Seen from a 21st-century perpective, this is kind of a chilling image. Somehow bearded political terrorists aren't quite as funny today as they seemed to me then.

It's the front cover of my 1974 underground comic book Telegram Sam -- a combination of original material and reprinted strips from the Lincoln Gazette alternative newspaper. Sam owed a lot to Elzie Segar's Popeye, and also to old Warner Brothers cartoons. The strip was set in  my hometown, Lincoln, Nebraska; the phallic symbol in the background is our landmark state capitol.

Back to the Index!