This chapter provides a brief history of American and British minicomics during the 1970s and 1980s, moving from “off-the-cuff” photocopied comix made by underground creators to the “newave comix” movement, and considering the role played by the British comics anthology Escape in promoting minicomic-making. This chapter shows that minicomics were celebrated as an instant, democratic medium in opposition to mainstream comics, but they were also seen as valuable commodities for collectors. Though the minicomics community is remembered for its spirit of supportive camaraderie, Jeff Nicholson excoriated the lack of quality control or ethics in his 1989 minicomic Nicholson’s Small-Press Tirade.