''Weirdo'' was a magazine-sized

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...

created by

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

and published by

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...

from

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. Featuring cartoonists both new and old, ''Weirdo'' served as a "low art" counterpoint to its contemporary

highbrow Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, "highbrow" is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The term, first recorded in 1875, draws its metonymy from the pseudo ...

'' Raw'', co-edited by

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade'' and '' Ra ...

. Crumb contributed cover art and comics to every issue of ''Weirdo''; his wife, cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb, also had work in almost every issue. Crumb focused increasingly on autobiography in his stories in ''Weirdo''. Many other autobiographical shorts would appear in ''Weirdo'' by other artists, including Kominsky-Crumb,

Carol Tyler Carol Tyler (born November 20, 1951) is an American painter, educator, comedian, and eleven-time Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist known for her autobiographical comics. She has received multiple honors for her work including the Cartoonist Studi ...

Phoebe Gloeckner Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner (born December 22, 1960), is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist. Early life Gloeckner was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother was a librarian and her father, David Gloeckner, was ...

, and Dori Seda. David Collier, a Canadian ex-soldier, published autobiographical and historical comics in ''Weirdo''. The anthology introduced artists such as

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Hate'' and '' Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduce ...

, Dori Seda, Dennis Worden, and Carol Tyler. With issue #10, Crumb handed over the editing reins to Bagge; with issue #18, the reins went to Kominsky-Crumb (except for issue #25, which was again edited by Bagge). The three editorial tenures were known respectively as "Personal Confessions", the "Coming of the Bad Boys", and "Twisted Sisters". Overall, the magazine had a mixed response from audiences; Crumb's fumetti contributions, for instance, were so unpopular that they have never appeared in Crumb collections.

Publication history

"Personal Confessions" era

While meditating in 1980, Crumb conceived of a magazine with a lowbrow aesthetic inspired by punk zines, '' Mad'', and

men's magazines This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are auto ...

of the 1940s and 1950s. Early issues of ''Weirdo'' reflect Crumb's interests at the time –

outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrate ...

, fumetti,

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...

-type anti-propaganda and assorted "weirdness" (in fact, Crumb provided early publicity for the Church of the SubGenius by reprinting ''Sub Genius Pamphlet'' #1 in ''Weirdo'' #1). Crumb's detailed cover borders for most issues of ''Weirdo'' were an homage to the 1950s humor magazine ''

Humbug A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclama ...

'' (edited by

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

); Crumb claimed that the elaborate Jack Davis–

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

cover to the second issue of ''Humbug'' "changed his life". Dori Seda's first published comics work was in ''Weirdo'' #2 (Summer 1981), a strip titled "Bloods in Space." Her work appeared often in ''Weirdo'' through issue #24 (Winter 1988/1989), shortly after her untimely death."''Lonely Nights'' Artist Dori Seda Dead At 37," ''The Comics Journal'' #121 (April 1988). Dennis Worden's first published work appeared in issue #4 (Feb. 1982); he was a frequent contributor to the magazine throughout its run. Peter Bagge Bagge sent copies of his self-published comics ''Comical Funnies'' to Crumb, who published some Bagge strips in ''Weirdo'' #8 (Summer 1983). Bagge contributed to many issues from that point forward, mostly illustrating " Martini Baton" stories written by Dave Carrino. In addition to those mentioned above, other cartoonists whose work appeared in early issues of ''Weirdo'' included Robert's brother Maxon Crumb, Robert Armstrong,

Ace Backwords Peter Labriola (born September 12, 1956), better known by the pen name Ace Backwords is an American author and a former underground cartoonist based in Berkeley, California. He sleeps rough on the streets of Berkeley, but is not indigent.

, Drew Friedman, Kaz, J. D. King,

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

, Robert Williams, Harry S. Robins (the "Professor Brainard" feature), Jeff John, Terry Boyce, and B. N. Duncan. The magazine's letter column, "Weirdo's Advice to the Lovelorn," was helmed by

Terry Zwigoff Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb'' ( ...

"Coming of the Bad Boys" era

With issue #10 (Summer 1984), Crumb handed over the editing reins to Peter Bagge (who had become a regular contributor with issue #8); Crumb continued as a regular contributor. New contributors to ''Weirdo'' during this period included

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in th ...

Mary Fleener Mary Fleener (born September 14, 1951) is an American alternative comics artist, writer and musician from Los Angeles. Fleener's drawing style, which she calls ''cubismo'', derives from the cubist aesthetic and other artistic traditions. Her f ...

, John Holmstrom,

Carel Moiseiwitsch Carel is a given name, and may refer to: Arts * Carel Blotkamp, Dutch artist and art historian * Carel de Moor, Dutch etcher and painter * Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils * Carel van Mander, Flemish painter ...

, Diane Noomin, Raymond Pettibon, Savage Pencil, J. R. Williams (his first published comics), S. Clay Wilson, Ken Struck, and Ken Weiner/ Ken Avidor.

"Twisted Sisters" era

With issue #18 (Fall 1986), the editorial reins of ''Weirdo'' went to Kominsky-Crumb; the " Twisted Sisters" monicker being a reference to an all-female comics anthology that Kominsky-Crumb co-produced with Diane Noomin in 1976. (Bagge returned for a single issue as editor, with ''Weirdo'' #25, Summer 1989.) New contributors to the magazine during this era included Lloyd Dangle,

Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian

Dennis Eichhorn Dennis P. Eichhorn (August 19, 1945 – October 8, 2015) was an American writer, best known for his adult-oriented autobiographical comic book series ''Real Stuff''. His stories, often involving, sex, drugs, and alcohol, have been compared to tho ...

