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cover
  
excellent writing
masterpiece art
historical bonus 4
total score 10
Bijou Funnies #8
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1st Printing / November, 1973 / 36 Pages / Kitchen Sink
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AVERAGE SCORE 9
I believe the final issue of Bijou Funnies, published in November, 1973, marked the end of the golden era of underground comic books. Bijou Funnies #8 was published not long after the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling which established that the definition of obscenity should be determined by local communities, and if accused of obscenity the final litmus test would be "whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." Editor Jay Lynch provided a passionate editorial on the inside front cover that sharply denounced the ruling.

But Bijou Funnies #8 gave us much more than a political diatribe. Besides featuring a terrific Harvey Kurtzman cover that pays homage to his early days with MAD, the book is devoted to full-color stories by underground artists appropriating characters from other underground artists. Bijou went out with a bang, with a parody of its own satire that lampoons the entire scope of underground comics. The final issue demonstrated that Bijou didn't take itself too seriously while proving that it took our constitutional rights deadly seriously.
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keyline
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HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES:
There are two printings of Bijou Funnies #8, both by Kitchen Sink Enterprises and both with 75-cent cover prices. It is currently unknown how many copies Kitchen Sink produced for the 1st printing. The 1st printing states "Printing No. 1" on the inside front cover. The 2nd printing (10,000 copies) states "Printing No. 2" on the inside front cover. It is very difficult to distinguish between the two printings without access to the IFC.
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COMIC CREATORS:
Jay Lynch - (editor) 2 (editorial), 3-5
William Stout - 6-8
Skip Williamson - 9-11
Denis Kitchen - 12-14
Pat Daley (="Dale") - 15-17
Robert Crumb - 18-21
Bill Griffith - 22-24
Kim Deitch - 25-27
Justin Green - 28-30
Willy Murphy - 31-33
Jay Kinney - 34-35
Ralph Reece - 36
bijou 8 2nd
2nd Printing
75-cent cover, states
print edition on IFC.