Fetish Erotica in Comic Form
Select issues of men's magazines from the 1940s through the 1960s featured erotic comic strips or graphic panels exploring fetish stories in illustrated form. These were rare even in adult magazines but popular enough to be collected into compilations. Some anthologies are still available today.
The word "fetish" comes from Portuguese feitiço (a charm) and was used by Europeans who encountered African cultures which attributed power to objects they believed had been enchanted by witchcraft. By extension, it came to mean any belief that an object has supernatural powers. Modern use emphasizes sexual attraction to unusual things or situations. The concept is present in many cultures throughout history and across continents. Erotic depictions date back to ancient times.
Sexual Fetishes and Magazines
Early print media reflected cultural norms regarding sex and gender. Magazines aimed at men often included nudity, softcore pornography, and articles on sexual technique. They avoided homosexuality, transgender identities, and kink. After World War II, Playboy magazine launched with a focus on heteronormative sexuality and social status. Other publications such as Penthouse followed suit. Despite their successes, many men felt neglected. In response, underground publishers created more extreme materials like bondage, BDSM, group sex, and fetishism. Early examples include Greenleaf Publishing's Male, founded in 1957, and Pettis Publications' Cavalcade of Bondage, started the same year.
Fetish Comics
Although erotic comics appeared occasionally in men's magazines, they became more common starting in 1948. The first known issue was published by Toby Press in the UK and featured "Bondage and Discipline". A few years later, American publishers followed suit. Titles from the '50s and '60s include Naughty But Nice (1949), Wanted: Women for Bondage (1952), Strictly for Men (1953), and Sadistic Secrets (1954). Some were only available through mail order or private distribution; others sold in adult bookstores alongside comic books and pulp fiction. Most ran one to three issues before folding.
The stories depicted male protagonists in humiliating situations involving domination and submission, often in the context of uniforms, costumes, or gender-bending scenarios. Illustrations showed bound or naked women being dominated by men wearing leather, rubber, or other fetish gear. Some explored themes such as spanking, whipping, and foot worship. Many took place in foreign settings like Asia or Africa to avoid censorship and legal challenges. While some authors used pseudonyms, many wrote under their own names.
Popularity and Decline
Fetish comics found an audience among men who felt ignored by mainstream publications. They were not always accepted even within the adult industry, however. In 1957, New York State banned all sexually explicit materials without literary merit. Publisher Irving Klaw was arrested and his business shut down. The law was eventually overturned but similar laws led to a decline in erotic publishing overall. By the late 1960s, most fetish magazines had gone out of print.
Despite this decline, some publishers continued producing fetish material into the '80s. Fetish Art Editions published several titles including Strictly Bondage and Rubberdoll until 2004 when they went bankrupt. Other anthologies have been compiled from original sources such as Men's Adventure Magazines of the Postwar Era: Women Who Do It All (2013). Digital formats have also revived interest with sites like Kinky Comics Showcase (1998) and Weirdo Comix (2014).