The 'X' also emphasized the X-rated contents of the publications.
These titles were termed 'comix' in order to differentiate them from mainstream publications. The United States underground comics scene emerged in the 1960s, focusing on subjects dear to the counterculture: recreational drug use, politics, rock music and free love. The first underground comix were personal works produced for friends of the artists, in addition to reprints of comic strip pages which first appeared in underground newspapers. Early underground comix appeared sporadically in the early and mid-1960s, but did not begin to appear frequently until after 1967. Often referred to as Tijuana bibles, these books are often considered the predecessors of the underground comix scene. History United States Early history (1967–1972) īetween the late 1920s and late 1940s, anonymous underground artists produced counterfeit pornographic comic books featuring unauthorized depictions of popular comic strip characters engaging in sexual activities.