Robert CrumbCríticas

Tegneren Crumb har illustreret denne superbog om Kafka og hans liv og bøger.

???

The Complete Crumb Comics, Vol. 8 collects material by Robert Crumb that originally appeared in Home Grown Funnies, Hungry Chuck Biscuits, Mom’s Homemade Comics, ProJunior, Thrilling Murder, Big Ass, Mr. Natural, Bijou, Surfer Magazine, and The People’s Comics in 1971 and 1972 along with a color cover gallery. The stories represent the unrestrained Id typical of the underground comix in the 1960s and 1970s.

Though Robert Crumb and other underground comix creators challenged taboos related to discussing sexuality and fetishes, they often relied on racial and gender stereotypes while their work reinforced white patriarchal views. Rebelling against the Code offered comic book creators a path to artistic credibility while they positioned themselves as underdogs challenging a larger system, even as some of them maintained other attitudes of their day regarding race, gender, and class. Looking back on his work in the 1980s, Crumb described it as “the result of some overwhelming need to compensate for social rejection” (The Comics Journal no. 121). He envisioned a way to get back at those around him through success, but was not above fantasizing about violence. His work evinces an adolescent sense of humor and the struggles of adolescence stuck with him.

This collection captures Crumb at his angriest, in particular following the animated film based on his Fritz the Cat. To that end, Crumb kills off the character in the final story of this collection. I recognize the historical significance of these comix, though I’ve never been able to enjoy Crumb’s work.

Collezione Crumb – Mr. Underground
Robert Crumb
Comicon - 2022
Genere: fumetto
Comicon prosegue la pubblicazione dell’opera integrale di Robert Crumb, uno dei massimi esponenti della cultura underground statunitense. In questo volume propone le storie pubblicate durante gli anni 70 sulle riviste di fumetti autoprodotte. Crumb in quegli anni si trasferisce a San Francisco, la città più vivace sotto il profilo culturale del periodo. Sono anni di sperimentazione, di contro informazione ed è la stessa industria editoriale ad essere messa in discussione. E proprio da quelle esperienze nascono una serie di fanzine, caratterizzate dalla brevità del ciclo di vita. L’elemento di novità è l’assoluta libertà di espressione ed è infatti proprio su quei numeri che Crumb si sbizzarrisce, proponendo sempre personaggi incredibili e storie impossibili. In questi anni di letargo culturale, ad oltre cinquanta anni di distanza dalle incredibili tavole del periodo la vera domanda è come abbiamo potuto chiudere tutti quei sogni di rottura in un cassetto. Ma forse la risposta è proprio nel coraggio di una piccola casa editrice di pubblicare, oggi, un volume particolare come questo.½

Ogni parola si guarda attorno
in tutte le direzioni prima di
lasciarsi scrivere da me.(pagina 85)

Avvertenza per i passeggeri: SALTARE a piè pari l'introduzione di Goffredo Fofi.
Avvertenza per Fofi: leggere i libri di Kafka prima di parlarne.

Infine, forse, se Crumb avesse lasciato perdere le varie letture / interpretazioni psicoanalitiche sul senso dei libri di Kafka ne avrebbe ricavato un ottimo lavoro (tanto, quelle interpretazioni, sono sempre identiche: la mamma, il papà ed il p. (per i maschietti)).

Infine, sul serio, Max Brod (salvatore dei testi di Kafka) ha voluto riportare 'a baita' (Sergentmagiù, ghe rivarem a baita? - Mario Rigoni Stern) ossia ha voluto riportare alla fonte ebraica l'origine dei pensieri tradotti in scritti da Kafka. Ma lasciamo perdere, dato che una più grossa l'aveva già combinata Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche.

La metamorfosi: a fronte della nostra immagine allo specchio, giorno dopo giorno...
Il processo: a fronte dei tanti muri quotidiani...
Il castello: a fronte delle forze che non ci aiutano nel nostro cammino...
America: dove Kafka a fronte, finalmente, di un mondo reale riesce a fantasticare.

This is one of R. Crumb's masterpieces, whether it is a labor of love or of compulsion. (He worked on it for five years.) I love biblical scholarship and this "R. Crumb Meets Classics Illustrated" version of Genesis is informed by scholarship. Crumb relied on both the familiar King James Version and, more heavily, on Robert Alter's translation which is in modern English but is also extremely conscious of the original Hebrew.

