{"id":2338,"date":"2021-11-11T23:06:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T23:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=183995"},"modified":"2021-11-11T23:06:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T23:06:50","slug":"watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2338","title":{"rendered":"Watch this: How one man\u2019s quest revived the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Watch this: How one man&#8217;s quest revived the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>The phoenix-like rebirth of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers\u2014arisen from the ashes of their own smoked-up 70s stash\u2014just might be the ultimate Ripped Van Winkle story. On Tubi this weekend, the three iconic stoners are being revived in the age of legalization, with their counterculture street cred still intact.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p><em>The Freak Brothers<\/em><br \/>Nov. 14 debut <br \/>Streaming on Tubi<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Freewheelin\u2019 Franklin, Phineas and Fat Freddy\u2014collectively and affectionately known as the Freaks\u2014made their debut in 1968, when series creator Gilbert Shelton invented them as part of a one-off ad campaign for a no-budget film called <em>Texas Hippies March on the Capitol<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>The movie made no impression and has since been lost to history, but the freaks would freak on, selling over 40 million copies of their collected adventures, translated into 15 languages. <\/p>\n<p>Over the years, many attempts to adapt their uniquely weedy world for film and television have lit up and burned out, with nothing more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oLxZy52wHVE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a few minutes of test claymation<\/a> to show for it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But now, at long last, a new animated series will reboot their adventures for the modern era. Pete Davidson, Woody Harrelson, and John Goodman give voice to the titular roles, with Tiffany Haddish providing the voice of their cat\u2014a character so popular in the original comic that it gave rise to its own spin-off series. <em>Workaholics<\/em> stars Adam Devine and Blake Anderson serve as the new show\u2019s executive producers and also voice two new characters created especially for the animated series, <em>The Freak Brothers, <\/em>which debuts on Tubi on Sunday, Nov. 14.<\/p>\n<p>This is the story of how an underground comic about cannabis-obsessed anarchist \u201cfreaks\u201d became an antiestablishment sensation, then fell into obscurity, while its creator retreated into reclusion\u2014only to see his life\u2019s work lovingly resurrected, refreshed and revived by a new generation of Hollywood weed enthusiasts.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-i-first-smoked-marijuana-in-1959\">\u2018I first smoked marijuana in 1959\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Gilbert Sullivan attended the University of Texas at Austin off-and-on for nearly a decade, primarily as a means of avoiding the Vietnam draft. He found his people at the <em>Texas Ranger, <\/em>a notorious campus humor magazine that nurtured several other seminal underground comic artists.<\/p>\n<p>Austin at the time was a center of radical politics and what was known then as the drug culture. The town\u2019s relative proximity to Mexico assured a steady supply of low-cost seedy cannabis, and real-life versions of seedy characters like Freewheelin\u2019 Frank abounded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI first smoked marijuana in 1959 while I was going to the University of Texas.\u201d Sullivan once recalled in <a href=\"https:\/\/vocal.media\/potent\/underground-comix-artist-gilbert-shelton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an interview<\/a>. \u201cOn the rare occasion when anyone would have marijuana to smoke we would all go into the bathroom and shut the door and put a towel under the crack in the door so that the smoke wouldn\u2019t escape and get out of the house and go down to the police station four miles away and cause the police to come and arrest us all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, there\u2019s been much speculation over the years that all three Freak Brothers (who are not biologically related) were modeled off of their creator\u2019s social circle in Austin, which was certainly known to smoke its share of grass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Freak Brothers are part of a tradition of characters who live on the edges of society,\u201d Shelton once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasmonthly.com\/arts-entertainment\/fab-three\/\">told Texas Monthly<\/a>. \u201cDope is only part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"863\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"image-of-freak-brothers-comic\" class=\"wp-image-184029 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers.png,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers.png,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers.png,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers.png,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Back in the day, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers were a foundational part of the underground comix movement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-driven-out-of-austin-by-a-cop-crackdown\">Driven out of Austin by a cop crackdown<\/h2>\n<p>In 1968, just a year after publishing his first-ever Freak Brothers comic strip, Gilbert Shelton fled what <em>Texas Monthly<\/em> described as a \u201cpolice crackdown\u201d on hippies in Austin, eventually settling like so many seekers of the day in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>Just as the newly opened Fillmore West ballroom served as the worldwide epicenter of psychedelic rock music, the City by the Bay also attracted an unparalleled influx of underground comic talent.<\/p>\n<p>Zap Comix formed in San Francisco that year and put out <em>Zap #1<\/em> as a showcase for the work of R. Crumb\u2014including classic characters like Mr. Natural, and images like \u201cKeep on Truckin,&#8217;\u201d which was kind of an analog meme of its time. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-bought-their-own-printing-press\">Bought their own printing press<\/h2>\n<p>Gilbert Shelton similarly published under the Zap umbrella before co-founding <a href=\"https:\/\/ripoffpress.com\/categories\/fabulous-furry-freak-brothers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rip Off Press<\/a> in 1969 with three fellow exiled Austin comix heads.<\/p>\n<p>This was back when \u201cpress\u201d was not a term of art. The four friends literally purchased a used Davidson 233 offset printing press and set up shop in the back of a novelty store. <\/p>\n<p>Originally they planned to make a living designing and printing posters promoting rock concerts, while putting out their own work and a small selection of titles from artists too controversial for the mainstream press. But when the underground comix scene took off, Rip Off Press went full-time into publishing.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton didn\u2019t entirely lose the affinity for music illustration, though. He\u2019d eventually lend his talents to the Grateful Dead, illustrating the cover their 1978 album <em>Shakedown Street<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-1970s-underground-press-and-high-times\">1970s: underground press and High Times<\/h2>\n<p><em>The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers <\/em>gained a national audience in the early 1970s when they began appearing in underground newspapers across the country. <\/p>\n<p>A two-year-run in the pages of <em>High Times<\/em> during the magazine\u2019s heyday (1976\u20141978) brought the brothers\u2019 adventures to an even wider audience. But that\u2019s about it when it comes to mainstream exposure\u2014if you can call running alongside ads for clean urine and coke spoons mainstream.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-alt-heroes-of-the-counterculture\">Alt heroes of the counterculture<\/h2>\n<p>So why did the story of three weed-obsessed burnout friends and their equally-inebriated cat stick around for so long?<\/p>\n<p>Amid all the political and cultural turmoil that went down during their long print run, Phineas, Freewheeling Frank and Fat Freddy held tight their place in the heart of the world\u2019s hardcore stoners by being willing to do anything to score some weed, while forever thumbing their noses at the establishment.<\/p>\n<p>To wit, behold the trio\u2019s most enduring bit of wisdom, immortalized in a full page comic panel later turned into a classic dorm room poster: <em>Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Even the Freak Brothers\u2019 main antagonist\u2014Notorious Norbert the Nark, an avaricious and incompetent cop\u2014seems ripped from today\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-retreat-to-europe\">Retreat to Europe<\/h2>\n<p>In 1979, Gilbert Shelton and his wife, the literary agent Lora Fountain, left the United States for life abroad in Europe. He continued to publish new Freak Brothers comics until 1997, at which point he became something of a recluse, popping up only occasionally at a conference or a speaking engagement.<\/p>\n<p>By the time Courtney Solomon went looking for him, he was pretty hard to find.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-quest-to-revive-the-brothers\">A quest to revive the Brothers<\/h2>\n<p>Solomon has been producing and directing films since 2000, when he brought <em>Dungeons and Dragons\u2014<\/em>another bit of beloved but forgotten IP<em>\u2014<\/em> to the big screen. Solomon, the producer who originated the idea of a Freak Brothers revival, traces his affection for the Brothers to a teenage trip to Amsterdam, where he found a copy in a head shop, brought it with him to a coffeeshop, and spent the rest of the day lighting up and laughing.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly 25 years after that Amsterdam afternoon, Solomon decided to track down Gilbert Sullivan and convince him to approve an animated series that would be true to the original, but set in modern times. After a six-month search, he found the great artist living outside Paris\u2014his ashtray overflowing with roaches, his mind still wary of authority in all forms, including Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>Gilbert remained convinced, it would seem, that dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-hot-box-time-machine\">Hot box time machine<\/h2>\n<p>Ultimately, Solomon convinced him to give Hollywood one last try with a pitch as funny, dumb, clever, obvious, and inventive as anything found in the original comic: The Freak Brothers of the 1970s smoke some shit so good they pass out for 50 years and wake up in modern-day San Francisco. While not a writer on the new animated series, Shelton has given his blessing and offered input at every step.<\/p>\n<p>So what happens next? How do the Freak Brothers fare in a world where weed is legal but the man still cracks skulls?<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll have to turn on, tune in and find out.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/watch-this-how-one-mans-quest-revived-the-fabulous-furry-freak-brothers.jpg\" alt=\"David Bienenstock's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>David Bienenstock<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock is the author of &#8220;How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High&#8221; (2016 &#8211; Penguin\/Random House), and the co-host and co-creator of the podcast &#8220;Great Moments in Weed History with Abdullah and Bean.&#8221; Follow him on Twitter @pot_handbook.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/david-bienenstock\">View David Bienenstock&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-11-11 15:06:57 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch this: How one man&#8217;s quest revived the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers &#8211; Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The phoenix-like rebirth of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers\u2014arisen from the ashes of their own smoked-up 70s stash\u2014just might be the ultimate Ripped Van Winkle story. On Tubi this weekend, the three iconic stoners&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}