Rating: 
Summary: The Conventionalization of Crumb
Review: (revised and corrected, 8/27/02)
Thirty years ago, as a teen-ager, I was touting Crumb all over the place, in the form of those little floppy "underground" comic books, not really realising their relatively dubious intellectual and artistic value.Amusing they were. They also appeared to come from the "We'll save you" left wing, who were going to rescue us from the evil-doings of the Establishment, and Vietnam, and Nixon and conservatism and complacency and bourgeois America and pollution and what-not. . . Some of my friends simply said, "where did you get these?" Needless to say, it did not increase my stature in their eyes. They were rather shocked. Some found them disgusting.
One needs a sturdy income behind one to endure earhquakes to one's reputation. If you are going to alienate Mrs. Grundy, be prepared to have something to hide behind. . . .however, "What were once vices are now virtues. . . " Now, thirty years later, R. Crumb is a household word. People think of MR.NATURAL like they would PEANUTS or DOONESBURY. A dimension of the new form of liberalism "permits" this access, although some decry Crumb's alleged "political incorrectness" and dubious "sexual politics." Yet, what good has Crumbianity, any of it, good or bad, done anyone? Everyone thinks Bob Crumb and Mr. Natural and Fritz the Cat are all something very special. Yet, just how special are they? Crumb's strips remain curiously under-analyzed. People seem simply to either embrace him as a fashionable "alternative," or despise him for his grotesques. I wonder if my classmates can recall when I let them in on what seemed an obscure, unfashionable, and even reprehensible "secret" thirty years ago. Yet I no longer think Bob is really worth it. Better to spend your time and money on good film and literature. Please grow up, if at all possible: you will be doing the rest of us a favor. And for good "picture" books, get Edward Gorey("The GashleyCrumb Tinies", "Amphigorey,1,2,3")and William Steig's "The Lonely Ones", and any Charles Adams cartoon books. . . You will at least then have a healthy perspective from which to regard R. CRUMB from, and make tolerant, educated, and useful judgments on him with more discretion than otherwise. Let old Bob Crumb languish on the Riviera. He never really made me any smarter or any more sophisticated. I had to go elsewehere for that. (Hours in the art libraries, paging through art books and folios... hours reading the classics...) Rather than indulge oneself with the semi-sophistication of Bob Crumb, why not go the rest of the way and read real literature ?
Do the job right. What's the point of getting part-smart and semi-sophisticated with Bob Crumb ? Ultimately, all Bob helped me to do was waste my young life and energies...I wish I had returned to me the precious time I lavished/wasted on his silly cartoons. I would have done something useful with it. I hope I have saved others some trouble. . . .and I hope my revised and corrected review proves more useful than the previously posted.
-moosbrugger
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: All I have to say is that art is amazing. The mood it creates and the entertaining stories are incredible. The art truely inspires me. You'll never look at the world the same after reading this.
Rating:
Summary: would anybody actually put this on a coffee table?
Review: Crumb is certainly a talented enough draughtsman, but it is amazing how the overtly sexist, occasionally racist and always unapologetically perverse and hateful subject matter of his strips is either ignored or even celebrated by his fans. This . . . book, like all his works, is really of interest only to specialists interested in black-and-white commercial drawing, who might want to familiarize themselves with Crumb's old-fashioned naturalistic stylisms, if they can stomach its content. It certainly is not anything any psychologically functioning human being would want to put on display in his living room, despite its "coffee-table" format.
Rating:
Summary: If you're an idiot, don't buy this book!!!
Review: Don't blame R. Crumb for ruining your pitiful childhood. If you must watch Clint Eastwood movies to prove to your friends that you're a "real man" then, I think you need some help.
You're supposed to laugh at Crumb and at Crumb's work and Crumb knows it! Don't "real men" (read idiots) like to laugh at other people? Not all humor is apreciated by everyone, especially if you're and nit-wit and don't get it.
Crumb is a premier artist who's drawings are the best in the genre. His stories are fables to learn from - or laugh at depending on you're perception and experience.
Most people who buy Crumb's books already know what they're getting into. If you're a first time Crumb buyer, go to a comic book store and check out what you're getting into before you buy.
Anyone who buys online either enjoys taking chances or has researched the product before they buy.... or you may just be an idiot!!!
A great book for any Crumb fan!!!
Rating:
Summary: Hysterical, Bizarre, Insane, Appalling, Ingenius
Review: Ever since I saw the movie "CRUMB" I've been hooked on his artwork. I agree with his idea: no matter how sick or disturbing and idea you have, you should get it out into the open anyway. Be free to express yourself. I'm not endorsing pornography and drug use, which are both evident in his work, but I still say he's one of the great artists who just never got the attention he deserved.
