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Giant R. CRUMB Underground Comix Vintage Poster (1972)


Giant R. CRUMB Underground Comix Vintage Poster (1972)
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    "7 FOOT COMIC COVERS" POSTER by R. CRUMB & PETER POPLASKI (1972).

    [ note: Poster was too large for scan bed. Image above was taken with a grainy digital camera and is a bit fuzzy. Acutal poster is very crisp and colorful. ]

    Before the dreaded "Underground Crash of '73," Krupp Comic Works (Kitchen Sink Press) was riding high. Underground comic book sales were rapidly accelerating and the market was expanding. Partners Denis Kitchen and Tyler Lantzy were printing their comix "guts" at one printer, and their glossy color covers at a second Milwaukee printer to shave costs. The latter had a press that could simultaneously print six or eight covers on large sheets of paper measuring 68 inches x 89 inches. In 1972 Kitchen got the bright idea to publish single "giant comic book cover" images that would fill the entire sheet. He thought that for $9.95 retail they'd make great "wall covers" in college dorms and hippie pads across America. Lantzy was more fiscally conservative and convinced Kitchen that they should first solicit the product to determine demand before investing thousands of dollars on an untested item.

    R. Crumb agreed to let two of his covers, Home Grown Funnies and XYZ Comics, be the guinea pigs. Peter Poplaski designed the poster offered here, and Kitchen wrote the florid hype. Crumb's covers are depicted as 7-foot high billboards admired by passersby. The two older people on the left and right clearly don't "get it." The long-haired hippie sitting on the floor and thinking "Keen!" is Kitchen. The "POP" comic book he is reading could be construed as "Pop Art," but that was Poplaski's shorthand signature. The group of Siamese cats allude to the fact that Kitchen's first wife Irene bred Siamese cats. This drove Kitchen crazy, so Poplaski, as another in-joke, had cats invade his two-dimensional space as well. The long-haired hippie standing up is Denis' brother Jim, who briefly worked for Krupp at that time. He is holding the hand of his then-girlfriend Jan Sichi, whose left leg was actually in a cast. Poplaski, "from the old school," drew exactly what his models looked like, even when a broken leg would seem to be a distraction from the product.

    A mailing of this promotional poster was sent to head shops across America, but the response was disappointing. Lantzy concluded that the giant comix coivers venture was too risky, and Kitchen turned his attention to other crazy products, like Crumb's 78 rpm record, a "Libido" puzzle and Kruppcards. All that survives the aborted giant cover project are a small number of the original promotional posters.

    It isn't nearly as big as the wallcovers advertised, but still measures a good size: 16.75" x 21.5" inches.

    This 1972 hippie antique is in NM/Mint condition.


    << Previous Product                      Next Product >>

    Giant R. CRUMB Underground Comix Vintage Poster (1972)

    "7 FOOT COMIC COVERS" POSTER by R. CRUMB & PETER POPLASKI (1972).

    [ note: Poster was too large for scan bed. Image above was taken with a grainy digital camera and is a bit fuzzy. Acutal poster is very crisp and colorful. ]

    Before the dreaded "Underground Crash of '73," Krupp Comic Works (Kitchen Sink Press) was riding high. Underground comic book sales were rapidly accelerating and the market was expanding. Partners Denis Kitchen and Tyler Lantzy were printing their comix "guts" at one printer, and their glossy color covers at a second Milwaukee printer to shave costs. The latter had a press that could simultaneously print six or eight covers on large sheets of paper measuring 68 inches x 89 inches. In 1972 Kitchen got the bright idea to publish single "giant comic book cover" images that would fill the entire sheet. He thought that for $9.95 retail they'd make great "wall covers" in college dorms and hippie pads across America. Lantzy was more fiscally conservative and convinced Kitchen that they should first solicit the product to determine demand before investing thousands of dollars on an untested item.

    R. Crumb agreed to let two of his covers, Home Grown Funnies and XYZ Comics, be the guinea pigs. Peter Poplaski designed the poster offered here, and Kitchen wrote the florid hype. Crumb's covers are depicted as 7-foot high billboards admired by passersby. The two older people on the left and right clearly don't "get it." The long-haired hippie sitting on the floor and thinking "Keen!" is Kitchen. The "POP" comic book he is reading could be construed as "Pop Art," but that was Poplaski's shorthand signature. The group of Siamese cats allude to the fact that Kitchen's first wife Irene bred Siamese cats. This drove Kitchen crazy, so Poplaski, as another in-joke, had cats invade his two-dimensional space as well. The long-haired hippie standing up is Denis' brother Jim, who briefly worked for Krupp at that time. He is holding the hand of his then-girlfriend Jan Sichi, whose left leg was actually in a cast. Poplaski, "from the old school," drew exactly what his models looked like, even when a broken leg would seem to be a distraction from the product.

    A mailing of this promotional poster was sent to head shops across America, but the response was disappointing. Lantzy concluded that the giant comix coivers venture was too risky, and Kitchen turned his attention to other crazy products, like Crumb's 78 rpm record, a "Libido" puzzle and Kruppcards. All that survives the aborted giant cover project are a small number of the original promotional posters.

    It isn't nearly as big as the wallcovers advertised, but still measures a good size: 16.75" x 21.5" inches.

    This 1972 hippie antique is in NM/Mint condition.

    $50.00