R. Crumb is undoubtedly the foremost cartoonist of the latter 20th Century, and his sketchbooks — in which he has written and drawn continually from the early '60s to present — might rank as his finest achievement. Fantagraphics is proud to present these sketchbooks, in facsimile form, as a comprehensive series of volumes that will eventually run well over 4000 pages. Volume 9, covering 1972 through 1974, represents one of the more inquisitive and soul-searching periods in this phenomenal artist's life. These sketchbooks represent, in essence, something never before achieved in the field of art and literature: a single, unified, organic (and ongoing) life's work. Crumb's sketchbooks are, as a body of work, incomparable in their magnitude, scope, and intensity, and therein lies their uniqueness and value. Unrecognizable as straight autobiography, these books chronicle Crumb's perceptions more than his life itself. As such, they offer a rare and often raw insight into process: how ideas are formed, how connections are made, how technique and craft are honed, and how the ability to "see" is truly cultivated.

"R. Crumb is the Breughel of the twentieth century." – Robert Hughes, Time magazine art critic

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