Rating: 
Summary: A definite "must" for the Crumb Collector
Review: Having followed and collected R. Crumb's work since the sixites, I was delighted when I received this book as a Christmas gift. Much of the work included will be familiar to fans, although some of the early pieces included help illustrate the progression of his career. What I found most wonderful, though, were his essays on his own work and life, the things that influenced him. While the documentary, Crumb, gives us a rather lurid and skewed look at his family and past, it's intriguing to read what he has to say about his own evolution as an artist. And make no mistake, comic books are art. I was especially fascinated to see how his work changed with the advent of psychedelics into his life. The small commentary drawings throughout the book make reading it an adventure. There is always more to see just when you think you've found it all. The hardboiled spirituality of Mr. Natural juxtaposed with the foolishness and naivete of Flakey Foont just has to make you laugh and appreciate the fact that this odd genius of pen and ink still retains a basically sincere interior despite the crusty coveringand cynical pose. This is an excellent addition to a comic collector's library and a rare look at a protrait of the artist by himself.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining for R. Crumb Fans...
Review: I first became a Robert Crumb fan in the sixties. I remember buying Zap#1 at the Free Press Book Store in Los Angeles. It was to art as Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" was to music at the time. Both pretty much blew my mind as a young impressionable teenager. (Sold to "Adults Only"? hah!) Its Nothing Sacred attitude and straight-up uncensored dialogue and art got me. The artist himself remained sort of a mystery man. How could someone be so brilliant in one series, and then disappoint me so much in another? He seemed so afraid of "selling out" he occasionally just went for shock value or put out some junk calculated to alienate. (News Flash: Crumb disdains most of his fans...yeah- you too, fan-boy.) This book is an autobiography told in art and text that reveals a lot about Crumb's character and influences. Do not buy this book if you are not into biographies, you won't like it. However, if you are a Crumb fan, it gives an entertaining insight into his struggles and regrets as an artist trying to maintain his own code of artistic integrity. I see his influences every day in commercial and popular art and get enjoyment from knowing who the "real deal" is that they've been influenced by or are out and out ripping off. Buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaing Autobiography
Review: I first became a Robert Crumb fan in the sixties. I remember buying Zap#1 at the Free Press Book Store in Los Angeles. It was to art as Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" was to music at the time. Both pretty much blew my mind as a young impressionable teenager. (Sold to "Adults Only"? hah!) Its Nothing Sacred attitude and straight-up uncensored dialogue and art got me. The artist himself remained sort of a mystery man. How could someone be so brilliant in one series, and then disappoint me so much in another? He seemed so afraid of "selling out" he occasionally just went for shock value or put out some junk calculated to alienate. (News Flash: Crumb disdains most of his fans...yeah- you too, fan-boy.) This book is an autobiography told in art and text that reveals a lot about Crumb's character and influences. Do not buy this book if you are not into biographies, you won't like it. However, if you are a Crumb fan, it gives an entertaining insight into his struggles and regrets as an artist trying to maintain his own code of artistic integrity. I see his influences every day in commercial and popular art and get enjoyment from knowing who the "real deal" is that they've been influenced by or are out and out ripping off. Buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaing Autobiography
Review: I first became a Robert Crumb fan in the sixties. I remember buying Zap#1 at the Free Press Book Store in Los Angeles. It was to art as Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" was to music at the time. Both pretty much blew my mind as a young impressionable teenager. (Sold to "Adults Only"? hah!) Its Nothing Sacred attitude and straight-up uncensored dialogue and art got me. The artist himself remained sort of a mystery man. How could someone be so brilliant in one series, and then disappoint me so much in another? He seemed so afraid of "selling out" he occasionally just went for shock value or put out some junk calculated to alienate. (News Flash: Crumb disdains most of his fans...yeah- you too, fan-boy.) This book is an autobiography told in art and text that reveals a lot about Crumb's character and influences. Do not buy this book if you are not into biographies, you won't like it. However, if you are a Crumb fan, it gives an entertaining insight into his struggles and regrets as an artist trying to maintain his own code of artistic integrity. I see his influences every day in commercial and popular art and get enjoyment from knowing who the "real deal" is that they've been influenced by or are out and out ripping off. Buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining for R. Crumb Fans...
Review: Nicely compiled artwork with accompanying narrative, also with guest art that Crumb said inspired him, particularly the old MAD magazine artists.
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