Robert Crumb Robert Crumb (born August 30, 1943) is an artist and illustrator who signs his work "R. Crumb". Crumb is a founder of the underground comics movement that emerged in the mid-1960s. Though Crumb is among the most celebrated of comic book artists, his entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his early twenties, Crumb lived in Cleveland, Ohio with his first wife, Dana Morgan Crumb, and designed greeting cards for the American Greetings corporation. Encouraged by the reaction to some comics and drawings he had published in underground newspapers, including Philadelphia's Yarrowstalks, Crumb moved to San Francisco, California , the center of the psychedelic flower power movement, in 1967. Crumb published the first issue of his Zap Comix in early 1968. It subtracts nothing from Crumb’s excellence as an artist to note that his cartooning style finds its roots in the work of artists of earlier generations, particularly widely published ones of the 1930s-1950s. Cited as influences on Robert Crumb’s drawing style have been Billy De Beck ("Barney Google" comic strip), C.E. Brock (old story book illustrator), Gene Ahern’s comic strips, the Merrie Melodies animated characters of the 1930s, Sidney Smith ("Andy Gump" comic strip), E.C. Segar (early "Popeye"), J.R. Williams, and Reg Davis. Carl Barks (who drew early Disney “Duck” cartoons) has been mentioned as a strong influence on Crumb’s narrative approach. Crumb used this antiquated early-century cartoon style to produce satirical stories that were sexually and politically outrageous, particularly so when seen in the form of a comic book. He soon attracted a number of other artists who were excited by the possibilities of publishing countercultural comic books. Crumb shared the pages of later issues of "Zap" with such artists as Spain Rodriguez, Rick Griffin, S. Clay Wilson and Gilbert Shelton. In the pages of Zap and many other titles, Crumb created characters that became icons of the anti-establishment counterculture, including "Mr. Natural" and "Fritz the Cat." Crumb's work was suddenly in great demand, and Crumb himself became an anti-establishment icon, a figure who genuinely resisted "selling out. " Janis Joplin hired him to draw the artwork for the cover of her album Cheap Thrills, but Crumb turned down an offer to illustrate an album cover for the Rolling Stones because he hated the band's music. Animation director Ralph Bakshi made a feature-length animated film of Fritz the Cat (the first animated film to garner an "X" rating), and the film was a box-office hit. Crumb disliked the film so much that he killed the fictional cat in his comics by having an ostrich-woman stab him in the head with an ice pick. Crumb's comic artwork has elicited a wide range of commentary from his readers and critics. A number of respected literary figures view his art as sublime, subversive satire, comparing him to François Rabelais. Others see his drawings as merely pornographic and misogynistic. Crumb has admitted that he has an abnormal "fear of women," and a great deal of his work is indeed adult-oriented. A notorious issue of Zap Comics containing an illustrated satiric story by Crumb of a household demonstrating family togetherness by engaging in incest resulted in the prosecution of at least one comic book store on charges of obscenity. Crumb created the Weirdo alternative comics anthology in the early '80s. 1990s and beyond A theatrical production based on his work was produced at Duke University in the early 1990s. Directed by Johnny Simons, and starring Nicholas de Wolff and Avner Eisenberg of Avner the Eccentric fame, the development of the play was supervised by Crumb, who also served as set designer, drawing larger-than-life representations of some of his most famous characters all over the floors and walls of the set. The 1994 documentary film Crumb which looks at Crumb's life made a younger audience aware of Crumb and his work. The film was directed by Crumb's friend Terry Zwigoff, who had started it decades before it was released, then abandoned it, only to resume filming much later. In the mid-1990s, Crumb and his wife, Aline Kominsky-Crumb (also a well-known "underground" cartoonist) and their daughter, Sophie (herself a comic artist), moved to the small town of Sauve, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. He plays banjo in the band Les Primitifs du Futur. Crumb is an avid collector of 78 rpm phonograph records; he has over 5000 records as of 2004. In 2003, the collection was the source for Hot Women: Women Singers From The Torrid Regions Of The World, his compilation of world music from Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Burma, and Tahiti. All but two of the 24 tracks were recorded between 1927 and 1934. Robert Crumb recently gave Permission for his artwork to be used in the 2005 Trivia Contest in Stevens Point, WI, in which a variation of his famous "Keep on Truckin'" slogan is the contest's theme. Further reading Robert Crumb; edited and designed by Peter Poplaski The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book; (ISBN 0316163066, 1997). "Crumb's Whole Career, from Shack to Chateau!" - Crumb tells his life story in 247 pages. External links Official R. Crumb website from a member of the Crumb family May 2000 article about R. Crumb from salon.com Les Primitifs du Futur (review) Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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