Zap! Comix Prints by Robert Crumb

Zap! Comix Prints by Robert Crumb will be on view August 20 to December 13, 2009. Robert Crumb (American, born 1943), best known as “R. Crumb,” is considered the founder of the underground comics movement. In 1968 he published the first issue of Zap Comix in San Francisco, which featured Crumb’s notable “Keep on Truckin’” imagery and characters such as Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont.

Crumb is an artist and illustrator known for his satirical view of the American mainstream. Early in his career, he designed greeting cards for the American Greetings Corporation and contributed artwork to various publications including underground newspapers such as Philadelphia’s Yarrowstalks. After moving to San Francisco in 1967, Crumb produced the first issue of Zap Comix in 1968, which is credited as beginning the underground comics movement.

Included in the exhibition are screenprints featuring some of his best known imagery and characters such as Mr. Natural and the covers of Zap Comix #0, Arcade: The Comics Revue, and Bob & Harv’s Comics. The exhibition was organized by the University of Richmond Museums and curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.

The James Branch Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University has put together an online resource for Robert Crumb and Comic Art. It is available to members of the public but access to some of the collections may have limited guest access.