American cartoonist
Willy Murphy
[1]
(October 2, 1936
[2]
?March 2, 1976)
[3]
was an American
underground
cartoonist
. Murphy's humor focused on hippies and the counterculture. His signature character was Arnold Peck the Human Wreck, "a mid-30s beanpole with wry observations about his own life and the community around him."
[4]
Murphy's solo title was called
Flamed-Out Funnies
; in addition, he contributed to such seminal underground anthologies as
Arcade
,
Bijou Funnies
, and
San Francisco Comic Book
, as well as the
National Lampoon
.
Murphy's work was of the "bigfoot" style of cartooning, with characters having long, droopy noses; and was characterized by strong, humorous writing.
[5]
Biography
[
edit
]
Murphy was born in Brooklyn, NY on October 2, 1936.
[6]
Before becoming a cartoonist, he worked for eight years as an advertising
copywriter
at
J. Walter Thompson
[6]
in
New York City
.
[7]
The upheaval of the late 1960s, including experimenting with drug use and opposition to the
Vietnam War
, led Murphy to leave that world behind and dedicate himself to social commentary though his cartooning.
[6]
In 1969, Murphy contributed to the all-comics tabloid
Gothic Blimp Works
. Moving to
San Francisco
around 1970, he was a key contributor to
San Francisco Comic Book
, and illustrated the cover of the fourth issue.
Sometime in the early 1970s, along with
Larry Todd
and Gary King, Murphy began hanging around the
Air Pirates
collective ?
Dan O'Neill
,
Shary Flenniken
,
Bobby London
,
Gary Hallgren
, and
Ted Richards
? and contributing to their projects.
In early 1972, Murphy edited the comics section of
Sunday Paper
, the ambitious but brief-lived broadsheet section of underground comics published by
John Bryan
.
Murphy illustrated the convention program of Berkeleycon 73, the first
comic convention
that really highlighted underground comix.
[8]
In 1973?1974, Murphy helped co-found the self-publishing venture
Cartoonists Co-Op Press
, with
Jay Lynch
,
Kim Deitch
,
Bill Griffith
, Jerry Lane,
Diane Noomin
, and
Art Spiegelman
.
Murphy illustrated three early stories by
Harvey Pekar
, which were published in Murphy's own
Flamed-Out Funnies
#1 (
Keith Green
, 1975) and later appeared in one of Pekar's
American Splendor
collections (although not in the actual comic book series
American Splendor
).
In 1976, Murphy and
Gary Hallgren
worked closely with
Gilbert Shelton
and
Ted Richards
on
Give Me Liberty: a Revised History of the American Revolution
,
Rip Off Press
' comic about the hoopla surrounding the
American Bicentennial
.
[9]
Death
[
edit
]
After developing a cold, Murphy died suddenly of
pneumonia
over the
Washington's Birthday
weekend in 1976.
[9]
Cartoonists at Murphy's funeral included
Ted Richards
,
Melinda Gebbie
, and
Justin Green
.
[10]
Richards, who was Murphy's best friend, wrote a eulogy for him which was later published in
Arcade
#6 (Summer 1976).
[11]
That issue also featured a portfolio of Murphy's work.
Flamed-Out Funnies
#2 was published posthumously by
Rip Off Press
in November 1976. Some of Murphy's comics were also posthumously published in
San Francisco Comic Book
issue #5 and #7, released in 1980 and 1983 respectively.
Legacy
[
edit
]
Murphy's work inspired later cartoonists like
Gilbert Shelton
,
Paul Mavrides
,
[7]
and
Wayno
.
[5]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Gothic Blimp Works
#4 (
East Village Other
, 1969)
- All Stars
(
San Francisco Comic Book Company
, 1970)
- San Francisco Comic Book
#1?5, #7 (San Francisco Comic Book Company/
Print Mint
/
Last Gasp
, 1970?1983)
- Air Pirates Funnies Tabloid
(Air Pirates Collective, 1972) ? contribution to the anthology
- Dopin' Dan
#1 (Last Gasp, May 1972) ? contribution to Ted Richards' (mostly) solo title
- Left-Field Funnies
(Apex Novelties, late 1972) ? contribution to anthology mostly by members of the
Air Pirates
collective
- El Perfecto
(Print Mint, 1973) ? contribution to anthology raising money for the
Timothy Leary
Defense Fund
- Bijou Funnies
#8 (
Kitchen Sink Press
, Nov. 1973)
- Short Order
#2 (Family Fun, 1974) ? contribution to anthology edited by
Art Spiegelman
- Apex Treasury of Underground Comics
(Links Books/Quick Fox, 1974; reprinted by Quick Fox, 1981)
[1]
? reprints of material from other publications
- Manhunt Comix
#2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, Dec. 1974) ? contributions to anthology edited by Terry Richards
- Arcade
#1?6 (Print Mint, 1975?1976)
- Flamed-Out Funnies
#1?2 (Keith Green/
Rip Off Press
, Summer 1975?Nov. 1976)
- Two Fools
(Saving Grace, a division of
Keith Green
Industrial Realities, 1976) ? with
Ted Richards
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Rosenkranz, Patrick & Hugo van Baren. Biographical entry in
Artsy, Fartsy, Funnies
(Paranoia, 1974), p. 56.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Murphy entry"
.
Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928?1999
. Retrieved
Oct 21,
2016
.
- ^
Michaels, Nicki; Richards, Ted; Burstein, Mark (7 November 2023). "Willy Murphy".
Flamed Out - The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy
. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Underground. p. 21.
ISBN
978-1-68396-540-4
.
- ^
Michaels, Nicki; Richards, Ted; Burstein, Mark (November 7, 2023).
Flamed Out - The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy
. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Underground. p. 31.
ISBN
978-1-68396-540-4
.
- ^
Fox, M. Steven.
"Flamed-Out Funnies"
.
ComixJoint
. Retrieved
Oct 21,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Forbis, Wil (April 16, 2003).
"An Interview with Wayno!"
.
Acid Logic
.
- ^
a
b
c
Michaels, Nicki; Richards, Ted; Burstein, Mark (7 November 2023).
Flamed Out - The Underground Adventures and Comix Genius of Willy Murphy
. Seattle, WA:
Fantagraphics Underground
. p. 21.
ISBN
978-1-68396-540-4
.
- ^
a
b
"Murphy entry"
.
Lambiek Comiclopedia
. Retrieved
Oct 22,
2016
.
- ^
Beerbohm, Robert (June 24, 2010).
"Update to Comics Dealer Extraordinaire Robert Beerbohm: In His Own Words"
.
Comic-Convention Memories
.
- ^
a
b
"Ted Richards"
. Rip Off Press. Archived from
the original
on Dec 6, 2008
. Retrieved
May 3,
2023
.
- ^
Holland, Debbie (1976). "A Death in the Family".
Artists in Print
.
- ^
Richards, Ted (Summer 1976). "The Outline".
Arcade, the Comics Revue
. No. 6.
External links
[
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]