Robert Crumb

Robert Dennis Crumb(/krʌm/;born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist who often signs his workR. Crumb.His work displays a nostalgia forAmerican folk cultureof the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture.

Robert Crumb
Crumb in 2014
Born	Robert Dennis Crumb (1943-08-30)August 30, 1943 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S.
Area(s)	Cartoonist writer musician
Pseudonym(s)	R. Crumb
Notable works	Zap Comix Keep On Truckin' Fritz the Cat Mr. Natural Weirdo Introducing Kafka The Book of Genesis
Spouse(s)	Dana Morgan ​ ​ (m.1964;div.1978)​ Aline Kominsky-Crumb ​ ​ (m.1978; died 2022)​
Children	Jesse Crumb (1968–2018), Sophie Crumb(1981)
Relatives	Charles Crumb Jr.(brother) Maxon Crumb(brother)
rcrumb

Crumb contributed to many of the seminal works of theunderground comixmovement in the 1960s, including being a founder of the first successful underground comix publication,Zap Comix,contributing to all 16 issues. He was additionally contributing to theEast Village Otherand many other publications, including a variety of one-off and anthology comics. During this time, inspired by psychedelics and cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s, he introduced a wide variety of characters that became extremely popular, includingcounterculturaliconsFritz the CatandMr. Natural,and the images from hisKeep On Truckin'strip. Sexual themes abounded in all these projects, often shading intoscatologicaland pornographic comics. In the mid-1970s, he contributed to theArcadeanthology; following the decline of the underground, he moved towards biographical and autobiographical subjects while refining his drawing style, a heavilycrosshatchedpen-and-ink style inspired by late 19th- and early 20th-century cartooning. Much of his work appeared in a magazine he founded,Weirdo(1981–1993), which was one of the most prominent publications of thealternative comicsera. As his career progressed, his comic work became more autobiographical.

In 1991 Crumb was inducted into the comic book industry'sWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame,and in 1994 theTerry ZwigofffilmCrumbexplored his artistic career and personal life. He was married to cartoonistAline Kominsky-Crumb,with whom he frequently collaborated. Their daughterSophie Crumbhas also followed a cartooning career.

Early life (1943–1966)

Robert Crumb was born August 30, 1943, inPhiladelphiatoCatholicparentsof English and Scottish descent, spending his early years inWest PhiladelphiaandUpper Darby.His father, Charles Vincent Crumb, authored the bookTraining People Effectively.

His mother, Beatrice Loretta Crumb (néeHall), was a housewife who reportedlyabuseddiet pills andamphetamines.Crumb's parents' marriage was unhappy and the children were frequent witnesses to their parents' arguments.The couple had four other children: sonsCharles Vincent Crumb Jr.andMaxon Crumb,both of whom suffered from mental illness, and daughters Caroland Sandra.The family often moved between Philadelphia and Charles's hometown,Albert Lea, Minnesota.In August 1950, the Crumbs moved toAmes, Iowa.For two years, Charles, a Marine Corps sergeant, was an instructor in the Naval R.O.T.C. program atIowa State College.The family moved toMilford, Delaware,when Crumb was twelve and where he was an average student whose teachers discouraged him from cartooning.

Inspired byWalt Kelly,Fleischer Brothersanimation and others, Crumb and his brothers drew their own comics.His cartooning developed as his older brotherCharlespushed him and provided feedback. In 1958 the brothers self-published three issues ofFooin imitation ofHarvey Kurtzman's satiricalHumbugandMadwhich they sold door-to-door with little success, souring the young Crumb on the comic-book business.At fifteen, Crumb collected classical jazz and blues records from the 1920s to the 1940s.At age 16 he lost his Catholic faith.

Career

Early work (1962–1966)

Crumb's father gave him $40 when he left home after high school.His first job, in 1962, was drawing novelty greeting cards forAmerican GreetingsinCleveland, Ohio.He stayed with the company for four years, producing hundreds of cards for the company's Hi-Brow line; his superiors had him draw in a cuter style that was to leave a footprint on his work throughout his career.

