Fantagraphics
TALES OF PARANOIA - ROBERT CRUMB (ONE SHOT)
TALES OF PARANOIA - ROBERT CRUMB (ONE SHOT)
Couldn't load pickup availability
THE FIRST ROBERT CRUMB COMIC BOOK IN 23 YEARS!
The seminal cartoonist who single-handedly invented the alternative comics format of the one-person anthology in 1967 with ZAP returns at age 81, still raging at the world and himself, still drawing like a master, and still funny... mostly.
In his latest comics excursion, Crumb dives down internet and newspaper rabbit-holes, and comes up asking questions. Why don't we know the real background of deep state careerists? And is Crumb himself just as paranoid as everyone else tells him he is? Or is that just what THEY want you to think?
Mixing memoir, essay, polemic, neurosis, and conspiracy across 12 short comics — including the final Dirty Laundry story, drawn by Crumb with a script written with Aline Kominsky-Crumb before her death in 2022 — Tales Of Paranoia shows there's still plenty of life in both the artist and the classic underground comics format.
THIS 36 PAGE COMIC COMES BAGGED AND BOARDED FREE OF CHARGE IN BCW ARCHIVAL QUALITY MATERIALS,
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Returns are eligible for FREE SHIPPING, and must be shipped within 7 days of the item arriving.
As a long-time reader, collector and follower of R. Crumb's various phases and style shifts in both content and drawing technique I think he is at the top of his game now. "Tales of Paranoia" is most definitely NOT for the casual "Fritz" or "Keep On...etc." comic reader in the same way the band Devo's biggest "hit" (yes, "Whip It") was certainly not the best representation of their much deeper message, hard as that might be for some folks to swallow. I applaud Mr. Crumb for the intense scrutiny he's applying the current state of the USA, albeit from the relative safety and apparent comfort of his home in France. Upon first glance when flipping through this "comic" I was stunned by the verbiage to artwork ratio present (yes, I know they're both art since he hand letters every single line of dialogue) on the pages of this book, and I knew right then and there I was in for a challenging and eventually rewarding read. His self doubt and introspection coupled with an extremely strong suspicion of all things corporate and/or political (if there's even a difference) is refreshing and never feels like he's trying to convince anyone of anything, just positing HIS particular take on the way things are. I sincerely hope he's busily working on a follow up or even something in a completely different direction now that this one's finished but even if he's not it's a definite "must have" for anyone who truly appreciates the scope and sheer talent this man shares with us mere mortals. He's got WAY more tricks up his sleeve than funny, "dirty" or otherwise socially unacceptable illustrated tales but I can never get enough!
Hey Tim!
Thank you SO SO MUCH for picking up 'Tales of Paranoia'! I have always been such a huge Robert Crumb fan, and I love his takes on things this go around. I know it's some controversial stuff, but I think he's playing deeply into the whole 'crazy old man' thing. I re-read it about a week after first checking it out, and through that lens it was even funnier than the first time!
Well you know where to find me, so let me know if you ever need anything.
Love,
Daphne