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The R. Crumb Handbook
The R. Crumb Handbook is a brand new take on the life, trials and ideas of one of the most influential cartoonists of the last 40 years. Wry, self-deprecating, and candid, this is an exceptionally revealing and unexpectedly moving visual biography. Crumb is thoughtful and enlightening, with insights into 20th century popular culture that are hilarious, challenging, and acidly satirical.
Crumb casts an unblinking eye onto the underbelly of modern life, an urban nightmare of human weakness, lust, terror, and cruelty all seen through the comic lens of satire. Simultaneously, he weaves in the surreal narrative of his personal evolution from his tormented childhood in the 1940s through his coming of age in the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s. With over 80 personal photographs, and 300 images taken from his sketchbooks many of which have never been seen before, comic books, as well as fine art from museums, The R. Crumb Handbook tells it like it is!
Described by art critic Robert Hughes as "the Brueghel of the 20th century," Robert Crumb has become the only sixties counter culture artist to break through into the fine art world and today attracts celebrity collectors such as Steve Martin and author Alex Garland.
Written with his close friend and fellow cartoonist Peter Poplaski, the new book allows ample room for the "father of underground comics" to express his ideas and opinions on a variety of subjects: fame and celebrity, art and commercialism, sex and drugs, age and death. And what visit to Crumbland would be complete without cameo appearances by Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat, Devil Girl, and Keep On Truckin'?
At over 400 pages, The R. Crumb Handbook is the newest and best compilation of
his most famous work. The book features over 300 never seen before illustrations from his sketchbooks, 80 personal photos, interviews, and a special CD of 20 songs of R.Crumb's original music. Cartoons? Photos? Music? All in one book? This is a valuable collectible that will be welcomed by all.
437 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2005
18 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
Robert Crumb
565 books535 followersRobert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 20, 2025
Everything you ever wanted to know about Robert Crumb is in this book. A very honest look at the life of one of the most influential illustrators of the last 50 years. Lots of art through the years; really shows how RC helped to change the concept/transition of comics/comix in the 60's and beyond.
September 8, 2017
If you are unfamiliar with Crumb's provocative and creative work. this is a great place to start. You meet his most famous creations and his perverse but hilarious sense of humor. I would also HIGHLY suggest watching Terry Zwigoff's 1994 biopsy eponymously titled Crumb to fully understand the deranged but brilliant sarcasm behind the bawdy and sometimes shocking drawings. Enjoy.
October 29, 2017
I was looking around for another volume of Crumb's collected works, and found this, part of a series of "handbooks" about the world's famous artistic or intellectual leaders. Crumb is one of the five most influential comics artists on the planet, so he fits the leadership bill. This collection would go well with the Aacdemy-Award nominated documentary bio-pic, called Crumb. This more than 400 page volume includes letters, photographs, journals, examples of a range of his work from a variety of periods. It is a terrific one volume look at Crumb if you wanted to get a good look at his work, and it doesn't shy away from crises he faced from the perspective of offensiveness (he often was; he was not trying to be mainstream, ever). At the point of international fame, Crumb chose to go in a more "alternative comix" direction (for example, with more sexual content and exploring controversial themes). He's never dull, and often outrageous.
September 22, 2022
Perhaps the best one-and-done collection of Crumb stories. Better than grabbing a bunch of those Complete Crumb books since this cuts out the filler.
I sort of wish this was my introduction to Crumb, instead I read a bunch of random stuff and it took quite awhile to figure out the hype around this guy. A lot of it is outrageous and perhaps not appropriate for life.
I sort of wish this was my introduction to Crumb, instead I read a bunch of random stuff and it took quite awhile to figure out the hype around this guy. A lot of it is outrageous and perhaps not appropriate for life.
December 28, 2007
A nice omnibus of Crumb's work. Worth owning just for the included CD - which includes a few rare Cheap Suit Serenaders tracks.
September 19, 2007
combined his work spanning decades and a biography in a really nicely bound edition with a cd of his music over the years and a bookmark of self-portraits. i'd give this four and a half stars, but i can't.
