I don’t believe he actually went into the Hebrew for any clues as to how to portray each person. Crumb invested a great deal of time in them, and they are worth lingering over. Because he was committed to giving us the text as it is, Crumb gave the genealogies more attention than I’ve ever seen them given anywhere else.
How did he do? That I’m leaving it for next time is a hint. What? That the bloody, distressing, and despairing history of the human race belies the powerful hand of a numinous Providence. Frankly, it was his reputation for dark themes that gave me hope that Crumb could convey something to modern people that they need to hear. Perhaps Barry Windsor Smith could have done it (but he appears to be in retirement), or Geof Darrow. Genesis is gritty material, and it is difficult to think of a better person to illustrate it than Robert Crumb. What Crumb did well (not intended to be an exhaustive list): I’ll save the flaws for next time, with one exception that I can’t help but address today. At the same time he overemphasizes some things, while missing the importance of other things. His aesthetic is good for the subject, and he does some things really well when it comes to layout. So how does Crumb do? His treatment is mixed. What you see first when you turn a page is often a revelation. Because it is still a book, the turn of the page is part of the layout. The size of the frames in relation to each other tells you what the story teller is stressing. Let’s look at layout: how a page is laid out says something about what’s important. These things help create emphasis–directing the eye as the story is told. You need to think about angles, close ups, sequence of action, lighting, and so forth. So the key to understanding a comic is framing, layout, and the aesthetic–what could be called, the “mood” it evokes. ( Moebius’s work in this regard for films like Alien and The Fifth Element is legendary.) And in the cases of science fiction and fantasy, comic book artists are often brought into to create the concept art that sets and costumes are based on.
R crumb book of genesis series#
It isn’t uncommon for a director to have an artist layout an entire film in a series of sketches before filming begins. I’m not talking about the adaptions of superhero comics. (Stan Lee and Neil Gaiman ore obvious exceptions, still, where would Stan “the Man” Lee be without Jack “the King” Kirby?) And the connection to film goes even deeper, films often start off as comics. That’s why comic book artists tend to overshadow their writers. Text is usually kept to a minimum and is generally employed to support the art. If you try to interpret a comic book by the same standards as you would judge other books, well, you won’t know what to look for.Ĭomics have more in common with film than with books. The misleading thing about comic books is the word “book”. (I have read some superficial treatments of Genesis Illustrated by “progressive Christians” but they all had the sound of, “Hey, I’m cool too!” about them and fail to critically discuss the book.) But he created the book anyway, and that’s worth thinking about. (By the way, follow that Guardian link to samples of the art from Genesis Illustrated.)Ĭrumb predicted Christians would avoid touching his book.
And if there ever was an opportunity to talk about Robert Crumb and what he represents, isn’t it when he takes it upon himself to illustrate the Bible? Signed.Ironically, Crumb was the very reason that National Public Radio and The Guardian (among others) did cover the book. The book was a #1 New York Times graphic novel bestseller and was nominated for three Eisner Awards. While the illustrations are graphic in places, they are, by and large, surprisingly restrained considering Crumb s edgy reputation. According to Crumb, the text is "so great and strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions." Crumb spent five years illustrating the work, and it was not serialized prior to being released in book form. Originally intending to exaggerate the text for humorous effect, Crumb ultimately decided to present the language of The Book of Genesis faithfully, using Robert Alter s 1996 translation as his primary source. In this book, Robert Crumb illustrates all 50 chapters of The Book of Genesis in his inimitable style. Includes signed print of Chapter 1 illustration of God creating the universe in fine condition. Publisher s black cloth with titles stamped in gilt to front board and spine, serpent illustration in gilt to rear board housed in publisher s black slipcase with illustration of Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden to front board. One of 250 copies signed and numbered by Crumb, this being number 18.
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