“I can see you!”
So the other day my former boss Ralph brought in another box of comics for me to sell in my store on his behalf. He had emailed me a list of the books ahead of time, and as I was perusing it I spotted a title I didn’t recognize. “CCA Comix” was the name, and by the use of the term “comix” I presumed it was some kind of underground.
When Ralph showed up, I asked about the CCA Comix, which I had thought maybe, because of those initials, it was a book critical of the Comics Code Authority or somesuch. But no, what it was, was this:
…a short comics pamphlet on the importance of tree conservation and the usages for paper, particularly for the purposes of packaging. The “CCA” in the title stands for “Container Corporation of America.”
When Ralph was telling me about the comic, he described the art as a cross between Ernie Bushmiller and Robert Crumb, at which I point I said “yes, I’ll be keeping this.” And looking through it…I think that’s a fairly good description, though maybe more George Hansen than Crumb, if I may split hairs a tad. The actual art is by Bob Zoell, a creator of fine art of some note.
This panel stuck out to me right away, being the fan that I am of self-referentialism:
This is the first page of the comic, for a more representative sampling:
What’s wild about this comic is that Ralph had said he couldn’t find a trace of it in a price guide or online. I looked in the Grand Comics Database and it wasn’t there (so I suppose I, as a card-carrying but not terribly active contributor to the site, should fix that). I even used the Internet Wayback Machine to check the old ugcomix.com site to see if it was listed there (even though this is more an educational giveaway comic that looks like an underground than an actual underground) and didn’t spot it there either.
I meant to ask Ralph if he’d checked one of the newer underground price guides in addition to the original Jay Kennedy guide from the early ’80s (yes, the prices are out of date, but the info is usually still good). I’m guessing he had, but I wanted to double-check. Anyway, neither of us searched The Entire Internet looking for this, so if someone spots a reference to this comic out there in the wild, please let me know.
EDIT: Reader John added a link to this PDF in the comments, featuring the following blurb from a 1977 industry newsletter:
Interesting that the copyright date in the comic itself is 1975, but here it is being plugged in late ’77. Took a while to print? Maybe they had a bunch still sitting around after that initial ’75 distribution? …And yes, they spelled it “Slugo.” How dare they.
Geez, I dig that art!
Weird to see something this wholesome drawn in that style.
Wow, I’d love to find a copy of that, myself. Similar publications carry a combination of conservation messaging and industry propaganda. I wonder how far this one goes in similar directions!
PS — I found one reference online, in this 1977 newsletter of a fraternal order for forestry professionals: https://www.hoohoo.org/images/publications/November%201977.pdf
Impressive find, John!
There’s an entry for it in WorldCat: https://www.worldcat.org/title/comix-the-day-the-trees-disappeared/oclc/1110426314
They list just one library with a holding: UC Riverside. It’s in their Special Collections Library: https://ucr.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CDL_RIV_INST/14qc2ti/alma991028458839704706
So Mike, you may have on your hands one of only two known copies!
You should get it slabbed.
I was even confused by the mailing address “One first National Plaza.” Lived in Chicago for 25+ years and have never heard of it. Turns out, that’s now called the Chase Bank building in the Loop.