Thought this was some important info. regarding The Last Times by Charles Plymell. Seems there was only 1 issue, but 2 editions of the tabloid.
"There were 2 (sort of..this is why my publisher, Jeff Weinberg at Water Row books said I'm a bibliographer's nightmare) I did the cover for one and exhausted my inventions and other work I had lying around the print shop and did a second with a different cover and threw in again what was around, what people had brought in, and again my own stuff. I think the cover to the 2nd "edition" was a magical space train in the sky or something. We had a lot of Owsley and Sandoz in the cabinet at the time. This was extended dada, and the kids at the Oracle I thought were too moralistic and square, though Cohen came to my poetry reading in S.F where a first Zap was displayed lose on a shelf by Glenn Todd whom I gave one too at printing. I told him it wasn't a very good idea, so he gave it to me and I signed it on the back as did Crumb beside my name as printer. That was c1997. I sold it to friend of Weinberg's for $5,700. That's the only one signed by both of us."
Update info. There was at least 2 issues of The Last Times, #1 is Fall of 1967 and another is titled "Final Star Edition" that was printed just "day... weeks after". There was variants of the 2nd issue with different art added/substituted. The "magical space train in the sky" is actually the BACK cover of the "Final Star Edition".
I've been told by Plymell that there may have been a variant of one also.
Plymell has stated to me that there was approx. 500 more or less of The Last Times printed and on another occasion stated that there was 200 to less than 500 copies of each of the 2 issues printed. Either way, how many of them could have survived making this an extremely rare item.
#1 contained articles by Burroughs, Ginsberg, Bukowski, as well as the R. Crumb "Head Comix" page lifted from Yarrowstalks #2.
Updated info.:
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, and 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 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 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. Robert Ronnie Branaman 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). 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 and Patrick Rosenkranz's book states Yarrowstalks #3, so they may have never even seen an actual copy. 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 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 NOW (1963) and NOW, NOW (1965) on and later 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 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.
#2 "Final Star Edition" issue printed "days...weeks? Later" so probably early Oct. 1967, (also .25 cent cover price) (complete with the mini-poster on right) that also contains a centerfold done by the Beatnik artist on LSD, R. (Robert "Bob" Ronnie) Branaman who currently resides in Santa Monica, CA.
I've gotten in contact with Glenn Todd, hopefully he can shed some more light on The Last Times when he gets a chance.
Plymell just informed me that this was printed on his bigger press, a MGD 11 x 17, haven't found any info. on it though with that name.
Hey, I just came across your thread over at RealityStudio (http://realitystudio.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=617).
Don't be so quick to dismiss Nuttall's contributions. His My Own Mag and other publications were immensely important to the British counterculture and underground scene and are largely considered the forerunners to British underground comix. Nuttall eventually did comix, too.
I'm not familiar with Nuttall's work in Underground Comix, I just looked up his name in the JK and saw no art in comix were listed by him so I put I don't think he's considered Underground.
Kennedy only listed American and Canadian undergrounds, which would explain that.
Gotcha
It's a shame that he didn't at least include British and Australian titles in his guide. Surely, if he had, it would be that much easier to find some of the more obscure examples as more American completeist collectors would've been actively looking for them these twenty-six years since his guide came out.
Some further updating regarding the 2nd issue "Final Star Edition" and it's variants.
There was 2 editions of the "Final Star Edition" and of those 2 editions, there were variants.
The earlier edition came in two paper types/colors. The grayish copy on the left and the yellow paper on the right. This edition has the Branaman centerfold. (see below)
Then there was another edition (see the different location of "Final Star Edition" and the price), this edition has the same cover as the mini-poster. Not that there are variants of the covers of these with some having a red ink added, giving it a 3-D look. This one has some different interior pieces, including a different centerfold, and the color of the pages change as you can see in the pic. in the reply (notice blue and green paper on left copy and pink and blue on the right).
Also note that there seems to be 2 variants of the mini-poster with some having a two tone (bluish and black ink) like the cover of the later "Final Star Edition" and the all black ink variant. (see below)
more...
By the way, anyone know who did the centerfold pictured above? I don't see a name and Charlie Plymell doesn't recall. It only states "Copyright 1967 Underground Distributors" and an address.
I've been informed that the centerfold may be by female artist Susan Boulet.
Update: I've don't think this is the artist from what I've read online. The copyright on this print is 1967, but that's the same year that Boulet arrived as a flight attendant to the U.S. from Brazil and most info. seems to state she started art after he child's birth in 1969.
In the text within the print, I see ACIDLSD25 up top in small down below I can see what appear to be Donna (or Dovia, Donia, Dovik, Donik) Dichter. That name ring any bells?
Seems to be the same artist(s) [ K. Robertson , F. Minds, Donna Dichter ] that did this one:
http://www.leadpipeposters.com/detail.cfm?stockno=2029
(https://headcomix.info/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leadpipeposters.com%2Fimages%2F2029.jpg&hash=f03a720ef89800f6b484e9923ce8b41d98dc49cf)
This one might be an ad for a restaurant at the Sunset Bldg. called The Changing Scene in Bellingham, WA.
Like, Acid, LSD 25, was the drug she must a been on when she drew this, man.
I've been informed that the piece was done my Michael Bowen, but don't know why the name Donna Dichter is in it?
I am not sure that is Michael Bowen, it might even be Hetty MacLise. I worked at the San Francisco Oracle when that rainbow split font offset printing technique was being used, but it also does'nt look like an Oracle page in my memory. There were lots of annonymous street artists at the time who contributed to the paper and their work simply accumulated in the office.
It is possible to contact Bowen and see if he claims it, he probably would anyway.
Daingerfield Ashton
Plymell who printed The Last Times mentioned that he thought it might be Michael Bowen, he believes someone from the Berkeley Barb might of brought it over to him.
This is from Michael Bowen.
"The red painting is definitely without question mine. I remember doing it and I am trying to figure the place I did it. I travel so much that it is sometimes hard to fix the place on my paintings."
Still curious why the name "Donna Dichter" is in the art and why a similar style piece came up with a credit to Donna Dichter?
Pseudonym?