Monday, March 19, 2012

R. Crumb's ZAP Comix Cover No. 2 inspires " Crazy Eddie " T-shirt design!


On sale this week, 15% off this Keep On Truckin' Apparel exclusive "Crazy Eddie" t-shirt, pulled from the 1968 R. Crumb illustration Zap Comix Cover No. 2. Available is both short and long sleeve 100% cotton t-shirts, you choose from a variety of color options, and Zap, Sprong, Zonk, Tilt we'll make up your custom tee with quality befitting of Crumb and ship it out to you by Priority Mail!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Back in Print: The Complete Crumb Vol. 1


This long out-of-print first volume of the multiple Harvey and Eisner award- winning Complete Crumb Comics series has been one of our most demanded reprints. Now, this landmark volume of Robert Crumb’s formative years not only returns, but also boasts a major discovery not included in prior editions: a never-before-published, 60 page “home-made” Arcade comic from 1962.

Growing up, Robert and his brother Charles often created their own comic books. These “home-made” editions were usually produced in editions of one. As such, many have been lost to time or private collections. What hasn’t comprises much of the first two volumes of The Complete Crumb series. Their creation continued throughout the 1950s and into the early ’60s and eventually the content of Crumb’s work gradually matured from the light-hearted, funny animal antics of earlier years to stories that flashed signals of what we now recognize as “true Crumb.”

This previously undiscovered Arcade “issue,” from May, 1962, shows many flashes of where Crumb was heading (whereas Charles had all but abandoned drawing comics by the ’60s). The 17-page strip “Jim” is the most emotionally-charged work of Crumb’s young life to that point, a gentle and psychologically astute look at a boy who needs a mother, and also brimming with signs of his increasing frustration with Catholicism. It also features the first quintessential “Crumb girl,” Mabel.

This volume also includes several early Fritz the Cat stories (a.k.a. “Animal Town Comics”), and the classic “Treasure Island Days” (as seen in the Crumb film) and is rounded out with other strips, diary entries and sketches that will be a treasure trove for Crumb fans, all defining work from Crumb’s formative years as a cartoonist, spanning the years 1958-1962 (when Crumb was ages 15-19) and featuring material from other “home-made” comics of the era. This is Ground Zero for a man who may well be the greatest cartoonist who ever lived.

Monday, March 5, 2012

R. Crumb Mr. Natural Comic Book Cover No. 2, 1971

The internal question, when queued to Mr. Natural, his answer -- "Don't mean #$@&!"


This comic book cover draw by Robert Crumb in 1971 is the inspiration for two t-shirt designs on sale at Keep On Truckin' Apparel this week.

MN-011 Mr. Natural Scootin'


KK-010 Mr. Natural "What does it all mean?"

We can't answer your questions about the meaning of life, but we can offer you a 15% discount on two of our best selling tees. No coupon codes or secret hand shakes required, your discount will be applied at check out, leaving you free to contemplate the more serious questions of life. You know---like what's for lunch?

Enjoy!