Your chance at one of the most important pieces in Underground Comix history...

[50 Cent #II (1st)]

$530 shipped in the U.S. (Canada/Int'l extra) insurance recommened but optional at USPS.com rates. Paypal. EXTREMELY RARE.

 

A set of The Last Times #1 and the "Final Star Edition" with mini-poster.

Plymell who printed it states there was only about 500 printed combined (200-300 each) of both issues in Fall 1967.

 

Contains, Burroughs, Ginsberg (the biggest poet of the Beat generation), Bukowski (the biggest U.S. poet of modern times), Plymell writings, art by Nuttall, Branaman and R. Crumb (the 'lifted" Yarrowstalks #2 page that inspired Plymell and Donahue to print Zap Comix #1 about 5 months later).

[trmoore54]

Dude...those look like a couple of cool books to own...wish I had the spare cash...

 

I have a signed Charles Bukowski poem from LA Times Magazine (1987 I believe) that my brother got the Buke to sign and gave it to me! I was also fortunate to catch a Bukowski poetry reading at the old Sweetwater in Redondo before he kicked...this was back in 74 or 75...those things were legendary!

 

We used to drive by his house in Pedro a lot and yell at him...

I also knew his old lady Linda Lee Bieghle who had a health food store in Redondo Village circa 73-75 or so called the Dew Drop Inn (which Bukowski called the Drop-On Inn in his novel 'Women'...she was cool...we used to trade her joints for smoothies...

 

I also have two signed John Fantes...Ask The Dust and Wait Until Spring, Bandini...if you're a Bukowski fan ya gotta read all of Fante's stuff...The Road to Los Angeles is very funny as well...

 

I'll post the signed Bukowski later when I get access to photobucket after work...

[50 Cent #II (1st)]

Thanks, I know most people haven't figured out the importance of these yet. Here's some information I put together regarding these items.

 

The Last Times vol. 1 #1 (Fall 1967) by Vortex Printers / Charles Plymell on a light gray/light blue stock paper, not news paper, and contains the R. Crumb “Head Comix” Hey Boparee Bop! page “lifted” from Yarrowstalks #2 (this is the first R. Crumb work printed by Charles Plymell, before Zap Comix #1).

