Dr. Wirtham's Comix & Stories is one of the premier examples of a comic book series that spanned the gap between the demise of the underground comic era and the birth of alternative comics. This extraordinary series would never have been published by any mainstream comic publisher, but was bravely launched by Clifford Neal, who self-published all ten issues and invited anyone and everyone to submit stories for publication.

The title of the series was inspired by Dr. Fredric Wertham, the author of the 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent, which demonized mature-theme comic books (e.g., EC Comics) and led to the creation of the prudish Comics Code. The ironic title of Neal's comic book, which intentionally misspelled Wertham's name (presumably to avoid legal trouble), was conceived years after the underground comic era had already revolutionized the comic industry, but it still demonstrated that Neal's spirit was in the right place.

Everything in the first issue of Dr. Wirtham's was produced by Neal, but it wasn't long before he had some good company. Like Harvey Pekar's self-published American Splendor, which Pekar launched just months prior to Dr. Wirtham's debut, Dr. Wirtham's soon attracted some heavyweight contributors to the series. And like Pekar, Neal published one issue per year, at least for the first five issues (the fifth being a double issue). Then the publishing schedule became more sporadic, with just one more double issue and two single issues surfacing in the following seven years.

Dr. Wirtham's Comix & Stories spans a broad spectrum of storytelling, from sci-fi and horror to funny animals and eroticism. It was a unique title that provided one of the most open forums for golden-era underground comic creators and especially the up-and-coming comic artists and writers who followed them.