Tag Archives: robert crumb

Fantagraphics to publish Robert Crumb’s Tales Of Paranoia!

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The seminal cartoonist who single-handedly invented the alternative comics format of the one-person anthology in 1967 with ZAP, Robert Crumb, returns at age 81, still raging at the world and himself, still drawing like a master, and still funny…for the most part! 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? 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 from 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.

Landing in stores this November, Tales Of Paranoia will usher in the celebration of Fantagraphics’ 50th anniversary!

Tales Of Paranoia

Exclusive Preview: Hydrogenese by Caza from Metal Hurlant

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Humanoids‘ relaunch of the iconic Metal Hurlant has just a few days left on Kickstarter and we have another exclusive, this time a preview of “Hydrogenese” by Caza!

50 years after the debut of Metal Hurlant in France, the iconic and genre defining publication is returning to English, with a bigger and bolder iteration than ever before: as a quarterly anthology published by Humanoids. Each volume of Metal Hurlant will be a massive 272+ page literary experience.

In 1974, filmmaker, writer, mime, and poet Alejandro Jodorowsky was working in Paris on a film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, with the assistance of the internationally acclaimed artist Mœbius on concept art and storyboards, alongside talents such as H.R. Giger and Dan O’Bannon. At the same time, Mœbius—along with fellow rebellious bande dessinée creators Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Philippe Druillet—wanted to push the boundaries of the  comics medium to tell mature, cerebral, and often titillating stories that embraced a punk attitude. Metal Hurlant was their brainchild, a cutting edge comics anthology published under their newly-founded publishing house Les Humanoïdes Associés (Humanoids).

See what Alejandro Jodorowsky and Hans Zimmer have to say about the return of Metal Hurlant.

Highlights from the first year of Metal Hurlant include all-new, sophisticated, and electrifying genre stories by visionary graphic storytellers and international superstars, including: 

  • “Clean and Clear” by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Jacob Edgar
  • “In Every Dream Home a Heartache” by writer Matt Fraction and artist Afif Khaled
  • “The Rite” by cartoonist Elie Huault 
  • “Peppermint Wendy” by cartoonist Miran Kim
  • “Retrograde” by writer Karla Pacheco and artist Sagar Fornies
  • “Soldiers of Light” by cartoonist Simon Roy
  • “The Laws of Physics” by cartoonist Matthew Sheean
  • “Hot Ground” by cartoonists Shofela “Shof” & Shobo Coker
  • “Red Planet Tomatoes” by cartoonist James Stokoe
  • “A New Dawn” by writer Jake Thomas and artist Jorg de Vos
  • “Nightmare Motel” by cartoonist Elene Usdin
  • “The Naked King” by writer Fabien Vehlmann and artist Lionel “Alfred” Papagalli
  • “Alter” by writer Mark Waid and artist Jean-Michel Ponzio

The first year of Metal Hurlant will also showcase archival material from Metal Hurlant’s original run in France, including stories that have never been published before in English or stories that have been out-of-print for decades, including:

  • Rare short stories from Mœbius, including “Absoluten Calfeutrail” and “La Retour” (The Return)
  • Content from original Metal Hurlant founders Philippe Druillet and Jean-Pierre Dionnet
  • Robert Crumb’s iconic comic about Philip K. Dick
  • Stories by Caza, Nicole Claveloux, Michio Hisauchi, Angus McKie, Jean-Claude Mézières, Chantal Montellier, and Trina Robbins

Each issue of the magazine will have covers by international superstar artists, including Mœbius, Peach Momoko, Enki Bilal, and Jean-Michel Nicollet. The magazine will be packed with premier editorial features by independent journalists, such as cultural commentaries, personal essays, and interviews with top talents from across the arts including Ted Chiang, William Gibson, Alan Moore, and Denis Villeneuve. 

