Who the #@*% is Robert Crumb!?

[oldmilwaukee6er]

 

The following is an alphabetical checklist of all-Crumb comics (cover, art, & story). No books, TPBs, art books, sketch books, etc. Just comics (2 magazines), 1967-present. Sources include Sir Real’s website, Fogel 2006, and Kennedy 1982. I did include those “Bob/Aline” books as it can be difficult to separate their work starting in 1974.

 

Art & Beauty Magazine #1-2, 1996-2003, Kitchen Sink & Fantagraphics (sketchbook & model studies)

Artistic Comics nn, 1973, Golden Gate Publishing (sketchbook drawings)

Best Buy Comics nn, 1979, Apex, 4pgs of Aline Kominsky (collects Co-Evolution Quarterly strips)

Big Ash Comics #1-2, 1969-1971, Rip Off Press

Black & White Comics nn, 1973, Apex

Carload ‘o Comics Promo nn, 1976, Belier Press (Cheri magazine insert to promote book)

Despair nn, 1969, Print Mint

Dirty Laundry Comics, #1-2, 1974-1978, Cartoonists Co-Op & Last Gasp, half Aline Kominsky

Homegrown Funnies nn, 1971, Kitchen Sink Press

Hup #1-4, 1987-1992, Last Gasp

Id #1-3, 1992-1995, Eros/Fantagraphics (largely sketchbook material)

Motor City Comics #1-2, 1969-1970, Rip Off Press

Mr. Natural #1-3, 1971-1977, Apex #1, Golden Gate #2, & Kitchen Sink #3

Mystic Funnies #1-3, 1997-2002, Alex Wood, Last Gasp, Fantagraphics

The People’s Comics nn, 1972, Golden Gate (1pg Harvey Pekar)

R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories #1, 1969, Rip Off Press

Self-Loathing Comics #1, 1995, Fantagraphics; flipbook with Aline Kominsky-Crumb. #2 is effectively an anthology (AKC, Burns, Spiegelman, Poplaski, & Sophie Crumb) and was not counted.

Snoid Comics nn, 1979, Kitchen Sink

Uneeda Comix nn, 1971, Print Mint (1st-5th is indistinguishable)

XYZ Comics, 1972, Kitchen Sink

Your Hytone Comix nn, 1971, Apex

Zap Comix #0-1, 1968, Apex

 

Pre-Natch #1 (August 1971)

It is difficult to say how the art world will view Crumb’s comix upon his death, however based on analysis of the checklist and my own opinion in collecting Crumb comics, I believe the books prior to and including Mr. Natural #1 1st will see the largest upticks in value going forward with two exceptions (chronological order).

Zap Comix #1, 1968

Zap Comix #0, 1968

Motor City Comics #1, April 1969

Big Ash #1, June 1969

Despair nn, late 1969

R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories nn, 1969

Motor City #2, February 1970

Uneeda Comix nn, August 1971 (reprinted 5x by Print Mint in such a short time that they are all indistinguishable)

Mr. Natural #1, August 1971. At WW Chicago I did see a few copies of this book in grade and was surprised to see that it routinely fetched 2-3 times what I was used to and indeed this book ticked up from 200 to 500 from the first F#G to the Supplement (4 yrs).

 

Of these books, two stand out as strong under-performers relative to the others

R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories… this book was produced in 1969 by Rip Off Press, but includes sketchbook material from 1964. There are several printings that involve obscure things like pebbled covers, smooth glossy, matte crosshatched, and much of the printing history is not well understood outside of Kennedy (1982) reducing collectability. This book has only ticked up a few dollars from 1982-2010 ($37 to 40) whereas other all-Crumb books have seen increases from 200-800%.

 

Uneeda Comix… This book represents the craziness of the underground comix movement for me. The problems with Print Mint’s accounting are evident in the 5 indistinguishable printings and other artists were already gravitating away from them due to shady accounting practices (e.g. Jay Lynch with Bijou Funnies in 1970, or Denis Kitchen himself forming Kitchen Sink Press due to problems on Mom’s Homemade #2). Crumb himself would leave Print Mint by late 1970, instead opting to publish with Kitchen Sink, Apex, and Golden Gate Publishing in the following years.

 

1971 is a high point for Crumb’s comic book output, as he completed and published 4 full comix… Homegrown Funnies, Your Hytone Comix, Big Ash #2, and Mr. Natural #2.

 

In January 1972 the Fritz the Cat movie debuts, Crumb kills Fritz in People’s Comics shortly after, and his comic output wanes after1973’s Artistic Comics. By spring of 1975 Crumb has gravitated toward Arcade, The Comics Revue; while the 1980s are dominated by his editorial work on Weirdo. The late 1980s – early 1990s represents a revival for Crumb and the height of his modern output, with Hup, Id, Self-Loathing, and Mystic Funnies.

[MisterX]

Interesting post, thanks for sharing.

 

How do you feel about the future of some of the more valuable second printings, like, say, Zap 1 Donahue, Zap 0, 2 & 3 second prints, and Motor City 1 second print?

 

Do you see prices going up?

 

I used to think those 2nd printings would go down in price, but now I'm not so sure. First printings are becoming so expensive, perhaps demand will increase for seconds.

 

What do you guys think?

[KirbyJack]

Nice!

 

Getting my hero-centric friends to appreciate Crumb has been a struggle at times.

I used to get my boy Big Mike genuinely mad by referring to Crumb as "The World's Greatest Living Cartoonist".

[namisgr]

The Complete Crumb Comics series published several years ago by Fantagraphics is a relatively inexpensive and comprehensive way to access Crumb's work. It also has entertaining Crumb commentaries on particular works and the time period in which they were done.