The stories of the first book of the Bible are told at once with imagination yet close adherence to the meaning of the text as best as that can be determined. What is remarkable to me is how clear Crumb's rendition makes the stories. Even the begats become readable when there is a picture of each individual in the genealogy. This made it easier, for example, while reading about Joseph, to flip back to the relevant page and see the illustrated chart of who his brothers were and who the mother of each was. And, believe me, Genesis needs a who's who of characters.

The aptly named Mike Judge of the Christian Institute has predictably denounced Crumb's "The Book of Genesis" as "turning the Bible into titillation." Excuse me? Has Judge not read Genesis with an engaged brain? This ancient text is so full of titillation and ribaldry that to turn it into such would be redundant. There is ribaldry and brutality enough in the King James or any other standard text version of Genesis to warrant this version's warning--"Adult supervision recommended for minors"--being applied to all versions. True, only an illustrated version could show Adam's pizzle or Eve's mound, but not to show the first humans au naturel would betray the earthy spirit of the ancient people who told these stories.

Besides, Crumb never goes overboard. Take Chapter 19 (verse 5 and following, though Crumb does not clutter his illustrated text with verse numbers) where the men of Sodom want to "know" the apparent men (actually angels) who are guests in Lot's home. It is clearly understood that these citizens want to gang rape Lot's guests. The text only gives a clue to this effect. So does Crumb. He does not dwell upon this or try to make the lasciviousness of the situation any more explicit than it is in the traditional text versions of Genesis.

Yes, Crumb shows men lustily taking their wives (and daughters), but only because the original text says that they do these things. If anything, Crumb has toned down his obsession with large breasts, which are apt to be much, much larger in his other works than they are here.

This comic book style illustrated presentation of Genesis is very complete. All the incidents of all fifty chapters are included. Crumb claims to have taken only a small handful of liberties with the text (for example: leaving out one line in chapter twenty-four because he was persuaded by a scholar’s arguments that it was a later scribal insertion). There are a small number of added notations, most explaining the meaning of a Hebrew personal or place name, which sometimes involve word play. For the source of his text, he mostly followed the translation of Robert Alter, but also used other sources. For those who like Crumb’s mature drawing style (I am such a one) I would count this among his best work. He describes (in an introduction and final commentary) some of the consultation and research he did in the course of his work, not only to understand the text of Genesis but also to more realistically depict the clothing, buildings, tools, furnishings, etc. of the ancient Near East. This presentation of the first book of the Torah helped me appreciate some of its striking and fascinating highlights: the fact that there are two distinct and separate creation narratives one given immediately after the other, the great importance of agreements / covenants in that world, the genealogies (“these are the sons of…”), the great power of words as shown in changes of personal and place names, oaths, and most of all by the great power of blessings. Other things that this graphic Genesis made striking for me were: how common warfare was in in that long ago world, the strange and repeated “she isn’t my wife she’s my sister” routine (Crumb has something to say about that in the comments at the end), the odd “birth off” in which two wives and two female slaves seemingly compete in rapid fire gestation, and the (perhaps surprising) importance of many female characters. As Crumb points out in a comment, an entire chapter is devoted to the death and burial of Sarah and several women have real agency. Also notable is the obvious political / social importance of the Lord’s repeated promise to Abraham and his descendants concerning their progeny and the land of Canaan. If you enjoy Crumb or have an interest in the Hebrew Bible, I recommend this book.

I love the look on Noah's face when God tells him his plans for the earth. God comes off as a nut case. There is certainly some of Mr. Natural in him. I think the riding of camels is an anachronism (chapter 14), but I'm not sure what an anachronism means in this context. I enjoy reading the comic book versions of Shakespeare's plays, because it is closer to performance, and I don't know why, but Genesis comes off very well as a comic. Its absurdity, primitiveness and humanity are brought out.

Great read. Great art. I dug.

I am loosing my interest in. R. Crumb. This reads like a wet dream for a horny teenager/far right spectator like Alex Jones.

5 stars for execution and 2 stars for what is in it.

Fritz the Cat story by Robert Crumb that first appeared in the comic. This is one of at least three such editions by Ballantine Books (Fritz Bugs Out, Fritz the No-Good, and Secret Agent for the C.I.A.).

