The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

R Crumb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

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 with great acclaim. Laura Hoptman, curator of the Carnegie International said, ?Crumb is one of the most subversive and important voices to come out of America in the 20th century?He's one of the greatest draftsmen of our time.? Now available for general distribution is The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb which is an exclusive collection of drawings that reveal the tender side of R. Crumb. Evocative haunting images of people and places such as Aline, his daughter Sophie, scenes from the village and region he lives in the South of France, Jesse Crumb, his first wife Dana and their son Jesse and of course the Blues musicians he treasures from his 78rpm record collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As Crumb admits in his introduction, sweet isn't what his work seems to be. Furthermore, he opines in so many words, sweetness is for gals. So, is this album of one-panel and one-page comics and many freestanding drawings somehow "Crumb for the ladies"? Well, none of Crumb's trademark raunch is on view; the closest he comes is a reminiscence of his then-preschooler daughter's curiosity about "poop." But Crumb remains in love with carnality. What he draws has weight, and what he admires he draws even heavier. Surely the girl-jock high-school classmates he lovingly recalls didn't have legs quite that massive; they were teenagers, after all. Such drawing doesn't have much of the delicacy considered especially appealing to women. It does have particularity (does this guy know shading or what?), which gives each portrait of an old or (seldom) new entertainer, each view of a favorite forest pathway, each rendering of a fantastic bit of French medieval architecture, visual tangibility. And it has affection, which is sweet, no? But not just for ladies. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"I never get bored seeing more work from a master who is so obsessively in love with the act of drawing; every image, even and otherwise prosaic still life from a 'pizzeria in St. Hyppolyte du Fort, ' captures the eye and imagination." -- Steven Heller "The New York Times Book Review"

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: M Q Publications; First British Edition edition (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846011140
• ISBN-13: 978-1846011146
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #782,427 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

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another R. Crumb Hit!, March 8, 2007

By 

M. Grace "Never Enough Books" (Sunny Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb (Hardcover)

I purchased this for a friend who is an R. Crumb lover and who has converted me. Of course, I read it before delivering it. This book is as all R. Crumb books are--excellent, funny, endearing, and insightful. There is something in there for everyone. I'm a cat lover and his drawing of his cat was just super. All in all, worth every penny.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best for looking at some of Crumb's recent work, March 10, 2011

By 

Avishai Mallinger "The Almighty" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb (Hardcover)

I dig this book mostly because a significant amount of the drawings are semi-autobiogrphical;
And anice portion of it seems to come from the past 10 years or so.

This is no fancy huge anthology.
There is no story.

Just a collection of his work that is slightly less vulgar;
with a lot of drawings of his wife's butt.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bob Crumb, Crumbles Left of the Cake, March 15, 2007

By 

John Wallingford "jack" (mantua) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb (Hardcover)

Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I should have known that a greatest hits compilation is never as good as the original pressing. After all that, it was R. Crumb. He is a genius, but a rehash of some of his old drawings showing a "a gentler, kinder Crumb" does nothing to assuage my mistake of not having purchased the full story of Angel McSpade or some old Zap comics.