Alternative comics are published by small press houses or are self-published, and tend to focus on the mundane, offbeat or taboo. Often done by writer-artist auteurs, alternative comics present singular, personal narratives that hew closely to the literary traditions of novels. This genre is seen as naturally evolving out of the Underground Comics that sprouted up during the late 1960s, proliferated in the 1970s, and slowly faded in the early 1980s.
Luminaries in the genre include Daniel Clowes (Eightball), Peter Bagge (Hate) and Los Bros Hernandez (Love and Rockets). Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar also fit in this genre, as their longevity and continued relevance allowed them to bridge the gap between underground comics and alternative comics.
Alternative comics typically focus on daily life and realism, though they also just as often satirize and emulate the superhero, science fiction, horror, romance and children's comics of the past. This is because the producers of alternative comics are not only artists but also genuine comic fans whose stories reflect how readers interact with the medium.
Compare with Underground Comics.
Examples of the genre:
- Acme Novelty Library
- Action Girl
- Amazing Age
- American Splendor
- America's Kingdom
- Angry Youth Comics
- Apama - The Undiscovered Animal
- Artbabe
- Lynda Barry's later work, semi-autobiographic stories about a family.
- Becoming Hero
- Black Hole
- Dominic and Claire
- Doofus
- Druid City
- Duplex Planet Illustrated
- Eightball
- Frank
- Fun With Milk & Cheese
- Hate
- I Summoned Cthulhu to Fund My Kickstarter
- Jew Gangster (first published by John Colby's ibooks, later picked up by DC Comics)
- Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
- Jonathin Quackup of the Planet Weralt
- Leschek's Flight
- Life in Hell
- Love and Rockets
- Madman
- The Magic Whistle
- Monkey Vs Robot
- Optic Nerve
- Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities
- Pinky and Pepper Forever
- Prison Pit
- Prison Witch
- Requiem of the Crazies
- Schizo
- Snow White Zombie Apocalypse
- Sock Monkey
- Soliloquy Down to 3
- Stray Bullets
- Sunnyville Stories
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage) (originally)
- The Tick
- Too Much Coffee Man
- Wilson