2,715 words

Years ago, I watched a much-acclaimed documentary about the artist R. Crumb. What I remember most about it, however, is not Crumb himself, but his older brother Charles. Like most of the rest of the family, Charles was both an artist and a madman. Indeed, three years after the release of the Crumb documentary, a collection of art by the Crumb brothers was released under the title The Whole Family is Crazy! Charles’ insanity was evident in the comics he drew as a child. These were quite artistically accomplished, but in time the text began to overtake the images. Like most comics, Charles’ (which were never published during his lifetime) included boxes with textual exposition, as well as dialogue and thought balloons. As Charles grew, so did his text — until the comics were...