The Zippy Annual: April 2001 - September 2001

....you probably have to be in the quanta to get it.Zippy is more or less an insane borderline type creation who digs yellow muu-muus with red-orange polka dots and has a penchant for empty calories like in Ding-Dongs and on the road icons like Big-Boy and the Doggie Head. He often spews forth some kinda jibberish that seems non-sequitur and contrary to Griffy's many rantings about America's loss of innocence, America's excesses, and America's pop trash.These comic strips turn out to be the ultimate in a hip experience without doing something illegal. I have notice these wordless strips of Zip going thru some kinda mind trip and right a few days afterwards Griffy does the same--is Griffy becoming insane like Zippy? Or is everybody else raising to Zip's level of awareness? Who's to say?But these observations of America are scathing--in fact, "The Simpsons" does the same type of satire, but, of course in its later years, it has lost something. Not so, "Zippy". Griffith pokes fun about selling out to Hollywood and franchising Pinhead muu-muus and cutie beanie baby dolls for mass consumption. He also 'one-ups' film makers like the Coens who does small town America well...he rants about bumperstickers and baseball caps worn backwards and pickup trucks with rifle racks and old men having meaningless discussions over coffee in diners and tee shirts covered with meaningless messages and ketchup.They started out in the 60's Underground. I began to notice Zip/Griff in those stacks of my older brother's comics (my older bros and sis were bohemian types--not exactly hippies and not exactly leftists) where I also noticed a lot of R. Crumb, "Fat Freddy's Cat", etc, etc...Then in the 80's they started showing up in mainstream daily newpaper strips. I was, like, "Woah, man...the world's catchin' up with the counterculture." Nope. What happened is the counterculture became sophisticated and intelligent and began reaching to higher standards. The rest of America in the 80's had become better looking but dumber. Remember...?And "Zippy" captured that. And it still does. Read for yourself and tell me that America has not been lampooned well by "Zippy"...and the all the other characters in their flights of fancy and crazy and sharp witted observations.

These last two years have been a high point in Bill Griffith's productivity, and it is good to be reminded of it. Rather than a chronological arangement, as was the case with the earlier Zippy Quarterlies, this is set out by "subject area;" Zippy and Griffy, Zippy by himself, diner conversations, etc. Another helpful feature is an annotation section, giving references to the subject matter of the strips.Griffith is a lover of roadside icons such as the endangered Doggie Diner head, and refers to them often. For example, I had seen an "Octopus Car Wash" in Madison, WI, and was interested to note that he had seen one in Milwaukee. I'd be interested in knowing how many franchises are in this chain, as I can imagine these icons gradually disappearing.Not every strip of the past two years has been included; for example, one of my favorites (from Jan. 14, 2000) in which the Doggie tells Zippy "We've lost the war," and sheds a single tear as he describes the humiliation of being put on exhibit in a museum, is missing. Nevertheless, many little treasures are to be seen, and I for one will be revisiting this volume over and over again.

The ZIPPY ANNUAL is another great compilation of weekday/Sunday Zippy strips from the papers that carry them. These strips are unlike anything else festering and gathering dust on the comic pages today (yes I mean BLONDIE and BEETLE and HAGAR, etc.). These are truly unique and, seriously, should be revered and cherished by people who demand more than simple punchlines.