In Cleveland, he met a group of youngbohemianssuch asBuzzy Linhart,Liz Johnston, andHarvey Pekar.Dissatisfied with greeting card work, he tried to sell cartoons to comic book companies, who showed little interest in his work. In 1965, cartoonistHarvey Kurtzmanprinted some of Crumb's work in the humor magazine he edited,Help!Crumb moved to New York, intending to work with Kurtzman, butHelp!ceased publication shortly after. Crumb briefly illustrated bubblegum cards forToppsbefore returning to Cleveland and American Greetings.

Crumb married Dana Morgan in 1964. Nearly destitute, the couple traveled in Europe, during which Crumb continued to produce work for Kurtzman and American Greetings, and Dana stole food.The relationship was unstable as Crumb frequently went his own way, and he was not close to his son, Jesse (born in 1968).

Front cover ofFritz the Cat

In 1965 and 1966 Crumb had a number ofFritz the Catstrips published in the men's magazineCavalier.Fritz had appeared in Crumb's work as early as the late 1950s; he was to become a hipster, scam artist, and bohemian until Crumb abandoned the character in 1969.

Crumb was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his job and marriage when in June 1965 he began takingLSD,apsychedelic drugthat was then still legal. He had both good andbad trips.One bad trip left him in a muddled state for half a year, during which for a time he left Dana; the state ended when the two took a strong dose of the drug together in April 1966. Crumb created a number of his best-known characters during his years of LSD use, includingMr. Natural,Angelfood McSpade,and theSnoid.His work in the underground comics scene coincided with the rise ofTimothy Leary's acid tests and psychedelics generally which led to deals with psychedelic artists such as the Grateful Dead.

Zapand underground comix (1967–1979)

In January 1967 Crumb came across two friends in a bar who were about to leave for San Francisco;Crumb was interested in the work of San Francisco-based psychedelic poster artists, and on a whim asked if he could join them.There, he contributed upbeat LSD-inspired countercultural work tounderground newspapers.The work was popular, and Crumb was flooded with requests, including to illustrate a full issue ofPhiladelphia'sYarrowstalks.

Independent publisherDon Donahueinvited Crumb to make a comic book; Crumb drew up two issues ofZap Comix,and Donahue published the firstin February 1968 under the publisher nameApex Novelties.Crumb had difficulty at first finding retailers who would stock it, and at first his wife took to selling the first run herself out of a baby carriage.

Crumb met cartoonistS. Clay Wilson,an art school graduate who saw himself as a rebel against middle-class American values and whose comics were violent and grotesque. Wilson's attitude inspired Crumb to give up the idea of the cartoonist-as-entertainer and to focus on comics as open, uncensored self-expression; in particular, his work soon became sexually explicit, as in the pornographicSnatchhe and Wilson produced late in 1968.

The second issue ofZapappeared in June with contributions from Wilson and poster artistsVictor MoscosoandRick Griffin.ArtistH.Fishalso contributed toZap.In December, Donahue published the still-unreleased issue as#0 and a new third issue withGilbert Sheltonjoining the roster of regulars.Zapwas financially successful, and developed a market for underground comix.

Crumb was a prolific cartoonist in the late 1960s and early 1970s; at his peak output he produced 320 pages over two years.He produced much of his best-known work then,including hisKeep On Truckin'strip, and strips featuring characters such as the bohemianFritz the Cat,spiritual guruMr. Natural,and oversexed African-American stereotypeAngelfood McSpade.During this period, he launched a series of solo titles, includingDespair,Uneeda(published by Print Mint in 1969 and 1970 respectively),Big Ass Comics,R. Crumb's Comics and Stories,Motor City Comics(all published byRip Off Pressin 1969),Home Grown Funnies(Kitchen Sink Press,1971) andHytone Comix(Apex Novelties,1971), in addition to founding the pornographic anthologiesJizandSnatch(both Apex Novelties, 1969).

