Griffy

Griffy is the sardonic, semi-autobiographical alter ego of cartoonist Bill Griffith, first appearing in the underground anthology Arcade the Comics Revue. A deadpan everyman navigating absurd modern life, he serves as Griffith's wry stand-in for cultural commentary.

Griffy made their debut in the pages of Arcade the Comics Revue #3 in 1975, brought into being by none other than Robert Crumb himself — a Bronze Age underground comics pedigree that doesn't get more storied than that. Over nearly three decades, this Fantagraphics fixture built up a steady presence across Zippy Quarterly and Zippy Annual, sharing panels with some of underground and alternative comics' most beloved oddballs, including Zippy the Pinhead and Mr. Toad. Twenty-three catalog appearances spanning from 1975 to 2003 tells the story of a character with real staying power in the world of thoughtful, irreverent alternative comics. If you love the rich, idiosyncratic tradition of artist-driven comics that Fantagraphics championed, Griffy is a name worth knowing.