Metal Hurlant is set to launch with a Spring 2025 issue, 50 years after its French premiere issue in January 1975. Metal Hurlant will be available through newsstands,  comic book shops, and bookstores, by subscription, and via the Kickstarter campaign. Backers to the crowdfunding campaign can choose Kickstarter exclusive rewards like:

  • “Arzach” by Mœbius, the seminal, silent story, presented in a stunning hardcover format, featuring a cutout slipcase for the 50th Anniversary French Edition that has never before been available in the US
  • A two-sided Mœbius posterzine for people who subscribe for one year, featuring, on side one, a cover illustration by Mœbius for Metal Hurlant n°6 (March 1976) and, on side two, Mœbius’ short story, “Major Fatal”, which will not be published in the magazine itself
  • A two-sided posterzine for people who subscribe for two years or to the hardcover tier, featuring, on side one, a cover illustration by Mœbius and Druillet for Metal Hurlant n°57bis (November 1980) and, on side two, Mœbius’ & Druillet short story, “Approaching the Centauri,” which will not be published in the magazine itself
  • A Metal Hurlant cover portfolio of 8 prints of iconic, vintage covers by Philippe Druillet, Mœbius, Caza, François Schuiten, Jean-Claude Mézières, and more, presented in a pocket portfolio
  • A Roulette-style signature add-on, offering ONE portfolio print signature from Jodorowsky, Nicollet, Dionnet, OR Caza
  • An All-Star Signature Tier featuring all four portfolio signatures from Jodorowsky, Nicollet, Dionnet, and Caza 

Check out the exclusive preview below and then make sure to back Metal Hurlant before time runs out!

Exclusive: Metal Hurlant returns from Humanoids and we have an exclusive excerpt from Caza!

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50 years after the debut of Metal Hurlant in France, the iconic and genre defining publication is returning to English, with a bigger and bolder iteration than ever before: as a quarterly anthology published by Humanoids. Each volume of Metal Hurlant will be a massive 272+ page literary experience. The ambitious venture will be funded via Kickstarter and will be released as part of the internationally renowned publisher’s ongoing 50th Anniversary celebrations.

In 1974, filmmaker, writer, mime, and poet Alejandro Jodorowsky was working in Paris on a film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, with the assistance of the internationally acclaimed artist Mœbius on concept art and storyboards, alongside talents such as H.R. Giger and Dan O’Bannon. At the same time, Mœbius—along with fellow rebellious bande dessinée creators Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Philippe Druillet—wanted to push the boundaries of the comics medium to tell mature, cerebral, and often titillating stories that embraced a punk attitude. Metal Hurlant was their brainchild, a cutting edge comics anthology published under their newly-founded publishing house Les Humanoïdes Associés (Humanoids).

Highlights from the first year of Metal Hurlant include all-new, sophisticated, and electrifying genre stories by visionary graphic storytellers and international superstars, including: 

  • “Clean and Clear” by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Jacob Edgar
  • “In Every Dream Home a Heartache” by writer Matt Fraction and artist Afif Khaled
  • “The Rite” by cartoonist Elie Huault 
  • “Peppermint Wendy” by cartoonist Miran Kim
  • “Retrograde” by writer Karla Pacheco and artist Sagar Fornies
  • “Soldiers of Light” by cartoonist Simon Roy
  • “The Laws of Physics” by cartoonist Matthew Sheean
  • “Hot Ground” by cartoonists Shofela “Shof” & Shobo Coker
  • “Red Planet Tomatoes” by cartoonist James Stokoe
  • “A New Dawn” by writer Jake Thomas and artist Jorg de Vos
  • “Nightmare Motel” by cartoonist Elene Usdin
  • “The Naked King” by writer Fabien Vehlmann and artist Lionel “Alfred” Papagalli
  • “Alter” by writer Mark Waid and artist Jean-Michel Ponzio

The first year of Metal Hurlant will also showcase archival material from Metal Hurlant’s original run in France, including stories that have never been published before in English or stories that have been out-of-print for decades, including:

  • Rare short stories from Mœbius, including “Absoluten Calfeutrail” and “La Retour” (The Return)
  • Content from original Metal Hurlant founders Philippe Druillet and Jean-Pierre Dionnet
  • Robert Crumb’s iconic comic about Philip K. Dick
  • Stories by Caza, Nicole Claveloux, Michio Hisauchi, Angus McKie, Jean-Claude Mézières, Chantal Montellier, and Trina Robbins

Each issue of the magazine will have covers by international superstar artists, including Mœbius, Peach Momoko, Enki Bilal, and Jean-Michel Nicollet. The magazine will be packed with premier editorial features by independent journalists, such as cultural commentaries, personal essays, and interviews with top talents from across the arts including Ted Chiang, William Gibson, Alan Moore, and Denis Villeneuve. 

