R. Crumb’s Oregon Influences: Carl Barks and Basil Wolverton

Robert Crumb, the artist and illustrator behind Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, and Keep on Truckin’, is one of America’s most revered cartoonists.

And he frequently cites two Oregon artists, Carl Barks and Basil Wolverton as major influences.

On the occasion of a special exhibition at the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park) of The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis, the folks at the Oregon Cartoon Institute asked Patrick Rosenkranz, the author of Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975, and Charles Boucher, the owner of CounterMedia (927 SW Oak), to address the Barks and Wolverton influence on R. Crumb’s work.

Anne Richardson has more at Oregon Movies, A to Z, Carl Barks + Basil Wolverton = Genius R. Crumb, where you can also read about Basil Wolverton’s direct influence on R. Crumb’s illustrated Bible project.