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November 3, 2011I think I should try to explain why I am such a rabid fan of R.Crumb. Crucially, he provided me with the first real opportunity that I had to relate to another human being, when I watched the documentary Crumb in my mid-teens. I cannot really explain this with that much depth or clarity, other than the things he writes are my truth, and it appalls me to see his work condemned by people, such as Trina Robbins, who clearly have not spent enough time thinking about the context, intention, or cathartic and self-healing nature of his work. A crucial piece of this is that he is, as Roger Ebert observes "clinging to his sanity by his fingernails," and that he is able to pick up on the sexual violence seething underneath American culture, and that he sees more of what is going on when you to walk down the street than almost any other artist, writer, or intellectual that I have ever been acquainted with. I think these things make him someone who is, if not sympathetic, than at least worthy of the "artistic genius" treatment. He is a whiny, self-centered, narcissistic creep, sure, but that hardly disqualifies him from correctness. And I don't know what else to call his work, except honesty in its raw form. All the societal niceties have been stripped away, and there is nothing but the depiction of a crazed, horny loser leering out at an atropied, entropied, self-destructing culture so full of excess that its citizens are simply too distracted to notice that they are on board the Titanic.
The offensiveness of his work is an essential part of its relevance. It is interesting that half of the world understands satire, and half entirely misses the point. His work has always been straight from his broken heart,and it is about his perception of how hateful and cruel American culture is, underneath all the false, forced happiness of advertising and societal convention. It is about sexual obsession, particularly as it relates to comic books, cartoons,and other forms of immature fantasy, and he is astoundingly aware of the perverse sexuality contained in comic books and cartoons. It is about the animalistic, violent, competitive nature of teenage boys and men in suits. It is about the demanding, demonic, rapacious nature of women. It is about the brute force of all
of this, the desperation and anger and violence lurking underneath a pacifying, idiotic, and obnoxious mass media, which is deprived of the depth and meaning of unique village society and self-made music, art and culture. You have to approach his art with compassion and understanding, because if you bring your own expectations and sensibilities to it, and they clash dramatically with his work, you will misunderstand it. Yes, he talks about his hostilities toward women,and there is plenty of graphically sexual violence in it. However, the strength of the women that he depicts, and their overpowering influence on him is, if not respectful, then at least acknowledges the validity of their worth. He is not writing women off, he is not degrading them, he is reflecting upon their ability to drive him up the wall with their combined sexual authority over him and their out-of-control emotional episodes. He is obviously someone so meek, passive, and indecisive that the forceful nature of the kind of women he is attracted to overwhelms him. He is also so split off from his own feelings that emotions in general frighten him. And yet he is wracked with desire, for sexual intimacy, for power and control, and for a sense of connection to the rest of humanity. His record collection is an obvious manifestation of this. He perceives, accurately or not,
music from the 20's and 30's to be a purer reflection of human suffering and joy. His half-baked theory that people were more genuine in the era preceding the mass culture that he grew up with still has a significant, affecting nostalgia that imbues his work. The sense of being lost, alone, and in need in the middle of a repulsive, empty, circus-like environment has so much resonance that
I can't imagine his drawings will ever lose their power. Certainly not on people like me, whatever generation they come from.
