Various (Crumb, Robert; Griffin, Rick; Mavrides, Paul; Moscoso, Victor; Rodriguez, Spain; Shelton, Gilbert; Spain; Williams, Robert; Wilson, S. Clay)

The Complete Zap Comix (Slipcased Boxed Set)

Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, 2014. Limited Edition Boxed Set. Hardcovers in Slipcase. Zap Comix was birthed in what seems (to the uninitiated) a time and place wildly at odds with the content irreverently peopling its pages. For, while the characters in these revolutionary, Washingtonian frames of underground comix as captured at the moment of their birth are undoubtedly caricatures of the counterculture, — the world in which Zap’s creator-contributors worked and lived — Zap Comix are temperamentally dissimilar in almost every way. Dichotomous conundrums aside, the brilliant, transgressive early issues of Zap are — in the final analysis — a product of the Haight-Ashbury (and the SF-LA nexus, more generally) as much as anything else is. Zap began as an outlet to showcase the work and singular vision of Robert Crumb (b. 1943), “The George Washington of Underground Comix,” as George DiCaprio (father of Leonardo) once called him. After working with legendary literary outlaw, Charles Plymell to produce, print, and publish the historic first issue (See TMB Item #2164), Crumb assembled a gang of like-minded artist-vandals (S. Clay Wilson [1941-2021], Robert Williams [b. 1943], Paul Mavrides [b. 1952], & Gilbert Shelton [b. 1940] among them) to push the boundaries of art, culture, and comedy. The result? A simmering hell broth of genius. One is reminded of Lucien Carr's inflammatory maxim, "Art eludes conventional morality," -- one of three such tenets that together formed the fledgling, Rimbaudian artistic philosophy he termed "The New Vision." Insofar as Carr's maxim applies to the principled, no-holds-barred individualism running throughout these issues of Zap, his point rings true. As the title of this lot/listing relays, offered here is “The Complete Zap Comix,” — a collectible box set released by the eminent-&-excellent Fantagraphics Books in 2014. Per the Fantagraphics site: “The Complete Zap Comix collects every issue of Zap — every cover and every story, and even the Zap mini comic jam among the Zap artists — in a five-volume, slipcased hardcover set. Plus, an introduction by founder R. Crumb and an oral history of Zap by Patrick Rosenkranz. Zap is the most historically and aesthetically important comics series ever published. Also included exclusively in this boxed set is a portfolio of Zap covers by the eight artists, replicated from high resolution scans and proofs, and specially printed for this edition on acid-free, 100% cotton fine-art paper utilizing archival pigment inks.” A treasure trove of sin-pocked scriptures, “The Complete Zap Comix” Box Set is something to be pored over and marveled at; something to appreciate for the long-run; the reproductions simply peerless, and the package (in totality) worth every penny, and then some. Hardcovers in slipcase: the Limited Edition, “Complete Zap Comix Boxset” – published by Fantagraphics in late 2014, and virtually unobtainable now (except for here at Third Mind Books, that is!). We acquired this Box Set at the time of publication, and it has sat (untouched and safely harbored) among our holdings since acquiring it. It is entirely unopened, completely as received / as issued from the publisher. To attach the images you see accompanying this listing to the page you presently peruse, Our Devoted Senior Curator schlepped his Box Set from the seat of his collection to our storefront in Downtown Ann Arbor. The photos you see here (of the books and accompanying detail shots, themselves) are of the “Curator’s Copy” of this mouthwatering collectible. The listing as offered here will come shipped in the original illustrated box & packaging. We will carefully house this box, Matryoshka style, inside of a more conventional shipping vessel, retaining its “as issued” status with fidelity. An extra handling charge will be added for shipping due to the weight of this item. In order to secure for the prospective customer the best shipping rate possible, we suggest inquiring before purchasing. As New. [Item #5272]

Price: $1,250.00