Mr. Toad

Mr. Toad is a freewheeling underground comix character created by Gilbert Shelton, debuting in 1969 as part of the irreverent countercultural comic scene. An eccentric amphibian figure, he appeared across landmark alternative venues alongside characters like Zippy the Pinhead.

Few characters capture the freewheeling spirit of the underground comix scene quite like Mr. Toad, who leapt onto the page in Gilbert Shelton's Gothic Blimp Works #6 in 1969 — right at the countercultural heart of the Silver Age's wilder, ink-stained fringes. Over a remarkable 34-year stretch, this Shelton creation turned up across landmark underground and alternative venues like Arcade the Comics Revue and Zippy Quarterly, sharing pages with an wonderfully eccentric cast including Zippy the Pinhead and Griffy. With Fantagraphics as his eventual home, Mr. Toad belongs to that rare breed of character whose longevity speaks to a devoted readership that never forgot where the real comics adventuring happened — far outside the mainstream.