The offensiveness of his work is an essential part of its relevance. It is interesting that half of the world understands satire, and half entirely misses the point. His work has always been straight from his broken heart,and it is about his perception of how hateful and cruel American culture is, underneath all the false, forced happiness of advertising and societal convention. It is about sexual obsession, particularly as it relates to comic books, cartoons,and other forms of immature fantasy, and he is astoundingly aware of the perverse sexuality contained in comic books and cartoons. It is about the animalistic, violent, competitive nature of teenage boys and men in suits. It is about the demanding, demonic, rapacious nature of women. It is about the brute force of all
of this, the desperation and anger and violence lurking underneath a pacifying, idiotic, and obnoxious mass media, which is deprived of the depth and meaning of unique village society and self-made music, art and culture. You have to approach his art with compassion and understanding, because if you bring your own expectations and sensibilities to it, and they clash dramatically with his work, you will misunderstand it. Yes, he talks about his hostilities toward women,and there is plenty of graphically sexual violence in it. However, the strength of the women that he depicts, and their overpowering influence on him is, if not respectful, then at least acknowledges the validity of their worth. He is not writing women off, he is not degrading them, he is reflecting upon their ability to drive him up the wall with their combined sexual authority over him and their out-of-control emotional episodes. He is obviously someone so meek, passive, and indecisive that the forceful nature of the kind of women he is attracted to overwhelms him. He is also so split off from his own feelings that emotions in general frighten him. And yet he is wracked with desire, for sexual intimacy, for power and control, and for a sense of connection to the rest of humanity. His record collection is an obvious manifestation of this. He perceives, accurately or not,
music from the 20's and 30's to be a purer reflection of human suffering and joy. His half-baked theory that people were more genuine in the era preceding the mass culture that he grew up with still has a significant, affecting nostalgia that imbues his work. The sense of being lost, alone, and in need in the middle of a repulsive, empty, circus-like environment has so much resonance that
I can't imagine his drawings will ever lose their power. Certainly not on people like me, whatever generation they come from.
February 9, 2009
This is a lovely book. All in one package, you get a well-written, if oddly sketchy, set of autobiographical essays; and a pretty amazing overview of the life's work, which is fairly unnervingly and unrelentingly pervy, metaphysical, bizarre and beautifully drawn.
Given how truly weird his work is, it's amazing that he's famous and influential instead of shamed and reviled. But the art itself (as opposed to the content matter, where the two are separable) is amazingly well-crafted, and he's been working hard at it for around 50 years now.
That part's pretty inspiring, especially because he's always worked with the same obsessiveness toward the same narrow personal artistic vision, and approached success primarily by being so undeviatingly deviant. it's obvious that he's never tried to be popular; he's just devoted his life to expressing himself as clearly as he was able, neuroses, kinks and all. At the end of the book, when he starts joking very seriously about his own approaching death, you feel he's earned the right to take on the only topic that people are more hung up about than sex.
There's something deeply inspiring by someone who's so articulate about his own failure, anxiety and repressed urges, having grown into a peaceable, mature and successful family man with a placid and mystical approach to the unknowable.
Given how truly weird his work is, it's amazing that he's famous and influential instead of shamed and reviled. But the art itself (as opposed to the content matter, where the two are separable) is amazingly well-crafted, and he's been working hard at it for around 50 years now.
That part's pretty inspiring, especially because he's always worked with the same obsessiveness toward the same narrow personal artistic vision, and approached success primarily by being so undeviatingly deviant. it's obvious that he's never tried to be popular; he's just devoted his life to expressing himself as clearly as he was able, neuroses, kinks and all. At the end of the book, when he starts joking very seriously about his own approaching death, you feel he's earned the right to take on the only topic that people are more hung up about than sex.
There's something deeply inspiring by someone who's so articulate about his own failure, anxiety and repressed urges, having grown into a peaceable, mature and successful family man with a placid and mystical approach to the unknowable.
April 21, 2010
This, R. Crumbs Coffeetable book or the Documentary about him would probably be the best choices for an introduction to Crumb. The R. Crumb Handbook is an anthology with Crumb writing his reflections on his life and work, commentary by other people here and there and stuff from various stages of his evolution. There is more of the sexually oriented and neurotic self loathing stuff in this and not as much of the "counterculture" satire or his early fuzzy bunny cutesy work. He does gain a lot of points with me because he appreciates a good Amazon. Crumb is a weird dude who expresses himself in a very stereotypical Jewish way with his self loathing, sexual hang ups, and passive aggressive personality. But apparently he isn't a Jew, even though at times he's like a hybrid of Howard Stern and Woody Allen on a bad acid trip. In spite of that I find his work interesting and entertaining. This also comes with a CD of Crumbs band which is fun, better than average old timey music.
