CRUMB, ROBERT 131
(1948–) chronicling their marriage
and the raising of their daughter
Sophie (1981–) in the South of
France, where they have lived since
the late 1980s.
Born in Philadelphia, as chil-
dren Crumb and his brothers cre-
ated their own comics, inspired by
Disney and other funny animal
publications. By 1962, while cre-
ating greeting cards in Cleveland,
Crumb began to submit comic
strips and drawings to various
publications, including Harvey
Kurtzman’s Help! In 1967, Crumb
relocated to San Francisco, where
he found himself at the epicenter
of the countercultural revolution
that included young artists who
recreated comic books as “comix,”
taboo-breaking works of social sat-
ire linked to the hippie movement.
Crumb became an immediate star,
and many of his characters, such
as the hipster Fritz the Cat and
guru Mr. Natural, became key
icons of the era. Crucially, Crumb challenged the common view of comics as industrial
publications for children: indulging in sexually explicit fantasies, Crumb’s comics, in
a style echoing earlier eras, fully demonstrated the use of the medium for individual
self-expression. Th e audacity and often brutal honesty of Crumb’s work galvanized his
peers, whose work led to the explosion of underground comics within which Crumb
remained the key fi gure.
While some of Crumb’s comics affi rmed the counterculture, his idiosyncratic take
on the world also began to emerge: after an animated fi lm was made of Fritz the Cat,
Crumb killed the character in protest. As his sexual fantasies became more explicit,
Crumb’s aggressive relationship with the growing women’s movement (which he often
parodied) was highlighted. His comics, which often centered around the domination
of large-legged, big-bottomed women, generated an ongoing debate over Crumb’s
misogyny (which he has embraced as often as denied). Similarly, Crumb’s use of rac-
ist stereotypes is sometimes viewed as evidence of his own racism, even though he has
also produced respectful tributes to the early African American musicians he admires.
While Crumb’s ongoing work has remained autobiographical (often in collaboration
Self-portrait of Robert Crumb (1986). Sony Pictures Clas-
sics/Photofest
