Instrumental in the formation of the underground comics scene in the 1960s and 1970s, R. Crumb (b. 1943) has helped challenge and expand the boundaries of the graphic arts and redefined comics and cartoons as countercultural art forms. Widely circulated and celebrated, Crumb’s published imagery, such as his comic strips Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, and Keep on Truckin’, offers a mordant satirical critique of modern society.Dan Nadel is the author of the forthcoming book Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life (April 2025). His previous books include It’s Life as I See It: Black Cartoonists in Chicago, 1940–1980, Peter Saul: Professional Artist Correspondence, 1945–1976, and Art Out of Time: Unknown Comic Visionaries, 1900–1969. Nadel has curated exhibitions for galleries and museums internationally, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He is the founder of PictureBox, a publishing and packaging company that produced more than one hundred books, objects, and zines from 2000 to 2014, including the Grammy Award–winning design for Wilco’s 2004 album A Ghost Is Born. Dan is the curator-at-large for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, in Los Angeles.

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Instrumental in the formation of the underground comics scene in the 1960s and 1970s, R. Crumb (b. 1943) has helped challenge and expand the boundaries of the graphic arts and redefined comics and cartoons as countercultural art forms. Widely circulated and celebrated, Crumb’s published imagery, such as his comic strips Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, and Keep on Truckin’, offers a mordant satirical critique of modern society.Dan Nadel is the author of the forthcoming book Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life (April 2025). His previous books include It’s Life as I See It: Black Cartoonists in Chicago, 1940–1980, Peter Saul: Professional Artist Correspondence, 1945–1976, and Art Out of Time: Unknown Comic Visionaries, 1900–1969. Nadel has curated exhibitions for galleries and museums internationally, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He is the founder of PictureBox, a publishing and packaging company that produced more than one hundred books, objects, and zines from 2000 to 2014, including the Grammy Award–winning design for Wilco’s 2004 album A Ghost Is Born. Dan is the curator-at-large for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, in Los Angeles.

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