Quiet Study

Robert Crumb, Quiet Study, 2009, Etching, 12 x 15 inches (embossed area 9 x 6 inches, image 7.8 x 4.8 inches), Number 25 of edition of 45, signed "R. Crumb '09" lower right.

Wildwood etching released in November 2009. Supposedly one of Crumb's favorite drawings. Appears in Odds & Ends; originated as a 1990 calendar for Carlson & Turner bookstore (where the title is listed as "The Book Reader").

W The Art Issue

Robert Crumb. 2009. "Varieties of Women." W, November.

Crumb is one of the artists profiled in the November 2009 W magazine art issue. Beginning on page 134, the 15 page spread reproduces various drawings of women Crumb has done over the years.

"Book of Genesis" Conversation, B&N New York

Crumb and Françoise Mouly at Barnes & Noble Union Square - New York. I dragged my 15-year old daughter along and she actually found it interesting!


Robert Crumb. 2009. The Book of Genesis. Norton. Green sticker "AUTOGRAPHED COPY" on bottom left. Signed "R. Crumb N.Y.C. '09" on lower right of title page.

A video was made of the event:

Happy Birthday

My daughter made me a Crumb inspired birthday card! Our daughters' first name is a quirk I share with Crumb.

FESTIVAL M.A.D. IN SAUVE

Robert Crumb. 2009. Festival M.A.D. In Sauve. Poster. 17 x 12 inches. Signed "R. Crumb '09" lower right. © Robert Crumb.

A poster Crumb made for a music, art and dance festival in a French village. Just love the cartoon characters, the arrangement, the color and the lettering.

Keep on Czechin'...

Big Ben Bookshop, Prague, Czech Republic

R. Crumb, Aline Kominsky Crumb, Gilbert Shelton's hand and me at the Big Ben Bookshop in Prague for a book signing during the Prague Writers' Festival.

After the signing, Gilbert Shelton popped into "Fat Boy's Bar" next door and signed the postcard of the Fabulous Freak Brothers (the Aussie owner of the bar is on the right).

Gilbert Shelton. Cartoon used for a "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" postcard. 10 1/2 x 5 13/16 inches. Signed "FOR MICHAEL-Gilbert Shelton PRAGUE 2009" lower right. © & ™ Gilbert Shelton.

The back of the postcard listed a web site-www.grassrootsthemove.com. I checked it out and found out that some British filmmakers are making an animated movie about Shelton's Freak Brothers. A pilot clip is below.




A black T-shirt with a spin on the famous "Keep on Truckin'..." motif was created for the Prague Writers' Festival ("Keep on Czechin'...") and I was kindly given one by the Big Ben staff :)

Mr. and Mrs. Crumb gave a talk on Thursday, 11 June 2009 at the Laterna Magika Theater. A clip is below.

Genesis redrawn

Robert Crumb. “The Book of Genesis,” The New Yorker, June 8, 2009, p. 90. Signed "R. Crumb 2009" on lower left of p. 91.

An extract of the upcoming Book of Genesis published in the 8 June 2009 edition of the New Yorker.

Underground Classics

Robert Crumb. "Fight the Big Companies..." [Cover] In Denis Kitchen and James Danky. 2009. Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix. Co-edition with Chazen Museum of Art. Abrams ComicArts. Signed "Dennis Kitchen 5/5/09" along with drawing on title page. Also signed by R. Crumb, A. Kominsky Crumb and Gilbert Shelton on pages 61, 92 and 119.

The catalog for the exhibition at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, May 2 to July 12, 2009. This is a comprehensive catalog with works of all of the major American comix artists. There are also several essays that put the work into the socio-cultural context of the time as well as a number of photos that put a face behind the cartoonists. Essential reference for any comix lover.

Flag of the European Union

“The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe...There are twelve stars because the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity. ”—"The European Flag" http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm

Robert Crumb. 2009. Flag of the European Union. Color computer print. 11 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches. Signed "R. Crumb Prague 2009" in lower right.

Crumb was commissioned to do a "flag" for the Prague Writers' Festival. Michael March, the President of the festival, gave me the copy above which Mr. Crumb kindly signed when I met him in Prague. The flag was hung in the interior of the Laterna Magika theater during the festival.

Komiks Fest! revue

A Czech comics journal I picked up when I was in Prague. This issue has a feature on R. Crumb. It includes the Czech version of Crumb's "My Trouble with Women", a Gilbert Shelton piece, the front and back cover by Crumb and an ad for the upcoming Prague Writer Festival where both Crumb and Shelton will appear. Mr. Crumb kindly signed it for me.



Crumb, R. 2009. "My Troubles with Women (1980). " Trans. Richard Podany. Komiks Fest! revue, April.

Robert Crumb presenting Janet Joplin with Cheap Thrills

Drew Friedman. 2009. Cheap Thrills. Pigment ink on heavyweight (310g) natural white rag paper. Image area is 13-3/4" high x 13-5/8" wide on an untrimmed 22" x 17" sheet. Signed "11/30-Cheap Thrills-Drew Friedman" on the bottom. © Drew Friedman.

Drew Friedman did this image of Crumb presenting his Cheap Thrills album cover to Janis Joplin, an incident taking place in 1968. The scene is described here. Friedman is a long time colleague of Crumb, contributed to Weirdo magazine and counts Crumb as his favorite artist. The Friedman technique is ingenious and detailed with masterful daubs of color to simulate a photo. The technical details regarding the print production is here.

A Short History of America

Robert Crumb. 2009. Print. A Short History of America. Giclee color print. 24 x 20 inches (paper size) 22 x 15 inches (image size). Limited edition. Signed "59/500" in lower right.

Crumb's iconic drawing of the transformation of America. A fair number of reproductions have been made over the years. It has also been transformed into a YouTube video to the music of Joni Mitchell (whose portrait was done by artist Mary Fleener).

☜Robert Crumb. "A Short History of America." CoEvolution Quarterly. Fall 1979. # 23. pp 21-24.

The original came out as a four page black & white spread in the CoEvolution Quarterly. The answer to "WHAT NEXT?!!" in the last panel is answered almost a decade later in a back cover for an issue of The Whole Earth Review.

There's a black and white YouTube version set to piano music.