BOOK OF GENESIS BY "FRITZ THE CAT"

In 2009, Robert Crumb (R. Crumb) the comic-book illustrator who created the infamously raunchy journeys of "Fritz the Cat" released another set of bold journeys when he took on the Bible's book of Genesis. It is now on view at Bowdoin College's Museum of Art (Maine). The exhibit, titled “The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis,” is open to the public now but just to balance out the possibility of offending some (or many), the museum has a sister exhibition that is much more serene (or expected), “Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture" from the Victoria and Albert Museum.”

I was a comic-book addicted 12-year old in 1972 when my married uncle took me (and his girlfriend) to the drive-in to see the adult cartoon, "Fritz the Cat." Rated "R" (My first such film), R. Crumb is an underground legend and cult hero of the 1960s, and father of today's adult comic books. Fritz the Car was a sex-obsessed college drop-out who wandered into scenes with New Jersey prostitutes, reefer parties, Black Panther gatherings and also the Hell's Angels as he sought to find himself. I think it was my uncle's personal journey too and I can still smell the burning marijuana that he and his girlfriend shared that night in the car. That seedy imagery is the stuff of which Crumb is best known for so this is quite a shift in subject matter but he pulls it off well in graphic detail.

Crumbs introduction to the book is prominently displayed at the museum, along with the 207 original ink drawings that make up its pages. Each drawing contains six to eight comic panels illustrating the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and more. Crumb acknowledges that his “Book of Genesis” is not created as a spiritual labor. In fact, in the introduction he states, “I, ironically, do not believe the Bible is ‘the Word of God."... "I believe it is the words of men. It is, nonetheless, a powerful text with layers of meaning that reach deep into our collective consciousness, our historical consciousness, if you will.”

If you can't get to Maine, do as I did and just check out the comic book.