themes were found first in underground or alternative comics, often published by small independent presses or self-published. Such comics frequently advocated political positions and included depictions of sex, usually not intended solely to cause arousal but included as part of the exploration of themes including gender and sexuality. “Captain Pissgums and His Pervert Pirates” by S. Clay Wilson in Zap Comix #3 (1968) featured explicit sexual homosexual acts and was instrumental in making other underground cartoonists approach taboo subjects. However, gay characters rarely featured in underground comics from 1968 to 1975, and when they did they were usually lisping caricatures and comic transvestites. An installment of "Harold Hedd" by Rand Holmes in 1971 stands out for attacking the homophobia of David Reuben's sex manual Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), featuring explicit mutual gay sex acts, and promoting gay liberation. Eventually comics appeared aimed at a gay audience: the first documented example of a widely circulated underground gay comic was Gay Heart Throbs, which produced several issues in the mid-1970s, but struggled to find an audience. Notable publications included Gay Comix, which was created in 1980 by Howard Cruse, featured the work of LGBT artists, and had close ties with the gay liberation movement. Much of the early content was autobiographical, but more diverse themes were explored in later editions. Autobiographical themes included falling in love, coming out, repression, and sex. Gay Comix also served as a source for information about non-mainstream LGBT-themed comics and events. Artists producing work for Gay Comix included Mary Wings, creator of the first one-off lesbian book Come Out Comix (1972) and Dyke Shorts (1976), and Roberta Gregory, who created Dynamite Damsels (1976) the first lesbian underground serial comic book and the character Bitchy Bitch. Wimmen's Comix also tackled issues of homosexuality on a regular basis, and the first issue was also the venue for the first comic strip featuring an out lesbian, called "Sandy Comes Out", by Trina Robbins. Excerpts from Gay Comix are included in the 1989 anthology Gay Comics, one of the earliest histories of the subject. Meatmen: An Anthology of Gay Male Comics and its sequels collect works by a range of artists and cartoonists. The work of "every gay cartoonist of note" at the time appeared in the series, including works by Howard Cruse, Jeffrey A. Krell, Brad Parker, John Blackburn, Jon Macy,