STONED AGIN!

While I have to disagree with the author of this auction lot description (I think the "Keep On Truckin'" illo is more iconic), Robert "R." Crumb's one-page cartoon from YOUR HYTONE COMIX (Apex Novelties, 1971) is certainly one of his classics. Anyone who has been in the condition described has certainly felt like the depicted character at one time or another.

In the rest of the comic, Crumb wallows his way through a bowl-full of bathroom humor, including Pete the Plumber meeting the sewer Shitheads after attempting suicide by flushing himself down the toilet (!), and another memorable one-pager on the back cover featuring Tommy Toilet reminding us to wipe well or we will be shunned by our friends. The original art for the inside back cover, "Stoned Agin" is currently at auction, and at the time of this writing the bidding stands at whopping $75,000.00!

This comic would have never seen the light of day in today's climate of so-called "acceptable" social behavior. But as a relic of the past it deserves recognition like virtually all of Crumb's work. And after turning 76 years-old this past August 30, he is one of the most genius cartoonists alive today.

Check out the full issue of YOUR HYTONE COMIX below.

Lot #91012 description:
Robert Crumb Your Hytone Comix (nn) "Stoned Agin!" Inside Back Cover Original Art (Apex Novelties, 1971). Robert Crumb's "Stoned Agin!" is a cultural icon. It represents Crumb at the height of his popularity and artistic powers, featuring a jaw-dropping display of his trademark, impeccably inked hatching. This is a mesmerizing image that people will immediately recognize even if they have not heard the name R. Crumb - in fact, as an incredibly popular poster, this classic, hippy-era defining artwork is one of the most recognizable images to ever appear in one of our auctions! If you were in your late teens or twenties anytime during the 1970s, you likely saw this absolutely iconic image posted up on a wall somewhere in a dorm room or crash pad; it's what your parents warned you would happen - getting high will make your head melt! In fact, this beautifully detailed artwork has been used countless times since: as a blacklight poster, pinback button, postcard, t-shirt, shot glass, tin box, tattoo... you name it.

For years, the location of the original artwork for "Stoned Agin!" has been speculated on and wondered about by dedicated collectors from all over the globe. For advanced Crumb collectors, this piece of art has always been the "holy grail!" Well, now the search is finally over. Here's the story: In 1970, the consignor of this piece had moved from Nebraska to Northern California, and through friendships with a number of underground cartoonists had met the Zap Comix gang - including Crumb. The artwork was acquired directly from Crumb right around the time of its initial publication in 1971, in a trade for some rare old blues 78s (which the artist has feverishly collected since his teens). The art has remained hidden away in this collection since that time, shown only to friends and never before offered on the market. The artwork is accompanied by the cardboard portfolio in which Crumb originally delivered the artwork, which has a handwritten "to do" list in pencil (possibly by Hytone publisher Don Donahue).

The original artwork mounted.

The art is in ink (no doubt drawn with Crumb's favorite mechanical pen) over graphite on Bristol board, with an image size of approximately 8" x 12", on 11" x 14" paper. It is matted to 13.5" x 17.5". The ink is as deep and rich as the day it was drawn, and the art presents beautifully, with not a single drop of white out, slight passages of pencil still visible, as well as a few very small areas the artist scraped away for artistic effect. Remnants of two pieces of removed production-related tape are on the top and bottom of the extreme left edge of the paper, well outside the image area, as well as one area in the center of the back, which is also very faintly visible in the image. There are also production-related notations on the back and extreme lower right corner of the front, again, well outside the image area. Crumb has signed the art in the lower right of the final panel. The paper is uniformly toned from age and overall in Very Good condition.

WARNING! The following comic shows images of bad taste and depravity, as well as a heavy dose of misogyny and non-PC social behavior!