---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got into underground comics fairly…"
description: "\"I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the superhero stuff, but I was an art student and I was drawing a lot as a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png"
---

#  I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of…

![“I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the superhero stuff, but I was an art student and I was drawing a lot as a kid.” quote by Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png)

> “I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the superhero stuff, but I was an art student and I was drawing a lot as a kid.”

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He explains his early interest in underground comics, moving away from superheroes, influenced by his art background and childhood drawing.

**In simple terms:** He started with underground comics, not superheroes, due to his art studies.

Key Takeaway

Explore diverse artistic influences beyond mainstream genres.

Themes

comics art subculture creativity career path

Mood

curious reflective

Type

creative personal

When to use this quote

- Comic conventions
- art school projects
- indie publishing

Key Concepts

Graphic storytelling Alternative media Art education

Questions to Reflect On

- How did early art training shape your storytelling?
- What draws you to underground culture?

A Different Perspective

May understate mainstream impact.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-student-738866/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comics Fairly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comics-fairly-2280180/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Got Underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-underground-2280179/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Superhero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superhero/) [Underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underground/) [Underground Comics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underground-comics-427560/)

## Related quotes

> [I was going to be a musician, no matter what it took. I supported myself with blue-collared jobs so I could write music and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/i-was-going-to-be-a-musician-no-matter-what-it-took-i-supported/)

[Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/)

> [I'm a comic nerd. I'm a former serious collector for much of my childhood and early teen years I wanted to draw underground comics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-m-a-comic-nerd-i-m-a-former-serious-collector-for-much-of-my/)

[Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/)

> [Underground comics were striking in that they seemed largely unedited - in a typical book, with stories by five to ten creators, some stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-gloeckner/underground-comics-were-striking-in-that-they-seemed-largely-unedited/)

[Phoebe Gloeckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-gloeckner/)

> [I went to an art school in Brooklyn and painted Fine Art, if that's what you'd call it for eight years in New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-griffith/i-went-to-an-art-school-in-brooklyn-and-painted-fine-art-if-that-s/)

[Bill Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-griffith/)

> [I didn't really get into underground comics, though I've liked some of what I've seen. Dame Darcy was very impressive to meet, really talented.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-farber/i-didn-t-really-get-into-underground-comics-though-i-ve-liked-some-of/)

[Neil Farber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-farber/)

> [When people say 'What are underground comics?' I think the best way you can define them is just the absolute freedom involved... we didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/when-people-say-what-are-underground-comics-i-think-the-best-way-you/)

[Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/)

> [Underground comics were produced by individuals - they were the auteur variety, rather than the production-line sort of comic book aimed at pleasing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-gloeckner/underground-comics-were-produced-by-individuals-they-were-the-auteur/)

[Phoebe Gloeckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-gloeckner/)

> [Certainly the goal with any sort of storytelling is to have an impact, to touch on some reader's life. And in some cases, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brevoort/certainly-the-goal-with-any-sort-of-storytelling-is-to-have-an-impact/)

[Tom Brevoort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brevoort/)

> [I went to an art school in Brooklyn and painted Fine Art, if thats what youd call it for eight years in New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-griffith/i-went-to-an-art-school-in-brooklyn-and-painted-fine-art-if-thats/)

[Bill Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-griffith/)

> [I loved underground comics and psychedelic art. I did like some supernatural horror, but mainly fantasy. I was into escapism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arik-roper/i-loved-underground-comics-and-psychedelic-art-i-did-like-some/)

[Arik Roper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arik-roper/)

> [A very young painter is seldom alone. If he is an art student, he is in an art school with other students. He does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-alechinsky/a-very-young-painter-is-seldom-alone-if-he-is-an-art-student-he-is-in/)

[Pierre Alechinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-alechinsky/)

> [I know, it sounds a contradiction, a fine art student fighting in UFC. But I'm not that unusual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-know-it-sounds-a-contradiction-a-fine-art-student-fighting-in-ufc/)

[Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/)

> [I was an art student at the time, like thousands of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/i-was-an-art-student-at-the-time-like-thousands-of-others/)

[Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/)

> [I went back to my mother's house recently and I saw some of my earlier works as a 15-year-old art student. And a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-went-back-to-my-mother-s-house-recently-and-i-saw-some-of-my/)

[Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/)

> [When I was an art student in the early 60′s before the acid scene began I was smoking pot just like anyone else who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-griffith/when-i-was-an-art-student-in-the-early-60-s-before-the-acid-scene/)

[Bill Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-griffith/)

## More by Jonathan Lethem

> [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [Life is fundamentally up for grabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/life-is-fundamentally-up-for-grabs/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/my-heart-to-put-it-more-simply-got-nostalgic-for-the-present-always-a/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [It's impossible to overstate how my relationship to music forms a preserve for the esoteric or even spiritual aspect of my relationship to cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-s-impossible-to-overstate-how-my-relationship-to-music-forms-a/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“If. If Mingus Rude could be kept in this place, kept somehow in Dylan's pocket, in his stinging, smudgy hands, then summer wouldn't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/if-if-mingus-rude-could-be-kept-in-this-place-kept-somehow-in-dylan-s/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was read in multiple contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-had-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-who-confused-genre-boundaries-and/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“Memory is a rehearsal for a show that never goes on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/memory-is-a-rehearsal-for-a-show-that-never-goes-on/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“There is nothing Tourettic about the New York City subways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-is-nothing-tourettic-about-the-new-york-city-subways/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“Mingus Rude, Arthur Lomb, Gabriel Stern and Tim Vandertooth, even Aaron K. Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [I try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-try-to-write-every-day-i-don-t-beat-myself-up-about-word-counts-or/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“Enough of this. Does every conversation with you have to be the director's cut? Get out of the car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/enough-of-this-does-every-conversation-with-you-have-to-be-the/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“The stumbling block will turn out to be the traditional one for students of consciousness: the flashlight is incapable of shining on itself, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-stumbling-block-will-turn-out-to-be-the-traditional-one-for/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

> [“May one plead, Your Honor, postmodernism as an involuntary condition?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/may-one-plead-your-honor-postmodernism-as-an-involuntary-condition/)

[Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

[Explore all 241 Jonathan Lethem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

[Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/)

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the superhero stuff, but I was an art student and I was drawing a lot as a kid.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jonathan Lethem"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-early-on-and-kind-of-wandered/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-early-on-and-kind-of-wandered/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/jonathan-lethem-1403_art_i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-ear_1831893.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I got into underground comics fairly early on and kind of wandered away from the superhero stuff, but I was…” — Jonathan Lethem",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jonathan Lethem",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I got into underground comics fairly...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-early-on-and-kind-of-wandered/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-got-into-underground-comics-fairly-early-on-and-kind-of-wandered/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
