Fabulous Find: Gothic Blimp Works # 4

Greetings and salutations!  Welcome back to another Fabulous Find, I’m glad you found your way back, or howdy, if this is your first visit.  If you like this column, please check out my other ones, by clicking on my name above.  With all that out of the way, let’s jump into today’s find … I had to go deep, deep into a side alcove of my comic book vault, to unearth this week’s find … Gothic Blimp Works # 4, from 1969.

Gothic Blimp Works was the first ” Sunday Underground Comics Paper”, published by Peter Leggieri, who also published the East Village Other.  Gothic Blimp Works only lasted for eight issues unfortunately.  And also unfortunately, I only own this single issue.  But I’m happy to tell you a little about it!

Here is the cover to issue number four (4), as drawn by Spain Rodriguez:

Gothic Blimp Works # 4 from 1969

The newspaper measures 11 by 16 inches and was printed on cheap newsprint.  I’m not sure how many still exist today, but it is estimated that maybe 60,000 to 80,000 were printed in 1969.  But most people didn’t save things like this, so today they bring pretty high prices on the secondary markets.

The first couple of issues were edited by Vaughn Bode, but by the third issue it was being edited by Bhob Stewart.  Issue number four (4) was co-edited by Stewart and Kim Deitch.  The newspaper runs twenty-four (24) pages.  It also sports a back cover that reprints Harrison Cady‘s The Road To Hell. which has stops along the way for flirting, dancing, smoking, drinking, cards, cussing and horse racing, if you care.  This was reprinted from it’s original publication back in 1910.

Generally each page is given over to one (1) strip, but in some cases the story/strip is expanded into two (2) pages. Artists represented in this fourth issue are; Jay Lynch with a Nard & Pat strip, Larry Hama providing the art for a strip named Prophet, written by editor Stewart.  S. Clay Wilson has one of the two (2) page strips.  It’s entitled; Boogie Boogie Horror Yarn.  In fact, here is the first page for ya:

Pge 08 by S. Clay Wilson

Other artist in this issue are; Mike Kaluta with a tale of wonder entitled; Star Child.  Kim Deitch offers up a two-pager entitled; Deja Voo.  Ralph Reese offers up Brain F**k.  Roger Brand gives us Strawbrick and Pretty Saree take a walk up Sex Mountain.  Vaughn Bode shares a tale of Cheech Wizard and Trina Robbins provides a Panthea strip.

And the good thing … it only cost 35 cents if you picked one up back in 1969.  I didn’t ransom my future when I found up my copy, but it’s been quite a few years ago now, but I wish I would have tried to find additional copies back then, as they would be worth a pretty penny today.  The worst thing is that they were published on cheap newsprint and they are hard to find in nice condition today and hard to keep that way when you take them out to enjoy them again.

That’s it for this week’s Fabulous Find, but I’ll be back next week with a new RETRO REVIEW, so please plan on a return visit and I’ll try to entertain you.  Til then … be seeing you …