The Book Of Weirdo Is Here

Just received my copy of the long awaited Book of Weirdo. This is a massive volume, featuring testimonials from the countless artists and writers who contributed to Robert Crumb’s quarterly magazine over its twelve year run.

As the title confirms, Weirdo was not a comic book filled with musclebound crusaders or anthropomorphic bunnies and mice. We were weirdos, each and every one, rejected by the mainstream media but gratified to know that we were not alone.

You didn’t have to be a great artist, and it helped to be anti-social. These were people who would vent their anxieties, hates and fears on paper. Their heroes were Bukowski, Burroughs, and Harvey Kurtzman, the creator of MAD magazine.

So I fit in, although barely. I only had one strip published during the entire run, but I’m proud to be a member of the club. I also have a few illustrations in the book, along with a story about Don Donahue, first publisher of ZAP, and a mummified head.

I must credit author and editor Jon B. Cooke for assembling this Frankenstein. His meticulous attention to detail will surely be a great reference for future historians, or perhaps aliens should the human race destroy itself.

The Book of Weirdo will illustrate where it all went wrong.

(The Book Of Weirdo can be purchased @ www.lastgasp.com)

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3 Responses to The Book Of Weirdo Is Here

  1. rl crabb says:

    Back in 1993, I gave Crumb a ride to the airport in Seattle. While we were stuck in traffic, I asked him what he was working on.
    “When The N*gg*ers Take Over America,” he said, totally deadpan.
    “Jeez! They’re going to hang you one of these days,” I replied.
    Looks like that day is coming soon… https://reason.com/2019/04/29/cancel-culture-comes-for-count/?fbclid=IwAR1_n4XtmKPBvM_UYJusSqjHz1rSiKEhMwu5ox4n63yQKpPw1go0kVIHuPs

    • Chris Peterson says:

      Wow, we’re not talking about statues of assholes who killed fellow humans so they could continue to own slaves; we’re talking about retroactively making underground art politically correct. Maybe not on the same level to some but, what’s next, banning Van Gogh’s earless self-portrait for being insensitive to the plight of nearly-insane painters?
      Crumb’s comics were an artists depiction of the mental underbelly of life at that time and place. Nothing more, nothing less. To toss it aside is an attempt to deny it’s existence.
      Careful, Bob, one of these days someone is going to demand Junior Jackalopes’ horns.

      • rl crabb says:

        I suppose being in The Book of Weirdo has put me on some kind of PC list. I’ve managed to offend almost every ethnicity, gender and nationality, and even done a few fat jokes. Just ask my old editor. LOL

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