Crumb's work also appeared inNasty Tales,a 1970s British underground comic. The publishers were acquitted in a celebrated 1972 obscenity trial at theOld Baileyin London; the first such case involving a comic. Giving evidence at the trial, one of the defendants said of Crumb: "He is the most outstanding, certainly the most interesting, artist to appear from the underground, and this (Dirty Dog) isRabelaisiansatire of a very high order. He is using coarseness quite deliberately in order to get across a view of social hypocrisy. "

Weirdo(1980–1993)

While meditating in 1980, Crumb conceived of a magazine with alowbrowaesthetic inspired bypunk zines,Mad,and men's magazines of the 1940s and 1950s.From 1981 Crumb edited the first nine issues of the twenty-eight issue run ofWeirdo,published byLast Gasp;his contributions and tastes determined the contents of the later issues as well, edited byPeter Baggeuntil#17, and Aline for the remainder of the run.The magazine featured cartoonists new and old, and had a mixed response. Crumb'sfumettiwas so unpopular that it has never appeared in Crumb collections.

Later life (1994–present)

The Crumbs moved into a house in Sauve (Gard, southern France) in 1991, which is said to have been financed by the sale of six Crumb sketchbooks.The documentaryCrumb,directed byTerry Zwigoff,appeared in 1994—a project on which Zwigoff had been working since 1985.The film won several major critical accolades.

From 1987 to 2005Fantagraphics Bookspublished the seventeen-volumeComplete Crumb Comicsand ten volumes of sketches. Crumb (as "R. Crumb" ) contributes regularly toMineshaftmagazine, which, since 2009, has been serializing "Excerpts From R. Crumb's Dream Diary".

In 2009 Crumb producedThe Book of Genesis,an unabridged illustratedgraphic novelversion of the biblicalBook of Genesis.In 2016, the Seattle Museum of Art displayed the original drawings forThe Book of Genesisas part of an exhibit entitled "Graphic Masters: Dürer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, R. Crumb."

In January 2015, Crumb was asked to submit a cartoon to the left-wing magazineLibérationas a tribute for theCharlie Hebdoshooting.He sent a drawing titled "A Cowardly Cartoonist", depicting an illustration of the backside of "Mohamid Bakhsh", a reference toMuhammad,founder of Islam, andRalph Bakshi,the film director who had once planned to adapt Fritz the Cat.

Professional collaborations

A friend of comic book writerHarvey Pekar,Crumb illustrated over 30 stories of Pekar's in the comic book seriesAmerican Splendor,primarily in the first eight issues (1976–1983).AsThe Complete Crumb Comicsco-editor Robert Fiore wrote about their collaborations:

... inAmerican Splendor,Crumb's work stood out for... the way he really made Pekar's voice SING. His style embodied Pekar's voice... He turned Pekar's scripts into pure comics, into something that would have been inferior in any other medium... But I think what makes all of their collaborations work so well is the fact that Crumb is as sympathetic a collaborator as Pekar ever had. It's not just the fact that Crumb draws better than everybody else, he knew what to draw. Just as Pekar knew what to write... Their mutual understanding of each other helped me appreciate each as artists and voices...

Crumb collaborated with his wife,Aline Kominsky-Crumb,on many strips and comics, includingDirty Laundry Comics,Self-Loathing Comics,and work published inThe New Yorker.

In 1978, Crumb allowed his artwork to be used as pictorial rubber stamp designs byTop Drawer Rubber Stamp Company,a collaboration between cartoonistArt Spiegelman,publisherFrançoise Mouly,and people living atQuarry Hill Creative CenterinRochester, Vermont.R. Crumb's imagery proved to be some of the most popular designs produced by this avant-garde pictorial stamp company.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Crumb illustrated a number of writerCharles Bukowski's stories, including the collectionThe Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Shipand the story "Bring Me Your Love".

In 1984–1985 Crumb produced a series of illustrations for the tenth anniversary edition ofEdward Abbey's environmental-themed novelThe Monkey Wrench Gang,published in 1985 by Dream Garden Press of Salt Lake City. Many of these illustrations also appeared in a 1987 Monkey Wrench Gang calendar, and remain available on T-shirts.

