----------------------> m Y   S e c o N D   f A v o U r i t E

      Robert  

The leading figure in American underground comics. 
A great satirist and portrait artist.

.........Crumb is most commonly identified with the 60's and his characters make up a wonderful cross section of  some of the sub cultures of that era. (Crumb did not embrace their values)
He remains the great comic book satirist of the Twentieth century. 
During the sixties underground comics ranged far and wide...sex, pornography, drugs, feminism, racism, politics...and Crumb covered them all.

In 1968 he began publishing ZAP COMIX........

Crumb drew this famous cover first before Zap #1, even though Zap #1 was published and sold before Zap #0. But in many ways, it's this image which is associated with Crumb's plunge into (and pioneering) underground comics. Perhaps to fully understand and connect with this image, you had to have been there. Here's what Crumb has to say about Zap #0

"It was Rick Griffin who thought of calling this one number 'Zero'. We were then in the process of putting together Zap Comix #2, that is, me, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso and Clay Wilson, in the summer of '68. I was 25 years old, going on 26. Zap Comix #1 had been out, in print, since February of that year. 


"I had finished drawing number "Zero" before #1, but the original artwork, all 24 pages, had been absconded, and I didn't see it again until ten years later, when I had it in my hands briefly before it was again absconded. Fortunately, I had made xerox copies of all the artwork and it was from these xeroxes that all subsequent printings of this artwork originated, except the cover. I wasn't happy with the cover, and redrew it, using basically the same idea and logo with modifications.

"Obviously this cover was very LSD-inspired. At the time I drew it, late summer or early fall of 1967, I was taking LSD fairly frequently. Not as frequently as some people, but, say once every six weeks or so—often enough to be convinced that psychedelic drugs were a short-cut to enlightenment. I would not listen to anyone who said differently, because I knew! I'd taken the trips! I'd been there! These days, I'm not so sure. The verdict's not in. One thing is obvious here: this cover is a reflection of the times; it's 1967; a young cartoonist is jacked up out of his mind on drugs and thinking it's great stuff."

From then on he gave us a wonderful collection of characters including...

"Keep on Truckin' "

Flakey Foont.

Angelfood.......

Whiteman.....

Mr.Shoid.......

Devil Girl...... 

Mr. Natural...

Fritz the Cat...

He later went on to produce explicit drawings and much more...

As the eighties rolled on Crumb became disillusioned with living in the US. In 1993 he traded six notebooks for a house in the south of France and moved there with his wife and daughter. 

A couple of "more recent"  works...

UPDATE

December, 2007
After a short West Coast and East Coast tour on the USA in November, Robert and Aline are back in France. Crumb wants to spend the second half of December and all of January and February working on the Genesis project without interruption. If it means leaving his house and hiding out, so be it. He showed us copies of almost all of the 123 pages he has completed so far, and I can tell you Robert Crumb is at the height of his powers as an illustrator.

Good luck Robert and --------->

LINKS
Official Fan Site
Looking for Crumb?
Biography
Robert Crumb
The Crumb Museum
Robert Crumb
Heroes of the Blues

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