MICKEY RAT COMIC #4, 1982, R. ARMSTRONG, FREE SHIPPING UNDERGROUND COMIC

$

30

Mickey Rat Comic #4, 1980, 2nd Printing, 36 pages, Last Gasp, Robert Armstrong, High Grade, Underground Comic             FREE SHIPPING

 1972-1982 / Los Angeles Comic Book - Kitchen Sink - Last Gasp

He started as a t-shirt design. Nothing but a crude rip-off of Mickey Mouse, not so close in design to Disney's character that he'd get in trouble, but close enough to be obvious. His name was Mickey Rat.

The Mickey Rat t-shirt sold a lot of cotton at the dawn of the '70s. Sales were so good that when Chester Crill, member of the psychedelic rock band Kaleidoscope, suggested to rat creator Robert Armstrong that Mickey Rat would be great in a comic strip, the idea was instantly embraced. And so in 1971, Mickey Rat appeared in L.A. Comix #1, in a seven-page story appropriately titled "The King of Rotten Stuff."

The persona of Mickey Rat fit perfectly with his appearance: rough at the edges and leering at objects of his desire through a stubborn hangover. In 1972, L.A. Comic Book Company featured Mickey in his own comic book, which apparently failed to sell out. But Denis Kitchen at Kitchen Sink believed in the uncouth rat and published the second issue in the series. Both issues featured stories written by Crill, but he was not impressed by the financial rewards of comic book publishing and soon stopped writing for them. After the second issue there was an eight-year gap between issues before Armstrong ended up with Last Gasp, which published the final two issues of the series in 1980 and 1982.

By those last two issues Mickey Rat's exploits were even more reprehensible than before, as he added pedophilia to his arsenal of lewdness. Mickey is usually hung-over, on drugs or otherwise incapacitated and lost in his own world. For someone who never seems to get much done he manages to sustain quite a superiority complex, always conveyed with a wickedly rude sense of humor. He is crass, raunchy, and tacky; capable of performing any act of filth. His mind is seemingly always on one track and incapable of growth or sustained contemplation. Mickey Rat seems entirely unmotivated to accomplish anything but chase down his next piece of ass or a decent-size roach.

Mickey Rat's appeal still endures some 40 years after his inception and his book remain popular among underground enthusiasts, though he has now come full circle and appears mostly on t-shirts. Of course, today he has more of an excuse to exist than just ripping off Mickey Mouse. He's a nostalgia item in his own right, who once had his own comic book.

Mickey Rat was Robert Armstrong’s amoral, beer-swilling antihero whose adventures comprised the bulk of the issues. The first two are entertaining enough, though lacking in focus, but by #3 Armstrong had matured into a fine satirist and the writing is much sharper. Mickey Rat’s exploits are utterly reprehensible, but thoroughly compelling at the same time, never more so than when shared with the Couch Potatoes. This TV-addicted group of losers proved popular enough for their own feature in #4, and The Official Couch Potato Handbook was published in 1983. Another backup strip, the jazz-based Dizzy Ratstein, never quite comes to life, but overall the last two issues make fine reading.

Mickey Rat is usually hung-over, on drugs or otherwise incapacitated and lost in his own world. For someone who never seems to get much done he manages to sustain quite a superiority complex, always conveyed with a wickedly rude sense of humor. He is crass, raunchy, and tacky; capable of performing any act of filth. His mind is seemingly always on one track and incapable of growth or sustained contemplation. Mickey Rat seems entirely unmotivated to accomplish anything but chase down his next piece of ass or a decent-size roach.

The misanthropic rodent contends with religious zealots, and hangs out with Dizzy and the Couch Potatoes, a group of TV-addicted neer-do-wells. All this changes when the Rat is stranded on Easter Island, where he finds love. Mature readers. Black and white; 32 pages. Cover by Armstrong. Cover price $2.50.

COMIC CREATOR:
Robert Armstrong - 1-36

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Underground and Alternative comics - Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality, and violence. They were most popular in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s.  Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Skip Willamson, Gilbert Shelton, and numerous other cartoonists created underground titles that were popular with readers within the counterculture scene.

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OUR STORY - While living in Greenwich Village in the sixties I knew of a little store off Bleecker that specialized in underground comics.  Every Friday afternoon after work, I’d go there to see what was the latest version just hitting the shelves. With several of my hippy friends grooving, and laughing over Comics, we’d sit around that smoke filled room, sometimes late into the night.  Fast forward, some fifty years later – my wife and I discovered some old cardboard boxes hidden behind junk in the back of our storage locker.  It was a dry, cool place and the hundreds of underground comics that had only been read once, were in beautiful condition.  It felt like we discovered a pot of gold.  We wrote to dozens of book and comic stores with a list of our inventory.  They said, there was no interest, no market and offered us little to nothing. We explained to them that these were complete sets, first editions. To the retail outlets they were worthless, but to us they were priceless.  Now we offer them on E-Bay and the collectors are grabbing them up, at our more than fair and reasonable prices.  Many we had universally certified with CGC, so you’ll know we’re trustworthy, reliable and have the best of service.  Just check the feedback and reviews to know we’re honest and responsible.  We are happy to answer any questions you may have and hope you buy them now while they still are available.  First come, first serve.  Thank you again for your time and interest.