The Book of Mr. Natural
by R. Crumb
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Book Summary Information
Author: R. CrumbEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-07-06
ISBN: 1606993526
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Book Reviews of The Book of Mr. Natural
Book Review: Ejaculated guru wisdom from Mr. Natural
Summary: 5 Stars
Fred Natural, a former taxi driver in Afghanistan during World War II, Himalayan wanderer, later retreating to Death Valley in 1955 to "start anew," came to "Sham" Francisco as "Mr. Natural" during the 1967 Summer of Love looking for nubile girls, and secondly, to bring the hapless hippies wise koans such as "the whole universe is completely insane." //The Book of Mr. Natural// by the legendary and infamous and now filthy rich (the original cover art for Mr. Natural #1 just sold for over $100,000) R. Crumb is a gorgeous mini-coffee table comic book published by Fantagraphic Books. Crumb says Mr. Natural was born after taking some "fuzzy acid" and that he lived a bizarre hallucination-filled life for weeks as he first doodled the future religious leader. Starting with Mr. Natural's introduction in 1967 and through the sixties and early seventies, and returning in the late eighties (after languishing in a mental institution for many years), Crumb has given our still needy time the archetype of the charlatan guru - the serene but eternally horny philosopher, bearded, in a robe, dispensing wisdom to the clueless Flakey Foont (his chief disciple) in all of us. Yes, there's always a market for enlightenment. This book is for Mr. Natural's legions of cult followers, 60's believers, as well as new and younger readers who can hack the raunchy non-PC wisdom the guru ejaculates.
Reviewed by Phil Semler
Summary of The Book of Mr. Natural
A Crumb classic featuring his signature creation, available in hardcover for the first time!
This collection features over 120 pages of vintage Crumb comics starring the white-bearded, diminutive sage-cum-charlatan, ranging from charming, free-wheeling early ?70s stories to the disturbing, controversial ?90s stories (as seen in the Crumb movie), including the entire 40-page ?Mr. Natural and Devil Girl? epic. Crumb?s Mr. Natural is probably the most famous underground character of all (topping even Fritz the Cat and the Freak Brothers), recognizable even to ?civilians.? Don?t miss this opportunity to snatch up this jam-packed collection of comics from one of the all-time masters! 112 pages of black-and-white comicsMr. Natural is a 1960s guru, "th' only knower of th' cosmic mysteries alive at this time." Calling him a "mystic madcap" gives the crass, less-than-compassionate charlatan the benefit of the doubt. He is not particularly wise or helpful; in fact, he's a lecherous, grumbling old geezer who gives advice such as "When you arise in the morning, you should do last night's dirty dishes . . . then you should sing a simple melody (of your own choice) . . . then you should call somebody up (not me) . . . then go to the store . . . buy some asparagus." True to the collection's name and R. Crumb's reputation, the stories are sometimes sexually graphic (especially in the scenes with Devil Girl) and a bit on the violent side. Still, there's an innocent, upbeat quality to this comic reflection of America's most notoriously freewheeling decade.
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