Inspired by the underground comix scene of the 60s and 70s, Outlaw comics formed its own grunge like movement through out the 80s and 90s.

These Mature adult comics focused on dark tormented poloarizing vigilantes and heroes and contained graphic violence and nudity.

The imagery consisted of a grungy, gothic gritty tone and covered very taboo subjects sometimes even in bad taste.

Some of the most prominent titles from this movement are The Crow by James O’Barr, Faust by David Quinn and Tim Vigil, Razor by Everette Hartsoe and Cry for Dawn by Joseph Michael Linsner. With the Crow being the most known because of the movie adaptations.

Minus the flashy blood soaked or scantily clad “bad girl” covers that were in color. Most of the interiors were in black and white in order to save money on the printing process. You can even find misspellings and typos in the early prints of these comics due to them not having a big editing team. Outlaw comics were very much outsider art.

Which may explain the frustation and the angst in the characters. A lot of the Outlaw comic artists may have wanted to draw or write comics for Marvel or DC at some point and Outlaw comics were their outlet to be seen. Some did move on to work for bigger companies, many have not but still created a lane for themselves.

The rise of dark edgy super heroes like Spawn, DeadPool and Venom in the 90s can be attributed to the underground interest in Outlaw comics.

Outlaw comics were artists and creators who were complete outsiders and may have not met the standard to even work for those bigger companies but these creators still created a movement that would influence the industry using raw and unfiltered talent.

By the mid 90s the comic spectator bubble burst which caused alot of these small publishers to close. Leaving alot of titles lost to time.

There has since been a rise in popularity in Outlaw comics since 2020, made popular by artists Ed Piskor (R.I.P.) and Jim Rugg, with even newly created Outlaw comics being made with the same angst and aggression.