New York City is, quite simply, overwhelmingly cool. That is to say: it is a city that is really cool in an overwhelming way.

I realize this is cliché, but there really is something there for most everyone (unless you hate crowds and big cities, obviously). Navigating the city can take a moment to get used to, but once one realizes how the grid system works, it’s really quite simple.

In all my visits to New York, I’ve wanted to experience some aspect of the industry which made me want to do everything I currently do. I’ve never had the opportunity to do this until this most recent trip, and it’s hard for me to express how great it was to visit the Society of Illustrators.

For those of you that don’t know, New York is the birthplace of the comic book industry (and the pulp fiction industry which proceeded it). Comic book companies have been using NYC as a base of operations for more than a century, with National Allied Publishing (which would become DC Comics) and Timely Comics (which would become Marvel) both having been founded in the center of the metropolis.

As a result of this, one’s ability to surround oneself with an array of comic book history and, relishing in this, is the Society of Illustrators.

Located near the corner of 63rd and Lexington, the Society of Illustrators shares space with the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art. When I made it there, just as the place was opening, I was delighted to see what the exhibit was.

Original art from perennial Underground Comix title Zap Comix.

These are relegated to, in a term, ‘dirty comic books,’ but they are really so much more than just that. They exist as a result of a culture that determined what comic books should be and fly in the face of the Comic Cook Code. Robert Crumb, a legend in comics of all kinds, founded Zap Comix in 1968 and they have included the legends of the underground scene of all types.

The artistry and strangeness of Zap Comix makes them transcend their original form to an advanced form of artistry that mocks society and all things beautiful.

It’s only around until Friday, May 7th, so if you are in New York, it’s worth taking a trip down that way and checking it out. I had a lot more to write about it, but as I looked through the pictures I took, I realized that those said more than any massive article I could write.

Check out the exhibit details on their website!

So, here they are but, be warned: these are pretty NSFW.