R. Crumb: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists) [Paperback]

D. K. Holm (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Conversations with Comic Artists | Publication Date: May 17, 2004

R. Crumb's illustrations have appeared on the covers of albums by Big Brother and the Holding Company, on bootlegged T-shirts, and in several underground newspapers. He is, however, first and foremost, known as the father of underground comics and for work that paved the way for both satirical comics and autobiographical work in the comics medium.

He has been compared favorably to Brueghel, demonized as a misogynist, defended by feminists, and portrayed as the subject of Crumb, an award-winning documentary film. Having created such iconic characters as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat, and even himself as part of his cartoon universe, R. Crumb (b. 1943) is firmly established as one of the most significant, controversial, and technically gifted cartoonists of the second half of the twentieth century.

R. Crumb: Conversations collects interviews that span the late 1960s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. In these Crumb proves to be iconoclastic, opinionated, and--despite his celebrity--impervious to the commercial moods of the public.

Crumb appears alternately as neurotic, witty, acerbic, gentlemanly, cruel, verbose, and reticent. His persona in comics form (as an unattractive, continually nervous, lecherous, obsessive man) is both confirmed and challenged by the person who emerges from these interviews.

Gathered here are interviews and profiles that extend over the various periods and events in his life and work, including his early days as a countercultural figure in San Francisco, his verging on a nervous breakdown after the release of the X-rated film Fritz the Cat, his editing the groundbreaking comics anthology Weirdo, his move to France in the 1990s, and the resurgence of his popularity when Crumb was released.

D. K. Holm lives in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Pocket Essentials: Robert Crumb. His work has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Creative Screenwriting, and Film Quarterly.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Robert Crumb is best known as the father of underground comics and a leading chronicler of the hippie scene, but he has progressed far beyond his sixties-based fame. His work now appears in the New Yorker and other upscale publications--a far cry from the cheaply printed, hand-stapled comic books he once hawked on the streets of San Francisco. New collections of interviews with Crumb limn a complex artist even more provocative than the eccentric outsider seen in the acclaimed documentary film Crumb. The 18 pieces in conversations track Crumb's entire career. Earliest is a 1968 Berkeley Barb article, in which the "Hasbury cartoonist" relates his comics' recent "bust" by "the Man" for obscenity. The most penetrating entries come from fanzines and other alternative publications, yet even those from such mainstream sources as the Los Angeles Times are vivid, entertaining, and informative--journalists apparently can't go wrong with Crumb. The most recent talks disclose a much older but still feisty, iconoclastic artist who has fled the American society he'd long scorned to live with his family in a small French village. Although the cartoonist is notoriously shy and allegedly misanthropic, he comes across as congenial, articulate, and, above all, unabashedly candid, in fascinating contrast to the self-loathing curmudgeon of his autobiographical stories. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

In this collection of interviews that spans from the late 1960s to the beginning of the twenty-first century, the comic artist proves to be iconoclastic, opinionated, and impervious to the commercial moods of the public

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (May 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578066379
• ISBN-13: 978-1578066377
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Philadelphia, R. Crumb is the author of numerous comic works and one of the pioneers of underground comics. His books include Kafka, The Complete Crumb Comics (17 volumes), The R. Crumb Sketchbook (10 volumes), R. Crumb Draws the Blues, The Book of Mr. Natural, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb, and many more. He lives in the south of France with his wife, the artist Aline Kominsky-Crumb.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can learn so much from Conversations, September 1, 2005

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amulet (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: R. Crumb: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists) (Paperback)

Poor ol' Robert Crumb, reluctantly labeled father of the underground comic movement has moved to France with his lovely, comely and protectant wife.
These conversations help the reader get into Crumb's head. They give an autobiographical and historical perspective of Crumb, from his harsh family atmosphere to when he escaped from a greeting card company to find the summer of love in California.
Many have been offended by what he has produced. He is an artist and as an artist he does what he is supposed to do; make you look at the (our) world in a different way.
These conversations give the reader the opportunity to be an auteur into the artistic psyche. Whether you believe Crumb is an artist or not, he was there; he saw, he came (in more ways than one) and he went away. It's a fascinating read and brings you closer to him. (It is impossible to meet him. Don't bother him in France and he no longer does any tours/talks-too busy drawing!)
It is worth it to have reviewed or be familiar with some of his comic work if you have not done so already. (Where have you been?) There are many sources on the Internet as well as published to accomplish this.
These conversations begin in the 60's and break into the 21st Century. I look forward to the next conversations, if he allows them.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Explains comix with old blues, November 7, 2004

By 

Bruce P. Barten (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: R. Crumb: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists) (Paperback)

Freudians should read this book. Crumb has a very modern set of aversions. Instead of doing a pamphlet for Planned Parenthood, he says, "But it's political. I don't know how I feel about all that. It's all so complicated." (p. 68). The topics discussed in this book cover the psychic interior, and the corporate entities have subtle names, as in, "Nevertheless, Last Gasp has gone on to become the second largest underground publisher in the country." [back in 1974, when eight hundred dollars covered printing costs for an underground title] (p. 93). R. CRUMB CONVERSATIONS (2004) has an index (which only has boldface listings for 6 pages showing cartoon characters, and it should've had boldface for Lenore Goldberg on p. 193 and Crumb as character on p. 198) on pages 233-244, and the Chronology on pages xiii-xxii includes such great years as 1993:

"Crumb illustrates INTRODUCING KAFKA. Summer: The last issue of WEIRDO (No. 28) is edited by Aline. June: THE COMPLETE DIRTY LAUNDRY COMICS is published. R. CRUMB SKETCHBOOK, May 1987 to April 1991 is published. Fall: A Crumb wall calendar for 1994 is published. November: R. Crumb Retrospective is shown at Alexander Gallery, New York City. Kitchen Sink issues a Mr. Natural squeeze doll."

