Eight Pager Comics or Tijuana Bibles
Eight page comics, also known as tijuana bibles, bluesies, jo-jo books, gray-backs, blue biblis and two-by-fours, were palm-sized pornographic comics that were very popular in the U.S. during the 1930s. most men of that generation were exposed to eight page comics at one time or another.
Created as 8-panel comic strips in a 3 x 4-inch wallet format, printed on heavy colored stock and eight pages long, topics ranged from well-known comic strip characters, popular movie stars, to prominent political figures and often contained ethnic stereotypes.
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origins of the tijuana bible
The name of the Tijuana Bible comes from fictitious Mexican addresses that are often given as the place of publication, although it is not clear where they were created. many felt they were created in the back rooms of new york city comic bookstores. some believed they were created and distributed by the mob and there seems to be some evidence that this may be true.
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will eisner (creator of the spirit, the masked crime fighter) worked at a print shop in new york city where he recalls being asked to draw tijuana bibles for $3.00 a page. He pointed out that the man soliciting his services had come straight from the mob and claimed exclusive distribution rights for all of Brooklyn. Eisner politely declined the offer.
Eight pagers could be purchased at tobacconists, barbershops, or burlesque houses and were shared in schools, backroom card games, as well as on the battlefield during wars. buying one would cost you fifty cents to five dollars depending on the quality and content. these million dollar businesses were in business during the height of the great depression.
what was eight pages?
Most of the tijuana bibles were raunchy parodies of popular newspaper comic strips of the day and recounted his explicit sexual escapades. Some featured the sexual escapades of popular movie stars such as Laurel and Hardy, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, and Clark Gable and influenced the aura of “Hollywood Babylon” that was perpetuated during the 1930s. Others focused on world leaders such as hitler, mussolini and stalin.
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They were illegal at the time and the authorities used to confiscate the shipments before they could be distributed. In November 1942, New York City police and the FBI raided an Eight Page warehouse in the South Bronx. They reportedly seized 8 million Bibles from Tijuana and learned that seven tons of material had already gone out the door and was in regional distribution centers in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
at the 1939 world’s fair, employees sold pornographic pamphlets under the counter at some of the attractions for 25 cents. Police followed them to a Brooklyn Navy Yard, where 350,000 copies and several printing plates were seized. even so, they maintained their popularity.
who wrote them?
tijuana bible artists generally wrote their work anonymously or used fictitious pseudonyms such as mr. prolific (who experts believe may have created up to 30% of the existing eight pages), mr. dyslexic, blackjack, square goatee and artist no. 4. Some, like Wesley Morse, author of the Bazooka Joe comic book series, created legitimate work. many simply retold popular “dirty jokes” circulating in popular culture. most were published by non-existent companies such as “london press”, “la france publishing” and “tobasco publishing co”. they were often redrawn and copied over decades, and later copies were almost illegible.
Authors attempted to expand the eight-pager from eight to sixteen, twenty-four, and even thirty-two page epics, but with the decline of censorship in the 1950s and the rise of legitimate magazines like playboy in 1955, the popularity of eight pages was quickly rejected.