Is there a tactful way to talk about Tijuana Bibles in an academic setting? Well, we aren’t sure, so we’re going to keep it short and just let you know that we have plenty of them for your perusal.
Tijuana Bibles from the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.
For those unfamiliar with these strange and salacious little publications, Tijuana Bibles were wallet-sized, folded-and-stapled pamphlets that saw their heyday from the 1920s through the 1960s. Made to fit easily in ones back pocket, they would be found passed around bars, barbershops, burlesque houses, and of course between kids behind the schoolyard.
Typically in a 2.5×4 inch format, running 8 pages long, the anonymous artists of the Tijuana Bibles cast many of America’s most beloved newspaper comic strip characters, movie stars and public figures into the role of exhibitionists, adulterers, and general sex-loving fiends. Yes, turning something once family-friendly into fornication (as many of the underground cartoonists would do) is not a new trend, but nearly a century old in the comics format.
Tijuana Bibles from the San Francisco Academy of Cartoon Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.
The majority of the Tijuana Bible artists remain unknown, though some (including Superman‘s Joe Shuster and Bazooka Joe‘s Wesley Morse) have been identified. The nickname “Tijuana Bible” caught on from the lore that these little books were being shipped over illegally from below the border, though history hints that the center of circulation seemed to be no place other than New York City.
October 4, 2012 at 11:31 am
Interesting! The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University also has some of these in their collection. You and they might be interested in being in touch with one another – to trade duplicates, maybe!