Cornélius, une certaine façon de faire les livres

Robert Crumb. 2007. Cornélius, une certaine façon de faire les livres. Poster. 25 x 17 inches (framed).

Image for both a poster and book for the French publishing house Cornélius. The poster also advertises a Crumb exhibit held in the French town of Lorient from 23 March - 21 April 2007. The drawing is very similar to the Pepper & Stern Rare Books poster Crumb did some 25 years earlier. There are parallels between the two drawings as both were done for small book-related companies and both were made into book covers and posters. The man looking at the book is presumably Crumb. Unlike the black and white Pepper & Stern poster, the Cornélius one is colored, Crumb's hair and mustache are longer and whiter, he is wearing a robe instead of a jacket and slippers instead of shoes; the second man that was in the Pepper & Stern poster has disappeared, replaced by a stack of books (comparing the two drawings is like one of those games where two pictures are placed side by side and you have to find the differences).

The Cornélius book, entitled "ou l'art de la mouscaille et du pinaillage" outlines its publishing history and features works by a number of artists including several Crumb pieces that it published over the years. An interview with the comics editor of Cornélius is here.

Heeb - The L♥ve Issue

Robert and Aline Kominsky Crumb. 2007. The L♥ve "Issue" [Cover]. Heeb, Spring.

Aline and R. Crumb collaborative cover for Heeb magazine. There is also an article about Aline K. Crumb ("Drawn Together-R. Crumb's Beloved Aline Kominsky") on page 48 with an assortment of her work and photos.

Need More Love

Aline Kominsky Crumb. 2007. Need More Love: A Graphic Memoir. M Q Publications. Signed "For Michael + Natasha - Aline Kominsky-Crumb 2009" on title page.

Aline Crumb's (Robert Crumb's wife) autobiography. A beautiful honest book, full of her work over the years including cartoons and paintings as well as photos. See Mary Fleener's review. A print was made from the cover.

Aline Kominsky Crumb. 2009. Need More Love. Print. 16 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. Signed "To Natasha + Michael - Aline Kominsky Crumb March 2009" and numbered "1/25".

Sauvons Sauve!

Dave DeMoney. 2007. "Robert Crumb - Sauvons Sauve!" Pétanque & Pastis. January 27.

A blog entry about protests against a mega supermarket planned for the French village Crumb lives in. He did a series of posters for protestors against the supermarket headlined Sauvons Sauve! ("Save Sauve"). One of the posters depicts the lovely medieval village in the background dwarfed by a giant supermarket and parking place. I've been trying to obtain one of the posters for awhile; if anyone knows how I can get one please let me know! [Finally obtained a signed flyer! 4/2010]

Robert Crumb. 1991. "Place du Doyen Gachon" in Vues de Sauve. Portfolio of 8 black & white drawings. 8 1/2 x 11 3/4". Folder title signed "R. Crumb" and "71" (out of 200).

In 1991 Crumb issued a portfolio of eight drawings of different scenes of the French village he moved to. Devoid of people, the illustrations show the extraordinary details of architectural elements such as doors, shutters, gutters, windows, etc.

Mats the Asiaddict

Mats!?. 2006. Asiaaddict. Sparkplug Comic Books. Signed "BON VOYAGE MICHAEL 05/07/09 MATS!?" on title page. ISBN: 0974271535. © Mats!?

Mats!? does not really have anything to do with R. Crumb except that they are both cartoonists. I stumbled upon his art and immediately liked it. This book, a cartoon chronicle of his travels to Asia, is insightful, humorous and a bit bizarre. Highly recommended. Part of the pleasure of researching Crumb is finding out about other artists. It's a fun diversion! [Note: I used to have a golden retriever named Mats].

Thanksgiving Special

Robert Crumb. 2004. "Thanksgiving Special" [Cover]. The New Yorker, November 29.

The origins of Thanksgiving date back to the early 1600s when the Pilgrims, assisted by the local Indians, celebrated their bountiful harvest. Crumb's stinging cover harks back to this with the portraits of Pilgrims and Indians on the left border. But then it is updated to present day New York, urban, densely packed. In the middle of the cover is a down-and-out Indian looking like he is about to cry wearing a signboard advertising a restaurant's "Thanksgiving Special". The menu is an ode to hip yuppie tastes with range-fed turkey, couscous and even a vegetarian alternative. America seems to have forgotten the origins of the holiday with the poor Indian looking miserable. Crumb draws himself on the right walking towards the left (a political statement?) and looking quite astounded at the scene. The evocation of busy urban New York is sizzling, the details impressive (a discarded cigarette butt on the sidewalk, a large bead of sweat on a man's forehead) and the coloring and overall feel quite different than Crumb's more typical cartoon-like covers. There is also something curious about the people with glasses: you cannot see their eyes.

54th Carnegie International

Robert Crumb. 2004. Carnegie International. Poster. 22 x 17 inches.

Crumb did the exhibition poster and and had a small retrospective of drawings, strips, and notebooks. The depressing machine people descend from Crumb's 1975 Snarf cover of a happy guy with a self-propelled vehicle (used for the cover of Underground Classics). However unlike the optimistic Snarf cover, the world has turned sour with the machine people vomiting from pollution. The irony of the drawing could not have been lost on the exhibit organizers. Here Crumb pokes fun at steel magnate Andrew Carnegie who the museum is named after, inferring that the hellish scene is a result of the environmentally destructive policies of big business. According to the Crumb Print site, there were 100 copies of this poster made. The drawing is also reminiscent of a sketchbook drawing dated 11 Nov. 2001 entitled "Draw Thru The Pain" that appeared on p. 27 of Mineshaft, #10, January 2003 as well as "We're Lost!" on p. 68 of the Whole Earth Review, #10, Summer 1993.