Editing Underground comix (section)

===United Kingdom===
[[Image:Oz-33-cover.jpg|thumb|upright|''OZ'' London, No.33, February 1971; art by Norman Lindsay]]
British cartoonists were introduced in the underground publications ''[[International Times]]'' (''IT''), founded in 1966, and ''[[Oz (magazine)|Oz]]'' founded in 1967, which reprinted some American material.<ref name="Sabin-92"/> During a visit to London, American comics artist [[Larry Hama]] created original material for ''IT''.<ref>{{cite web|date=Feb 5, 2012|title=Ethics and Choreography: An Interview With Larry Hama|first=Travis Hedge|last=Coke|website=Unimaginable! Pretensile!! Perambulations!!!|url=http://travishedgecoke.blogspot.com/2012/02/ethics-and-choreography-interview-with.html}}</ref>

The first UK comix mag was ''[[Cyclops (magazine)|Cyclops]]'', started in July 1970 by ''IT'' staff members. In a bid to alleviate its ongoing financial problems, ''IT'' brought out ''Nasty Tales'' (1971), which was soon prosecuted for obscenity. Despite appearing before the censorious [[Old Bailey]] Judge [[Alan King-Hamilton]], the publishers were acquitted by the jury.<ref>{{cite web |date=1973-02-09 |title=Nasty Tales trial memoir, part 1 |publisher=Funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk |url=http://www.funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/friends/nastytalestrial1.html |access-date=2010-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008023543/http://www.funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/friends/nastytalestrial1.html |archive-date=2011-10-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1973-02-09 |title=Nasty Tales trial pt 2 |publisher=Funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk |url=http://www.funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/friends/nastytalestrial2.htm |access-date=2010-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008023623/http://www.funtopia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/friends/nastytalestrial2.htm |archive-date=2011-10-08}}</ref>

In the wake of its own high-profile obscenity trial, ''Oz'' launched ''cOZmic Comics'' in 1972, printing a mixture of new British underground strips and old American work. When ''Oz'' closed down the following year ''cOZmic Comics'' was continued by fledgling media tycoon [[Felix Dennis]] and his company, Cozmic Comics/H. Bunch Associates, which published from 1972 to 1975.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/publisher/5799/ Cozmic Comics/H. Bunch Associates], Grand Comics Database. Accessed Dec. 28, 2016.</ref>

While the American underground comix scene was beginning to decline, the British scene came into prominence between 1973 and 1974, but soon faced the same kind of criticism that American underground comix received.<ref name="Sabin-92"/> UK-based underground cartoonists included Chris Welch, [[Edward Barker (cartoonist)|Edward Barker]], [[Michael J. Weller]], Malcolm Livingstone, William Rankin (aka Wyndham Raine), [[Dave Gibbons]], Joe Petagno, [[Bryan Talbot]], and the team of Martin Sudden, [[New Yorkshire Writing|Jay Jeff Jones]] and [[Brian Bolland]].<ref name="Sabin-92"/>

The last UK underground comix series of note was ''[[Brainstorm Comix]]'' (1975–1978), which featured only original British strips (mostly by [[Bryan Talbot]]).

Hassle Free Press was founded in London in 1975 by Tony and Carol Bennett as a publisher and distributor of underground books and comics. Now known as [[Knockabout Comics]], the company has a long-standing relationship with underground comix pioneers [[Gilbert Shelton]] and [[Robert Crumb]], as well as British creators like [[Hunt Emerson]] and [[Bryan Talbot]]. Knockabout has frequently suffered from prosecutions from UK customs, who have seized work by creators such as Crumb and [[Melinda Gebbie]], claiming it to be obscene.<ref>[[Roger Sabin|Sabin, Roger]] (2000) [http://www.ugcomix.info/links/arcive/brit-hist.htm The Last Laugh: Larfing All the Way to the Dock] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513152722/http://www.ugcomix.info/links/arcive/brit-hist.htm |date=2008-05-13}}, [[Index on Censorship]] #6</ref><ref>[http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2006/knocking-about-with-tony-bennett/ Knocking about with Tony Bennett] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929072505/http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2006/knocking-about-with-tony-bennett/ |date=2011-09-29 }}, [[Forbidden Planet (bookstore)|Forbidden Planet]], September 13, 2006</ref>

The 1990s witnessed a renaissance in the genre in the [[United Kingdom]], through titles like ''[[Brain Damage (comics)|Brain Damage]]'', ''[[Viz (comics)|Viz]]'', and others.