Goin' Underground: Buzzard #1 (Cat-Head Comics, 1990)

Buzzard #1 arrived just in time for the coming of age for the Gen-X era of the early 90's thanks to Stephen Beaupre and Steve Lafler of Cat-Head Comics. The first issue, which features work by J.R. Williams, Mary Fleener, and Julie Doucet as well as the aforementioned Beaupre and Lafler, fits with that era so much so that reading through it two decades later feels like opening a time capsule that was launched from space in 1990 and has just returned to Earth.

The first story is a two-pager courtesy of Mary Fleener, whose "cubismo" art-style is in full effect for a story called "Loaded":

One story that really stood out in this issue is "Tonight: I'm Gonna Go See The Bottle Surgeons...and Kill Myself!", by Julie Doucet. This one really reminds me of the heyday of the Grunge/Punk Rock scene at the time:

And one of Steve Lafler's stories, "Duck & Cover III" perfectly conveys the sentiments of the 90's...especially concerning employment. In fact, not much has changed...eh?:

And here are a few pages of some other good works to be found in this issue, such as boneHead and Crows and UFO's:

And that's not all...there is a ton of content left to be had in the first issue of Buzzard, including a Lafler Dog-Boy story, a "girlfriend-from-hell" story by J.R. Williams, a true tale from Southeast Portland titled, "Caught In A Trap" by Dave Gill, and "Apartheid House" by Lloyd Dangle.

Great first issue and just like Nirvana put the "alternative" into radio, Buzzard did so for the underground comic scene. The series lasted for 20 issues and most of them can still be had at Cat-Head Comics' online store.