Crumb at the Forefront

By Randy Gentile

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to take a trip down to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to check out "R. Crumb's Underground", a sprawling collection of the artist's work. The exhibit ranged from Crumb's early work as a child with his brother Charles, to his well-known work like Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural, to his work on American Splendor with Harvey Pekar.

It's great to see comic art hanging in a museum and Crumb's work belongs alongside any modern artist gracing any wall in any gallery the world. Comic art really works well in a gallery setting.

Just like with a great painting, you can take a step back and look at the composition of the page. From a distance you can really see how the artist leads your eyes through the page. Crumb works primarily in black and white. From a few steps away you can easily notice how he spots his blacks with almost a 50/50 black to white ratio. Throw in his unmistakable crosshatching, which is second to none, and Crumb's art really takes on a gray tonal feel.

When you move in to take a look at the art you get to read a comic! I mean honestly, how cool is that?

Slowly but surely, comics are making their way into the mainstream. It's great to see R. Crumb at the forefront of it. Superhero movies are only one crack in the glass to mainstream acceptance… it'll be the R. Crumbs, Chris Wares, Dean Haspiels and Harvey Pekars who break through.


I talked a few columns back about Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy, published by Dark Horse. Volume 2, issue 1 hit the stands last week and wow, is this book not letting up one bit. Ba's art just keeps getting better, and Way has not only picked up right where it left off, it's also completely accessible to new readers.

This is what superhero comics should be, folks. Pick it up.


Font You! Cover of the Week!: The Mighty Thor 385

One of my favorite comics of all time… this issue is a smash-'em-up brawl where the Hulk throws a train at Thor. Written by Stan Lee with art by Erik Larsen…. If you ever see this book in a 50-cent bin, pick it up. I bought 3 copies of this book, that's how much I love it!


Font You! What I'm Reading!

Robin: Violent Tendencies
by Chuck Dixon, Chris Batista & Cam Smith
I received this trade paperback in the mail from the fine folks at DC. I lettered the first story in the book with Sal Cipriano and Jared K. Fletcher rounding out the lettering roster. Robin is a book I usually wouldn't read, but I gotta say I really enjoyed this one. This story's got a nice crime and underworld feel that I didn't expect since I'm not a regular reader of the title. If you love some good old fashioned mystery and beat-'em-up action, check this one out.

The Goon #30
by Eric Powell
The Goon continues to be the best comic book on the stands today. Ever since the "Chinatown" graphic novel hit the stands this book has been firing on all cylinders. I chirp about this comic as often as I can because it's a series that should be on every fan's reading list.

Invincible #'s 53 & 54
by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley
I jumped back on the Invincible bandwagon after Robert Kirkman's video manifesto got the comic book world's panties in a bunch. I'm diggin' the hell out of this title and it's really giving me the superhero fix that the Big 2 haven't been able to offer me. Issue 54 was a fun li'l one-and-done time-travel/teen romance story while issue 55 was an Allen the Alien prison story with a crazy good cliffhanger. Kirkman promised that the book would be back on schedule, and I'm glad it is.