Who was the first Underground character in print?

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

Just wondering if anyone can come up with an earlier UG character in print before Wonder Wart-Hog (1962)?

[RebelVisions]

Rick Griffin
Murphy
Surfer Magazine & The Surfing Funnies 1961

Robert & Charles Crumb
Fritz the Cat - Animal Town 1961

[Reverend]

Check out the big brain on Brett! (Anyone know the next line?)

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

Rick Griffin
Murphy
Surfer Magazine & The Surfing Funnies 1961

Robert & Charles Crumb
Fritz the Cat - Animal Town 1961

I thought the first appearance of Fritz the Cat in Print was in Help #22 (1965)?  Was Animal Town actually printed or was is just drawn by Charles and Robert?

By the way, won a copy of your book (hard cover) a couple days ago, so guess I'll have both versions when the updated Soft Cover comes out.

[Brother J]

Check out the big brain on Brett! (Anyone know the next line?)

"You're a smart mother fucker" I believe is next...

[Reverend]

Why, yes, it is!

[RebelVisions]

Awright it was a single copy. I still vote for Murphy

[jaylynch]

Didn't Pro Jr. start in Wild  mag in 1959? 

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

Actually Wild! #1 was from October 1961, but that's still earlier than 1962.

Murphy from Surfing Funnies (but to be honest RV, I'm having a hard time accepting a Surfing cartoon character from a Surfing book of comics (1961) and later a "national?" Surfing magazine being seen as Underground in any way other than being drawn by a future Underground artist.  No offense (you know I respect you)...
Pro-Junior (if he appeared in the first issue) was Oct. 1961 (garage printed fanzine).
Wonder Wart-Hog in March 1962 is first professionally printed UG character in a "national?" college magazine.
Anyone think of any other UG characters that made appearances before Das Kampf by Bode came out in 1963? 
Also, anyone know the name of the character in Das Kampf?

[Sir Real]

Name of the character in Das Kampf?  You mean the bunch of Army guys?

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

Wasn't there one that was the main character of the group?

[Visitor Q]

I guess we are not counting Tawni Bibles? Not sure if there was character runs in those, I don't even own any but I would think the first would have started there.

Jason

[jaylynch]

In the l930s, there was a comic strip called Mr. Blockhead in the IWW paper...And there was also Little Lefty in The Daily Worker.  If the Mr. Blockhead artist were born 15 or 20 years later, he would have probably been doing underground comix.  Same with Don Martin.  If he were a little younger, he would probably have cast his lot with us.  In the very early appearances of Don Martin in Mad, he wasn't drawing the type of stuff you think of when you think of Don Martin.  He had another more complex style...and if there were underground comix in l957 or 58, he probably would have evolved more toward the direction of his original drawing style instead of concentrating on the more simply drawn stuff he wound up doing for MAD. There  is a whole other lost Don Martin that time has forgotten in the light of the success of his later, more simply drawn style.  Originally, in the mid to late 50s, his stuff was kind of like a cross between Rick Griffin and S.Clay Wilson.

[Visitor Q]

I like Don Martin either way, good stuff.

Jason

[awillis]

Don's the King o' da hinged shoe!