Out of curiosity, what do you like about Crumb?

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I can't really say I'm even a fan exactly, but he's an icon of a weird strain of the counterculture and individualism that I can admire in a way.

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The part where his brother swallowed 100 yards of cloth to clean his guts.

The sad realization that Robert is the most "normal" one in the family.

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Oh shoot, Aaron's comment made me realize you may have been asking about the film rather than the man. The docu not only gives you a good background on an interesting subject, but also explores the interplay between insanity and genius. It goes above and beyond the call of duty, as all great documentaries do.

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Ah, no, I was asking about your thoughts on Crumb-the-man and his works. Though that's a good review. The documentary is on my Netflix queue and now I'm looking forward to it (though it'll take me a while to get to it).

I'm intrigued by some of his work, especially the straight, non-cartoony stuff because he can have such a steady, thoughtful approach. But he's more known for outrageous caricature that tends to cause a ruckus as it offends nearly everyone. So i wanted your thoughts.

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Speaking of insanity and genius, my choice of icon is not random... You can read Crumb's 8 page not-so-cartoony The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick online.

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Oh I'm well aware, and I've read the Crumb rendition of PKD's experiences. That and Crumb's excellent retelling of a blues man's life, death & resurrection keep me from completely writing off Crumb as totally not worth my time.

And one of these days I will get off my lazy ass and travel the five-odd miles to Dick's old residences in Fullerton for a little photo hunt of mundane weirdness.

I wrote more extensive thoughts on R.Crumb here based on his work on display at a MOCA exhibit of comics in 2006.

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Wow, you're definitely the expert, then.

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