Though he’s perhaps the most cartoonish character of all Austin’s hippie-era poster visionaries, Jim Franklin brought museum-quality artistry to the concert promotions of the Vulcan Gas Company, Armadillo World Headquarters, and Ritz Theater, while proliferating the nine-banded armadillo as a symbol of Austin’s spirit.
On being the guy who made Austin synonymous with armadillos: “I think it’s a good thing, because I turned on to a remarkable animal that’s not a cute, fluffy thing you can cuddle up to.”My first armadillo drawing was for a benefit for some guys who’d been busted for pot and they were in the county jail. It was in ’67 or ’68 in that park across from the county courthouse. The armadillos were inspired by a hunting trip with my father when I was about 10 years old.