East Village Other

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East Village Other (April-May 1967)

The East Village Other (often abbreviated as EVO), was a leading underground newspaper in New York City during the late 1960s. It was co-founded in late 1965 by Walter Bowart with Allan Katzman, Sherry Needham and John Wilcock.^[1] The paper displayed a colorful psychedelic layout that became a distinguishing characteristic seen on underground papers of the time.

It was among the first countercultural newspapers to emerge, following the Los Angeles Free Press which had begun publishing a few months earlier. EVO was one of the founding members of the Underground Press Syndicate, a network that allowed member papers to freely reprint each other's contents. Another local member of UPS was Rat Subterranean News, from March 1968. The two papers were different enough to share the territory without serious rivalry, Rat being more political, and EVO more focused on culture.

EVO was an important publication for the underground comix movement, featuring comic strips by artists including Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez, Art Spiegelman and Kim Deitch before underground comic books emerged from San Francisco with the first issue of Zap Comix. In 1968 EVO published a comics tabloid, Zodiac Mindwarp by Rodriguez.

Gothic Blimp Works #3 (1969), cover by Robert Crumb

[edit] Gothic Blimp Works

During 1969, EVO published eight issues of Gothic Blimp Works, an all-comics tabloid with some color printing, billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper." After Vaughn Bode edited the first two issues, he turned it over to Bhob Stewart, who brought in pages by Michael Kaluta, Bernie Wrightson, Steve Stiles, George Metzger, Ralph Reese and Larry Hama. After Stewart's brief stint as editor, Kim Deitch edited the remaining issues.

The paper published another short-lived spin-off title, Kiss, a sex-oriented paper that was designed to compete with Al Goldstein's tabloid Screw.

EVO ceased publication in early 1972.