Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...

Bingham 30
eliminated the certification for the artistic portrayal of real events or treatment of
complex issues. Such strict measures of control prohibiting the portrayal of classic
monsters as well as criminal behavior reveal fears of the latent power associated with
these motifs. Many contemporary graphic narratives including The Walking Dead
capitalize upon the strength of these symbols and treat issues of morality which relate to
fear from a standpoint of confrontation rather than avoidance. Long before Kirkman
began writing, though, other creators laid a foundation for his success through deliberate
rebellion against the CAA.
As a response, the underground or alternative comix movement began in the
1960s. Most of the titles associated with comix dealt with risque or adult subject matter
including sex, drugs, violence, radical political ideas, and/or other themes which would
have been denied approval by the CAA. Flourishing in San Francisco, where the
movement coincided with the growth of the burgeoning hippie counterculture,
independent publishes like Rip Off Press and Kitchen Sink Press issued works that
prompted thought about ideas and topics that were rarely discussed openly (Tabachnick
12). According to Dez Skinn, author of Comix: The Underground Revolution, the first
underground comic was Frank Stack's 1964 compilation of his strip The Adventures of
Jesus under the pseudonym Foolbert Sturgen (34). Other influential comix artists were
Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Spain Rodriquez, and Trina Roberts (Tabachnick 12).
Branching out from the strict constraints of the CAA, their thoughtful works began
bringing political relationships, hierarchies of power, and social standings into question.
This development changed the public's expectations of the medium and helped
pave the way for the emergence of the graphic novel. It is accepted that the term