March 25, 2017
Anyone who knows me well, especially my artistic friends, have been victims of my constant ramblings of Robert Crumb. His work has profound influence on me as an artist and it was great to get to know more about him through this condensed and moving visual biography of the life, trials and personal evolution of R. Crumb.
There is something very inspiring about someone who's ever so articulate about their own social hangups, anxieties, fantasies and repressed urges who still manages to both entertain and enlighten the audience.
It's also remarkable how someone as shamelessly deviant but most importantly truthful as R. Crumb managed to reach that kind of acclaim in the art world.
He's the real deal, the true anti-hero of comics, depicting the crazed side of humanity in it's rawest form.
There is something very inspiring about someone who's ever so articulate about their own social hangups, anxieties, fantasies and repressed urges who still manages to both entertain and enlighten the audience.
It's also remarkable how someone as shamelessly deviant but most importantly truthful as R. Crumb managed to reach that kind of acclaim in the art world.
He's the real deal, the true anti-hero of comics, depicting the crazed side of humanity in it's rawest form.
May 28, 2019
I thought this was another Crumb collection and I liked the size of the book, so I bought it and put it on my shelf. I didn’t realize what I was getting into when I started reading this. It’s an incredible memoir from R. Crumb. It’s 400 pages and includes lots of artwork but by far the best part of the book are the lengthy and very candid details of his life as an artist. Very interesting!
January 12, 2012
More than you would ever want to know about the man who helped mainstream "underground" comics. This book is a good companion to the multi-volume "The Complete Crumb Comics," and is probably the best place to start if you aren't familiar with his work.
October 5, 2025
O libro está moi ben. Disfruteino moito. É un percorrido de moitas referencias e influencias na vida e obra de Crumb. Cultura popular yankee, artistas underground, música... É ameno e divertido. E aprendes moitas cousas.
Respecto a Crumb. Ten capacidade para entrar. Gústanme os cómics del que lin por agora. Disfrutei moito dos capítulos da súa infancia e da súa entrada na adultez. Pero os ultimos capítulos fixeronme aborrecelo moito. Cada día soporto menos as persoas que rascas un pouco e detrás de toda a floritura non hai moito máis que a necesidade de ser diferente.
Ten dúas páxinas de pura misantropía que me producen náuseas. "Odio o xenero humano, a musica popular, as multitudes, a arquitectura moderna, a invención dos cartos, a comunicación de masas, blablabla".
Querer vivir dunha forma de expresión e comunicación e aborrecer ao 99%, xa non só da poboación, senon do teu público... Tremendo lugar común.
É o que ten este tipo de peña "alternativa", que son todo lugares comúns.
Robert Crumb non só no se sabe la de que el artista e a súa obra son e cumplen unha función social, senón que a súa persoa pode resumirse no seguinte: "odio á maioría". Asco de tipo. Estas mierdas elitistas adoitan colarse como cousas progresistas. Busqueda da autenticidade fronte a produción en masa, fronte o artificial e esas mierdas.
Espero atoparlle compromiso ou algo que cheire a fresco nas súas viñetas detrás de todo ese cinismo. O cinismo hai que saber como levalo para non ser simplemente un imbécil que agocha o tremendo ego que caga na aparente auto-conciencia.
Respecto a Crumb. Ten capacidade para entrar. Gústanme os cómics del que lin por agora. Disfrutei moito dos capítulos da súa infancia e da súa entrada na adultez. Pero os ultimos capítulos fixeronme aborrecelo moito. Cada día soporto menos as persoas que rascas un pouco e detrás de toda a floritura non hai moito máis que a necesidade de ser diferente.
Ten dúas páxinas de pura misantropía que me producen náuseas. "Odio o xenero humano, a musica popular, as multitudes, a arquitectura moderna, a invención dos cartos, a comunicación de masas, blablabla".