R. Crumb Comix,a theatrical production based on his work and directed by Johnny Simons, was produced inFort Worth, Texas,in 1986. It was revived atDuke Universityin 1990, and co-starredAvner Eisenberg.The development of the play was supervised by Crumb, who also served as set designer, drawing larger-than-life representations of some of his most famous characters all over the floors and walls of the set.

Crumb's collaboration withDavid Zane Mairowitz,the illustrated, part-comic biography and bibliographyIntroducing Kafka(1993), a.k.a.Kafka for Beginners,is one of his less sexual- and satire-oriented, comparably highbrow works. It is well-known and favorably received, and due to its popularity was republished asR. Crumb's Kafka.

Musical projects

Crumb has frequently drawn comics about his musical interests inblues,country,bluegrass,cajun,FrenchBal-musette,jazz,big bandandswing musicfrom the 1920s and 1930s, and they also heavily influenced the soundtrack choices for his bandmate Zwigoff's 1995Crumbdocumentary. In 2006, he prepared, compiled and illustrated the bookR. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country,with accompanying CD, which derived from three series oftrading cardsoriginally published in the 1980s.

Crumb was the leader of the bandR. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders,for which he sang lead vocals, wrote several songs and played banjo and other instruments.Crumb often plays mandolin withEden and John's East River String Bandand has drawn four covers for them: 2009'sDrunken Barrel House Blues,2008'sSome Cold Rainy Day,2011'sBe Kind To A Man When He's Downon which he playsmandolin,the latest (2022) "Goodbye Cruel World", on which he sings vocals, plays ukulele, mandolin & tiple. In 2013 he played on their albumTake A Look at That Babyand also took part in the accompanyingmusic video.

With Dominique Cravic, in 1986 he founded "Les Primitifs du Futur" —a French band whose eclectic music has incorporated Bal-musette, folk, jazz, blues and world music—playing on their albums "Cocktail d'Amour" (1986), "Trop de Routes, Trop de Trains" (1995), "World Musette" (1999)and "Tribal Musette" (2008). He also provided thecover artfor these albums.

Crumb has released CDs anthologizing old original performances gleaned from collectible78-rpmphonograph records.HisThat's What I Call Sweet Musicwas released in 1999 andHot Women: Women Singers from the Torrid Regionsin 2009.Chimpin' the Blues,a collaboration with fellow record collectorJerry Zoltenthat combines rare recordings with conversation about the music and the musicians, was released in 2013. Crumb drew the cover art for these CDs as well.

Album covers

Crumb cover artwork for the 1968Big Brother and the Holding CompanyalbumCheap Thrills

Crumb has illustrated many album covers, most prominentlyCheap ThrillsbyBig Brother and the Holding Companyand thecompilation albumThe Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead.

Between 1974 and 1984, Crumb drew at least 17 album covers forYazoo Records/Blue Goose Records,including those of the Cheap Suit Serenaders. He also created the revised logo and record label designs of Blue Goose Records that were used from 1974 onward.

In 1992 and 1993, Robert Crumb was involved in a project by Dutch formationThe Beau Hunksand provided the cover art for both their albumsThe Beau Hunks play the original Laurel & Hardy music1 and 2. He also illustrated the albums' booklets.

In 2009, Crumb drew the artwork for a 10-CD anthology of French traditional music compiled byGuillaume Veilletfor Frémeaux & Associés.The following year, he created three artworks for Christopher King'sAimer Et Perdre: To Love And To Lose: Songs, 1917–1934.

Style

Crumb in 2010

As told by Crumb in hisbiographical film,his artwork was very conventional and traditional in the beginning. His earlier work shows this more restrained style. In Crumb's own words, it was a lengthy drug trip onLSDthat "left him fuzzy for two months" and led to him adopting the surrealistic,psychedelicstyle for which he has become known.

