Tales of Paranoia, by R. Crumb
Tales of Paranoia, by R. Crumb A comic book review. Warning: Snarky footnotes (but not that many) Joe Surkiewicz It was a bright day when I learned that R. Crumb had released his first comic book in over two decades, Tales of Paranoia . 1 Those of a certain age will need no introduction to this ‘60s icon—the cartoonist who kicked off the underground comics movement by creating Zap Comix, Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, Angelfood McSpade, the cover to Janis Joplin’s 2 Cheap Thrills album, and, last but not least, “Keep on Truckin’.” Note the disclaimer in the upper left of the comic book’s cover: “Warning: This comic is not popular entertainment.” So it’s no nostalgic dive into the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll ‘60s, 3 but a short, 12-comic collection of up-to-date rants (with Crumb’s trademark, meticulous drawings) about the current state of affairs facing humanity: 5G, the covid “pandemic” and “vaccination,” censorship, “conspiracy” theories, the Deep State, and paranoia in general...