Larry's Underground Cartoonist Photo Scrapbook

In my last post I stumbled down Memory Lane with underground cartoonist/artist Hector Tellez.

In the process of creating that post I dredged up a small handful of snapshots of the San Francisco comix scene (primarily of the mid 70’s).

It’s a shame, but I only have a very few poor-quality pictures from San Francisco and a few cartoonists get-togethers  (The Loonies, San Diego Con, Bay Con).  Snapshots back then were considerably rarer than today with the advent of the cell phone camera.

Here’s a small smattering of possibly historically interest shots…

Group photo for magazine Towards Revolutionary Art (TRA) 1976. Larry, Harry "R. Diggs" Driggs, Guy Cowlell, Ingrid B., and Trina Robbins. 

Leonard Rifas and me. Golden Gate Park, 1978.

(This is scanned from a contact sheet)

                                                    Leonard Rifas 1978

This is youthful me in Trina's studio, 1975. Lots of Fiction House comic book art on the wall. Note Trina's nose in lower right hand corner.                                                                          (Photo by Denis Kitchen)

San Diego Con 1979: Don Dougherty, Paul Mavrides, Roger May, me, Shel Dorf, Steve Leialoha, Dan O'Niell's elbow, Melinda Gebbie, Bob Foster, Trina and Carol Lay.

And... Harvey Kurtzman.     (Photos by Jackie Estrada)

Monthly Loonies get-together, Cafe Commons, SF, October 1979.

It was a Halloween celebration so I'm wearing a paper mask I made.

Gahan Wilson was guest of honor. (Steve Leialoha in background)

Photo by Bob Nelson

Terry Boyce and obviously confused masked man at Gahan Wilson's art opening, also in SF, October 1979.

Gary Arlington and Wimmen's Comix artist Dalison in front of the San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1980

Leonard and Larry, Noe Valley, SF. (Larry's shirt courtesy of Goodwill).

M.T. Gilbert and company

Michael T. "Mr. Monster" Gilbert. Late 1970's

Cartoonist Alan Cumings and me 1978

Molly says I should put this one on. Photo taken by Gary Galaxy at the SF Bay Con circa 1977.

Tim Boxell and Revilo at the San Diego Con (by the swimming pool)

Par Holman and Lynn Hansen in San Diego 

Byron "Famous Potatoes" Werner San Diego 1983

A Visit from Hector

Hector Tellez swung by our place for a visit, recently, his van loaded with paintings.

We see each other very rarely but I’ve known Hector since about 1964.

As kids, we were comic collector buddies and budding cartoonists together.

                                Hector and me at the San Diego Comic Con, 1981

                                Larry and Hector on my front porch 2017

Back in middle school we ferreted out golden age comic books (at a nickel a piece) from flea markets and neighbors.

One kid casually mentioned that he had a large cardboard box full of old "funny books" with WWII ads in them. We were at his place in an instant , like pirahnas, snatching up Superman, Whiz Comics, All-Star Comics, The Blue Beetle….

We used to spend hours negotiating a single comic book trade.

We also discovered the emerging comic fandom together buying mimeographed and printed fanzines through the mails. (Yancy Street Journal, Voice of Comicdom, Fantasy Illustrated, Odd, Alter-Ego, ERB-dom, Batmania and on and on).

We drew cartoons, hand drawn comic books, and also did a bit of mimeographed comics are selves (I at least once participated in something called CRUD).

I switched high schools and didn’t see much of him until after high school when we both wound up drawing for the so called underground.

In the late 1960’s-early ‘70’s, Hector drew a lot of flyers for Bay Area rock concerts and contributed to the weekly paper the Berkeley Tribe.

The back cover of Dirty Girdies Comix #3 1969

Some clips from the same issue

Our first appearances in underground commix concurred together as well—in the tabloid Dirty Girdies Comix {1969} and Hee Hee {1970}.

From Hee Hee

Hector, Trina Robbins and me at the Berkeley Comic Art Fair circa 1978. (A poor photocopy of a Clay Geerdes shot I picked up somewhere).              
Copyright Geerdes Estate

I’ve always enjoyed his take on cartooning.

Nowadays, Hector devotes his time to painting. Here are a few examples:

He paints everyday. I’m impressed (and a little envious perhaps) by his diligence.

Rius 1934-2017

Eduardo del Rio, Rius, iconic Mexican cartoonist, died August 8th at the age of 83.

In the 1960’s, Rius began his social-political educational comic book series  Los Agachados (I’ve seen the title translated as the “Those Who Stoop Down” and “The Underdogs”).

He wrote and drew two editions of Los Agachados every month.

His international impact began with the English translation of Cuba for Beginners (1970) which ultimately led to the launching of the ‘For Beginners’ series of non-fiction, educational comic books in trade paperback format (as sort of predecessor to the “For Dummies” books).

His comics covered topics ranging from socialism, capitalism, religion, soccer, vegetarianism, sex, music, economics, philosophy, history and ecology. 

In the early years of his career, Rius was kidnapped and threatened by the military and excommunicated from the Catholic Church but just last December he received an award from Mexico City's Culture Secretariat and refered to as "a cultural reference in Mexico” .