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Crumb-Mr-Natural/889597

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Crumb-Fritz-the-Cat/3036

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Crumb-La-Genese/147999

> Volokhine Youri. Robert Crumb, La Genèse, texte français établi par Lili Sztajn, Paris, Denoël, 2009.
In: ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d'anthropologie et d'histoire des religions, n°5, 2010. pp. 183-184. … ; (en ligne),
URL : https://www.persee.fr/doc/asdi_1662-4653_2010_num_5_1_1111_t15_0183_0000_1

> Robert Crumb. — LA GÉNÈSE, éditions Denoël Graphic. — Crumb fut rendu célèbre dans les années soixante pour ses dessins underground qui dressaient le portrait de cette génération qui expérimentait en vrac la libération sexuelle et la découverte des techniques orientales, les hallucinogènes et la révolution vestimentaire qui rendait le monde coloré, les premières prises de conscience écologique et celles concernant la nécessité d’un nouveau paradigme de pensée. Ses personnages tels Fritz the Cat et Mr Natural, le sage philosophe, sont dans toutes les mémoires. Et le voilà qui s’attaque aux cinquante premiers chapitres de la Bible, avec son humour habituel mais sans dérision, avec un grand respect pour ce texte puissant dont il dit que plus que “la parole de Dieu”, c’est “la parole des hommes” de ces temps-là. Et le résultat s’avère superbe, le dessin revisitant le texte et nous le faisant redécouvrir avec l’oeil de la bande dessinée et celui, acéré, de cet artiste génial. Pour les amateurs, je ne saurais trop conseiller ce bel album tout à fait original. À signaler aussi : Le livre qui fait parler les parents et les enfants (de 3 à 6 ans) sur 10 grands thèmes (c’est quoi un ami, pourquoi on a peur, pourquoi on vit, pourquoi on meurt…) aux éd. Le Père Castor-Flammarion. Et aussi, à partir de 8 ans, un conte initiatique Le Trésor oublié de l’Arc en Ciel : Le Rayon rouge (T.1), de Martine Dussart aux éditions Viamédias.
—Nouvelles Clés, no. 64, (Déc.-Jan.-Fév. 2009-10), p. 65

Who was Franz Kafka? This book tries to answer that in a graphic novel format. For anyone curious about him, it is worth the read.½

Out of any direct biblical adaptations I've read or seen this is probably one of the best. R. Crumb does a good job keeping the story unbiased and faithful to the translations he was using. It's very hard to argue that the Book of Genesis (or any religious text) has made a huge impact on the globe from literature, art, film, politics, and even everyday activities.

With this adaptation you should expect R. Crumbs art style but don't expect anything anti-religious, humorous, or ironic. In the introduction he states himself he wanted to do the best and most accurately possible adaption (it should also be noted that Crumb see Genesis as holy but doesn't believe that every story is 100% true, more metaphors for something else - like how some Bible studies are taught). I highly recommend it to any reader with an open mind who can tolerate Crumb's style and Bible stories.

What I'm always surprised about is how little of Adam and Eve are in Genesis, two or three chapters (I believe); same thing can be said with Noah's Ark. What the Book of Genesis mainly focuses on is Abraham and Joseph (Jacob's/Israel's son).

This is the type of comic book that is not for everyone; however it should be acknowledged that Robert Crumb is a legend/controversy among comic book writers and artist. Fritz the Cat, along with his album cover for the Big Brother and the Holding Company, are probably his most well recognized work.

Many of the jokes or context in Fritz the Cat are out of date dealing with the counterculture of the 1960's (something I personally never cared for but understand its importance along with its failures - which he does show both in satire). I thought it was clever having anthropomorphic animals instead of humans especially when several artists of the day and now disregard it as immature. Also, unlike several underground comix cartoonists, he never (at least in Fritz the Cat) went after other anthropomorphic characters such as Walt Disney or Looney Tunes; most likely he understood the importance of them in American culture.

So if you do not mind adult, very vulgar, crude, sometimes sexist/racist comic books about anthropomorphic animals then you should check it out or if you like to study comics as a medium. I would avoid reading this if you just want to read a comic or if your a sensitive reader. Also, keep in mind Crumb hated Ralph Bakshi's films of Fritz the Cat, hence the ending.

En "El capitán salió a comer y los marineros tomaron el barco", una metáfora del lamentable estado de la nave que nos lleva, Bukowski es más que nunca un filósofo. El libro es un diario de los últimos meses de su vida, cuajado de reflexiones hechas desde la cima de su experiencia. Todo ha cambiado para seguir igual; Bukowski vive en una casa cómoda, con piscina y jacuzzi y un buen coche en el garaje, pero la desesperación es la misma: «No sé lo que le pasará a otra gente, pero yo, cuando me agacho para ponerme los zapatos por la mañana, pienso: Ah, Dios mío, ¿y ahora qué?. Estoy jodido por la vida, no nos entendemos. Tengo que darle bocados pequeños, no engullirla toda. Es como tragar cubos de mierda. Nunca me sorprende que los manicomios y las cárceles estén llenos, y que las calles estén llenas...» Charles Bukowski conocía el único secreto que merece ser conocido: que lo único que importa es que nada tiene importancia. Puede que eso, paradójicamente o no, contribuyera a convertirlo en uno de los escritores norteamericanos más leídos del mundo entero, y en uno de los maestros literarios indiscutibles del siglo XX.

