Comic Book Resources

Let R. Crumb keep you warm on the slopes

It looks so comfy

Looking for a good snowboarding jacket? Want to wear something that shows your reverence for the underground comics movement? Or at least for Mr. Natural? Then behold: Burton has just the thing for you:

Check out the print by cartoonist Robert Crumb. A prominent figure in the 60s and 70s counter culture, Crumb is world-renowned for his subversive voice and controversial artwork. We’re only producing 500 pieces in this print, and shipping it in a black bag so you can look sketchy when taking it to the register. Beyond that, the Burton Restricted Dyer Jacket keeps riders like Mikey Rencz and Mark Sollors dry and warm when rooping around the British Columbian backcountry with the help of a hopped up DRYRIDE Durashell™ 2L fabric and strategically placed expedition weight Thermacore™ insulation.

I have no idea what that last sentence means, but I assume it translates as "keeps you warm." The whole thing costs between $250-$270, depending on how much Thermacore you stuff it with I suppose (found via Mike Lynch).

Robot reviews: Crumb's Book of Genesis

Crumb's The Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis Illustrated
by Robert Crumb
WW Norton, 224 pages $24.95.

It's a pretty safe bet that whatever book you pictured in your feverish little brain when you heard the phrase "Robert Crumb adapts Genesis" will never match, or perhaps even compare to, the actual product. When surrounded by as much anticipation and hype as this book has been, (virtually every blogger on the block has declared this the de facto "book of the year," or at least the "book they're most looking forward to") there is bound to be some disappointment.

That's especially true if what you were expecting was anything more than the all-too-literal, note-for note interpretation that Crumb has ultimately produced (indeed, except for a phrase here and there, he seems to have left the sacred text intact). If you were hoping to see some sort of sly, satirical take on the Bible, sorry, but that's not here. If you were expecting googly eyes and big feet, go elsewhere. There is the occasional bit of flop sweat, but otherwise, Crumb keeps his cartoony vibe in check. There's not so much as an ounce of irony to be found.

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The best reason for Facebook's existence? Yes.

Now that's a lineup of talent

If you don't have a Facebook account (and I don't necessarily blame you if you don't) you've been missing the wonderful photos that Carol Hernandez -- wife of Gilbert Hernandez -- has been posting of the Los Bros. on the Love and Rockets Fan Page. It's full of great blow-your-mind yesteryear pics like the one above, (from left) Sergio Aragones, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Gilbert Hernandez and Robert Crumb at the Anglouleme festival in France, circa 1990. Also included: pics of Michelle Shocked, Russ Myer and Dennis the Menace creator Hank Ketcham.

What Are You Reading?

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

Well bust my buttons, if it isn't time for another round of What Are You Reading, where we talk about all the comics, books and other reading matter we're currently engrossed in. Our guest this week is High Moon co-creator and writer David Gallaher, who's been blogging with us at Robot 6 all this past week.

David has quite a list of titles to pour over, so let's get to it. Click on the link below to get started.

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Crumb's 'Genesis' previewed on Boing Boing

The destruction of Sodom, from Crumb's Genesis

What more need be said really? Six pages of one of the most hotly anticipated books of the decade available online for your perusal. The New Yorker preview left me a little cold, but looking at these pages, man, I'm gettin' excited all over again.

And Crumb said 'Let there be a $500 version of my book.' And there was

Crumb's The Book of Genesis

As Tom Spurgeon reported on Friday, WW Norton is offering a limited edition slipcase of Robert Crumb's highly anticipated adaptation of The Book of Genesis that comes with a signed print. The cost? A mere $500. Amazon.com has the book listed for only $315, a relative bargain by any standard (it also seems to be the cheapest price on the Net right now based on my admittedly quick perusal). There will only be 250 copies of this edition available, so order yours now. You are going to be ordering one right? C'mon, confess, who among you is going say 'heck with fixing the washer and dryer' and pick one of these up instead?

