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Comics take many forms. Looking beyond the realm of
the super hero in spandex tights one can find even
more wondrous stories featuring the guru in a muumuu
known as Zippy the Pinhead. Zippy's exploits have
explored in underground comix, magazines and
newspapers since the late 1960's. Though to this
day, very few people claim to understand the madcap and
mystical world of Zippy. In spite of this his
catch phrase "Are we having fun yet?" has seen its way onto
t-shirts,TV ads and has even been co-opted by
Garfield.
If you want to learn to understand Zippy before you
read the rest of the article click here.
The Collector Times sent their ace
reporter to catch up with Zippy's writer, artist and
creator Bill Griffith at the Small Press Expo. Our
ace reporter would like to admit that he was 90 cents
short on the purchase of the book he got signed and
told the dealer, "I can always put in a plug."
Though during two panel discussions Mister Griffith
inadvertently talked him out of it.
Griffith told a panel on "Comic strips today': "You
sell yourself short if you attach your name and
credentials to something that has nothing to do with
you." Later, during a slideshow about his career in
comic he remarked on the secret of creative success:
"I accept no editorial oversight whatsoever." Since
our ace reporter does not wish to hinder his own
creative success by taking any sort of oversight from
a sponsor or smudge the integrity of The Collector
Times, this article will not mention that
Fantagraphics Books will soon be releasing "Walk a
Mile in My Muumuu' by Bill Griffith. You will also
find none of our usual blurbs saying how funny the
book is or that you can order the book either through
Fantagraphics or by going to
http://www.zippythepinhead.com where they sell all
sorts of other neat Zippy stuff.
Ace Reporter:
I first started reading Zippy in late
2002 or early 2003. At first I thought the art was
cool looking, though I didn't always understand it.
Everything in the newspaper made sense; from the
Paris Hilton type stories to the War in Iraq-- with
the exception of Zippy the Pinhead. After about 2
months, nothing in the paper made sense to me with the
exception of Zippy. After talking to fellow
pinheads, I've found this experience is quite common.
Do you care to explain this?
Bill Griffith:
You've just described my goal. Some
people don't get it. A certain percentage will walk
away. Another percentage will stick with it. They
know there is something there. Then one day they'll
read a certain strip and a light bulb will go off in
their head and they're on Zippy's wavelength. Zippy
is a funhouse mirror of [American] culture. A
newspaper is the perfect environment for Zippy. It
feeds him. You may no longer understand Paris Hilton
or the Iraq war but in some sense are glad those things
exist in the paper because they supply fuel for Zippy.
Ace Reporter:
What happened to the newspaper funnies? They
used to be funny. Now the only things that generally
get a laugh out of me are Zippy and Mark Trail.
Bill Griffith:
Don't forget Family Circus.
Newspaper comic strips are a very under appreciated
genre that mostly slipped into garbage years ago. It
started with the coming of the television. People
used to follow the comic strips religiously, reading
the same strips every day-- the same way we follow our
favorite TV shows now. The comic strip began to
decline when television came in. Movies took a hit
too, but in some sense recovered. Comics have just
never bounced back.
Ace Reporter:
Do you find it hard to write the longer comix
pieces or the three to four box grid?
Bill Griffith:
It's harder to do the longer stories.
Partly because I haven't really done one in a long
time. Whenever I do a longer piece I have to
readjust. I've been doing the daily strip so long
that they just come like that.
Ace Reporter:
What is the meaning of YOW! ?
Bill Griffith:
YOW! comes from Little Lulu. It was
her all purpose exclamation. One day I was drawing a
strip. Zippy was sliding down a banister or something
and hurt himself. And out came this loud YOW! It
just seemed right. I never it meant for it to a
running gag. It just happened. I just like the
look and sound of it. With the big Y and the big O
and the big W followed by the !. It is a bit like
the Buddhist Tao.
Ace Reporter:
What would Zippy do for a Klondike Bar?
Bill Griffith:
. . .
Um,I think Zippy would talk to the Klondike
Bar. He'd say: "When I'm elected President in 2008
you can have the cabinet posting of your choice."
After four years of Condoleezza Rice America could use
a Klondike Bar.
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