A peer in the underground comics field,Victor Moscoso,commented about his first impression of Crumb's work, in the mid-1960s, before meeting Crumb in person: "I couldn't tell if it was an old man drawing young, or a young man drawing old."Robert Crumb's cartooning style has drawn on the work of cartoon artists from earlier generations, includingBilly DeBeck(Barney Google),C. E. Brock(an old story book illustrator),Gene Ahern's comic strips,Basil Wolverton(Powerhouse Pepper),George Baker(Sad Sack),Ub Iwerks's characters for animation,Isadore Freleng's drawings for the earlyMerrie MelodiesandLooney Tunesof the 1930s,Sidney Smith(The Gumps),Rube Goldberg,E. C. Segar(Popeye) andBud Fisher(Mutt and Jeff). Crumb has citedCarl Barks,who illustrated Disney's "Donald Duck" comic books, andJohn Stanley(Little Lulu) as formative influences on his narrative approach, as well asHarvey KurtzmanofMadMagazine fame.

After issues 0 and 1 ofZap,Crumb began working with others, of whom the first wasS. Clay Wilson.Crumb said, about when he first saw Wilson's work "The content was something like I'd never seen before,... a nightmare vision of hell-on-earth..." And "Suddenly my own work seemed insipid..."

Crumb remains a prominent figure, as both artist and influence, within thealternative comicsmilieu. He is hailed as a genius by such comic book talents asJaime Hernandez,Daniel Clowes,andChris Ware.In the fall of 2008, theInstitute of Contemporary ArtinPhiladelphiahosted a major exhibition of his work, which was favorably reviewed inThe New York Timesand inThe Philadelphia Inquirer.

Recurring Crumb characters

• Angelfood McSpade(1967–1971) – large-built black woman drawn as an African native caricature. She is usually depicted being sexually exploited or manipulated by men.
• BoBo Bolinski (1968–1972) – a "burr-headedbarfly"
• Devil Girl (1987–1995) – Amazonian type who is the object of Mr. Natural's obsession in later comics; real name Cheryl Borck
• Eggs Ackley (1968–1971) – cheerful young egg salesman
• Flakey Foont (1967–2002) – Mr. Natural's neurotic disciple
• Fritz the Cat(1965–1972) – feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes included sexual escapades
• Honeybunch Kaminski (1970–1972) – a large-built teenage runaway and girlfriend ofProJunior
• Lenore Goldberg (1969–1970) – leader of the Girl Commandos, a group of young revolutionary women
• Mr. Natural(1967–2002) – unreliable holy man
• Shuman the Human (1969–1977) – another neurotic male character
• TheSnoid(1967–1979) – diminutive sex fiend and irritating presence

Awards and honors

Crumb has received several accolades for his work, including theInkpot Awardin 1989,a nomination for theHarvey Special Award for Humorin 1990 and theAngoulême Grand Prixin 1999.

WithJack Kirby,Will Eisner,Harvey Kurtzman,Gary Panter,andChris Ware,Crumb was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at theJewish Museumin New York City, from September 16, 2006, to January 28, 2007.

In 2017, Crumb's original cover art for the 1969Fritz the Catcollection published by Ballantine sold at auction for $717,000, the highest sale price to that point for any piece of American cartoon art.

In the media

In addition to numerous brief television reports, there are at least three television or theatrical documentaries dedicated to Crumb.

• Prior to the 1972 release of the film version ofFritz the Cat,Austrian journalistGeorg Stefan Trollerinterviewed Crumb for a thirty-minute documentary entitledComics und Katerideenon Crumb's life and art – which he describes as "the epitome of contemporary white North America's popular art" – as an episode of hisPersonenbeschreibung(literally "Person's description" ) documentary-format broadcast on the German TV networkZDF.The documentary also includes a "making-of" look at the then forthcomingFritzmovie, featuring production background interviews withRalph Bakshi.By the mid-to-late 2000s, it could still be seen on rotation as part of thePersonenbeschreibungseries on the ZDF-owned digital specialty channelZDFdokukanal(in 2009 replaced by the new channelZDFneo).
• Arena:The Confessions of Robert Crumb(BBC Two,13 February 1987)
• Crumb(1994), a documentary film byTerry Zwigoff

Crumb and his work are featured inRon Mann'sComic Book Confidential(1988).

In theStar WarsmovieReturn of the Jedi(1983), the name (and aspects of the appearance) of the characterSalacious B. Crumbare derived from, and are an homage to, Crumb.

