WHEN THE VILLAGE Voice launched as the nation's first major alternative newsweekly in 1955, it included a comic strip called Feiffer, which ended up running for 42 years and inspiring an entire genre of alt-weekly cartooning. "Alternative to What? Comic Art of the Free Weeklies" features Feiffer and 13 other respected strips, among them Max Cannon's Red Meat, Ruben Bolling's Tom the Dancing Bug, and Lloyd Dangle's Troubletown, which got its start in the Bay Guardian back in 1988. Weekly cartoonists have the freedom to be more political, more intellectual, and less concerned about offending their readers than their daily-paper counterparts; many of the strips on display are almost dauntingly text-heavy, with nary a cute animal or little kid to be seen. The work is also, unfortunately, far less lucrative than daily cartooning. There are only so many alt-weeklies out there, and thus fewer opportunities for syndication and merchandising. Even Tom Tomorrow's This Modern World, widely syndicated by alt-weekly standards, only runs in about 150 papers worldwide, versus Garfield's 2,570. Interview excerpts by almost all of the artists are also featured in the exhibit and are easily as entertaining as the cartoons. With pride the artists recall particularly inflammatory strips or irate and poorly spelled reader feedback. Cannon provides the most interesting insight of all: that even though his strips never include graphic violence, they suggest it so effectively that readers often write in with objections to the images conjured up in their own minds. Hitchcock would be proud, indeed. And, as with any Cartoon Art Museum show, it's exciting to get so close to the original drawings and examine the evidence of the artist's hand and working process. Keith Knight and Lloyd Dangle will be in attendance at the opening reception (July 10, 7-9 p.m.). Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., 655 Mission, S.F. $6, $4 students and seniors, $2 children 6 to 12, free for members and children five and under. (415) CAR-TOON. (Lindsey Westbrook)