Hi Larry, I hope this doesn't sound too weird. But sometime around 1971 or 72, my comic book collecting buddies and I would ride our bikes to the Big Top flea market in Hayward, in search of old comics. One morning as we arrived we saw your cardboard sign and you at your table covered in underground comix! Which by the way, we were very much into. Even though we were still in high school. I remember buying "Man From Utopia" from you and many other comix we loved, including HEE HEE. My dream was to be a cartoonist after high school. One weekend, You showed me your sketch book and introduced me to the Rapidagraph pen. (my mom soon after bought me my first Rapidagraph pen)You also showed us some tips and tricks with the pen, which underground cartoonist was using a brush or a pen. Cool stuff! The Big Top flea market is long gone now by I still remember those fun comic book fulled weekends. When I saw your blog, I had to say hi and THANKS for your encouraging and constructive words, those many years ago. And yes,...Thankfully I have had many stories published since that time.
NOTE: I have over time, saved many local news paper articles featuring comic related stories and have a nice one on Gary Arlington, if you like to add it to your blog. Again, Thanks. Jeff Bonivert
Glad to hear from you. Pardon my tardiness on replying but I’ve been playing catch up with the new year.
I remember you well from the Hayward Flea Market and curiously our memories are in synch (I find that doesn’t always happen when two people compare memories from 30+ years ago).
I used to hitchhike to SF every week and buy underground commix from Gary Arlington’s comic book shop (Gary is the only person I can imagine who would have given some hippie kid like me a discount rate on a very small quantity of commix).
I sold the undergrounds along with back issue mainstream comics and random junk. The profits all went to my—ahem—commune.
The Big Top Flea Market was a big part of my life growing up—I went there every weekend looking for old comic books from the 1940’s, Big Little Books, old Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and science fiction pulp magazines (Now it’s all been replaced by ebay which isn’t quite as much fun).
I not only remember our meetings at the flea market but I have a second significant memory of you. A few years later I attended an early comic convention—I believe it was the Bay Con—probably at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley.
If this memory is accurate it would be where I met my cartooning chums Michael T. Gilbert and Kevin Brady, et al (we later formed an informal salon/ jam session, The GroundUnder Cartoonists).
I think I was with Michael when we ran into you with a portfolio. We asked to see your stuff. I was completely stunned by your work. I don’t think I expected the quantum leap in quality, style and maturity that I saw in your work (and in only a few short years).I believe you did some fine work with Mr. Gilbert later.
I’m pleased to think I offered you any kind of valuable encouragement in the early days. I would be interested in your offer of a copy of the Arlington article.
You can probably glean what I’m up to in life and art from my blog.
I’m curious what you’re doing these days. I’ve seen some of your sorta recent work but I’m pretty out of touch with a lot of current comic work.
Hi Larry,
ReplyDeleteI hope this doesn't sound too weird. But sometime around 1971 or 72, my comic book collecting buddies and I would ride our bikes to the Big Top flea market in Hayward, in search of old comics. One morning as we arrived we saw your cardboard sign and you at your table covered in underground comix! Which by the way, we were very much into. Even though we were still in high school. I remember buying "Man From Utopia" from you and many other comix we loved, including HEE HEE. My dream was to be a cartoonist after high school. One weekend, You showed me your sketch book and introduced me to the Rapidagraph pen. (my mom soon after bought me my first Rapidagraph pen)You also showed us some tips and tricks with the pen, which underground cartoonist was using a brush or a pen. Cool stuff! The Big Top flea market is long gone now by I still remember those fun comic book fulled weekends. When I saw your blog, I had to say hi and THANKS for your encouraging and constructive words, those many years ago. And yes,...Thankfully I have had many stories published since that time.
NOTE: I have over time, saved many local news paper articles featuring comic related stories and have a nice one on Gary Arlington, if you like to add it to your blog.
Again,
Thanks.
Jeff Bonivert
Hello Jeff,
DeleteGlad to hear from you. Pardon my tardiness on replying but I’ve been playing catch up with the new year.
I remember you well from the Hayward Flea Market and curiously our memories are in synch (I find that doesn’t always happen when two people compare memories from 30+ years ago).
I used to hitchhike to SF every week and buy underground commix from Gary Arlington’s comic book shop (Gary is the only person I can imagine who would have given some hippie kid like me a discount rate on a very small quantity of commix).
I sold the undergrounds along with back issue mainstream comics and random junk. The profits all went to my—ahem—commune.
The Big Top Flea Market was a big part of my life growing up—I went there every weekend looking for old comic books from the 1940’s, Big Little Books, old Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and science fiction pulp magazines (Now it’s all been replaced by ebay which isn’t quite as much fun).
I not only remember our meetings at the flea market but I have a second significant memory of you. A few years later I attended an early comic convention—I believe it was the Bay Con—probably at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley.
If this memory is accurate it would be where I met my cartooning chums Michael T. Gilbert and Kevin Brady, et al (we later formed an informal salon/ jam session, The GroundUnder Cartoonists).
I think I was with Michael when we ran into you with a portfolio. We asked to see your stuff. I was completely stunned by your work. I don’t think I expected the quantum leap in quality, style and maturity that I saw in your work (and in only a few short years).I believe you did some fine work with Mr. Gilbert later.
I’m pleased to think I offered you any kind of valuable encouragement in the early days.
I would be interested in your offer of a copy of the Arlington article.
You can probably glean what I’m up to in life and art from my blog.
I’m curious what you’re doing these days. I’ve seen some of your sorta recent work but I’m pretty out of touch with a lot of current comic work.
-Larry Rippee
Larry,
DeleteI like to send clippings as an attachment in email.
What is your email address?
-Jeff
Hello Jeff,
DeleteYou can send the Arlington clippings to:
rlrippee@hotmail.com
-Larry