Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel
Controversial American cartoonist Robert Crumb is widely considered to be the “father of underground comics.”
Talented, eccentric, whippy and perverse, Crumb’s work has a distinctive style and satirical tone. He often features strongly stereotyped portrayals of minorities, overly sexualized
thick-thighed women, and a sarcastic take on social issues.
He is best known for his prolific drawings and creating the cartoon characters Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, Devil Girl, and the ‘Keep on Truckin’ dude.
An accomplished musical artist, Crumb has collected thousands of old tunes from the lesser known jazz and blues musicians of the 1920s and 30s, recording some of the obscure and long-lost pieces for his own group and label, R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders.
Mr. Crumb has made a few trips to Humboldt in years past, sometimes paying for his meals at Ramone’s with napkin drawings of the Eureka locale, customers, and staff.
The panel below is A Short History of America, drawn in 1995.
