Crumby

I just read The R. Crumb Handbook by Peter Poplaski and Crumb himself.  It's Crumb on his life and philosophy.  Published 15 years ago, I think it still relevant.

Though it's 440 pages, it's a quick read. For one thing, the pages themselves are small--about 6" by 7"--and most of them are comics or illustrations, both by Crumb and others he discusses, and some photos.

Anyone familiar with Crumb will have a good idea about the content.  He grew up in the 1950s with a tough dad and an older brother who encouraged (required) him to draw comics.  As a young man he got married, had a kid, and found a job creating greeting cards.  But he wasn't satisfied, and this being the 60s, he left his job and family to go to San Francisco, where he took LSD and tried to score with hippie chicks.

Then a surprising thing happened.  The underground comic movement grew fast and Crumb was its biggest star. Now he was in demand.  Crumb spends a lot of the book grumbling about mass culture and commercialism, and while we've heard the general complaints before, at least he can be specific about how it applies to him.

He wasn't against making money, but often felt he was being exploited, perhaps never more so than with Ralph Bakshi's Fritz The Cat film, based on Crumb's character.  Crumb hated it so much that he killed off Fritz with an ice pick.

The book also goes into his well-known obsessions, particular women with big butts.  It's hard to miss if you look at his stuff.  And, being at least a minor celebrity, Crumb was lucky enough to find a number of women who were his type and willing to indulge him.

Though some might have seen him as an artifact of the 60s, Crumb kept drawing through the decades.  He also got married again, had another kid, and moved to France.

The book is a pretty good introduction to his life, work and thought.  And though the quality of his content may vary, his artwork is always good.