The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist explained

"The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist" was an American comics series, written by Michael O'Donoghue and drawn by Frank Springer. From January 1965, it was serialized in the magazine Evergreen Review, and later published in book form as a Grove Press hardcover in 1968 and trade paperback in 1969. It was reissued as a trade paperback in 1986 (Ken Pierce Books,,).

Plot

The comic detailed the adventures of debutante Phoebe Zeit-Geist as she was variously kidnapped and rescued by a series of bizarre characters, such as Nazis, Chinese foot fetishists, and lesbian assassins.

Impact

Doonesbury comic-strip creator Garry Trudeau cited the strip as an early inspiration, saying, "[A] very heavy influence was a serial in the Sixties called 'Phoebe Zeitgeist' ... It was an absolutely brilliant, deadpan send-up of adventure comics, but with a very edgy modernist kind of approach. To this day, I hold virtually every panel in my brain. It's very hard not to steal from it."[1]

Notes and References

  1. News: Kidd. Chip. Chip Kidd. Doonesbury Turns 40: Garry Trudeau reflects on his days at Yale, his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic, and how he envisions it ending. Rolling Stone. October 27, 2010. May 27, 2017. December 23, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161223032012/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/doonesbury-turns-40-20101027. dead.