MY OWN "COLD" WAR I wanted to make sure it sold, so (like an idiot) I set the price at 75cents! Well it worked. My next stop was to go to Last Gasp Publishing in SF and talk to Ron Turner. Another legend...I don't use that term lightly, I've just been very lucky. He liked what he saw and bought 100 dollars worth right there and then! SUCCESS! We had a major distributor! I then shopped it around to the local outlets...20, or 30 here, and there! I was hooked! Kär-tön', new comics arts journal was born! Soon after that I was introduced to yet another legend, Don Donahue, the first publisher of Robert Crumb's famous comix ZAP. He liked what I had done, and suggested I do another volume. I wasn't about to voice any objections. I was getting plugged in and for the first time getting some respect in the field. The San Francisco Arts Commission was breaking out with a first time ever show in conjunction with USSR's Komsomolskaya Pravda, show casing comic art. They had a traveling show, of American cartoonists and Russian cartoonist. Victor Moscoso, wildly famous poster artist of the 60's was curating the American side. I called him up and scored the second interview. As well as cover art! I wanted to show both sides of the event, and had Lloyd Dangle draw a beautiful second cover, for a "69" issue. I worked closely with the Arts Commission, on this issue. Anne Meissner was a big help! I was lucky enough to get permission to reprint a lot of the Russian art. We scored a brilliant write up, to the consternation of Komsomolskaya Pravda, with a great Russian dissident artist, Viatcheslav Syssoiev. I remember at the opening, having a heated talk with the Editor of Pravda on how he wasn't happy that I sandwiched his artists along side Syssoiev. I just told him "WELL! WELCOME TO AMERICA!". CONTINUED CHAPTERS 1 | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14