PBA Galleries

Generally, Fine to VF. Lovely set, far better than most. Covers and art by R. Crumb, Trina Robbins, Greg Irons, S. Clay Wilson, Robert Williams, Spain Rodriguez, Jim Osborne, Rory Hayes, Bill Griffith, Kim Deitch, Dan O'Neill, etc. Provenance: Property from an Old Berkeley Hippie.

If you lived in San Francisco at the time and you liked undergrounds, you had at least one or two copies of Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book lying about your pad. Number 3 is the one that everybody wanted, with an incredible R. Crumb wraparound cover featuring a Charles Manson type hypnotizing a "gurl." The first ish has a cover by Rory Hayes that radiates psychosis to such a degree that it's terrifying to look at. Trina Robbins recently suggested in conversation that it was perhaps irresponsible of Crumb and the gang to egg Hayes on, and that rather than fueling his insanity, they might have considered getting him some psychiatric help. On the other hand, it's possible that the fellows thought Hayes would work his problems out through his art. Hayes died of an overdose in 1983.

San Francisco Comic Book publisher Gary Arlington said of Hayes: "He was a weird kid who came into the store. He brought in some of the comic books that he'd drawn... We just got together and drew this book... A lot of people think it's just a pile of garbage, but I think it's one of the most unique things that's ever been published." -Patrick Rosenkranz, Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution, 1863-1975 [Fantagraphics, 2002].

Consignments Accepted for PBA's Next Comic Book Auction. Golden Age, Silver Age, Pre-Code, Original Art, Interesting Ephemera Sought. Contact [email protected]for details.