Author:
Title: ZAP COMIX No. 0 * Rare U.K. Edition
Place Published:
Publisher:No publisher listed [John Muir of Manchester?]
Date Published: No date, but circa 1968
Description: CGC certified: VG/Fine (5.0). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Bends left top of back cover; heavy foxing/soiling to cover; spine stress lines breaks color; stain center of front cover. Credits: Robert Crumb story, cover and art.

CGC Census: Four graded copies, all Universal, comprising one 5.5 (highest-graded), two 5.0, and one 3.0.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade; the only reported sale of the U.K. edition is a 3.0 that sold for $249 in 4/23.An almost-unknown British bootleg of ZAP #0, believed to have been released in the same year as the US version. Not listed in Jay Kennedy's Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide or Fogel's Underground Price & Grading Guide, and not pictured or mentioned in Grand Comics Database's online listing for ZAP #0. The cover's color scheme is different from the US version, and the "2/6" price is a dead giveaway of this mag's UK origins. The contents are identical to those of the US version, except the inside back cover's public service announcement advocating pot use replaces "Help Build A Better America!" with "Help Keep Britain High."

We can't tell you more than this, as there's simply no data available online or in any print sources regarding this rarity. However, according to Tony Bennett, publisher of the UK's Knockabout Press, there seems to have been a de facto arrangement in the 1960s and '70s which permitted overseas publishers to release their own versions of Yankee undergrounds. Bennett's remarks can be heard on Soho Radio's May 23, 2021 broadcast, Bureau of Lost Culture: Comics, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

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