R. CRUMB SKETCHBOOK Volume 4 1982-1989

Crumb declares in one drawing, above a lovingly rendered tree, “As I get older I get more twisted, convoluted, depraved, cynical, embittered, self-centered, jaded, debauched, ruthless, greedy, conceited, set-in-my-ways, long-winded, absent-minded, prejudiced, closed-minded, misanthropic, nervous…” To prove this self-flagellating analysis he fills the pages with his signature perversions (in country settings), scathing social commentary, cruel self-portraits, experimental cubism… and some lovely sylvan landscape. His mastery of the Rapidograph pen is at its zenith here in his 40s, drawn between 1982 and 1989. Taschen notes that the first three volumes of this series were met with fervent acclaim from those folks who could not afford the $1,000 boxed sets. These 440-page editions are high quality hardcovers, with elegant matte paper and impeccable reproduction. This combines volumes 7 and 8, spanning the years 1982 to 1989, a period when Crumb was comfortably ensconced in rural California, raising his young daughter Sophie, who appears here. Nudity and explicit sex, of course.