Metal Hurlant is set to launch with a Spring 2025 issue, 50 years after its French premiere issue in January 1975. Metal Hurlant will be available through newsstands, comic book shops, and bookstores, by subscription, and via the Kickstarter campaign. Backers to the crowdfunding campaign can choose Kickstarter exclusive rewards like:

  • “Arzach” by Mœbius, the seminal, silent story, presented in a stunning hardcover format, featuring a cutout slipcase for the 50th Anniversary French Edition that has never before been available in the US
  • A two-sided Mœbius posterzine for people who subscribe for one year, featuring, on side one, a cover illustration by Mœbius for Metal Hurlant n°6 (March 1976) and, on side two, Mœbius’ short story, “Major Fatal”, which will not be published in the magazine itself
  • A two-sided posterzine for people who subscribe for two years or to the hardcover tier, featuring, on side one, a cover illustration by Mœbius and Druillet for Metal Hurlant n°57bis (November 1980) and, on side two, Mœbius’ & Druillet short story, “Approaching the Centauri,” which will not be published in the magazine itself
  • A Metal Hurlant cover portfolio of 8 prints of iconic, vintage covers by Philippe Druillet, Mœbius, Caza, François Schuiten, Jean-Claude Mézières, and more, presented in a pocket portfolio
  • A Roulette-style signature add-on, offering ONE portfolio print signature from Jodorowsky, Nicollet, Dionnet, OR Caza
  • An All-Star Signature Tier featuring all four portfolio signatures from Jodorowsky, Nicollet, Dionnet, and Caza 

Before it’s launch, we have an exclusive preview from “Bird of Dust” by Caza. Check it out below and make sure to not miss Metal Hurlant‘s return! And check out covers from Enki Bilal, Mœbius, Peach Momoko, and Jean-Michel Nicollet!

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo Has Renamed the Crumb Room

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Since its founding in 2010, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE) has featured exhibitor spaces with the names Bechdel Room, Crumb Room, Doucet Hall, and Eisner Level. These names were a way to pay tribute in a fun and fitting way to some of the most influential comic creators in the history of independent comics and graphic novels.

The convention has announced that as of this year, they will be retiring the name of the Crumb Room.

In the announcement they said:

This was a decision that we did not come to easily. It reflects a difficult and complicated set of issues facing the world of independent comics and the arts in general.

We are very sensitive to, and opposed to, any form of censorship. We do not want this re-naming of the Crumb Room to be seen as an attempt to erase Robert Crumb from the history or current reality of independent comics. We recognize Crumb’s singular importance to the development of independent and alternative comics, the influence that he has had on many of our most respected cartoonists, and the quality and brilliance of much of his work.

However we also recognize the negative impact carried by some of the imagery and narratives that Crumb has produced, impact felt most acutely by those whose voices have not been historically respected or accommodated during the period in which Crumb has so effectively challenged and shattered many cultural taboos. The great value of Crumb’s radical and inventive freedom of expression is, we acknowledge, seriously problematic because of the pain and harm caused by perpetuating images of racial stereotypes and sexual violence. The simple appellation, “Crumb Room,” without context or opportunity for dialogue, can function more as an insult to those we want to feel welcome and respected, than as a fitting homage to an artist.

MICE was founded in 2010 to create a showcase space for artists and writers working in the field of comics in the greater-Boston area. The event is produced by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation and hosted by Lesley University College of Art and Design. The convention has a focus on the art of making comics and connects local creators with the local audience including workshops for adults and children, panel discussions on the craft and relevance of comics, and special guests.

This year’s convention is being held October 20-21 in Cambridge, MA and free to the public.

National Gallery of Art Acquires Comics

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National_Gallery_of_Art_-_West_BuildingThe National Gallery of Art has received some new acquisitions, including a collection of underground comic books.

Collected by Abigail and William Gerdts, the 176 comic books were given to the gallery and are the first comics to be a part of the gallery’s permanent collection. The comics published between 1964 and 1977 influenced major modern artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.

The acquisition was approved October 2 by the museum’s board of trustees. The collection includes the museum’s first work by Robert Crumb and is bookended by important issues of Zap Comix, founded by Crumb in 1967, and Arcade: The Comics Revue, published a decade later.