In the 2003 movieAmerican Splendor,Crumb was portrayed byJames Urbaniak.Crumb's wife Aline was quoted as saying she hated the interpretation and never would have married Robert if he was like that.

In 2005 Crumb brought legal action againstAmazonafter their website used a version of his widely recognizable "Keep On Truckin'"character. The case was expected to be settled out of court.

Underground rap artistAesop Rockmentions Crumb several times in his lyrics, including in the songs "Catacomb Kids" from the albumNone Shall Passand "Nickel Plated Pockets" from his EP "Daylight".

R. Crumb's Sex Obsessions,a collection of his most personally revealing sexually oriented drawings and comic strips, was released byTaschenPublishing in November 2007. In August 2011, following concerns about his safety, Crumb cancelled plans to visit the Graphic 2011 festival in Sydney, Australia, after a tabloid labeled him a "self-confessed sex pervert" in an article headlined "Cult genius or filthy weirdo?"

In 2012, Crumb appeared inJohn's Old Time Radio Show,talking about old music, sex, aliens andBigfoot.He also played 78-rpm records from his record room in southern France. He has appeared on the show and recorded at least fourteen one-hour podcasts.

Personal life

Crumb has been married twice. He first married Dana Morgan in 1964,who gave birth to their son Jesse in 1968.Crumb met cartoonistAline Kominskyin 1972;their relationship soon turned serious and they began living together (on the same property shared by Dana Crumb).In 1978, Crumb divorced Dana and married Aline, with whom Crumb has frequently collaborated.In September 1981 Aline gave birth to Crumb's second child,Sophie.Robert, Aline, and Sophie moved to a small village nearSauvein southern France in 1991.Dana died in 2014.Aline died in 2022.

At age six, Crumb's son was featured as a character in Robert and Aline'sDirty Laundry Comics#1 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press,1974); he also appeared as an adult inTerry Zwigoff's 1994 documentary film,Crumb.On New Year's Eve, December 31, 2017, Crumb's son was seriously injured in a car crash nearPhillipsville, California,and died three days later; he was 49 years old.

Crumb was a member of theChurch of the SubGenius.

Critical reception

Crumb has frequently been the target of criticism due to his recurring themes of graphic sexual and violent abuse of women.Crumb himself has frequently admitted his insecurity and hostility in relation to women:

I have these hostilities toward women. I admit it.... It's out there in the open.... It's very strong. It ruthlessly forces itself out of me onto the paper.... I hope that somehow revealing that truth about myself is helpful,... but I have to do it.

In addition to being the target of speculation by critical theorists and academic researchers, Crumb has also been held to scrutiny, by feminist writerDeirdre English.English has been quoted as saying that Crumb engages in "self-indulgent fantasies" through his work, continually blurring the line between entertainment and pornography.

He has been the target of criticism by colleagues as well, such asTrina Robbins,who called Crumb a "sexist pig"due to his sexual hostility towards women.

Crumb's work is also filled with unsavory images of African Americans (such as his recurring characterAngelfood McSpade), who are often portrayed as indigent, tribal, andcaricatured.Crumb often utilized African American characters as "tokens", appearing as re-used tropes such as clowns, tribesmen, athletes, etc. Researcher Edward Shannon interpreted the themes of Crumb's story containing marginalized Africans in "When the Niggers Take Over America" (published in 1993 inWeirdo) like this: "Crumb... explores both the American Dream and its nightmare reflection; in this... stripall-Americanwhite middle class children are depicted as cannibals eager to devour the devalued and dehumanizedother."Crumb has responded to criticism by claiming that he did not invent racist caricature, but that they were part of the American culture in which he was raised.He sees his art as a criticism of the racist stereotype itself and assumed that the audience who read his work in the late 1960s were not racists and would understand his intentions.

