Week of 11/10/2025 Sunday Edition

Nard N’ Pat #1 (1974) Review

This comic, like many other vintage underground titles, can be found for free on the Internet Archive.

Those of you who have been following my Sunday newsletters might recall Nard N’ Pat from my review of Bijou Funnies #6. The hysterical duo, being consistent staples throughout the anthology’s run, were bound to spin off into their own series. Thus, by the power of the ink and printing press, they did.

Published by the short-lived underground comix cooperative Cartoonist Coop Press (no relation to the Cartoonist Co-op), the comic book contains a mix of new material and reprints that originally appeared in Bijou Funnies #4-6, namely the stories “Cleopatrick”, Untitled Genie Comic, and “The Kitty-Kat Who Cried Wolf.” As I’ve mentioned before, Jay Lynch’s artwork won’t bedazzle the eyes at first sight, but they quickly grow on the reader with his impeccable character dynamics and gag pacing. Nard is the cool cat with mischievous tendencies while Pat is the straight-laced square, offering the classic double act dynamic. We see this manifest in full swing in comics like the one where Nard decides to wear a pan on his head to express his individuality, which Pat and the rest of society mock before everyone adopts it as a trend right after Nard ditches the style.