R. Crumb, despite working entirely outside the mainstream comic book industry, is considered to be the founder of the underground comix movement and its most prominent contributor. Crumb began his career as an illustrator for American Greetings in Cleveland, but by the late ’60s he had moved to San Francisco where he became involved in underground publishing. In 1968, Crumb founded the seminal Zap Comix, which is still an outlet for leading artists today. One of his most recognized works, “Keep on Truckin’,” became a widely distributed fixture in popular culture in the ’70s. In 1981, Crumb produced and edited a new comic magazine, Weirdo.
By the late ’80s, fed up with America’s urban sprawl, Crumb sold a number of his sketchbooks and moved to a new home with his family in the south of France. Crumb seldom ventures back to the U.S. and, in recent years, has been immersed in his latest project, illustrating the book of Genesis. Two of Crumb’s most recognizable characters are featured in this Vans x R. Crumb project with Mr. Natural appearing on the SK8-Hi Deconstruct and Fritz the Cat dropping in on the special Vans Classic Slip-On.
