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Frank L. Waynewood Underground- and Alternative Comics Collection, 1958-2016

Overview of the Collection

Title
Frank L. Waynewood Underground- and Alternative Comics Collection
Dates
1958-2016 (inclusive)
Quantity
21.3 linear feet, (37 boxes (approximately 1,180 items))
Collection Number
XOE_SC0074
Summary
This is the comic book collection of Frank L. Waynewood (1937-2016), donated in his memory by his wife, Catherine R. Tate, in 2017. The collection's focus is on underground and alternative "comix," documenting the 1960s-1970s underground comix scene as well as the emergence of the Pacific Northwest as a hub of alternative comics in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection consists of an assortment of graphic novels and comic adaptations, minicomics and zines, anthology volumes and collected works. Portions of the subject matter contain sexual and/or violent themes and may be regarded as controversial.
Repository
Western Washington University, Special Collections
Wilson 6th Floor
516 High Street MS9103
Bellingham WA
98225-9123
Telephone: (360) 650-3193
Fax: (360) 650-3044
speccoll@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English, Spanish; Castilian
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Historical Note

Frank Louis Waynewood was born on November 15, 1937, in Abilene, Texas, where he was raised by his mother, Louise Burns. Before moving to Seattle in 1961, Waynewood was enrolled in the first integrated class of the University of Texas. Frank Waynewood earned his undergraduate degree from Seattle University and a master's degree from the University of Washington in 1976. Frank Waynewood spent a career in public service with the City of Seattle, State of Washington, and King County METRO. His early career included stints with the Black Contractors Association and as acting director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP).

In his personal life, Frank Waynewood was an enthusiastic traveler and a passionate collector. In their journeys together, remembers Catherine Tate, Frank was easy to spot. Just go to the nearest used bookstore or antique shop and you'd find him sitting on the floor, paging through the comics. "Frank loved mainstream comics," explained Tate, "But he came of age with Mad Magazine. In particular, he loved the tiny drawings in the margins. That's what really led him to underground comix: it was the stuff you had to work at, to decode."

"Underground comix" is a term frequently used to describe non-mainstream comic books of any kind. However, the term originated with the uncensored comic books of the 1960s counterculture. According to some sources, the spelling of the term signifies the form's commitment to transgressive free expression, with the "X" in "comix" standing for "X-Rated." 1960s-1970s underground comix are characterized by the influence of EC Comics, a briefly ascendant postwar publisher whose boundary-pushing comics contributed to the industry's establishment of self-censorship regime known as the Comics Code Authority (CCA). Underground comix's embrace of the grotesque and irreverent paid explicit homage to EC Comics, and its cartoonists delighted in skewering the CCA.

By the mid-1970s, the underground comix scene was running out of gas. As Jay Kennedy writes, "artists and publishers had to reassess their aims. The artists lost their concern with breaking taboos. Their work became more personal and the range of their subject matter reflected this as it became more diverse. […] The label 'underground' had become vestigial. The broader label 'alternative' would now be more appropriate."

As "alternative" succeeded "underground," Seattle succeeded the Bay Area as the capital of the independent comix/comics scene. A flood of self-published zines and minicomics emerged out of the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s as the region gained renown as a "DIY" cultural hub. When legendary publisher Fantagraphics relocated to Seattle from LA in 1989, the northward migration of the scene was complete.

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Content Description

This collection documents the underground comix scene of the 1960s and 1970s through rare original comic books, reprints, and bound anthologies. Well-represented are underground artists such as R. Crumb and Trina Robbins, and publishers Apex Novelties, Last Gasp Eco-Funnies, Print Mint, and Rip Off Press.

The collection offers a detailed chronicle of Seattle's emergence as a hub of alternative comics/comix in the 1980s and 1990s, from the perspective of an omnivorous collector. The collection includes significant holdings from the Pacific Northwest from the 1970s through the 2000s, including minicomics, fanzines, and small press publications from around the region. Early work from artists Peter Bagge, Bruce Chrislip, and Roberta Gregory are featured in the collection, as are publishers Fantagraphics, Galaxy Gang, and Starhead Comix.

Standard size comic books make up about half of the collection. Magazine-sized comics and comics-related magazines, such as Heavy Metal, Marvel's Epic Illustrated, Star*Reach, and Weirdo, comprise a significant portion of the collection as well. Each of the collection's major formats (standard size comics, magazines and books) contain erotica and material with explicit sexual content. These are noted in the description.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Material in the collection may be subject to copyright restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Frank L. Waynewood Underground- and Alternative Comics Collection, Special Collections, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is organized according to the following series arrangement:

  • Series I. Comics/Comix (regular size), 1967-2014
    • Sub-series 1: Underground comics (1967-1974 and legacy) by title, 1967-2004
    • Sub-series 2: Alternative comics by title, 1974-2014
    • Sub-series 3: Alternative comics: ground-level and genre (e.g., Sci-fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Horror), 1974-2001
    • Sub-series 4: Sex and erotica comics (explicit), 1971-2005
  • Series II. Magazine-Format Comics/Comix and Magazines, 1958-2011
    • Sub-series 1: Comics and comics-related by title, 1973-2010
    • Sub-series 2: Comics and comics-related: genre (e.g., Sci-fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Horror), 1974-1990
    • Sub-series 3: Sex and erotica comics (explicit), 1977-1990
    • Sub-series 4: Non-comics-related, 1958-1985
  • Series III. Minicomics, Irregular Size Comics, Zines, 1964-2014
  • Series IV. Books, 1960-2016
    • Sub-series 1: Comics and comics-related (regular size), 1960-2016
    • Sub-series 2: Comics and comics-related (oversize), 1971-2014
  • Series V. Newspapers and Oversize Materials, 1963-2014

Acquisition Information

Donated to Special Collections by Catherine R. Tate in 2017.

Processing Note

Special Collections Manager David Schlitt processed the collection and developed the finding aid in 2020-2021, with the assistance of Grafton Grimm (WWU '23).

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see our Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Underground comic books, strips, etc.

Personal Names

  • Crumb, R. -- Sources.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Comics (Graphic works)
  • Erotic comics.
  • Graphic novels.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Waynewood, Frank Louis, -- 1937-2016, -- collector.

Finding aid prepared by David Schlitt.
2021

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

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