 

They're out of print but can still be acquired, and make great gifts to introduce Crumb to others.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

 

Title No. Year $Kennedy $F#G %^ '82-06 $Supp %^ '06-10 Overall %^

Zap Comix 1 1968 $140.00 $8,000.00 5614% $10,000.00 25% 7043%

Zap Comix 0 1968 $100.00 $1,000.00 900% $1,000.00 0% 900%

Motor City 1 1969 $70.00 $250.00 257% $500.00 100% 614%

Big Ash 1 1969 $20.00 $300.00 1400% $400.00 33% 1900%

Despair nn 1969 $12.00 $50.00 317% $75.00 50% 525%

R. Crumb’s C & S nn 1969 $37.00 $40.00 8% $40.00 0% 8%

Motor City 2 1970 $15.00 $50.00 233% $200.00 300% 1233%

Uneeda Comix nn 1971 $5.00 $30.00 500% $30.00 0% 500%

Mr. Natural 1 1971 $23.00 $200.00 770% $500.00 150% 2074%

 

 

Copied from excel, so formatting difficulties.

I will take a look at the higher value reprints in a few (per Mr X)

[Comicopolis]

Crumb is a genius.

[Kevin76]

I saw about half of his documentry, I shut it off cause it was so boring!

[comicwiz]

Interesting post, thanks for sharing.

 

How do you feel about the future of some of the more valuable second printings, like, say, Zap 1 Donahue, Zap 0, 2 & 3 second prints, and Motor City 1 second print?

 

Do you see prices going up?

 

I used to think those 2nd printings would go down in price, but now I'm not so sure. First printings are becoming so expensive, perhaps demand will increase for seconds.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I think the gap will continue to widen, similarly to the way keys in the 9.2 or higher grade strata enjoy a higher percentage increase when compared to mid-grade prices.

 

There are more interesting second print examples like Motor City Comics 2 which are found with/without stickered logos. Later printings with pink pages, or with major/minor changes in artwork that make them interesting variations to collect.

 

That said, even if a second or later printing were to achieve a value explosion somewhere around half the value of a first print, more often than not, you'll find that refined collectors of underground comix would rather dish out the money to own a first print.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

 

Title No. Kennedy F#G %^ '82-06 Supp %^ '06-10 Overall %^

Zap Comix 1 2nd $100.00 $500.00 400% $700.00 40% 600%

Zap Comix 0 2nd $10.00 $100.00 900% $125.00 25% 1150%

Motor City 1 2nd $35.00 $100.00 186% $100.00 0% 186%

Big Ash 1 2nd $12.00 $100.00 733% $100.00 0% 733%

Motor City 2 2nd $7.00 $35.00 400% $35.00 0% 400%

Mr. Natural 1 2nd $12.00 $40.00 233% $100.00 150% 733%

 

In looking at the prices for 2nd printings of the same 6 KEY all-Crumb books, it appears that they did indeed enjoy 200-900% increases from Kennedy 1982 to the Supp 2006 (AVE 475%). By comparison, 1st printings averaged 1529% increases over that same period. However, since the publication of the F#G in 2006 we see second printings have largely leveled out, with 3 of 6 books showing an increase from 2006-2010 (AVE 36%). First printings increased an average of 101% from 2006-2010.

 

I think it makes sense that as certain Crumb books become inaccessible to the average collector we will see modest increases in those books.

 

A few things complicate this...

1.) Many of these books have been reprinted for 4 decades... so if one wanted to buy and read Zap #1, why not buy a 20th printing for $5 versus shelling out $750 for a Donahue edition (2nd)?

 

2.) A cache of high grade 2nds exist for each of these books. Don Donahue's catalog and eBay auctions were some of the best kept secrets in undergrounds (may he RIP). Any books that Donahue lacked were always going to be hard to find in investment grade. Donahue did not lack for 2nd prints.

 

3.) There is much uncertainty in how the art community, who have driven Crumb OA well beyond reach of even the most ardent fans, will collect his comix. Or even if they will.

 

 

How do you feel about the future of some of the more valuable second printings, like, say, Zap 1 Donahue, Zap 0, 2 & 3 second prints, and Motor City 1 second print?

 

Do you see prices going up?

 

I used to think those 2nd printings would go down in price, but now I'm not so sure. First printings are becoming so expensive, perhaps demand will increase for seconds. What do you guys think?

 

[MisterX]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

 

I kind of feel the same way, although every once and awhile I do wonder if there's room for the Zap 1 Donahue to grow.

 

 

[comicparadox]

Crumb is a genius prevert.

fixed

[batman_fan]

To truly get a look into Robert Crumb, I highly recommend the documentary about him strangely enough entitled "Crumb"

[Comicopolis]

Crumb is a genius prevert.

fixed

 

Define prevert.

[comicparadox]

Crumb is a genius prevert.

fixed

 

Define prevert.

 

It was deliberate irony, sorry I don't recall the original reference other than the fact that it was Archie Bunker on "All In The Family", Norman Lear's early-1970s sitcom.

[Comicopolis]

Crumb is a genius prevert.

fixed

 

Define prevert.

 

It was deliberate irony, sorry I don't recall the original reference other than the fact that it was Archie Bunker on "All In The Family", Norman Lear's early-1970s sitcom.

 

[comicparadox]

Best on-line reference source I could find in 5 minutes, but still doesn't cite the episode:

Sex prevert

 

[Comicopolis]

[comicparadox]

John Severin's crosshatching is more sublime.

[comicwiz]

I could see Crumb drawing some inspiration from Severin's early EC work.

[trmoore54]

And don't forget Crumb covered the Buke...