Gilbert Shelton

I've never been a big fan of underground comics, but as a comics completist I feel obliged to read big compilations like this when I come across them. I actually read a few Freak Brothers comics back in the 1980s during the "Idiots Abroad" arc, and they didn't do much for me since I hadn't read the preceding issues. Having more context now, I still don't much care for that story . . . or the ones around it.

What I did not realize is that Freak Brothers is a sort of homage to classic comic show more strips, with structure and characters borrowed from Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, and Little Nemo in Slumberland to name just a few. The Little Nemo influence was most unfortunate, as way too many strips ended with one of the characters waking up from a dream. (I HATE dream sequences.)

Other stuff I didn't like: The poor reproduction and tiny panels of the first 100 pages really strained my eyes. It seems a missed opportunity to not reprint everything in chronological order, but things seemed sort of random at times, with all the color materials having to be shoved into two narrow sections of the book (to keep costs down I suppose). Also, it seems stingy to not give more prominent credit to long-time collaborators Paul Mavrides and Dave Sheridan.

Mainly, as a total square who does not drink or do drugs, I could not find anything relatable about the comics. The Freak Brothers are slobs and substance abusers who are sexist and just not that funny. show less

The book looks back at Gilbert Shelton's work over the past fifty years as well as showcasing some never before seen strips Including:

Phineas becomes a Suicide Bomber
Franklin got his Gun
Fat Freddy gets Religion
And more Freak Brothers short strips
Illustrations and advertisements
An up to date interview with Shelton
A gallery of Freak Brothers parody strips by Jay Lynch, Hunt Emerson and more.

It's a must for Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy's Cat fans like myself or even just to add to any comic show more book fan's collection as an interesting document in the history of comic book art. show less

It was back during the late seventies or early eighties. I was on holiday in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. It was the summer holidays, so T.V. was running Croque Vacance and repeats of The Avengers with Patrick Macnee.
In the bottom of an old storage cupboard I found a massive stash of Mags, mostly Métal Hurlant (the French Sci-Fi and Horror anthology created by Mœbius) and a stack of Fat Freddy's cat books. I spent most of my vacation hauled up in that tiny show more room. It was the best of times and comic books would never be the same again.

I recently found another copy of Book 2 on an auction site and bought it.
Thumbing through the pages felt like time travelling back to that cupboard in the old farmhouse. I was surprised to find I'd remembered every page crisp as if I'd just read them earlier that day, talk about unlocking a door in my mind!

The six page feature 'Chariot of the Globs' remains my personal favourite of all Fat Freddy's Cat's adventures to this day. show less

Fat Freddy, Phineas Freak e Freewheelin Franklin são cabeludos, desastrados e perseguem uma vida alternativa no campo. Temperada com maconha e qualquer outra droga que cruzar seu caminho. Enfim, os típicos hippies da década de 1960, em histórias em quadrinhos roteirizadas e desenhadas por Gilbert Shelton.

O volume "As fabulosas aventuras dos Freak Brothers" reúne hilariantes histórias dos quadrinhos underground selecionadas e traduzidas por Marco Aurélio Poli para a editora L&PM em show more 1986. Como bônus nessa edição, prefácio de Eduardo Bueno. No rodapé das páginas, tiras impagáveis de "O gato de Fat Freddy", em que o felino leva uma vida paralela ao trio no melhor estilo gato de ser. show less