Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s

A single, hefty volume from 2004, this Simon & Schuster collection shines a scholarly and appreciative light on the illicit, crudely drawn "Tijuana bibles" of the 1930s-1950s. It gathers a wide sampling of these eight-page, sexually explicit pamphlets that parodied popular comic strips and film stars, treating them not just as naughty ephemera but as a genuine form of American folk art and social commentary. With essays and historical context, the book argues for the wit and cultural significance of these forbidden funnies, making a case for their place in the history of underground comics.