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 The term "alternative comics" is one of several labels applied to a wide range of comic books, graphic novels, and allied forms created independently of large comic publishers such as Marvel comics or DC comics. These comics have appeared since about 1980, in the wake of the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 70s. The works in question have variously been labelled "independent", "small press," "new wave," "post-underground" or "art comics." Self-published "minicomics" may also fall under the "alternative" umbrella. What these disparate works have in common is that they present an alternative to the formulaic genre comics which dominate the US comic book industry (such as the superhero-themed products of Marvel and DC comic companies). Those "mainstream" comics are typically produced by a team of workers operating on tight deadlines: a writer, a penciler, an inker, a letterer, a colorist, and an editor. The subject matter and style of "mainstream" comics is in large part dictated by their publisher, who hires the personnel to produce the comics. By contrast, alternative comics are often the product of a single creator who performs all of those functions and are published whenever deemed complete by the author, with little regard for regular distribution schedules. Where the content of "mainstream" comics is influenced by corporate managers attempting to maximize sales, "alternative" comics are often published in small numbers for specialized audiences, which allows for the publication of material that many in a more general readership would likely find obscure or offensive. In all of these ways, "alternative" comics build directly on the precedent set by underground comix. From Underground to AlternativeThe hippie counterculture, and the comix distribution system associated with it, had largely collapsed by the late 1970s. At that juncture, the independent comic artists who had emerged as part of the comix underground found it increasingly difficult to find publishers, and those that did continue to publish found that their audience had shrunk dramatically. Two of the leading artists of underground comix addressed this situation in the early 1980s by starting magazines that anthologized new, artistically ambitious comics. RAW, a lavishly produced, large format anthology that was clearly intended to be seen as a work of art was founded by artist Art Spiegelman and his wife Françoise Mouly in 1980. Another magazine, Weirdo, was started by the leading figure in underground comix, Robert Crumb, in 1981. Both of these magazines reflected changes from the days of the underground comix. They had different formats from the old comix, and the selection of artists differed, too. RAW featured many European artists, Weirdo included photo-funnies and strange outsider art-type documents. The underground staples of sex, drugs and revolution were much less in evidence. More emphasis was placed on developing the craft of comics drawing and storytelling, with many artists aiming for work that was both subtler and more complex than was typical in the underground. This was true of much of the new work done by the established comix artists as well as the newcomers: Spiegelman's Maus, much celebrated for bringing a new seriousness to comics, was serialized in RAW. Another important factor in the establishment of alternative comics was the emergence in the late 1970s of the publishing house Fantagraphics. This small company, headed by Gary Groth and Kim Thompson, was instrumental in establishing a new audience for seriously intended comics. They created a magazine for the critical discussion of comics, The Comics Journal, reprinted a number of historical comics that had fallen into obscurity, and they published the work of a new generation of artists, notably Love and Rockets by the brothers Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez. In the 1980's there was a boom and subsequent crash among independent American comic book publishers. This boom was motivated by several trends. Through conventions and other events North American comics artists and writers came into contact with their contemporaries in Europe and realised the Europeans enjoyed much greater copyright control and earned more from their creations. Additionally, new comic book specially stores were more accessible small publishers compared to newstands. Finally, many independent publishers produced comic books that were often quirkier and more edgy than comics produced by the established publishers. Pioneers of the boom included the self-publishers Warp Graphics that produced Elfquest and Aardvark-Vanaheim with Cerebus around 1978; these were a bridge between underground comics and a more mainstream audience. In 1980-1 there was a deluge of new companies with Eclipse Comics, First Comics and Pacific Comics. Later publishers to launch were Fantagraphics and Comico. In response Marvel launched Epic Comics and both Marvel and DC began publishing popular characters in so-called prestige and graphic novel formats that allowed paying higher fees to the writer/artist. DC also broke the Comic Code that allowed a greater artistic freedom. Most significantly both DC and Marvel started using writers and artists from Britain and Asia who were more happy to accept the terms offered to them. Economy of scale did for most of the publishers in the end since as a title became more popular it became a risk to increase the print run. Also the creator freedom promised also made it easier for them to jump ship if they got a better offer. Pacific Comics was the first to fold passing some titles to Eclipse and First. These also folded passing some titles to Comico and Dark Horse Comics. One noted example is Usagi Yojimbo which has moved from Thoughts and Images to Fantagraphics Books, to Mirage Comics to Dark Horse Comics. Alternative comics have increasingly established themselves within the larger culture, as evidenced by the success of the feature film "Ghost World," based on one of the best selling alternative titles, Eightball, by Daniel Clowes and the cross-genre success of the book Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, by Chris Ware, a story that was serialized in Ware's comic, The Acme Novelty Library. Notable Alternative Comics
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