Notes from the undergrounds: More Freak Brothers

[alicemacher]

Back cover of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #1

In 1971, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers got their own, self-titled series, published by Gilbert Shelton's own Rip Off Press. This allowed the trio more space to score dope, get high, avoid having to (ugh) work, and evade the authorities, particularly their nemesis, bumbling Drug Enforcement Agency inspector Norbert the Nark (sic).



The first two scans are from The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Issue 1 (1971).


The text in the teeny-tiny final panel reads:
Caption: And at the station:
Desk sergeant: You lost your gun too?
Norbert: I...I can't remember a thing!




The following two scans, from Issue 12 (1992, with art assistance from Paul Mavrides), take aim at the anti-welfare backlash of the nineties and the introduction of privacy-invasive drug tests in various aspects of American life.

Comments

[siliconshaman]

Funny how those last two are still relevant...

[leoboiko]

Not funny ha-ha, but funny boo-hoo…

[alicemacher]

Indeed. Sad how little has changed in that respect.



On a lighter note...I realized some time after uploading this that Norbert, in that last story, looks kind of like Mac Tonight.

On a tangentially related subject...

[full_metal_ox]

This recent bit of hippie performance art at the Whole Foods in Greenwich Village brought to mind the story in which the Furry Freak Brothers rob a convenience store by passing off Fat Freddie's berserk munchies raid as a Candid Camera stunt; in this instance, I figure it's Phineas' turn to create the disruption while Franklin and Fat Freddy take advantage of the distraction to...not buy stuff.

Re: On a tangentially related subject...

[alicemacher]

I love that Freak Brothers story!

And that video...OMG. That's priceless (pun intended). Must share.