Deconstructing Comics

<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9078" src="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbFilm-PunkRockJesus700.jpg" alt="Crumb film - Punk Rock Jesus" width="700" height="350" srcset="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbFilm-PunkRockJesus700.jpg 700w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbFilm-PunkRockJesus700-300x150.jpg 300w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbFilm-PunkRockJesus700-640x320.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p> <p><em>(Concluding our review of past episodes featuring the work of R. Crumb.)</em></p> <p>FLASHBACK! Tim and Kumar meet in person for the first time! This calls for a podcast, but… what to review? We discuss the movie <a title="Crumb on Amazon" href="http://amzn.to/1LJZUnI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Crumb</strong></a>, which features not only the expected discussion of R. Crumb’s work (including an objective look at the question of whether some of the … discomforting subjects of his work should really have been published as “art”), but also a fascinating portrait of the dysfunctional family he grew up in.</p> <p>Then, Tim and Brandon clash over Sean Murphy’s <a title="Punk Rock Jesus on Amazon" href="http://amzn.to/1LJZZrz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Punk Rock Jesus</strong></a>, in which a former Irish Republican Army member acts as a bodyguard in a reality show claiming to be creating the clone of Jesus Christ. Is it objective and well-written, or a promo brochure for atheism? <em>(Originally published November 2, 2015)</em></p>

<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9075" src="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbGenesis700.jpg" alt="Crumb Genesis" width="700" height="467" srcset="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbGenesis700.jpg 700w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbGenesis700-300x200.jpg 300w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/06/CrumbGenesis700-640x427.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p> <p>FLASHBACK! Perhaps one of the most puzzling comics releases in years was <strong>The Book of Genesis, Illustrated</strong> by R. Crumb. While it’s a virtuoso art performance, the exact purpose of the book was puzzling to Crumb fans (“It’s not a parody?!”) and religious readers (“This comic is not for kids?!”) alike. Both groups have been taken aback by how straight Crumb plays it — neither parodying nor bowdlerizing the work. That’s not to say that nothing in it is Crumb’s own interpretation. Tim and John discuss the issues raised — both by Crumb and by his audience. <em>(Originally published August 18, 2014.)</em></p> <p>Brought to you by:</p> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ELOpodcastFaceTheMusic" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Face the Music ELO podcast</em></a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/deconcomics?fan_landing=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our supporters on Patreon</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul>

<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9069" src="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/CrumbWeirdo700.jpg" alt="Crumb Weirdo" width="700" height="613" srcset="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/CrumbWeirdo700.jpg 700w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/CrumbWeirdo700-300x263.jpg 300w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/CrumbWeirdo700-640x560.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p> <p>FLASHBACK! <em>Weirdo</em> was a magazine started by R. Crumb, which featured Crumb’s work alongside that of a number of other underground-type comics creators. Crumb’s work from Weirdo’s 28 issues was collected in 2013 as <strong>R. Crumb: The Weirdo Years, 1981-’93</strong>, released in the U.S. by Last Gasp. It features an astonishing variety of comics work, from Crumb rants and confessionals to a 1906 psychiatric report on sexual deviancy, fumetti, parodies, and more. This is a book that <em>Deconstructing Comics</em> can’t help but review, so this week Kumar and Tim do their podcasting duty! <em>(Originally published December 16, 2013.)</em></p> <p><a title="R. Crumb's Snapshots" href="https://time.com/3802766/r-crumbs-snapshots-source-material-of-the-legendary-comic-artist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">R. Crumb’s Snapshots: Source Material of the Legendary Comic Artist</a> (TIME.com)</p> <p>Brought to you by:</p> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><a href="https://tothebatpoles.libsyn.com//" target="_blank" rel="noopener">To the Batpoles! podcast</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/deconcomics?fan_landing=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our supporters on Patreon</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul>

<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9066" src="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/Westron.jpg" alt="Westron" width="700" height="363" srcset="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/Westron.jpg 700w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/Westron-300x156.jpg 300w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/Westron-640x332.jpg 640w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p> <p><strong><em>Westron</em></strong> is about a private investigator who investigates crimes with supernatural elements. When a girl is murdered, he feels driven to solve the crime by the memory of a childhood friend who was killed. Tim and Jason look into the case of this comic by Shawn McBee, Maciej Jankowski, Nicolas Nieto, and Matia De Vincenzo!</p> <p><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/propsmith/westron-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><em>Westron </em></strong>on Kickstarter</a></p>

<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9061" src="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/SwampThinginSpace.jpg" alt="Swamp Thing" width="700" height="522" srcset="https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/SwampThinginSpace.jpg 700w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/SwampThinginSpace-300x224.jpg 300w, https://deconstructingcomics.com/kumar/2026/05/SwampThinginSpace-640x477.jpg 640w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></p> <p>At last we complete our look at <strong>Alan Moore</strong>&#8216;s <strong>Swamp Thing</strong> run, looking at Swampy&#8217;s battle with Gotham City, his seeming death, and his travels through space. Along the way, Tim and Kumar have totally different takes on a certain issue, and Tim finds a fact about it that scandalizes Kumar. Join us as we traverse <em>The Saga of the Swamp Thing</em> issues 51-64!</p> <p><a href="https://www.journeyplanet.org/journey-planet/journey-planet-49-swamp-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What are those folks on Rann saying?</a></p> <p>Brought to you by:</p> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li><a href="https://checkeredpast.castos.com/?fbclid=IwAR2quEKbB-spoz8r-ywnarwGd2M0fMqmZNm7xSQzjlC95CiOT2VOcvsYY1I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Checkered Past podcast</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/deconcomics?fan_landing=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our supporters on Patreon</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul>