Review of Crumb (1995) by Cindy I — 04 Jul 2009

A very peculiar man, Rober Crumb (creator of "Fritz the Cat" and "Mr. Natural", etc.) proves to be an unabashedly honest individual. His perverse imagination was completely uninhibited as he paved new ground in the realm of underground comics. As troubling and bizarre as Crumb himself is, and as sad as the lives of some of his other family members may appear, one cannot shake off the feeling that they are all artistic geniuses only plagued with their own neurosis and kinks. One of my favorite aspects of Zwigoff's documentary is that it takes the time to interview past loves and acquaintenances, fans and historians as well as Crumb himself. Through these interviews we begin to see not only how Robert Crumb and those closest to him see him, but also just the power in art and interpretation as almost everyone seems to have a slightly different opinion of him and his work. Some meet Crumb's work with praise, others with repulsion, but always with something to talk about.

As a cartoonist myself, I really enjoyed listening to how Crumb works. When he begins drawing he has no destination, he just lets the lines explain themselves and only when he is finished does he know what it was he was drawing and what it might mean or say about him. This form of organic creation is refreshing (as it describes how I work which always bothered me because so many of my art heroes seemed to be so calculated and fine) and I think one of the truest, most living ways to create.