The Complete Crumb Comics, Vol. 3: Starring Fritz the Cat

The Complete Crumb Comics #3

by Robert Crumb

Some of Fantagraphics’ most demanded reprints bring back Crumb’s earlier work, from his pre-Underground days to the adventures of Fritz the Cat. These early volumes of our multiple Harvey and Eisner Award-winning Complete Crumb Comics series have been amongst our most demanded reprints the last few years. Following last season’s reprint of the expanded Vol. 1, the first three volumes of this best-selling series will all be in print for the first time in a decade! “Starring Fritz the Cat” includes the stories that began to build the Crumb legend: the original Fritz stories from Harvey Kurtzman’s Help! magazine in 1965, plus much rare art, some of Crumb’s long-lost American Greeting cards from the ’60s, and more. Plus, the story of Crumb’s first acid trip! Yes

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Fiction, Collections, Fantasy, 20th Century

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 1988

About the author

Robert Dennis Crumb (born August 30, 1943)— is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.

Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded as its most prominent figure. Though one of the most celebrated of comic book artists, Crumb's entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry. One of his most recognized works is the "Keep on Truckin'" comic, which became a widely distributed fixture of pop culture in the 1970s. Others are the characters "Devil Girl", "Fritz the Cat", and "Mr. Natural".

He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1991.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing my project to reread and rate the entire Complete Crumb Comics, or at least all the volumes that I have, anyway. Most of these I haven't read in years ...

We're creeping up on the mid 60's with this volume. My favorite in this one is probably the lengthy "Fritz the Cat Bugs Out" story. Fritz has become the completely chaotic force of nature we all know and love by this point. He gets swept up in momentary passions, takes them to ridiculous heights, and somehow manages to metaphorically land on his feet, leaving destruction and confusion in his wake. He is now truly the superstar those familiar with the movie remember. Not bad for someone who started out as a fairly realistic depiction of the Crumb family cat back in the 50's ...

Also included in this volume are examples of Crumb's cards for American Greetings and his work from Harvey Kurtzman's Help magazine. Crumb's style was still evolving. Compare, for instance, the book's cover to the panel on page 18 that it was drawn from. Crumb's reputation as one of the greats is well-deserved. Many thanks to Fantagraphics for this fine series!

[Jayakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody died. No nuclear weapons were used. There were no communal riots. Women did not get raped. An artist did reveal his true self over here. Long before the wonderfully fragrant American podcasts of today, American writers and cartoonists like Robert Crumb were also putting out dangerous art. Crumb measures up to Bill Burr and Joey Diaz. He is more flagrant than most artists on Youtube today. Crumb was way ahead of his time. This great man simply saw through all the phony posturing and useless activism of most intellectuals and artists. Crumb always takes the biggest shit on himself. You've got to appreciate an artist who is honest about his own perverted tendencies.

[Dyfan Dyfans Dyfanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

He should be called Brian the cat (because he’s like the dog from family guy 😝😝)!!

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Known artistically for his vertical shading and crosshatch illustrations, as well as his crude and hypersexualized humor, this collection of comics featuring everyone’s favorite hipster cat is a brief look into the career of Robert Crumb. The third part of an expansive (and growing) series offering a complete and retrospective look into Crumb’s career primarily focuses on Fritz the Cat, an anthropomorphic cat college student looking for some kicks. Often cynical, Fritz navigates the hipster and hippie cultures of the late 1960s with keen observations on the lack of authenticity all the while chasing girls. Think of him as Holden Caulfield, but a cat. Many of the stories and dialogue involving Fritz were later incorporated into the 1972 X-rated animated film, but there are some extra stories. In addition, there are also other stories and comics involving one-off or lesser known Crumb creations as well as a gallery of greeting card illustrations. A product of his era, Crumb was a very controversial cartoonist. Often times, minorities were featured poorly and his greatest creation, Fritz, had misogynistic tendencies and was surrounded by female characters depicted as aloof and naïve. In the forward to this volume, it was discussed that Fritz was designed to be the opposite of his creator. Despite his status as a cult cartoonist with a considerable body of offensive work, Crumb remains a legendary and still relevant figure in cartoons and comics.

[Alex Firer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never give any of these volumes less than five stars but this one was kind of weak. It's the kind of weakness though that comes from a person figuring out how to do what he does at a professional level and trying to get it as right as possible. No overwhelming grotesqueness and weird artistic flourish yet but some great stories. I'm reading Tennessee Williams' 20's concurrently as I read through Crumb's and of course live through my own and it's very nice to see everyone being a big weirdo.

When Tennessee Williams was my age he just learned to masturbate according to that Lahr book.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third Printing = June 1999 = $18.95

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up to this point, Crumb had been unrepresented in my comic book collection (except his art in American Splendor!), so I was really looking forward to this book. Sadly, I may have picked the wrong Crumb book to start with. Vol. 3 was produced largely while Crumb was working for a card company and doing his comics on the side. He was clearly still learning the trade, and all of this book was produced before he'd moved to San Francisco and begun his most legendary strips.

That said, there are some amusing, sharp comics in this book, but it is largely juvenile humor at this stage of his development. The Silly Pidgeons is cute, but nothing that leaps beyond the wit of many other comic strip cartoonists. The early Fritz strips ramble on, but they ramble with energy and enthusiasm, even when they lack for intent. "Fritz the Cat Bugs Out" was the clear highlight of the book. It was a genuinely entertaining, reasonably smart strip that popped off the page with Crumb's excitement. The other strips had the energy of a young cartoonist, but not the smarts of a mature one.

It was definitely interesting to see some of Crumb's more formative cartoons, but this is not an essential volume.

[RoseBlight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know Fritz the Cat is one of Crumb's more "iconic" creations but I enjoyed all the other bits in this book much more. The candid interpretations of Harlem and Bulgaria were fascinating, seeing the real world through Crumb's pen is really something.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this volume starts to show the reader the art and style of what we stereotypically think of when we think of R. Crumb. Some cool artwork in here, with interesting caricatures and detailed drawings of 50's automobiles. Mature content is becoming more pronounced.

[Andrew]

I've been reading Crumb comics here and there since high school, and I've always been enamored with it. This particular volume gives us an introduction to Crumb's most notorious creation, Fritz the Cat, an oversexed, underemployed furry ball of pretense that reminds me a great deal of my college roommate at his scummy, Camus-quoting, skirt-chasing depths. It was pretty funny when I was 16 or whatever, but now that I'm surrounded by horny twenty-something bohemians, its all the funnier.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good stories featuring Fritz the Cat. Not too happy with the format or size of this series, but the paper quality and binding is nice. I really love the more crazy misogynistic stuff by Crumb, and this is fairly tame compared to most of the stuff that I have read. This is a fun concept. Take a character, make him cute and then make him do some bad things. Had the character been human and creepy looking, this would have been a flop.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotta be honest: i didn't read or even look at much of this book, including the surprisingly long introduction. Mr Crumb's work just isn't for me.