Querer vivir dunha forma de expresión e comunicación e aborrecer ao 99%, xa non só da poboación, senon do teu público... Tremendo lugar común.
É o que ten este tipo de peña "alternativa", que son todo lugares comúns.
Robert Crumb non só no se sabe la de que el artista e a súa obra son e cumplen unha función social, senón que a súa persoa pode resumirse no seguinte: "odio á maioría". Asco de tipo. Estas mierdas elitistas adoitan colarse como cousas progresistas. Busqueda da autenticidade fronte a produción en masa, fronte o artificial e esas mierdas.
Espero atoparlle compromiso ou algo que cheire a fresco nas súas viñetas detrás de todo ese cinismo. O cinismo hai que saber como levalo para non ser simplemente un imbécil que agocha o tremendo ego que caga na aparente auto-conciencia.
July 13, 2023
I did not realize how insane R. Crumb’s comics are. Wow! The quote on the front saying, "I'm not here to be polite!" is a huge understatement. These comics are not just impolite. They are downright offensive. Of course, that was probably the intent all along, with satire.
The book contains a lot of truth. It plays something like an autobiography, though how can a good autobiography be made with words about an artist? R. Crumb put a lot of personality into his comics, especially his fantasies and desires. The book does not paint a great picture of himself. At no point does he seem like someone to look up to. It can be brutally honest at times.
This book does make me want to seek out more of R. Crumb's work, mainly Fritz the Cat but also others. I was also intrigued by the other artists he mentioned as inspirations. This book is a very good starting point before diving into the deep end with more underground comics.
Also, I don't know why I never made the connection that he did the artwork for Cheap Thrills. It looks a lot like his now that I am more familiar. And why did the library copy not have the CD? I am most disappointed.
The book contains a lot of truth. It plays something like an autobiography, though how can a good autobiography be made with words about an artist? R. Crumb put a lot of personality into his comics, especially his fantasies and desires. The book does not paint a great picture of himself. At no point does he seem like someone to look up to. It can be brutally honest at times.
This book does make me want to seek out more of R. Crumb's work, mainly Fritz the Cat but also others. I was also intrigued by the other artists he mentioned as inspirations. This book is a very good starting point before diving into the deep end with more underground comics.
Also, I don't know why I never made the connection that he did the artwork for Cheap Thrills. It looks a lot like his now that I am more familiar. And why did the library copy not have the CD? I am most disappointed.
July 14, 2023
Curioso.
February 3, 2025
Freak alert!
July 12, 2025
Very disturbing.
May 14, 2009
The R. Crumb Handbook combines the memories and reflections of hippy era underground cartoonist R. Crumb into a thick hardback little tome. Although co-authored by Peter Poplaski, this book reads more like an autobiography completely written on Crumb's own. I discovered Crumb's work in the 80s while attending high school and became a life long fan after that. I read many things about the life of Crumb and of course many of his comics, as many as I could. Some of the expected things from the man's life come up in the book but I found much of it providing information unseen elsewhere. The personal reflections and commentary on the biographical tidbits makes this different from other accounts of Crumb's life. What makes this distinctly Crumb is his ability to scrutinize himself better than anyone else. His views in 2005 differ from those 30 or 40 years ago but his brash honesty hasn't at all. The retrospective look at his life plays the key role of this book.
As for the cartoons and illustrations included in the book some of the key cartoons make appearances but many comics rarely or never seen before make the book as well. Crumb's more famous characters Mr. Natural, The Snoid, and Fritz the Cat make their obligatory appearances but in comics rarely seen. However, I don't know where I may have seen "Mode O'Day and her Pals Before." The inclusion of many cartoons and illustrations drawn after the turn of the millennium peak my interest. I find the maturing of the mind of a mad man particularly interesting.
The R. Crumb Handbook really does contain something for the R. Crumb fan and newcomer alike. The biographical notes, cartoons and illustrations, and commentary paralleling Crumb's life and cultural commentary make an excellent and thorough account of the complex cartoonist. This also includes a CD sampler of Crumbs work. At around 20 tracks this proves a hefty sampler and shows the man's skill at music as well in the form of blues, mountain music, and roots music.
