The Book of Weirdo: A Retrospective of R. Crumb's Legendary Humor Comics Anthology
by: Cooke, Jon B.

Hardcover. Last Gasp, 1st, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 288 pages. The Book of Weirdo is the definitive - and hugely entertaining- examination of Weirdo magazine, renowned underground comix cartoonist Robert Crumb's legendary humor comics anthology, which was originally published throughout the 1980s. A "low-brow" counterpoint to Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouley's rather high-faluttin' RAW comix publication, Weirdo influenced an entire generation of alternative and neo-underground artists, as well as creative refuge for the underground comix veterans, and this book features the complete story of the well-recalled comics magazine, along with testimonials from over 130 of the publication's contributors, including interviews with Weirdo's three editors - R. "Keep on Truckin'" Crumb, Peter "Hate" Bagge, and Aline "The Bunch" Kominsky-Crumb - and publisher "Baba Ron" Turner. As much a history of the alternative comics scene of the 1980s - from New York City punk to Seattle grunge - this exhaustive retrospective includes rare and unseen artwork from that era, as well as new comics from modern-day artists celebrating their love for the great oddball magazine. In its time, the periodical featured the finest work of many artists, particularly the best material by Robert Crumb himself, Weirdo's founder and best known for ZAP Comix, Fritz the Cat, and Mr. Natural, and a man widely heralded as the greatest cartoonist of all time. We get photos of the various contributors, some samples of the work, more than a few brand-spanking-new artistic tributes to the magazine and the people who made it. And lots and lots of stories about what it was like to work for and with Robert Crumb.