I have been doing a lot of research into the history of Canadian underground and small press comics over the past couple of years. It’s an important time to be doing this work, as many of the folks behind these works are getting up there in age and there is a lot of knowledge and history to be captured before it’s permanently lost. I have been travelling across the country, meeting with artists, digging through boxes, corresponding with creators and recording as much information as possible. The work is going to come together as a collection called Notes from The Canadian Underground. Planned to be published by Conundrum Press in fall of 2027, Notes will be my initial entry into focusing on the wider history of Canadian Comics, specifically, independent work made by cartoonists that were existing outside of the mainstream.
Part of my interest in this period of comics is because it’s the first generation of Canadian comic creators making their own work outside of the pressures and limitations of editorial interference and commercial restraints. These are artists choosing to make their own work in the comics medium. The tradition of comics that came out of Canada from the late 60s to the early 80s, is as wide spread as Canada is as country. There is no distinct style of underground or small press comics. There were regional pockets that reflected the people there, but for the most part, the work is very different than the American underground comic tradition. Comics coming out of Vancouver, were the most similar, partly because there were creators like Rand Holmes, Brent Boates and George Metzger that were all to the Bay area comic scene. I will be using this space to share some of my research. I am also hoping by posting work here, there will also be an opportunity to connect with people who may know more and be able to share.
I have been quite successful in digging up work and finding the people that did it, but not completely successful. There are a number of fascinating works that remain shrouded in mystery.
The first comic I want to highlight is Hierographics No. 1. The first comic I have come across that advertised it self as an alternative comic. It was published in 1970, contents copyright Conrad and Hierocomiks. There is no information about who Conrad is. Conrad is mystery. This comic is fascinating psychedelic dream of bending bodies and colours.
The comic lists the address of 17 St Joseph Street, Toronto, Ontario. The address was also home to Guerilla Alternative newspaper and art gallery. I did some research into Guerilla and found out a bunch of a fascinating things, but it was all a dead end. Nobody that I spoke with knew anything about the comic. The space also had Nightingale Gallery. People that I spoke with at the paper, shared that comic looked like something that was much more in tune with work from the paper than the gallery.
The address is located right in the center of the queer community in Toronto of the late 1960s into the early early 1970s. Judging by the contents, I don’t think it’s the work of a queer artist, but I can’t really speculate. I am also not sure of the artists gender, since there is a supposed self referential story that features a female figure. It’s just all very odd and interesting.
I have included the full comic for you to read, purely for research purposes. If you know anything about this comic, please let me know. It’s a major mystery and key early piece of Canadian underground comic history.
24 page comic with full color glossy cover with heavy stock inside pages. The cover and inside pages were untrimmed. Cover printed at 8.5 x 7.5 and inside pages printed at 8.5 x 7. 4 sheets of paper and one orange sheet in the middle. Colour is a mix of blue and purple, using split-fountain inking to mix colours to give a psychedelic effect popular at the time.
You can contact me directly through this site. I am also always looking for source material of underground, small press, independent comics, or comics adjacent materials from before 1995.
My mailing address is
Inkstuds
#2147 – 720 Sixth St
New Westminster, BC
V3L 3C5
Canada
