Welcome to Litsy!

This international survey of erotic comics chronicles a groundbreaking form of sexual expression up to 1970, the years when mainstream culture spurned explicit eroticism. In the 1930s, American “Tijuana Bibles,” little pornographic comic books that parodied popular comics and comic strips, were widely available. World War II gave a boost to erotic comics, especially illustrated pin-ups. This set the stage for men’s magazines such asPlayboy, which included racy cartoons from the beginning, and fetish comics. The flowering of the counterculture in the next decade gave rise to underground comics, whose acknowledged master was Robert Crumb. A parallel development occurred in Europe, where erotic comics likeBarbarellawere suddenly the rage.Erotic Comicstells this story with hundreds of illustrations, informative text, and insights from key artists, writers, and publishers. It’s sexy, artistic, entertaining, intriguing, and informative.