I always feel guilty when I shelve a book that’s half pictures as “read.” Anyway, this volume was based on three trading card sets Crumb illustrated of early blues, jazz, and country performers. There is a short essay for each illustration which is always insightful. There are some notable omissions (no Robert Johnson?) which makes the collection somewhat idiosyncratic instead of encyclopedic. Still, the illustrations are great and the whole thing makes you want to seek out these early recordings, most no later than 1930.

There is a cd included which is a bonus to listen to after you read the entry for the particular musician.

The colorful entertainers who pioneered America's unique country music are, sadly, largely forgotten. These wonderful color portraits and bios evoke a truly simpler time, when Jimmie Rodgers or the original Carter Family enthralled audiences, and when a band could call itself The Happy Hayseeds or Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers or Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters without a hint of irony. This 40-card set will transport you to an innocent toe-tapping era of regional music. There's no Garth Brooks on this down home cardboard stage. Printed on heavy card stock and housed in a cool gift box. Part of a set of three boxed trading cards that also includes Early Jazz Greats and Heroes of the Blues. These are hugely popular with fans of both early country western music and Crumb.

Not Bukowski's best work, but that being said, it is some of his last work, and his grappling with mortality, and his loss of words is evident and quite poignant in a way. There is a lot about horse racing here, which is where he spent a lot of his time in his later years, but the reader should be looking between the lines for the true subject of this book - namely how he is dealing with his last years on earth, and his legacy.

A whole new way to look at the book of Genesis. This illustrated version shows Crumb's interpretation of these classic stories, of creation, of Joseph, Adam and Eve, and Noah's Ark. I found understanding and insight on many a page, the whole work of 224 pages is clearly a labor of love.

Not for traditionalists, but for anyone with an open mind and curious about alternative explanations.

comix box

I read this as part of Panels' 2015 Read Harder Challenge for the anthropomorphic animals category. Me...I'm not much a fan of the more realistic portrayals of anthropomorphism, but I welcomed the idea of getting to know R. Crumb's work better.

Artistically, I like Crumb, especially as his style got cleaner over the course. Content-wise, I'm not sure this is really for me, mostly because it often makes me uneasy. On one hand, reading Fritz the Cat feels like a rather authentic glimpse into the seedy side of the Sixties, but I'm not familiar enough with Crumb's work to know where he draws the line between social commentary/satire and earnestness. Perhaps that's the point? The whole crows-as-Black-people, rats-as-Chinese, the role of any woman, period (why hello, incest and rape). Fritz is funny mostly because his schtick is just so over-the-top. The parts I liked best were his womanizing in "Fritz Bugs Out" and the James Bond thing going on in "Special Agent for the CIA" (poop jokes also get me every time). I can appreciate the general story arcs from starting simply to devolving into utter madness by the end, but it became redundant to me after a while. I'm sure that worked better as read in its original, sporadic publications rather than in a graphic novel compilation.

So, ultimately, I'm glad I read some Fritz the Cat comics, but I might just stick to Mr. Natural.

For some reason, I found it so much easier to read this version of Genesis (or any book of the Old Testament) than when it's just text alone. Crumb's illustrations really bring the text to life in a way that makes the stories clear (even, or especially, the contradictory elements within the stories).

Crumb doesn't monkey with the text, using one of the best modern translations, but stays true to the source material and did a good job of including everything. There's a reverence for the stories here, not to be confused with pushing them as factual. Nor does he try to interpret or bend them to any particular ideology. But Crumb obviously understands, as he writes in his preface, that these powerful stories have stood the test of time for a reason.

For the sheer dismay it provokes, I love the story of Lot, who offers up his virgin daughters to the angry mob to be raped in place of his guests, the avenging angels. Of course, his daughters end up raping him later. By comparison, Lot's wife's fate as a pillar of salt seems almost logical. Is it any wonder that people have struggled for centuries trying to make sense of the lessons imparted by these stories?

I also really appreciated Crumb's end notes. Very informative and fascinating. I hope he's planning to do further books of the Old Testament. More, please!