Editing Zap Comix (section)

==Publication history==
''Zap'' #1 was published in [[San Francisco]] in early 1968. Some 3,500 copies were printed by [[Beat generation|Beat]] writer [[Charles Plymell]],<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/1892/ Zap Comix entry at the Grand Comics Database.] Accessed October 27, 2009.</ref> who arranged with publisher [[Don Donahue]] for ''Zap'' to be the first title put out under Donahue's [[Apex Novelties]] imprint.

The contents of the first ''Zap'' were not intended to be the debut issue. Philadelphia publisher [[Brian Zahn]] (who had published earlier works of R. Crumb in his Philadelphia-based [[underground newspaper]]  ''[[Yarrowstalks]]'')<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hy-t7AAC3bgC&dq=Yarrowstalks+%231+Brian+Zahn&pg=PA106 ''Heritage Comics and Comic Art Signature Auction #823'' By Ivy Press, Gary Dowell, Greg Holman]</ref> had intended to publish an earlier version of the comic, but reportedly left the country with the artwork.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Rather than repeat himself, Crumb drew a new assortment of strips, which replaced the missing issue.

The tagline of ''Zap'' #1, "Zap Comics are Squinky Comics!!" has an interesting origin. [[Art Spiegelman]] called his girlfriend of the time, [[Quarry Hill Creative Center#Isabella Fiske|Isabella Fiske]], "Squink", Crumb liked the word and decided to use it on the cover.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Crumb himself credits<ref>Crumb, Robert. "Minds are Made to Be Blown", ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' - Volume 4 (Fantagraphics, 1988). [http://www.crumbproducts.com/pages/about/minds.html Archived on CrumbProducts.com].</ref> Gershon Legman's 1949 article "Love and Death"<ref>Odelle, Cole Moore. [http://mountainofjudgment.blogspot.com/2006/08/from-floppity-rabbits-to-horror.html "From Floppity Rabbits to Horror-Squinkies"], Mountain of Judgment (Aug. 2006).</ref> condemning the "horror-squinky" in 1940s comics.

In late 1968, shortly before ''Zap'' #3 was to be published, Crumb found [[Xerox]] copies of the missing pages from the original ''Zap'' #1, which (according to fellow ''Zap'' contributor [[Victor Moscoso]]) successfully captured the linework but not the solid blacks. After being re-inked by Crumb, those strips subsequently appeared as ''Zap'' #0. Thus ''Zap'' #0 became the third in the series (even though it was drawn before #1 in 1967), and ''Zap'' #3 the fourth.<ref name=Estren>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hQb_q6DWle4C&dq=Zap+Comix+No+0&pg=PA52 Estren, Mark, ''A History of Underground Comics''], [[Ronin Publishing]], 1993 {{ISBN|0-914171-64-X}}, 9780914171645 p.52</ref>

With issue #4 (Aug. 1969), ''Zap'' moved publishers to the [[Print Mint]], which weathered a lawsuit related to its contents. A 1973 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruling led to the collapse of the underground comix market,<ref name=Estren /> and after that ''Zap'' was published sporadically, with it being typical for three to five years to pass between new issues. ''Zap'' continued to be published by Print Mint through issue #9 (1978), when the company stopped publishing comics altogether.

From issue #10 (1982) onward, ''Zap'' was published by [[Last Gasp (publisher)|Last Gasp]] (which also published many reprints of earlier issues). Again, there were often long periods between issues: altogether, five issues of ''Zap'' were published (by Print Mint and Last Gasp) in the 1970s, three issues in the 1980s, and two issues in the 1990s. ''Zap'' #15 ({{ISBN|0867196351}}) came out in 2005, seven years after the previous issue.

Issues #13–15 all featured cameos by [[sex-positive feminist]] [[Susie Bright]] as a character within its pages (or on the cover).

A limited edition six-volume hardcover box set containing the complete ''Zap Comix'' ({{ISBN|9781606997871}}) was published by [[Fantagraphics]] in November 2014.<ref>Heller, Steve. [https://web.archive.org/web/20141122164117/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/zap-comix/382967/ "Comics for the Youth Movement, Not for Kids: A new history of Zap Comix celebrates how the lascivious, tongue-in-cheek cartoons revolted against conservative Cold War-era mores"], ''The Atlantic'' (Nov. 20, 2014). Accessed December 14, 2014.</ref> Besides including an oral history, portfolio, and previously unseen material, the set also included the never-before published ''Zap Comix'' #16 — the final issue in the series.<ref>Jennings, Dana. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180427060231/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/arts/design/zap-comix-now-in-a-coffee-table-boxed-set.html?_r=0 "Raunchy and Revered: Zap Comix, Now in a Coffee Table Boxed Set"], ''New York Times'' (OCT. 31, 2014).</ref> ''Zap'' #16 would later be released by Fantagraphics as a stand-alone, 80-page comic in February 2016, with a few changes and additions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160123222422/http://www.fantagraphics.com/zap16/ ''Zap'' #16 page], Fantagraphics website. Accessed March 4, 2023.</ref>