New Yorker drops more Genesis project tidbits

Dig those unfinished pages man

The New Yorker, or at least its Web site, has quickly become the go-to place for those eager to learn about Robert Crumb's upcoming and much-anticipated adaptation of the Book of Genesis. Blogger Leigh Stein's latest revelation comes courtesy of Crumb neighbor and fellow artist Peter Poplanski, who talks about how he helped Crumb do research for the book by taking photos of Biblical-themed movies:

“Robert would go over and over the costume folds, how the robes fit, the drapery. Once you know the gravity of fabric, you also have to light it, so the fabric has weight,” Poplaski said.

He scoured flea markets and discount bins for copies of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” (1923 and 1956), William Wyler’s “Ben Hur” (1959), and a made for TV Samson and Delilah starring Dennis Hopper as a Philistine general. He also turned to some less predictable Hollywood sources—Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Sheltering Sky” (1990), Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1998), and Stephen Sommers’s “The Mummy “(1999) and “The Mummy Returns” (2001).

Update: I haven't gotten my copy yet, but apparently the latest issue of the New Yorker contains an 11-page excerpt from the book. So be sure to run out to your local newsstand dealer post-haste.

Straight for the art: Muppets Rawk

Muppets Rawk!

This has been making the rounds lately: A mash-up by Marc Palm of the Muppets and Robert Crumb's famous Cheap Thrills record cover. Be sure to click on the link to see all the notes and YouTube links to the songs referenced.

Keep on trucking ... I guess

The Mr. Natural shoe

I'm not sure how I feel about this: Vans Shoes has, according to the Los Angeles Times, teamed up with legendary cartoonist Robert Crumb to release special edition footwear with some of his more famous characters emblazoned on them:

Four different R. Crumb shoes are due to hit store shelves on Oct. 1; two in the Vans Classics collections -- including the Mr. Natural deconstructed SK8-Hi pictured above ($60) and a classic slip-on featuring Fritz the Cat ($52) -- will be available through regular Vans vendors.

Two additional higher-end styles (using suede and leather) will be sold through Vans Vault accounts; a "Modern America" Chukka boot ($95) and a "Keep on Truckin' " Authentic ($90).

I hate to sound like a grumpy old man here or accuse Crumb of being a sell-out -- if this deal nets him much-earned coin or helps him bring his work in front of the eyes of younger consumers, more power to him. I guess I'm just a bit surprised that someone who's been as protective of his material as Crumb has been (t-shirts and Devil Girl candy bars aside), not to mention bitter toward those big-industry types to tried to ride on the R.Crumb gravy train, would join forces with an international clothing firm like this. But perhaps that just underscores my own naiveté and half-baked assumptions. (found via Tom)

And on the seventh day, he humped his Devil Girl statue

Crumb Genesis Sketches

The official Robert Crumb "newsletter" is reporting that the famed cartoonist has finally finished his adaptation of the Book of Genesis that he's been working on for the past several years:

Robert has finished the Genesis project. It's 201 pages. He has also finished the Cover, the Introduction, the commentary (for the back sleeve) and also the Map, which will be in the beginning of the book. The book is soon going to production and it's planned to be released this fall.

And what are his plans now that this huge project is complete? He has to catch up on his correspondence which has been building up some time now. And then a little break—a journey to the States. He and Aline are talking about collaborating on a book upon his return, but that's later this summer.

I think it's pretty safe to say this is one of the most hotly anticipated books of the year, so the news that it's completed and off to the publisher is good news indeed.

New details revealed on upcoming Crumb/Mazzucchelli books

Crumb Genesis Sketches

It looks like I have more of an influence than I thought. Last week I wondered when Bill Kartalopoulos was going to get around to updating his site, and low and behold he has, with some really useful information on two hotly anticipated books.

The first deals with what may well be the most anticipated and possibly even controversial book of the year, Robert Crumb's adaptation of the Book of Genesis.

Kartalopoulos, points to a few links that suggest the book may be in stores courtesy of WW Norton by the end of the year. He also posts some tantalizing art, links to an interview with Crumb, and reports on how the book's foreign rights have been snapped up.

The second item concerns David Mazzucchelli's long-awaited graphic novel Asterios Polyp. The book was originally scheduled to be out in February, but publisher Pantheon has updated that release date to June 2.

The book, a 344-page hardcover, concerns a middle-aged architect and womanizer whose life literally goes up in flames when his apartment burns down and he retreats to a small town.