The world according to Zippy: Taiwan's Taipei Times chats with Zippy cartoonist Bill Griffith about the comic strip's beginnings:

"The underground comics and newspapers of that time were very open to free-wheeling, unconventional comics. The mainstream press would never have had any interest in publishing my early stuff -- it was way too weird!

"Too many taboos were being broken, too much satire was aimed at the establishment of the day. I'm very grateful to the alternative press of that time -- without it, I may have become an autoseat-cover salesman living on Long Island."