Measures approx. 17.5” x 11”. This is the original underground/counter culture tabloid newspaper printed by Charles Plymell with a 25 cent price, “I ran the Times to sell on Haight and didn't care for the religious new agey drawings and stuff in Oracle, because I had a history in art, music, and literature at the time.” He printed it in approx. the second half of September of 1967 (about 5 months before he printed the 1st printing of Zap Comix #1, also with a 25 cent cover price, after about a couple weeks finished on 25 February 1968 with approx. 3,500 copies printed), a couple months before he met R. Crumb. Plymell stated to me that he printed approx. 200 to 300 copies of each issue (he later also stated about 500 copies, more or less of both issues combined). How many of these copies could have been kept and possibly survived? It contains the "lifted" Head Comix page from Yarrowstalks #2 (recalled by his wife Pam, the Yarrowstalks #2 was given to Plymell by Doug Blazek a poet who came from Ohio, when Blazek came to Plymell’s shop to print his Open Skull and Ole mags., his work is also in The Last Times #1), the first R. Crumb work printed by Plymell (bootlegged), before he met R. Crumb and Don Donahue in San Francisco at the end of 1967. Plymell states “Prior to that meeting, I had been attending parties at Don Allen's, the West Coast editor for Grove, I was trying to get both him and Ferlinghetti to publish Crumb and was also working toward getting Keep on Trucking drawing off Crumb. The literary publishers seemed uninterested at the time, even though I was later paid well ($300 plus) a piece for a couple of poems that were illustrated in Evergreen Review by artists I never knew; I tried to introduce publishers to Crumb, but they had other interests (or tastes).” Plymell’s friend Robert “Bob” Ronnie Branaman (Plymell also referred to him as “Rapid Ronnie”), both of whom went to High School together and ended up in the Wichita County Jail in Kansas on unrelated events around ’54-’55 (Plymell printed a 8 pager of Branaman’s work in 1963 titled Robert Ronnie Branaman with not more than 500 copies “I remember that before Robert moved to Big Sur. He [was] living with his family in his [’49 or] ‘52 Chevy and hanging with Billy Jharmark at [the] Batman Gallery on the Fillmore. Dion Wright came to S.F. and sought him out. This was way before the Haight. Don't know how many [were] printed, but not over 500. cp” (17 June 2008) [other reference stated 1,000 copies]. Robert Ronnie Branaman “I don't remember who published this [Robert Ronnie Branaman] maybe you [Plymell] did or possibly Donahue did? I just remember Donahue did a thing called Momma-Daddie and his man said they were trash so he threw them away. I know it was published before we did Fux! and that was in ‘65. Wish I still had one of them...” (18 June 2008), so the artist himself doesn’t even own a copy, might actually be the first Underground Comix printed or if not then the 2nd after Das Kampf by Bode in May 1963. Branaman previously had done the illustrations in a book Hellan, Hellan by Edward Marshall from 1960 and in around 1965 Branaman published FUX! Megascene). Branaman helped put together the people to print the 1st issue of Zap Comix by introducing Donahue to Plymell and it was Don who then met Robert Crumb through Marilyn “Mimi” Jones (McGrew), a friend of Robert’s wife Dana, at a party in San Francisco in October. Donahue met Branaman after wanting to print the first issue of his tabloid paper called Momma-Daddie (September? 1967) featuring Branaman’s art (a Beatnik artist who painted while on LSD before most had heard of LSD). Donahue found Branaman who was also in San Francisco, who suggested he talk to his friend Plymell who was printing a tabloid of his own, The Last Times, which Donahue did. Donahue then had the printer of the Berkeley Barb and the Oracle print 5,000 copies of the tabloid featuring Branaman’s art, but after the owner Howard Quinn saw them with partial nudity he had them destroyed. Only 6 or 7 of the 5,000 issues of Momma-Daddie survived after Donahue grabbed them as he left. So it was about a month later that Donahue met and agreed to print Zap Comix #1 for Robert Crumb, who completed drawing it the following month in November 1967 (#0 was completed in October 1967 and was supposed to be the 1st issue, but the original art was sent to Brian Zahn of Yarrowstalks, because his suggestion of Robert drawing a comic book after the success of the all R. Crumb Yarrowstalks #3, printed approx. August 1967 (for which Robert was paid with 500 copies that he peddled himself in San Francisco). After receiving the artwork for what was supposed to be the first issue of Zap Comix, Zahn then went to India for 2 years. Luckily Robert had sent a copy of the art to a friend, William “Bill” Cole in New York (who would in 1968 print R. Crumb’s Head Comix by Viking Press) and got the those copies back to print #0 towards the end of 1968. The Last Times is so rare that Dez Skinn’s book lists the “Head Comix” page coming from Yarrowstalks #1 so he may have never even seen an actual copy and Patrick Rosenkranz’s book states Yarrowstalks #3. Plymell states that he doesn’t even own a copy and knows of only one person (Glen Todd) who does besides the copy he sold to a Burroughs collector. The first issue includes articles/poems by William (S.) Burroughs "Day The Records Went Up", Claude Pelieu (who became Charles Plymell’s step-father-in-law?) "Do It Yourself & Dig It", Allen Ginsberg (that's a picture of him on the cover) edited version of "Television Baby Crawling Toward That Death Chamber" and an early "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" editorial essay by Charles Bukowski "lifted" from Open City #20 dated September 14-21, 1967, so we know that The Last Times #1 came out after it (these essays where collected and release in 1969 to become Charles Bukowski’s first big selling book titled the same), along with writings by Plymell himself. Plymell told me it also has a Navy picture portrait of beat poet and City Lights bookstore co-founder Lawrence “Sailor” Ferlinghetti as well as some items by J.J. (Jean-Jacques) Lebel, d. a. levy and Artaud. You’ll also find a couple pieces by Jeff Nuttall and Doug Blazek. Plymell had 2 presses. A smaller Multilith 1250 that he printed the 1st print of Zap Comix #1 (Feb. 1968) that he soon after sold to Don Donahue (who then printed Zap Comix #1 2nd print and possibly also the first print of Zap Comix #0 on) and a larger printing press (MGD 11” x 17”) that he printed NOW, NOW, NOW (1965) and later The Last Times (Fall 1967) on. So this wasn’t printed on the same Multilith 1250 as Zap Comix was as the size of the Zap Comix #1 was the maximum for that press.

