Editing Zap Comix (section)

{{short description|Underground comic book}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox comic book title  <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image=Zap Comix1.jpg
|caption=Cover of ''Zap Comix'' #1 (Feb. 1968), art by [[Robert Crumb|R. Crumb]].
|schedule=
|ongoing=y
|publisher=[[Apex Novelties]] (issues #0–3)<br />[[Print Mint]] (issues #4–9)<br />[[Last Gasp (publisher)|Last Gasp]] (issues #10–15)<br />[[Fantagraphics]] (issue #16)
|date= February<ref name="comixjoint_zap1">Fox, M. Steven. [http://comixjoint.com/zapcomix1-1st.html "Zap Comix #1"], ComixJoint. Accessed Oct. 21, 2016.</ref> 1968 – November 2014
|issues=17
|genre= [[Underground comix|Underground]]
|Horror= 
|main_char_team= [[Mr. Natural (comics)|Mr. Natural]]<br />[[R. Crumb]]<br />[[Angelfood McSpade]]<br />[[Wonder Wart-Hog]]<br />[[Checkered Demon]]<br />[[Trashman (comics)|Trashman]]
|writers=
|artists= [[Robert Crumb]], [[Victor Moscoso]], [[S. Clay Wilson]], [[Gilbert Shelton]], [[Spain Rodriguez]], [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]], [[Rick Griffin]], [[Paul Mavrides]]
|pencillers=
|inkers=
|letterers=
|colorists=
|creative_team_month=
|creative_team_year=
|creators=[[Robert Crumb]]
|subcat=
|sort=Zap Comix
}}
'''''Zap Comix''''' is an [[underground comix]] series which was originally part of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture of the late 1960s]]. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap'' became the model for the "[[underground comics|comix]]" movement that snowballed after its release. The title itself published 17 issues over a period of 46 years.

Premiering in early 1968 as a showcase for the work of [[Robert Crumb]], ''Zap'' was unlike any comic book that had been seen before. While working on ''Zap'' #1, Crumb saw a [[Chet Helms#Family Dog Productions|Family Dog]] [[poster]] drawn by [[Rick Griffin]] which resembled a [[psychedelic art|psychedelic]] version of a [[Sunday comics|Sunday funnies]] page. Its surreal, other-worldly imagery inspired him to think about comics in a new way, as seen in the art style of ''Zap'' #1's ''Abstract Expressionist Ultra Super Modernistic Comics''.<ref>{{ cite comic | creator = Robert Crumb | story = Abstract Expressionist Ultra Super Modernistic Comics| title = Zap Comix | issue = 1| date = February 1968 | publisher = Apex Novelties| page = 11}}</ref> When Crumb started planning the next issue, he reached out to Griffin, asking him to contribute to Zap #2. Griffin agreed and suggested bringing fellow poster artist [[Victor Moscoso]] on board. [[S. Clay Wilson]], [[Gilbert Shelton]], [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]], and [[Spain Rodriguez|"Spain" Rodriguez]] were also contributors to ''Zap''.<ref name="comixjoint_zap_all">Fox, M. Steven. [http://comixjoint.com/zapcomix.html "Zap Comix"], ComixJoint. Accessed May 7, 2024.</ref>

While the origin of the spelling "comix" is a subject of some dispute, it was popularized by its appearance in the title of the first issues of ''Zap''. Design critic [[Steven Heller (graphic design)|Steven Heller]] claims that the term "comix" ("co-mix") refers to the traditional comic book style of ''Zap'', and its mixture of dirty jokes and storylines.<ref>Heller, Steven. 1999. ''Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design'', New York: Allworth Press.</ref>