Cast your Vote! Bijou vs. Zap

[Visitor Q]

Cast your vote and state your opinion.

Jason

[Sir Real]

Ain't you gotz no easy questions?

I have to go with Bijou on this one.  While they're both good, Zap strikes me more as a free-form expression of comix, and Bijou has stories and characters.

Did that make sense?

[Visitor Q]

I'd have to say Zap for me because it has Robt. Williams and S. Clay Wilson but then its tuff because Bijou has Jay Lynch and Kim Deitch. Hmmm... I'm still going to side with Zap on this one.

Jason

[dr_s]

Without Zap, nobody would even talk about Bijou today. Zap, as Jerry Weist states, is one of the top 10 most important comics of all time.

[dr_s]

On the other hand, neither have Corben

[Visitor Q]

On the other hand, neither have Corben

Thank God For That!

Hey, I sent you email, no reply?

Jason

[dr_s]

God Nose

[Sir Real]

Without Zap, nobody would even talk about Bijou today. Zap, as Jerry Weist states, is one of the top 10 most important comics of all time.

*ahem*
Nobody is questioning that Zap preceded most all, and that it is a most important comic.  The question was which was the better series.


...and show your work.

[Visitor Q]

To me it all comes down to the artist. Who can give me a roll call on both books? Let's settle this pound for pound with two sets of artist line ups. 

Jason

[Sir Real]

To me it all comes down to the artist. Who can give me a roll call on both books? Let's settle this pound for pound with two sets of artist line ups.

You got it.  And in alpha order.

On the Zap side, we have...

Charles Crumb (story)
Robert Crumb
Rick Griffin
Paul Mavrides (#14 & 15)
Victor Moscoso
Spain Rodriguez
Gilbert Shelton
Robert Williams
S. Clay Wilson


...and on the Bijou side, we have...

Roger Brand
Dan Clyne
Robert Crumb
Pat Daley
Kim Deitch
Paul Filth
Evert Geradts
Justin Green
Bill Griffith
Rory Hayes
Dave Herring
Jay Kinney
Denis Kitchen
Jay Lynch
Camille Minor
Scott Minor
Willy Murphy
Jim Osborne
Ralph Reece
Gilbert Shelton
Art Speigelman
William Stout
John Thompson
Skip Williamson


How about that!  Only two names cross the boundaries.

[dr_s]

Well Bijou 8 was truly great but Zap 4 got the police to raid 42nd street porno shops and to arrest Phil Seuling at a NY comic show. So, for degenerates like me, Zap wins.

[Brother J]

Hmmm, interiors it's tough for me to say. Both have some great moments. In terms of cover art, I go with Bijou, I think most of the Zap covers aren't so great.

[zonker]

Bijou. Most definatly.

http://headcomix.info/forum/index.php?topic=81.0
http://hosted.met-art.com/Trial_met-art_mar_48_308/?pa=1335867

[Visitor Q]

Zap still takes it for me, 3 to 2.

Zap

Charles Crumb
Robert Williams
S. Clay Wilson

Bijou

Kim Deitch
Jay Lynch

All my favorites and Zap has more.

Jason

ps. Thanks for the list Sir Real. 

[over40artist]

Zap still takes it for me, 3 to 2.

Zap

Charles Crumb

Really big fan of Robert's brother, are you? Me, too, but not enough to canonize him in this discussion.

I think I agree with Brother J. I might go with Bijou for the cover art (#6 and #8 are all-time classics), but Zap was stronger, by far, in content. Zap ran strong for its entire run, too, with maybe a slight dip in 7, 8, 9 or so but bouncing back with a vengeance with issues 10 through 14. For me, Bijou took a couple issues before it really hit its stride, and it never really approached the groundbreaking content of the early Zaps.