Meet Robert Crumb: A Cartooning Enigma
Robert Crumb, famously known as “R Crumb” (because when you’re a modern cartooning titan, formality is so last season), is a man of many paradoxes. The fastidious biography by Dan Nadel lays bare the magnificent, yet wonderfully odd conundrum that is Crumb.
While many in the mainstream may recognize him as the genius behind the psychedelic cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills or the “Keep on Truckin’” stick figures that once adorned everything from college dorm walls to trucker mudflaps, Crumb was much more than mere art for stoners. He was, in fact, the guiding light of the underground comic scene in the Sixties and Seventies—a hipster grandmaster conducting a quirky orchestra, the maestro of Zap Comix.
Within the chaotic cabal of characters he brought to life were those deliciously absurd LGBTQ+ archetypes, aptly fueled by a heady dose of LSD. Meet Mr. Natural, Angelfood McSpade, and Fritz the Cat—just a few of the many residents in Crumb’s eccentric universe. And let’s not forget his most personal creation: a lanky fellow in milk-bottle glasses who’s often seething with neuroses, a caricature of Crumb himself. Talk about a self-portrait!
Upon surveying his influences, one finds the likes of Harvey Kurtzman, the anarchic Mad magazine wizard, and Carl Barks, known for his impeccable Donald Duck comics. Ah, the things we inherit! According to Nadel, Crumb’s legacy ripples through the art of cartooning, spawning talent like Art Spiegelman and Daniel Clowes. Spiegelman expertly muses, “Every cartoonist must pass through Crumb,” as if encountering him is akin to an intense spiritual awakening—minus the blissful enlightenment, of course.
Ah, the Sixties counterculture—a time when Crumb believed something profound was afoot, namely, his obsession with collecting old 78rpm shellac records and comics that hark back to yesteryears. His outlook may have been broadly anticorporate, but let’s be real; his explorations often reveal more about his complex psyche than the world around him. With a childhood steeped in familial discord and personal demons, Robert Crumb’s comedic lens becomes all the more poignant. Who knew neuroses could fuel an artistic career?
Indeed, Crumb’s artistic creations are a mixed bag of both enthralling brilliance and deeply uncomfortable choices. Characters like Angelfood McSpade exemplify not just hyper-obsessed caricatures but also awkward specters of racial and sexual politics that weigh heavily on modern sensibilities. Rape, surprisingly enough, was often played for laughs in Crumb’s early comics. Take that, #MeToo! He simply reflects societal norms, folks; he did not invent the wheel of cultural insensitivity.
Despite the controversies, life unfolded rather amusingly for Crumb, who thrived in sexual escapades, dodging trouble like a master performer in a circus act. His first marriage disintegrated—as one might expect when one neglects their offspring—but then came a fruitful partnership with Aline Kominsky. However, when the counterculture that once adored him began to retreat, Crumb found himself grappling with a new, less rhapsodic reality. Nothing screams “identity crisis” like being mocked by a punk fanzine; Crumb’s Mr. Natural became a casualty of the cultural zeitgeist.
In a twist fit for a satire, Crumb’s work began to reap commercial rewards just as he stopped producing much of it. Who could’ve seen that coming? Crumb, not known for his money-making savvy, passed on offers that would make most artists swoon—cuddly toys and Rolling Stones album covers were all too “corporate.” Such decisions reveal a monk-like integrity wielded by an otherwise un-monklike genius.
Now, as a widower in his ninth decade, Crumb lives quaintly in rural France, embodying the paradox that is his life. Nadel’s laborious expedition to gain Crumb’s approval for this biographical exploration proves that even the most eccentric artist has his charm. So, there you have it: Robert Crumb, a groundbreaking cartoonist with a penchant for nostalgia, who is as much of a puzzle as he is a pioneer!
