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Lawrence Lipton noted recently in the Los Angeles Free Press that: “1969 will see an elimination process in the Alternative or Underground Press newspapers.” He went on to point out that many newspapers will meet their demise mainly because rigid, “doctrinaire” underground newspaper editors are unable “to discern the trends of the changing scene.”
comix
by
Thomas Haroldson
Lawrence Lipton noted recently in the Los Angeles Free Press that: “1969 will see an elimination process in the Alternative or Underground Press newspapers.”
He went on to point out that many newspapers will meet their demise mainly because rigid, “doctrinaire” underground newspaper editors are unable “to discern the trends of the changing scene.”
Unfortunately, I doubt that many editors will heed Lipton’s warning. This is not to say,however, that the presept “Alternative Press” will disappear overnight. It is quite possible that underground newspapers, like Socialist bookstores, will go on forever. And like Socialist bookstores, will probably continue to believe right to the end that they are still “communicating” with the public.
But the real action, today, is under the underground. The phenomenal Success of the Marvel Comics Group (Spider-man, The Fantastic Ijour, etc.) clearly indicates that many young people have quietly defected from the ranks of UPS publications.
Spider-man, alone, is followed by five million college-age readers who take a fanatic interest in their hero’s problems. The level of communication is so high, and reader involvement so complete, that Marvel Comics receives over one thousand letters a day.