San Francisco Comic Book #3
San Francisco Comic Book #3 (1971) stands as a vivid cross-section of the underground comix movement at its most creatively crowded: a single 36-page anthology assembled nearly every major name working in the Bay Area scene simultaneously, from Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton to Trina Robbins, Justin Green, S. Clay Wilson, and Spain Rodriguez. Crumb supplied the wraparound cover and multiple interior strips — including a sardonic self-caricature piece in which a fictionalized 'Bob Crumb' endures a TV interview — demonstrating his versatility as cover artist, strip cartoonist, and satirist in one issue. As one of the final two numbers Gary Arlington co-produced with the Print Mint before the title shifted publishing arrangements, it closes out what is arguably the anthology's richest early chapter. The issue's holdings in the National Gallery of Art's permanent collection confirm that scholars now regard this tier of underground anthologies as primary cultural documents of the period.
"San Francisco Comic Book #3" features Robert Crumb’s surreal and incisive "Sacred Goose Thrills," a story that captures the artist’s signature blend of satire and introspection. In a brief but electric narrative, Crumb portrays a TV interview where a seemingly routine conversation takes a sharp turn when the interviewer suggests his work holds deeper meaning—prompting a moment of quiet, unsettling reflection. The story, written, drawn, inked, and lettered entirely by Crumb, is a rare, self-aware glimpse into his creative mind, with a cover by Crumb that mirrors the story’s darkly comic tone.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The San Francisco Comic Book series was conceived by Gary Arlington, who operated the San Francisco Comic Book Company — widely cited as one of America's first comics-only retail stores — from his 200-square-foot Mission District shop at 3339 23rd Street, which had become a gathering point for Bay Area underground talent by the late 1960s. Arlington self-published the first issue and then co-produced issues #2 and #3 in partnership with Berkeley-based Print Mint, recruiting several contributing cartoonists as credited co-editors (Kim Deitch, Rory Hayes, Willy Murphy, Jack Jackson, Jim Osborne, Larry Welz) to help draw talent into the book. Issue #3, dated on-sale 1971, is a 36-page saddle-stapled volume printed with a full-color cover and black-and-white interiors via halftone and offset lithography. Crumb's contributions to this issue were later collected in The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 7: Hot 'n' Heavy (Fantagraphics, November 1991), which surveyed his 1970–1971 output across multiple titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published 1971 by San Francisco Comic Book Company / The Print Mint; 36 pages, cover-priced at 50 cents; rated Adults Only.
- Robert Crumb drew the wraparound cover and provided multiple interior strips, signing all work as 'R. Crumb.'
- Crumb's story 'Underground Hotline' features a fictionalized version of himself (credited as 'Bob Crumb') being interviewed on television — a meta-satirical piece about the underground comix phenomenon itself.
- The issue assembles an exceptional roster of Bay Area underground artists: Gilbert Shelton, Kim Deitch, Greg Irons, S. Clay Wilson, Spain Rodriguez, Rory Hayes, Robert Williams, Justin Green, Trina Robbins, George Metzger, Willy Murphy, Joel Beck, Jay Lynch, Jim Osborne, Larry Welz, and Jack Jackson, among others.
- Trina Robbins contributes a story titled 'Fox'; Justin Green and George Metzger each have solo strips — a notable grouping of artists who would all go on to significant solo careers.
- Gary Arlington served as managing editor; co-editors credited include Kim Deitch, Don Donahue, Rory Hayes, Willy Murphy, Jack Jackson, Jim Osborne, and Larry Welz — a cooperative editorial structure characteristic of underground anthologies.
- Issue #3 was one of the last two issues co-produced with the Print Mint before publishing arrangements shifted; Arlington himself edited all seven issues of the series through its final appearance in 1983.
- Crumb's interior work from this issue was reprinted in The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 7: Hot 'n' Heavy (Fantagraphics, November 1991). A copy of the issue is held in the National Gallery of Art's permanent collection.
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Crumb does an interview on TV. Everything goes smoothly until the interviewer says that even his most twisted comics have some sort of deeper significance.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).