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Robert Dennis Crumb is an American cartoonist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture.
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality, and violence. They were most popular in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s, and in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.
American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals. Publishers were, at various times, Harvey Pekar himself, Dark Horse Comics, and DC Comics.
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.
Fritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a tabby cat who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began drawing the character in homemade comic books as a child. Fritz became one of his best-known characters, thanks largely to the motion picture adaptation by Ralph Bakshi.
Gilbert Shelton is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat, and Wonder Wart-Hog.
An autobiographical comic is an autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. The form first became popular in the underground comix movement and has since become more widespread. It is currently most popular in Canadian, American and French comics; all artists listed below are from the U.S. unless otherwise specified.
Mary Fleener is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls cubismo, derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions. Her first publication was a work about Zora Neale Hurston, called Hoodoo (1988), followed by the semi-autobiographical comics series Slutburger, and the anthology Life of the Party (1996). She is a member of the rock band called The Wigbillies.
Weirdo was a magazine-sized comics anthology created by Robert Crumb and published by Last Gasp from 1981 to 1993. Featuring cartoonists both new and old, Weirdo served as a "low art" counterpoint to its contemporary highbrow Raw, co-edited by Art Spiegelman.
Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner, is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist.
Gary G. Dumm is an American comic book artist known particularly for his work illustrating the comics of Harvey Pekar.
Frank Huntington Stack is an American underground cartoonist and fine artist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt, Stack published what is considered by many to be the first underground comic, The Adventures of Jesus, in 1964.
Jay Patrick Lynch was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip Nard n' Pat and the running gag Um tut sut. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. Lynch was the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990; he contributed to Mad, and in the 2000s expanded into the children's book field.
R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders are an American retro string band playing songs from, and in the style of, the 1920s: old-time music, ragtime, "evergreen" jazz standards, western swing, country blues, Hawaiian, hokum, vaudeville and medicine show tunes. Underground cartoonist Robert Crumb was the band's frontman and album cover artist. Other members of the band include fellow cartoonist Robert Armstrong and filmmaker Terry Zwigoff.
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film, which is a hybrid production featuring live actors, documentary, and animation, is in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life. American Splendor was written and directed by documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.
Michael Terry Gilbert is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked for both mainstream and underground comic book companies.
Mr. Natural is a comic book character created and drawn by 1960s counterculture and underground comix artist Robert Crumb. First appearing in Yarrowstalks (1967), the character gained a following during the emergence of underground comix in the 1960s and 1970s, and has been extensively merchandised in various products.
R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders Number 2 is the second 33⅓ rpm album by the retro string band R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders and its subtitle was "Persian Rug, Crying My Blues Away, Moana March and Other Favorites". The album was later retitled Chasin' Rainbows in re-release on CD from Shanachie Records. The band's personnel includes Robert Crumb on lead vocal and banjo, Allan Dodge on mandolin, violin, ukulele and vocals, Robert Armstrong on guitars, accordion, banjo, musical saw and vocals, Terry Zwigoff, who later produced the documentary Crumb, on cello. Originally released on Blue Goose Records in 1976, this record became a collectible not only for the whimsical string band renditions of and reminiscent of the early 20th century music, but for the cover art drawn by the band's frontman and well-known comics artist Robert Crumb.
Dennis P. Eichhorn was an American writer, best known for his adult-oriented autobiographical comic book series Real Stuff. His stories, often involving, sex, drugs, and alcohol, have been compared to those of Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, and Charles Bukowski.
Greg Budgett is a Cleveland, Ohio-based comic book artist known particularly for his work illustrating the comics of Harvey Pekar. Most of Budgett's work on Pekar's American Splendor and other comics has been in partnership with Gary Dumm, who has inked most of Budgett's stories.
References
Notes
- 1 2 Armstrong entry. Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed April 5, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Markstein, Don. "Mickey Rat," Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed April 5, 2016.
- ↑ Rhode, Michael G., editor. Harvey Pekar: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists Series) (University Press of Mississippi, 2008), p. 19.
- ↑ Lynch, Megan. "The Cheap Suit Serenaders," AllMusic.com. Accessed November 17, 2019.
- ↑ AllMusic: Review by Steven McDonald
- ↑ Counts, Kyle. "The Short Life of Sally Cruikshank", Starlog Presents Comics Scene #7, January 1982, p. 45.
Sources
- "Robert Armstrong: MIckey Rat with a Paintbrush," Juxtapose Vol. 2, No. 1 (Winter 1995).
- "Couch Potatoes and Cheap Suits Interview with Robert Armstrong," Sacramento News and Review (September 28, 2000).
