Background
His father, who worked at a lumberyard in Hayward, stopped at a store on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland and bought ten comic books
His father, who worked at a lumberyard in Hayward, stopped at a store on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland and bought ten comic books
As owner of America"s first comic book store, 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. Cartoonist Robert Crumb has noted, "Gary made a cultural contribution in San Francisco in the late "60s, through the "70s, "80s & "90s that was more significant than he realizes." 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. 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.
My mother was really good to medical " San Francisco Comic Book Company In 1968, Arlington was down on his luck, penniless and essentially homeless. Arlington opened the San Francisco Comic Book Company, located in San Francisco"s Mission District at 3339 23rd Street.
lieutenant soon became a focal point for the Bay Area"s underground artists. 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. Arlington also published several series of early comix, namely Skull Comics, Slow Death Comics, and, of course, San Francisco Comic Book (issue no 1 of this series is very rare and has become much sought-after by comix collectors). Artists published by Arlington included Joel Beck, Roger Brand, John Burnham, Melinda Gebbie, Justin Green, Rory Hayes, Hank Kingfish, Chris Mettz, Larry Rippee, Dori Seda, Barry Siegel, Bruce Simon, Spain, Ron Turner, and South. Clay Wilson.
Later life 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 crushed legal