Traditionally, the end of year (New Year's, especially) is a time when many on the planet indulge in LSD. To commemorate this good-minded season, here's a compact history of East Coast academic acid, including John's experience dosing at Millbrook with Tim Leary, Charles Mingus, others. Happy Holidays.

A reminiscence of the Bitter End cafe, followed by a trip to Jim Haynes in Paris. From John Wilcock, New York Years.

A book of John Wilcock comics is now available

A comic strip about Freddie Herko, who was a captivating and influential artist in New York, until his untimely death at age 28, in 1964. From John Wilcock, New York Years. (Supplements include Andy Warhol's screen test of Herko and an appreciation from The Guardian)

Is Andy Warhol's eight-hour film a supreme act of considered minimalism, or one of the 20th century's most notorious art pranks?

A cameo-filled page from John Wilcock, New York Years. With Ed Sanders' Arts Magazine, Edie Sedgwick arriving in NYC, and Nico fainting on stage.

With Lyndon Johnson's expansion of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, U.S. counterculture finds itself more involved in politics, aggressive pranks, and anti-war protest.

The original Warhol Factory was located next to the local YMCA, with an easy view inside of exercising gymnasts – and other personal recollections from 1964.

Andy Warhol's early silent film and its connection to alcoholism, gossip, and Willard Maas' The Mechanics of Love.

Chapter Eight of the John Wilcock comic begins on Boing Boing. (Catch up on previous installments here and here.)

The Jan and Stan story concludes with one of the most discordant moments possible. From John Wilcock, New York Years.

The tribute to Jan and Stan continues with a pornography arrest in New York's Financial District. A true life tale from John Wilcock, New York Years.

It's the Sixties now! – with John's first oily encounter with group sex. Part 1/3 of a serialized encounter from John Wilcock, New York Years.

An eventful week of drug use, red-eyes, and planes, planes, planes! From the John Wilcock comic (see previous installments here and here.)

An early opportunity at publishing the first American magazine on The Beatles is thwarted by a moment of bad judgement. From the John Wilcock comic (see previous installments here and here.)

A visit through George Whitman's Paris bookstore on the eve of Marilyn Monroe's death. A comic by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

Is that a goat or is it the Ayahuasca? John Wilcock reports from Mexico. A comic by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

In 1961, John Wilcock wrote a travel guide for visiting Mexico on a budget, resulting in a bestselling book that became a significant part of 1960s vagabond culture. Part one of a two-part appreciation. A comic by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

A package sent in 1960 from Albert Hoffmann of Sandoz Labs, containing one gram of powdered LSD, goes on to provide the first acid experiences for many in New York. A comic by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall.

A prank played on McSorley's Old Ale House in 1961, when it was legal in New York to ban women from entering a tavern. By Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall