Tits & Clits Comix
Encyclopedia
Tits & Clits Comix was an all-female underground comics anthology
put together by Joyce Farmer
and Lyn Chevely, published from 1972
to 1987
. In addition to Farmer and Chevely, contributors to Tits & Clits included Roberta Gregory
, Lee Marrs
, and Trina Robbins
.
Along with such titles as It Aint Me Babe and Wimmen's Comix
, Tits & Clits was part of a movement by female cartoonists to counter the male-dominated, often blatantly misogynistic, works of the underground. With the conviction that sex was political, the series was created with the focus of sexuality from a female perspective.
of the mostly male-underground comix scene, as well as the phoniness of mainstream pornographic magazines like Playboy
and Penthouse
, Farmer and Chevely published Tits & Clits (under the publisher name Nanny Goat Productions) as a sex-positive feminist
comic. (In addition to Tits & Clits, the duo also produced a one-shot comic about reproductive rights
, Abortion Eve, in 1973.)
Condemned by many feminists (even other cartoonists), as well as the expected antagonism from male underground cartoonists, Tits & Clits also suffered from a 1973 pornography
investigation by the Orange County, California
, district attorney's office. Nevertheless, Farmer and Chevely published three issues of Tits & Clits on their own from 1972–1977 (often in print runs of 10,000–20,000). The title was exclusively written and drawn by Farmer and Chevely for the first two issues, and was opened up to other contributors starting with issue #3.
San Francisco underground publisher Last Gasp
picked the title up for its final four issues, which were published intermittently between 1977 and 1987. The final issue, #7, was published seven years after issue #6, and featured work by a number of younger cartoonists, part of a new generation of female alternative cartoonists. (It also featured a story by Dennis Worden
, the only male cartoonist to contribute to Tits & Clits.)
Comics anthology
Comics anthologies collect works in the medium of comics that are too short for standalone publication.- U.S. :- UK :British comics have a long tradition publishing comics anthologies, often weekly...
put together by Joyce Farmer
Joyce Farmer
Joyce Farmer is an American cartoonist. She was a participant in the underground comix movement. With Lyn Chevely, she created the feminist anthology comic book series Tits & Clits Comix in 1972....
and Lyn Chevely, published from 1972
1972 in comics
-Events:* Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK .* Phil Seuling founds East Coast Seagate Distribution, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine...
to 1987
1987 in comics
- Year overall :* Independent publishers continue to enter the comics arena, including Amazing, CFW Enterprises, Imperial Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, New Comics Group, and Rebel Studios...
. In addition to Farmer and Chevely, contributors to Tits & Clits included Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory
Roberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
, Lee Marrs
Lee Marrs
Lee Marrs is an American comic book writer, animator, and one of the first women underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series, The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973 to 1978.-Underground comics:Marrs was a frequent contributor to...
, and Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
.
Along with such titles as It Aint Me Babe and Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix
Wimmen's Comix, later titled Wimmin's Comix, was an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genre and subject matter, Wimmen's Comix focused more than other anthologies of the time on feminist concerns, homosexuality, sex...
, Tits & Clits was part of a movement by female cartoonists to counter the male-dominated, often blatantly misogynistic, works of the underground. With the conviction that sex was political, the series was created with the focus of sexuality from a female perspective.
Publication history
Seeing what they perceived as the inherent sexismSexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
of the mostly male-underground comix scene, as well as the phoniness of mainstream pornographic magazines like Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and Penthouse
Penthouse (magazine)
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
, Farmer and Chevely published Tits & Clits (under the publisher name Nanny Goat Productions) as a sex-positive feminist
Sex-positive feminism
Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s...
comic. (In addition to Tits & Clits, the duo also produced a one-shot comic about reproductive rights
Reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:...
, Abortion Eve, in 1973.)
Condemned by many feminists (even other cartoonists), as well as the expected antagonism from male underground cartoonists, Tits & Clits also suffered from a 1973 pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
investigation by the Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, district attorney's office. Nevertheless, Farmer and Chevely published three issues of Tits & Clits on their own from 1972–1977 (often in print runs of 10,000–20,000). The title was exclusively written and drawn by Farmer and Chevely for the first two issues, and was opened up to other contributors starting with issue #3.
San Francisco underground publisher Last Gasp
Last Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
picked the title up for its final four issues, which were published intermittently between 1977 and 1987. The final issue, #7, was published seven years after issue #6, and featured work by a number of younger cartoonists, part of a new generation of female alternative cartoonists. (It also featured a story by Dennis Worden
Dennis Worden
Dennis Worden's alternative comics caught the public's attention in the early '80s, via Robert Crumb's Weirdo anthology. He created the comic book Stickboy, detailing the existential adventures of a stick figure. There were eight issues. Other comic books by Worden were, Slur, Bongo Dick,...
, the only male cartoonist to contribute to Tits & Clits.)
Contributors
- Joyce FarmerJoyce FarmerJoyce Farmer is an American cartoonist. She was a participant in the underground comix movement. With Lyn Chevely, she created the feminist anthology comic book series Tits & Clits Comix in 1972....
(as "Joyce Sutton") — founding contributor/editor - Lyn Chevely (a.k.a.PseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Lyn Chevli) (as "Chin Lyvely") — founding contributor/editor - Carla Abbotts
- Joyce BrabnerJoyce BrabnerJoyce Brabner is a writer of political comics and a sometime collaborator with her late husband Harvey Pekar. Brabner is also a liberal social activist, most recently championing Coventry Village in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the neighborhood in which she resides, with a series of imaginative...
- Dot Bucher
- Comicazie
- Cory
- Joey Epstein
- Karen Feinberg
- Miriam Flambe
- Mary FleenerMary FleenerMary Fleener is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls cubismo, derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions...
- Melinda GebbieMelinda GebbieMelinda Gebbie is an American comics artist and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls, the three-volume graphic novel she produced in collaboration with writer Alan Moore, published by Top Shelf.-Biography:...
- Paula Gray
- Roberta GregoryRoberta GregoryRoberta Gregory is an American comic book writer and artist best known for her character Bitchy Bitch from her Fantagraphics Books series Naughty Bits.Gregory's father was Disney comics artist Bob Gregory...
- Beverly Hilliard
- Julie Hollings (as "Jewelz")
- Michelle Jurris
- Krystine Kryttre
- Ruth Lynn
- Jennifer Malik
- Lee MarrsLee MarrsLee Marrs is an American comic book writer, animator, and one of the first women underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series, The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973 to 1978.-Underground comics:Marrs was a frequent contributor to...
- Carel Moiseiwitsch
- Chris Powers
- Terry Richards
- Trina RobbinsTrina RobbinsTrina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
- Sharon Rudahl
- Shelby Sampson
- Dori SedaDori SedaDorthea Antonette "Dori" Seda was an artist best known for her underground comix work of the 1980s. Her comics combined exaggerated fantasy and ribald humor with documentation of her life in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.- Biography :Seda was originally a painter and ceramics...
- Leslie Sternbergh
- Luna Ticks
- Rocky Trout
- Dennis WordenDennis WordenDennis Worden's alternative comics caught the public's attention in the early '80s, via Robert Crumb's Weirdo anthology. He created the comic book Stickboy, detailing the existential adventures of a stick figure. There were eight issues. Other comic books by Worden were, Slur, Bongo Dick,...