Gary Edson Arlington (October 7, 1938 – January 16, 2014) was an American retailer, artist, editor, and publisher, who became a key figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s.[1] As owner of one of America's first comic book stores, the San Francisco Comic Book Company, located in San Francisco's Mission District, Arlington's establishment became a focal point for the Bay Area's underground artists. He published comics under the name San Francisco Comic Book Company, as well as publishing and distributing comics under the name Eric Fromm (not connected to the German critical theorist). Cartoonist Robert Crumb has noted, "Gary made a cultural contribution in San Francisco in the late 1960s, through the '70s, '80s & '90s that was more significant than he realizes."[2]
Biography
Early life
Julian Guthrie, in the San Francisco Chronicle, described the youthful Arlington's art interests:
The fascination with comic books began when Arlington was six years old. His father, who worked at a lumberyard in Hayward, stopped at a store on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland and bought ten comic books. There were funny-looking animals, men who looked like melting monsters, and women who were distressed and barely dressed. "I remember the funny animals," he said. "And I remember my mother taking me to a theater where I saw an animated Superman. My mother was really good to me."[2]
San Francisco Comic Book Company
The San Francisco Comic Book Company logo
In 1968, Arlington was down on his luck, penniless and essentially homeless. The closure of his parents' house forced him to sell his extensive personal comics collection, which included many rare comics from the era's Golden Age as well as a trove of EC Comics.[1] Arlington opened the San Francisco Comic Book Company, located in San Francisco's Mission District at 3339 23rd Street, in April that year.[3] It soon became a focal point for the Bay Area's underground artists. (The Bay Area itself was a Mecca for underground cartoonists from all over the country.)[4]Lambiek's Comiclopedia offers this description of the artistic avenues provided by Arlington:
As guru and "godfather" of underground comics, he encouraged and directed many artists on their path to publication. His tiny 200-square-foot store became the underground nexus where artists met, discussed projects and exchanged ideas. Employees at Arlington's store included Simon Deitch, Rory Hayes, and Flo Steinberg.[3]
Arlington also published some important early underground titles, including the first two issues of Robert Crumb's Mr. Natural. He published a number of experimental minicomics by Art Spiegelman.
Arlington was particularly devoted to the underground anthology San Francisco Comic Book, which featured the work of many of the region's top talents, including Bill Griffith, Robert Crumb, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Rory Hayes, Willy Murphy, Jim Osborne, Trina Robbins, and Spain Rodriguez. Arlington published the first issue himself and the next two with the assistance of fellow Bay Area publisher the Print Mint. Arlington edited all seven issues of San Francisco Comic Book (the final issue appearing in 1983) even when the title was taken over by Print Mint and later Last Gasp.[5]
As the San Francisco Comic Book Company, Arlington published comics sporadically from 1968 to 1972 and photocopied minicomics from 1970 to c. 1980. One of his last publishing projects (published under the Eric Fromm brand) was Nickel Library, a weekly series of single-page homages to EC Comics by an ever-changing list of contributors from underground comix and the mainstream. 64 pages were produced by 1973 before former EC publisher William M. Gaines sent Arlington a cease-and-desist letter and he was forced to give it up.[6]
Arlington lived in an apartment at 225 Berry Street in San Francisco before moving to the Mission Creek Senior Community apartment complex for low-income or disabled seniors.
Death
On January 17, 2014, Arlington's death was announced on the San Francisco Bay Guardian Online website. He was 75 years old and died "from complications of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and [a previously] crushed leg.[8] Ron Turner, founder of Last Gasp Press, talked about his death, his ailing health, and how "The comic community will remember Gary as founding one of the first comic book stores in America, on 23rd st. in the Mission."[9]
Books and exhibitions
Arlington's art was exhibited in Art Almighty, a group exhibition at the 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, in March–April 2011.[10] Arlington's artwork was collected in the book I Am Not of This Planet: The Art of Gary Edson Arlington, published by Last Gasp in 2011.
Titles published
Comics
All Stars #2 (1970) — taking over from All Stars #1 (1965, Golden Gates Features); copyright by Marty Arbunich/Bill DuBay
Bogeyman Comics (2 issues; Fall 1968–1969) — Rory Hayes
Ebon (January 1970) — Larry Fuller; considered by many to be the first comic book title to star a black superhero (Marvel's Black Panther predating Ebon but not having his own title)[11]
Hee Hee (1970) — anthology published in conjunction with Company & Sons
