Robert Crumb: I Can’t Do Pretty

by Christian Monggaard

Robert Crumb's own review: "Received two copies of “Robert Crumb: I Can’t Do Pretty.” Sat down and read the whole text through. It’s a good thing it’s only 92 pages — small pages at that. Don’t want to overdose the reader with my rantings. It’s an attractive looking little book, I like that about it. And I like very much the foreword by Matthias Wivel. Your description of the first time you saw a drawing by me, “The Family That Lays Together Stays Together,” gave me a laugh. I thought your essay was well-written and that you articulated very well the nuances of the “problem” with R. Crumb’s work. All in all, a nicely produced little book."

104 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Rudi]

An interesting little book about the "underground comix" artist Robert Crumb. He is a controversial figure, and some of the comics he made in the hippie era (and later) would have a hard time being published today. Now he is an old man, and it's interesting to read about how he now sees the world. The format of the book is transcriptions of two interviews. This makes for a nicely paced read that captures his personality in some ways - but I wish that the book had more material to work with. Had the conversations between Monggard and Crumb been longer, we would have been able to go deeper into his reflections on his legacy. It's still a good read, though, and even works as an introduction to his works of sorts. Excerpts of some of his more famous strips/panels are included, as they were shown on stage when one of the interviews were conducted.