Sex in the Comics (1972)

“Bat-Pussy.”

According to historians of pornographic film, that’s the title – and titular star – of the very first comic strip character porn parody ever committed to film. 

The excruciatingly amateur production – ostensibly a sexy satire of the live-action 1966 Batman television show –  was evidently filmed sometime before 1972, probably somewhere in Texas, using almost exclusively anonymous actors and predating a contemporary cottage industry of superhero-inspired skin flicks by a few decades.

As far as motion pictures go, “Bat-Pussy” is not considered a work of art. While the film seems to have its stupefying quirks, practically every online review - no matter how accommodating – takes pains to mention its relative unwatchability.

Lookit that guy's little Hank Hill butt.

But also released to adult theaters in 1972 was another adult film with a comic-strip sensibility that may be more deserving of the title of being the first funny pages-inspired fuck film – and an educational one at that! 

Entitled “Sex in the Comics,” this feature-length anthology is not only a collection of x-rated vignettes drawn directly from the Tijuana Bibles, it’s also a pretty decent history of the medium!

It'll only get worse from here.

For those not in the know, Tijuana Bibles are, in brief, notorious. 

Pocket-size pornographic pamphlets featuring risque romps in explicitly illustrated detail, the books were a secretly-salacious staple of mid-1900s newsstands. 

Popular newspaper strip characters were often the protagonists of the eight-page pornos, including uninhibited versions of Mutt and Jeff, Popeye and, god help us, Little Orphan Annie, among many others.

“Sex in the Comics” adapts several actual Tijuana Bibles into short, explicit live-action segments, and they do not skimp on detail. 

Each adaptation is introduced with a title card that painstakingly recalls the original cover of the source material, and the stories were direct transcriptions - down to the stilted and slangy dialogue. 

A title card screen from Sex in the Comics and the Tijuana Bible cover that inspired it.

The movie also leans into a bold, colorful palette with their wardrobe and set design. It successfully evokes the visual language of cartoons, at least as well as you’d see in any given community theatre’s production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Well-known comics characters depicted doffing their duds in Sex in the Comics are some of the funnies’ most famous stars. 

The film includes bowdlerized versions of newspaper mainstays Barney Google, Betty Boop, Dick Tracy, Dagwood (and Blondie), Jiggs (from Bringing Up Father), Moon Mullins, and Nancy’s aunt Fritzi Ritz. Other newsprint nudies which might be less familiar to modern readers included Dixie Dugan, Etta Kett, Toots and Casper, Salesman Sam and a guy I can’t believe anyone wanted to see with his pants off, Major Hoople from Our Boarding House. 

More title cards from Sex in the Comics

Is there a downside to all of this attention to detail? Yes, very much so. 

In order to estimate the exaggerated appearance of highly-stylized characters like Moon Mullins, Barney Google or god help us again Major Hoople, the male performers are frequently fitted with off-putting prosthetics – by which I mostly mean “masks” but it doesn’t stop there. For a hardcore porno, there are a lot of fake dicks in this thing.

Jesus Christ.

In any case, what’s most interesting about Sex in the Comics is its elaborate framing device. 

Serving simultaneously as an interstitial cooldown period between blocks, and also as an informative introduction to the history of Tijuana Bibles, it begs to be said: This porno is a real love letter to comics.

In fact, whoever put this movie together (if the credits are to be believed, it’s the writing team of “Muff & Pervertt”) cared enough about the verisimilitude of the framing sequence to get a real actor involved!

James R.Sweeney probably isn’t a name you’ll recognize, but he’s a working actor with a decent IMDB rap sheet, and he brings stage-worthy chops to his strictly non-participatory role. 

James R. Sweeney as cartoonist Trake Johnson and I-dunno-who as the lady but she gets naked real fast.

Sweeney plays Trake Johnson, a veteran cartoonist who serves as narrator and guide for the whole film, just like the Stage Manager in Our Town. 

Johnson is being interviewed about his beloved cartoon creation “Pinky the Cat,” but thinking of his past serves only to inspire a sudden nostalgic recollection of the dirty little comic books of his youth.

“But wait,” replies his lovely lady interviewer, “It’s very hot in here. Mind if I take this off?”

In a very comic booky kind of storytelling device, Johnson is depicted in different outfits depending on the era he's discussing.

From there, Johnson launches into a narration which serves as a perfectly informative anecdotal history of Tijuana Bibles. Much of the detail iterated in the pornographic film may not exactly be historically accurate, but I suspect you already knew that about pornographic films.

Nonetheless, pains are taken to contextualize the Bibles to the culture of the 20th century, destigmatize the concept, and craft a coherent narrative about its professionals and publishers. I don't think a lot of porn employs archival footage, but this one sure does! 

"While all of this happened, George served as an Air Raid Warden..."

There are also many full-screen depictions of pages from the original Tijuana Bibles, obviously obtained from a practically mint condition, and depicting some of the nastiest cartooning I am sorry to say I’ve seen in the art form. 

Still, you have to be impressed with the film’s dedication to celebrating its subject matter. 

It’s surely in no small part owing to Sweeney’s acting prowess that his character’s lengthy monologue about the rise and fall of filthy comics is a compelling narrative with some fine turns of phrase. 

Describing the decline of the medium as “A lost art now. Apple blossoms in the spring,” seems like rarified language for a blue movie, but you have to appreciate it.

Also, there is a "Smut Hound."

It’s very easy to find a copy of “Sex in the Comics” online, if you’re so inclined. And while it’s not an imperishable gem of cinema -- adult or otherwise -- it’s still an astonishing little oddity at the greasy intersection of two filthy little industries, which has its own appeal!

Lastly, for those who simply must know: Is it hot?

Listen, it’s not for me to judge. Everything floats somebody’s boat. But, still, regardless of the surprisingly elucidatory storytelling, my opinion is that the male actors running around in those ghastly masks surely render the entire film, for even the most compulsive onanist, at the very least, in the words of comedian Sean Lock, a challenging wank.

*wink*