Ron Turner, who founded the underground comix publisher Last Gasp some 45 years ago, was honored by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who declared May 5, 2015 “Ron Turner Day” in a surprise ceremony at the Cartoon Art Museum. 

The Cartoon Art Museum was ostensibly holding an “underground comix celebration” in conjunction with the inaugural San Francisco Comics Fest, but the real reason for the festivities was to honor the contributions of Ron Turner who founded Last Gasp in San Francisco in 1970.

The proclamation from the Board of Supervisors called Turner “the Godfather of underground comix,” and a number of artists were in attendance including Paul Mavrides, Ted Richards, Susan Stern, and Mark Bode.  In addition to the civic award from the Board of Supervisors and San Francisco mayor Ed Lee, the Cartoon Art Museum made Turner this year’s recipient of the Sparky Award, named for cartoonist Charles “Sparky” Schulz.