Debra Borchardt
Counter culture underground comic heroes of the sixties The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers came to life at the New York Comic Con. As a regular attendee of “The Con,” it was super sad to see the event go online only. Still, the show’s producers and lead actors appeared together on a video panel posted on YouTube. In normal times, this would’ve been an amazing panel to see in person. The comic is coming to life with a stellar cast including Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, Pete Davidson and Tiffany Hadish. The show is hopefully coming out in December or January according to the producers.
The premise is that the characters from the comic book fall asleep and then wake up fifty years later in the current time. The cast is as follows: Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek (Woody Harrelson), Fat Freddy Freekowtski (John Goodman), Phineas T. Phreakers (Pete Davidson) and their foul-mouthed cat, Kitty (Tiffany Haddish).
Freak Brothers History
The comic book was created by the American artist Gilbert Shelton. According to Wikipedia, The Freak Brothers first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968, and were regularly reprinted in underground papers around the United States and in other parts of the world. The lives of the Freak Brothers revolve around smoking lots and lots of marijuana. Fat Freddy’s Cat was a big part of many of the stories, and even got its own cartoon strip (which appeared as part of the Freak Brothers comic page, in the manner of older comic strip double features) and later some full-length episodes.
The Freak Brothers comics include several catchphrases:
Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.
“Don’t get burned!” (usually aimed at Fat Freddy as he sets out to purchase drugs)
Smoking grass and drinking beer is like pissing into the wind.
While you’re out there smashing the state, don’t forget to keep a smile on your lips and a song in your heart!
You can watch a small clip here.
