See for Yourself!

(Back cover of Zap! Comix #1; photo credit: Larry Thompson)

Started in 1968 as a showcase for Robert Crumb, Zap Comix proves once again the truism that every new idea begins as heresy and ends as dogma (all due apologies to T.H. Huxley for mangling his Famous Quotation). Pot comix culture loved the "before/after" trope, along with a gee-whiz tone, one that would soon be appropriated by National Lampoon magazine (which itself inherited the gleeful, comic-book-y scorn of "official society" popularized by Mad in the 1950s). I'm getting into a pop counterculture mood, so GHOST TRAIN may be getting a bit snarky over the next few days. Apologies in advance.