As for the cartoons and illustrations included in the book some of the key cartoons make appearances but many comics rarely or never seen before make the book as well. Crumb's more famous characters Mr. Natural, The Snoid, and Fritz the Cat make their obligatory appearances but in comics rarely seen. However, I don't know where I may have seen "Mode O'Day and her Pals Before." The inclusion of many cartoons and illustrations drawn after the turn of the millennium peak my interest. I find the maturing of the mind of a mad man particularly interesting.
The R. Crumb Handbook really does contain something for the R. Crumb fan and newcomer alike. The biographical notes, cartoons and illustrations, and commentary paralleling Crumb's life and cultural commentary make an excellent and thorough account of the complex cartoonist. This also includes a CD sampler of Crumbs work. At around 20 tracks this proves a hefty sampler and shows the man's skill at music as well in the form of blues, mountain music, and roots music.
July 28, 2012
So much has been written about Crumb that I doubt I can add anything new. The man's art is simultaneously achingly beautiful and hideously repulsive, his narratives intellectually thought provoking and insanely pornographic. As he himself says more than once in the lengthy interview that comprises most of the text portion of this book, you have to take all of him, the good and the ugly. He spills it all out without restraint.
Part of my reason for only giving the book four stars is the physical size of it. The pages are very small and hence the artwork is compressed and some of the dialogue is impossible to read. Granted pretty much anything by Crumb can be found elsewhere in larger reprint, but it would still be nice if this had been produced in a somewhat larger format.
That said, this is essential for Crumb fans (I'm not a big fan, but I do appreciate his work, even when it turns my stomach), and for new initiates, it's a good introduction to what the man is about.
Part of my reason for only giving the book four stars is the physical size of it. The pages are very small and hence the artwork is compressed and some of the dialogue is impossible to read. Granted pretty much anything by Crumb can be found elsewhere in larger reprint, but it would still be nice if this had been produced in a somewhat larger format.
That said, this is essential for Crumb fans (I'm not a big fan, but I do appreciate his work, even when it turns my stomach), and for new initiates, it's a good introduction to what the man is about.
October 28, 2016
Robert Crumb is one unique and special individual, and lo and behold, so is this book that embodies everything that Mr. Crumb is - hilarious, bitingly-satirical, brutally honest, challenging, and brilliant. In illustrating the human condition through all our ironies, weaknesses, lusts, terrors, and cruelties, in a style that only Mr. Crumb can do and is famous for, he also effortlessly weaves in his childhood as a kid of the 1940's to his evolution of being the enfant terrible cartoonist of the 1960's hippie culture. With over 50 personal photographs and 300 images taken from his sketchbooks and comic books, AND a CD (R. Crumb's Music Sampler) containing selected recordings from Crumb's "half-assed" music career with his band, R. Crumb And His Cheap Suit Serenaders, this is not merely a visual biography, but a masterpiece of one genius's creation. Pair this with the 1994 documentary, Crumb, and you have just about all that you need to know about the madness behind the man.
January 12, 2008
Fantastic! The R. Crumb Handbook is an awesome overview of the life of Robert Crumb, artist, musician and American original. This is an autobiography, Crumb's life in his own words and it's an extroardinary read. Crumb writes with a savvy, subversive wit that makes the stories of his childhood, artistic origins and career fun to read and even inspiring. There are literally hundreds of photographs, not to mention Crumb's amazing artwork. It's a treat for the eyes as well as the brain. The included CD, R. Crumb's Music Sampler, features sixteen performances from six of Crumbs ensembles recorded between 1972 and 2003, including songs from Crumb with his wife and daughter! How cool is that? This is a gorgeous book and a heck of a good read.