Bibliography (selection)

Comics

• Zap Comixissues from 1 and 0 (1968) through at least 9 (1978) and several more (Apex Novelties,Print Mint,Last Gaspand other transient brand names, generally under Crumb's control, 1968–2016) – #0 and #1 are all drawn by Crumb, the rest have stories by others also
• Snatch Comicsissues 1–3 (Apex Novelties/Print Mint, late 1968 – Aug. 1969) – #1 by Crumb andS. Clay Wilson,the rest have stories by others also
• R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat(Ballantine Books,New York, 1969) (no ISBN listed) – all Crumb; about half reprints
• R. Crumb's Comics and Stories: April 1964(Rip Off Press,1969) – all Crumb; single 10-pp. story aboutFritz the Catand incest (originally produced in 1964)
• Despair(Print Mint, 1969) — all Crumb
• Motor City Comics#1–2 (Rip Off Press, Apr. 1969 – Feb. 1970) – all Crumb
• Big Ass Comics#1–2 (Rip Off Press, June 1969 – Aug. 1971) – all Crumb
• Mr. Natural#1–3 (San Francisco Comic Book Company,Aug. 1970 – Kitchen Sink Enterprises, 1977) – all Crumb
• Uneeda Comix, "the Artistic Comic!"(Print Mint, Aug. 1970) – several short strips by Crumb. The longest, last and strongest continues onto the back cover in color.
• Home Grown Funnies(Kitchen Sink Enterprises,Jan. 1971) – all Crumb
• Your Hytone Comix(Apex Novelties, 1971) – all Crumb
• XYZ Comics(Kitchen Sink Press, June 1972) – all Crumb
• The People's Comics(Golden Gate Publishing Company,Sept. 1972) – all Crumb. This contains the strip in which there is Crumb Land (a black void), and also the strip in which Fritz the Cat is killed.
• Artistic Comics(Golden Gate Publishing Company, Mar. 1973) – all Crumb, with illustrations of (among others)Aline Kominsky
• Black and White Comics(Apex Novelties, June 1973) – all Crumb
• Dirty Laundry Comics#1–2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press/Last Gasp, July 1974 – Dec. 1977) – R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky
• Best Buy Comics(Apex Novelties, 1979) – R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky
• Snoid Comics(Kitchen Sink Enterprises, 1980) – all Crumb
• Hup#1–4 (Last Gasp, 1987–1992) – all Crumb
• Id#1–3 (Fantagraphics, 1990–1991) – all Crumb
• Self-Loathing Comics(Fantagraphics, Feb. 1995 – May 1997) – R. Crumb andAline Kominsky-Crumb
• Mystic Funnies#1–3 (Alex Wood, Last Gasp, Fantagraphics, 1997–2002) – all Crumb
• Mineshaft#5–present (Dec. 2000 –)

Collections and graphic novels

• R. Crumb's Head Comix(Viking Press,1968) – anthology; re-issued byFireside Booksin 1988, with a new introduction by Crumb;ISBN0-671-66153-1
• R. Crumb's The Yum Yum Book(Scrimshaw Press, 1975) – originally created in 1963; later republished asBig Yum Yum Book: The Story of Oggie and the BeanstalkbySnow Lion Graphics/SLG Books, 1995
• R. Crumb Sketchbookseries (Zweitausendeins, 1981–1997) – later republished in 10 volumes by Fantagraphics
• Bible of Filth(Futuropolis, 1986) – collection of Crumb'serotic comicsfrom over the years
• The Complete Crumb Comics(Fantagraphics Books,1987–2005) – 17 volumes
• Introducing Kafka(Totem Books, 1993)ISBN1-84046-122-5– with writerDavid Zane Mairowitz
• R. Crumb's America(SCB Distributors, 1995)ISBN0-86719-430-8
• Crumb Family Comics(Last Gasp, 1998)ISBN978-0867194616– collection of stories by each member of the Crumb family, includingAline Kominsky-Crumb,Charles Crumb,Maxon Crumb,andSophie Crumb
• Bob and Harv's Comics(Running Press, 1996)ISBN978-1568581019– collaborations withHarvey Pekar
• The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book(Little, Brown and Company,1997)ISBN0-316-16306-6– edited and designed by Peter Poplaski
• Odds & Ends(Bloomsbury PublishingUK, 2001)ISBN978-0-7475-5309-0
• The R. Crumb Handbook(2005). London: MQ Publications.ISBN1-84072-716-0– edited and designed by Peter Poplaski
• R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country(Harry N. Abrams,2006)ISBN978-0-81093-086-5
• R. Crumb's Sex Obsessions(Taschen,2007)
• Your Vigor for Life Appalls Me(Turnaround Publisher, 2008)ISBN978-1-56097-310-2
• The Book of Genesis(W. W. Norton & Company,2009)ISBN978-0-393-06102-4OCLC317919486
• The Book of Mr. Natural(Fantagraphics, 2010)ISBN978-1-60699-352-1
• The Complete Record Cover Collection(W. W. Norton & Company, 2011)ISBN978-0-393-08278-4
• The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb(W. W. Norton, 2011)ISBN978-0-393-33371-8
• Drawn Together: The Collected Works of R. and A. Crumb(Boni & Liveright,2012)ISBN978-0-871-40429-9– R. Crumb and Aline Crumb
• The Weirdo Years: 1981–'93(Last Gasp, 2013)ISBN978-0867197907

