, I'd freak inside. He was so perfect. He lived in New Jersey which is a million times cooler than Manhattan and trumps Brooklyn. (As a teenager I'd see the same band in NYC and in Hoboken. Guess where the audience danced, smiled and was friendly?) He was a radio DJ. And he seemed to have a rockabilly thing going on. Someone told me he wasn't American. More lust. I knew we'd fall in love - he just had to get to Seattle and meet me!

So he didn't. His loss. Because I'd be a very supportive girlfriend as he draws Underworld. There is still hope, though, right?

Even if he wasn't my imaginary cartoonist boyfriend, I'd say this is the only weekly cartoon that matters. He is an amazing artist. And wonderful imaginary boyfriend.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though the Underworld comic strip isn't as good as many others I'm strangely drawn to it. It's best when the pitch-black gallows humor is at it's most tasteless. The artwork is pretty appealing too with thick black lines and a permanent nighttime sky line.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good example of what you can do with the four-panel strip format. Simple gags and yuks. Not yet what we have been waiting for from the strip.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demented, Deviant, and depraved!