 

Issue #2 "Final Star Edition" issue printed “days…weeks? Later”, so probably early Oct. 1967, (also ..25 cent cover price and may have another variant with a different cover) (complete with the mini-poster on right) that also contains a centerfold done by the Beatnik artist on LSD, R. (Robert “Bob” Ronnie) Branaman.

 

Here's just a little info. regarding "Bob" Branaman.

 

He's how Plymell and Donahue met.

 

Plymell had printed Robert Ronnie Branaman (1963) and they were friends. A few years later, Donahue wanted to print his own tabloid featuring artists and the first issue would feature an artist he admired that painted and drew while on LSD, before most heard of LSD. He found Branaman who was also living in San Francisco. Branaman introduced Donahue to Plymell, who gave him some advice about printing a tabliod, as he was printing The Last Times then (September? 1967). Donahue had Momma-Daddie (the name was Branaman's suggestion) featuring Branaman's art printed, but it was destroyed (not before Donahue grabbed 6 or 7 copies of it, Donahue owns 1 copy and knows of the location of only 2 others). Donahue then suggested to Plymell they print a comic book, Plymell shows Donahue the Yarrowstalks #2 "Head Comix" page that he had "lifted" for The Last Times #1. They try to contact Crumb but can't locate him. Coincidently the following month of October, Donahue is introduced to Crumb who happened to be living in San Francisco for about 9 months, by "Mimi" (a friend of Robert's wife, Dana) at a party. Robert is looking for someone to print his comic book, which Donahue agrees to immediately. Crumb finishes drawing the first issue the following month of November (you all should know about Zap Comix #0 and the art being finished in October and sent to Brian Zahn of Yarrowstalks who then went to India for 2 years, he's the one that actually suggested to Crumb to draw a comic book after the success of his art in Yarrowstalks #1, 2, 3). Plymell and Donahue print Zap Comix #1 over approx. a couple weeks in February. It's finished being bound in Robert and Dana's apartment on 25 February 1968.

 

 

[Erato]

Very cool. BUT, I haven't the money. And I HATE Bukowski!!

 

Good Luck,

 

Brian

[trmoore54]

Very cool. BUT, I haven't the money. And I HATE Bukowski!!

 

Good Luck,

 

Brian

 

Well...he is volatile...just remember...he's not the President...he's a Poet...

[Erato]

Very cool. BUT, I haven't the money. And I HATE Bukowski!!

 

Good Luck,

 

Brian

 

Well...he is volatile...just remember...he's not the President...he's a Poet...

 

He's also a hack, But that's just one man's opinion, (and volatile is fine, just not a fan of his work)

 

Apologies for the threadjack.

[50 Cent #II (1st)]

For those with NetFlix, you can watch it free online. Bukowski: Born into This.

http://www.netflix.com/WatchNowMovie/Bukowski_Born_into_This/60033352?trkid=222917&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=1862496003_0_0

 

 

If a NM copy of Zap Comix #1 sells for $12K and had 3,500 printed, this is a bargain.

 

[trmoore54]

Very cool. BUT, I haven't the money. And I HATE Bukowski!!

 

Good Luck,

 

Brian

 

Well...he is volatile...just remember...he's not the President...he's a Poet...

 

He's also a hack, But that's just one man's opinion, (and volatile is fine, just not a fan of his work)

 

Apologies for the threadjack.

 

Well...as for a hack...the Huntington Library would tend to disagree...as would John Martin I'm sure...cheers...

 

[50 Cent #II (1st)]

Nice Buk piece there.

 

Just got back from meeting with Robert Branaman, nice guy and longtime artists known for his association with Plymell, Ginsberg, Connor, Ferlinghetti, Cassidy, etc., from the Beat generation.

For future reference, the price has gone up on this set to $650 shipped.