Finally back in print after a prolonged absence, The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 14: The Early '80s and Weirdo Magazine continues the multi-volume series comprising the complete works of the legendary cartoonist R. Crumb, one of America's most original, trenchant, and uncompromising artists. This volume features the beginning of a seminal period of both Crumb's life and comics history with the first eight issues of Weirdo magazine, edited and anchored by Crumb, including the legendary strips, “Uncle Bob’s Mid-Life Crisis” and “I Remember the Sixties.” Also included are collaborations with Harvey Pekar from the pages of American Splendor, rare music-related art, Crumb's final contributions to Winds of Change magazine, and much more.
This freshly reprinted volume contains Crumb classics Dirty Laundry #2 (the ground-breaking Crumb/Kominsky jam), the last of the Arcade strips, full-cover covers for books, comics and LPs, and Crumb’s complete 40-page epic Mr. Natural serial from the pages of the Village Voice. In it, our hero, having given up on the "wise man" business, has sent away all his students and lives a quiet life. But during a particularly arduous meditation, he wrestles with the Devil, and at last achieves total enlightenment.
He's locked up in a nut house right away, of course.
Thus endeth the Age of Aquarius.
Other classic stories include "I Once Lived the Life of a Millionaire" (the Snoid vs. The Revolution) and "Josephine and the Cross-Eyed Quadroon" (which covers just about all the bases, political incorrectness-wise).
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Curator Larry Reid just taped an interview scheduled to air tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:00 PM on KUOW (94.9 FM) in Seattle, in anticipation of this event tomorrow night at the Frye Museum:
Front cover hand lettered and designed by Robert Crumb, plus five wonderful pages of sketchbook drawings inside! Back cover by Christoph Mueller, "My Angel of Sin"! The life of famous Beat underground poet, Diane Di Prima, drawn and written by Mary Fleener (with guest Harvey Pekar)! Poetry by Diane Di Prima! "Pat & Corky" fiction by J.R. Helton, Zippy the Pinhead and how Bill Griffith got his start! New artwork by Christoph Mueller (with guest Joe Coleman) and William Crook, Jr.! Jay Lynch & Ed Piskor's story about Lynch and Crumb going to visit Chester Gould! "In Praise of Goth Beauticians" by Andrei Codrescu and illustrated by Aaron Lange! Plus the long awaited next chapter to the Green Star by editor Everett Rand, also Frank Stack, Bruce Simon, Aaron Lange, letters from around the globe and more!!
Please join us this Thursday, April 17 in welcoming David Hajdu to Seattle. A longtime friend of Fantagraphics, Hajdu is the author of The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America, which examines the hysteria surrounding the popularity of comics in the Cold War era. Hajdu is music critic for the New Republic and author of Positively 4th Street. He’ll be speaking on the subject of “Outsiders in the Panels” at 7:30 at Town Hall, 1119 Eight Avenue in Seattle. Tickets are $8 ($6 students), available at www.nextbook.org.
Also this Thursday evening at 7:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery’s resident curator Larry Reid will speak at the Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Avenue in Seattle. Reid will present a slide lecture on the topic “WEIRDOS: Seattle’s Alternative Comics Culture in the Context of R. Crumb’s Underground.” If you have yet to see the phenomenal Crumb exhibition at the Frye, this represents one of the last opportunities to view this comprehensive collection and explore Crumb’s considerable influence on comics in the Northwest. Admission is free. Reid assures us that you’ll get your money’s worth. More info at 206.622.9250.
And don’t miss Drew Friedman’s amazing exhibition “The Fun Never Stops!” continuing through May 6 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 1201 S. Vale St. in Seattle.
More Flog! Photo Friday, this time with audio! Last night at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, moderator Gary Groth was joined by Peter Bagge, Ellen Forney, and Jim Woodring for a lively discussion about Robert Crumb and a range of related topics. More photos can be seen on Flickr, in regular and slideshow styles.
Plus! Download the complete audio of this event (24.5 MB MP3). It's a bit low-fi, but mostly intelligible. (We are still working on bringing you a full-fledged podcast... stay tuned for that.) We've also archived this feature on our website at this page.