Four pages in the index are devoted to Crumb's views and works. For example, on page 235 you can find:

on Fritz the Cat, 120, 212-13; on Fritz the Cat (movie), 12-13, 28, 57-61, 174;

But anyone who is in the part of the index devoted to Crumb's works will notice that Works on page 236 begins with THE ADVENTURES OF FRITZ THE CAT (Cavalier), xvi; and includes eight lines of listings of other Fritz the Cat characters in the second column on page 237, up to "Fritz the Cat Superstar," 174, 213.

Crumb has problems he feels because of his being a celebrity as a result of the documentary movie that was made about his life. `When people asked me if I liked it, I said, "It's a good movie. It completely ruined my life, but it's a good movie!" (Laughs).' (p. 218). I usually feel that Crumb is being most honest when he says things that correspond to my feelings, but my situation has more concerns about sexual harassment in the workplace. Comics is work that takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. I used to subscribe to "Funny Times Magazine" (if you get a subscription and die laughing, it might be my fault, but it's not likely) and see what the more politically observant cartoonists were producing, but I was usually too tired to read each issue. R. CRUMB CONVERSATIONS is more like reading a book. With 18 major selections, mostly interviews, originally published in 1968, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1998, 1999, and 2003 (with an illustration from 1971 on page 11, from 1970 on p. 19, from 1967 "I wish somebody would tell me what `Diddy-Wah-Diddy' means..." on p. 22, from 1968 on p. 25, from 1959 on p. 30, from 1961 on p. 31, from 1972 on p. 32, from 1965 on p. 43, from 1963 on p. 45, a greeting card "I got a German shepherd" from 1967 on p. 46, "Keep on Truckin'..." from 1967 (the hit song "Truckin" by the Grateful Dead was years later, but the idea came from an old blues song) on p. 70, from 1967 on p.86, Whiteman on p. 89, from 1970 on p. 110, from 1985 on p. 124 and p. 139, from 1987 on p. 145, from 1971 on p. 153, from 1967 on p. 173, from 1970 on p. 192, from 1969 on p. 193, from 1982 on p. 198, from 1981 "Excerpts from Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763," on p. 207, and from 2002 on p. 228), the book does not explain that "Diddie Wah Diddie" was an old song until the final interview conducted by mail in April, 2002.

`I don't spend nearly as much time dwelling on items that I "must have" for my collection as I used to. That said, I recently found an old collector willing to sell me an old bunch of fabulous and rare old 1920s blues records, stuff I've been trying to find for decades, such as Blind Blake's "Diddie Wah Diddie" and Memphis Minnie's "Cherry Ball Blues." They're not cheap, but not top dollar either.' (p. 226).

It is easy to find Academy Awards twice in the index, but only because of the Chronology for 1991 "April: Crumb's account of his attendance at the previous year's Oscar ceremony is published in `Premiere' magazine." And for 1994 "September: CRUMB, Terry Zwigoff's documentary about his longtime friend, premieres at the Toronto Film Festival and goes on to become a hit. Controversially, it is not nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary." About his participation in the movie starring his character, Fritz the Cat, he said, "Me and him [Ralph Bakshi] and my wife went out to lunch. After that I said: I'm going to do something, I'll see you later. And I just skipped and didn't come back for a week. I left him with my wife--it was really a bad mistake. He talked her into signing the contract. I never signed anything. I can't blame her, she had my power of attorney." (pp. 105-06). Crumb is not as rich as he deserves to be.

Robert: They gave me ten thousand dollars.
Al: You haven't got any royalty checks or anything?
Robert: Nah. Ten thousand dollars is what I've gotten from them. You know, I ain't poor. I'm probably upper middle class compared to most people I know.
Al: All these products that have been coming out with Mr. Natural on them and Keep on Truckin', that's really pirate stuff.
Robert: Most of it is. (pp. 69-71).

Back in 1972, it was the most famous cartoonist who was getting the most money. "Charles Schulz has the highest salary of anybody in the world." (p. 71).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent gathering of interviews and profiles, January 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: R. Crumb: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists) (Paperback)

Fans of underground comix art who wish for insights into the counterculture artist and innovator R. Crumb, whose illustrations have received wide distribution both in his own collections and on the faces of records, newspapers, and t-shirts, will find R. Crumb Conversations an excellent gathering of interviews and profiles covering various periods of Crumb's life and works. Comic art jokes, interactions with publishers and the public, and Crumb's influence on the underground comic art world are all revealed in the course of some excellent surveys.