, Justin Green,

Krystine Kryttre Krystine Kryttre (born 1958) is an American alternative comics artist, painter, animator, writer, and performer from San Francisco. currently based in Los Angeles. Her work is dark, often explicit, and visually distinctive." Her work has been e ...

(her first published comics), Penny Van Horn,

Michael Dougan Michael Dougan is Professor of European Union law, European Law and Jean Monnet Programme, Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law, at the University of Liverpool. He came to the attention of social media users in the United Kingdom when a video of one of his ...

, and Mark Zingarelli. Harvey Pekar began a regular column, "Harvey Sez," in issue #19; his column ran in most of the later issues. Many stories published in ''Weirdo'' from the "Twisted Sisters" era were later collected in the 1991 anthology ''Twisted Sisters: A Collection of Bad Girl Art'' — including work by Kominsky-Crumb,

Carol Lay Carol Lay (born 1952) is an American alternative cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip, ''Story Minute'' (later to evolve into the strip ''Way Lay''), which ran for almost 20 years in such US papers as the ''LA Weekly'', the ''NY Press' ...

, Penny Van Horn,

, Krystine Kryttre, Julie Doucet, Leslie Sternbergh, Carel Moiseiwitsch, Dori Seda, and Carol Tyler. In 1991, after the publication of ''Weirdo'' #27, Crumb and Kominsky-Crumb moved their family from Northern California to France.Salkinjan, Allen (January 21, 2007)
"Mr. and Mrs. Natural"
''New York Times''.

''Weirdo'' #28: "Verre D'eau"

''Weirdo''s final issue, #28, released after a three-year hiatus in 1993, was an internationally themed 68-page giant subtitled ''Verre D'eau'' (in French, "glass of water"). Promoted as a "One-Time-Only Special International Issue of Weirdo — Absolutely the Last Issue Ever!", it was co-edited by Aline Kominsky-Crumb and French editor Jean-Pierre Mercier. In addition to the usual roster of contributors, issue #28 featured work from French and European cartoonists such as

Edmond Baudoin Edmond Baudoin (born 23 April 1942 in Nice) is a French artist, illustrator, and writer of sequential art and graphic novels. Biography Baudoin left school at the age of 16 and went into military service. He later worked as an accountant at the ...

Florence Cestac Florence Cestac (born 18 July 1949) is a French cartoonist and former publisher. She is the first woman to have won the prestigious ''Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême'', in 2000, and was the only one until Rumiko Takahashi in 2019. Career Bor ...

, Jean-Christophe Menu, Placid ,

Willem Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, ...

, and Aleksandar Zograf.

Publication schedule and page count

* Issues #1–6 (1981–1982): Quarterly * Issues #7–10 (1982–1984): Bi-annual * Issues #11–19 (1984–1987): Quarterly * Issues #20–24 (1987–1989): Bi-annual * Issues #25–27 (1989–1990): Quarterly * Issues #28 (1993): Annual (after a three-year hiatus) Issues #1–14 were 44 pp. each, issues #15–26 were 52 pp. each, issue #27 was 60 pp., and issue #28 was 68 pp.

Controversies

''Weirdo'' was at the center of a legal case in 1986: the manager of a comics retailer in the Chicago area, Friendly Frank's, was arrested on charges of distributing obscenity. The comic books deemed obscene were ''Weirdo'', '' Omaha the Cat Dancer'', ''The Bodyssey'', and ''Bizarre Sex''. The case led to the formation of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. In 1993, R. Crumb's contributions to ''Weirdo'' #28 — two tongue-in-cheek stories called "When the Niggers Take Over America!" and "When the Goddamn Jews Take Over America!" — got the issue banned as

hate literature Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.Newswatch: "Canada Customs Seizures: Weirdo #28 Banned as Hate Literature, and More!", ''The Comics Journal'' #166 (Feb. 1994), p. 48.

Notable contributors

* Doug Allen * Robert Armstrong *

* Daniel Clowes * David Collier * Maxon Crumb *

* Sophie Crumb * Lloyd Dangle *

Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian

* Debbie Drechsler *

* Josh Alan Friedman * Drew Friedman *

* Justin Green *

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal comedy, surreal daily comic strip ''Zippy the Pinhead, Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are w ...

* Rory Hayes *

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...

* John Holmstrom * Kaz * J. D. King * Aline Kominsky-Crumb *

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, voice actor and former animator. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which was ...

(as Billy Bunting) *

Joe Matt Joe Matt (born September 3, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his autobiographical work, '' Peepshow''. Early life Matt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started drawing comics in 1987. Career In his autobiographical c ...

* Jean-Christophe Menu *

Mark Newgarden Mark Newgarden (born August 1, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American underground cartoonist. His work has appeared widely, and his influential shape-shifting weekly feature ''Newgarden'', which appeared in alternative weekly newspapers lik ...

* Diane Noomin * Gary Panter * Harvey Pekar * Raymond Pettibon * Placid * Sasa Rakezic * Harry S. Robins *

(occasionally credited as Algernon Backwash) *

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure in S ...

* Savage Pencil *

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

* Dori Seda * Stanislav Szukalski * Frank Stack (as Foolbert Sturgeon) *

* J. R. Williams * Robert Williams * S. Clay Wilson * Dennis Worden *

References

Notes

Sources consulted

* '' Comic Book Artist'' vol. 2, #7 * * * * *

External links

Last Gasp Catalog: ''Weirdo''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weirdo (Magazine) 1981 comics debuts 1993 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Robert Crumb Comics magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1981 Magazines disestablished in 1993 Underground comix