February 21, 2020
'The R. Crumb Handbook' is not the best place to learn to know Robert Crumb's art. The book is simply too small for that. But it is a good start to know Robert Crumb as a person. Crumb himself talks about his youth, his coming of age, and his world views, richly illustrated by his own work and by his influences. Unfortunately, the book disintegrates halfway, and the latter half is not nearly as compelling as the first. The book contains many testimonies on Crumb by other people, which add absolutely nothing and could certainly be missed. This is not a bad book, but it certainly could have been a lot better.
January 15, 2008
Remember Mr. Natural, Keep on Truckin' and other weird and wonderful characters that peopled Robert Crumbs underground comix in the 1960's. This is the story of Crumb's life and a great collection of his cartoons and illustrations. A lot of his work is edgy and not for the prudish who might misunderstand the context of his work. A lot of it is satirical and way over the edge for many. Its a great read for those nostalgic for their youth. Malcolm Watts
Malcolm Watts is a novelist, writer, and photograher.
Visit his website at www.authorsden.com/malcolmwatts.
Malcolm Watts is a novelist, writer, and photograher.
Visit his website at www.authorsden.com/malcolmwatts.
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April 1, 2009STOP SMILING Issue 38,
20 Interviews
, features a cover story interview with R. Crumb.
The STOP SMILING Third Annual 20 Interviews issue features a 10-page spread and interview of comic book artist R. Crumb.
The STOP SMILING Third Annual 20 Interviews issue features a 10-page spread and interview of comic book artist R. Crumb.
July 5, 2008
I've read a few books on Crumb but this one kicks all the rest in their flabby asses. The R. Crumb Handbook is only one to read if you want to get a broad picture of what's doing with this guy. This goes into the dirty details of what his family was like growing up, his work life pre and post-fame. Plus, as a huge bonus, it's loaded with photos, his art and a CD of the Crumb family, His Cheap Suit Serenaders and various musical groups he's played with over the years. Worth every word.
March 25, 2010
I was a fool. There is something in us that is always looking for the hard-to-find ultimate experience. We wade through a lot of shit to get to the fulfillment of our dreams.
In my case, all my life I've been a slave to that butt. Yes, the motion of a big, round, human, female butt while she's walking has the same effect that the blossom has on the bee. To see is to desire! It's primal. It's an animal reflex.
In my case, all my life I've been a slave to that butt. Yes, the motion of a big, round, human, female butt while she's walking has the same effect that the blossom has on the bee. To see is to desire! It's primal. It's an animal reflex.
April 1, 2007
I'll admit that I am fascinated with R. Crumb as an artist and intriguing fellow, but I just didn't enjoy this collection. The best aspect of this work is definitely the cd featuring his many banjo antics. Speaking of, I highly recommend tracking down *Les Primitifs du Futur,* a musette band with which he plays occasionally.
March 29, 2009
This came with a CD that had "Getta Load Of This" on it. I'd been looking for the song for decades now.
Not only is he a great comic artist, but he is a wonderful musician and preservationist of "old-timey" music... the washboard and banjo kind of folk-jazz from the turn of the century. He also has one of the most extensive collections of old vinyl recordings of anyone I know.
Not only is he a great comic artist, but he is a wonderful musician and preservationist of "old-timey" music... the washboard and banjo kind of folk-jazz from the turn of the century. He also has one of the most extensive collections of old vinyl recordings of anyone I know.
July 23, 2010
Just when I thought I knew too much about R. Crumb, here comes this fat little book! This one does a good job at covering it all: the artist's childhood, life in the sixties, drugs, discontent with commercialism, sex perversions, the blatant racism, jazz music, old age. Move over, guy in those Dos Equis commercials...because Robert Crumb is...THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD.
February 8, 2015
If you like odd ball and off the wall. With strange and deprived, Robert Crumb shows us what it is like to live in his head.
The art in this book reflects the authors mental state and how he has developed along his life.
This book is not for the faint of heart. If you like strange cartoons you might enjoy this book.
The art in this book reflects the authors mental state and how he has developed along his life.
This book is not for the faint of heart. If you like strange cartoons you might enjoy this book.
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