See also

• Charles Addams
• John M. Crowther
• Edward Gorey
• Gary Larson
• Lorin Morgan-Richards
• Shel Silverstein
• Marvin Townsend
• Gahan Wilson
• Crumb(film)

Works cited

• Burgess, Steve (May 2, 2000)."R. Crumb".Salon.
• Duncan, Randy; Smith, Matthew J. (2013)."Crumb, Robert".Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman.ABC-CLIO.pp. 158–168.ISBN978-0-313-39923-7.
• Goldstein, Kalman (2013)."Robert Crumb (1943– )".In Cross, Mary (ed.).One Hundred People who Changed 20th-century America.ABC-CLIO. pp. 516–521.ISBN978-1-61069-085-0.
• Harvey, Robert C.(1996).The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History.University Press of Mississippi.ISBN978-0-87805-758-0.
• Holm, D. K.(2004).R. Crumb: Conversations. Conversations With Comic Artists series.University Press of Mississippi.ISBN978-1-57806-637-7.
• Holm, D. K.(2005).Robert Crumb.Pocket Essentials.ISBN978-1-904048-51-0.
• Huxley, David (2001).Nasty Tales: Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll and Violence in the British Underground – Spinal Comix History Series.Vol. 2, Primal. London: Critical Vision. p. 135.ISBN978-1-900486-13-2.
• Lopes, Paul (2009).Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book.Philadelphia, PA:Temple University Press.pp. 80–82.ISBN978-1-59213-443-4.
• Maremaa, Thomas (2004). "Who is this Crumb?". In Holm, D. K. (ed.).R. Crumb: Conversations.University Press of Mississippi.pp. 16–33.ISBN978-1-57806-637-7.
• McKenna, Kristine (April 23, 1995)."Creep Show: A new film shines disturbing light on the very dark family secrets of cartoonist Robert Crumb. There's a lot more there than just Mr. Natural".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJuly 20,2012.
• Simons, Johnny (April 2, 1990)."R. Crumb Comix".YouTube.

Further reading

• Bukowski, Charles,writer; Crumb, R., illustrator (1998).The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship
• Fabricant, M. Chris, writer; Crumb, R., illustrator (2005).Busted! Drug War Survival Skills
• Monggaard, Christian,writer; Crumb, R., illustrator (2020).I Can’t Do Pretty. A Portrait and Two Interviews.Barbar Bøger. ISBN 9788797165010.

Audio/Video

• Robert Crumb interview:A Compulsion to Reveal(Video). Humlebæk, Denmark:Louisiana Channel,Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. n.d.RetrievedNovember 20,2020.

External links

• Official website
• Robert Crumbat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• Robert Crumbat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• "R. Crumb andMineshaft!".Mindshaft.n.d.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2020.RetrievedNovember 20,2020.
• Gravett, Paul(March 11, 2007)."Aline Kominsky Crumb: Me and Mr Crumb".The Independent on Sunday Review.UK.Archivedfrom the original on September 16, 2020 – via Paul Gravett official website.
• Robert CrumbatIMDb
• Robert Crumbdiscography atDiscogs