Sex! Comics! Oboy!!

“I learned the mechanics of sex from Carl Barks. He was known as the good duck artist (for his work on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge), but for me he was the good fuck artist.”

Craig Yoe said that last night at the opening of Comics Stripped, an exhibition at the Museum of Sex in (where else?) Manhattan. Yoe is best known out in the real world as the man behind Yoe! Studios, a design outfit that was highly influenced by its founder’s fondness of comics art. The former creative director of the Muppets workshop, in our fannish conclave Craig’s best known as the historian who feverishly documents the relatively hidden nooks and crannies that weave their way through our beloved art form. His more recent books have been published by IDW and Fantagraphics.

Yoe was referring to Bark’s esser-known semi-erotic work, none of which was published by Disney. Unca Carl wasn’t the only major comics creator who drew on the wild side. He was joined by Dan DeCarlo, Jack Cole, Wally Wood, Willy Elder, Joe Shuster and others, all of whom – except Barks – represented in the Comics Stripped exhibition. They are joined by a wide range of artists including Robert Crumb, Jessica Fink, Spain Rodriguez, Eldon Dedini, Eric Stanton, Colleen Coover and a great many other cartoonist legends.

Yoe curated the exhibit and some of the work represented came from his own collection. Classic mid-30s “eight-pagers” were well represented, as were publications ranging from Capt. Billy’s Whiz-Bang and Ballyhoo to more contemporary publications such as Glamour, Screw and Jiz.

Those extremely well-versed in comics history and lore might not learn all that much but they will happily join the rest in gawking over all that beautiful original art.

The Comics Stripped show has an open-ended run at The Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Avenue (at 27th Street) in New York City. Admission is $16.75 plus tax. More info: click.