Trots and Bonnie by Shary Flenniken

We all need something to look forward to. Some great comics, Trots and Bonnie by Shary Flenniken, will be reprinted in April 2021 and her cartoons are worth a look. This is the first time this long-running National Lampoon cartoon (1972-1990) has been collected and published. Here's some background.

Shary Flenniken was one of the first women in underground comics. By the early 1970s, she was a contributor to the National Lampoon magazine. She created her comic, Trots and Bonnie, with an innocent look that belied the adult subject matter. Her naive and sweet style, she says, let her talk about extreme subjects. Here's a clip of her from the 1988 documentary Comic Book Confidential (1988):

 

Here are some samples of the strip, which, stylistically echoes early cartoonists like H.T. Webster and Clare Briggs.  But ... not the writing! Some very edgy and impactful writing here.

Related:

The Comics Journal interviews Shary Flenniken: part one and part two.