Kominsky’s Successes

Largely hailed as among the first to start creating autobiography comics, Kominsky rode the the swell of open-minded acceptance that came with the 60’s (source). Not only that, but she was also one of the key members of Wimmen’s Comix, which encouraged women to create comics during a time where the industry was nearly completely male-driven.

Kominsky’s self-portraits and stories, depicting herself in lewd positions and passing gas, are characterized nowadays as traits of a “difficult woman”. It’s “unapologetic”, which is reminiscent of modern TV shows such as “Girls”, “Broad City”, or “Fleabag”–but back in the day, this sort of behaviour in published material for the public was unheard of.

Kominsky quickly gains attention with her crude art and “brutally honest” stories.

However, when she married famed comic artist Robert Crumb, she is quickly overshadowed. Not only is R. Crumb’s artwork more “aesthetic”, but he’s also more well-known. Kominsky states that marrying her husband has been both a blessing and a curse to her artistic career–a curse, because she’s always been compared to her husband, and a blessing because through her husband’s name, she also gains attention (Prime Book).

What makes her work so compelling?

Kominsky often deploys self-deprecating humour as one of her storytelling tactics. She explains that she “Drew the most sordid, unacceptable parts of [herself], which was how she viewed herself during her youth. The public found it shocking.

However, through her collaborations with her husband R. Crumb, Kominsky reveals a soft underlayer that is the “immense love of one another”. Only by seeing the darker, nastier parts of something can we truly appreciate the good.

Bibliography

Frank, Priscilla. “Meet The Feminist Artist Whose Crass Comics Were Way Ahead Of Their Time.” Huffington Post. Huffington Post News, 2 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 July 2017. <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/aline-kominsky-crumb-interview_us_589e1bc8e4b094a129eaff86&gt;.

Liberty, Megan N. “The Loving, Self-Deprecating Comics of Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Robert Crumb.” Hyperallergic. Hyperallergic, 07 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 July 2017. <https://hyperallergic.com/357117/the-loving-self-deprecating-comics-of-aline-kominsky-crumb-and-robert-crumb/&gt;.

Outstanding Scenes and Action

When Aline first began her career, she was criticised for the mundane nature of her work. Rather than depict superheroes flying in the sky, she chose to illustrate her life, whether it be experiences with her father or using the toilet.

Ironically, it is because of this that she found herself a niche in the market. People found this a refreshing approach to comic writing, and she soon found success as a comic writer.

I found Hard Work and No Fun, in Need More Love to be an outstanding scene. Not because it was remarkably interesting or because there was a lot of action, but rather the contrary. The comic strip illustrates “Goldie, the Neurotic Woman” masturbating while fantasising about having a “real” man. Shortly after finishing, she quickly becomes critical about herself. She begins by criticizing the appearance of her body calling it “gross”, then further saying that even if her body were to change she would still be boring.

The reason I found this scene outstanding, was because the thought process is completely relatable and it is realized in so few panels. Humans enjoy victimising themselves. We would rather give ourselves an endless list of reasons as to why we can’t achieve our goal, rather than work towards achieving that goal. In the comic, she quickly moves from a skin-deep problem, to one regarding her character. The same applies to the average person. If you are already unsatisfied with yourself, you will always find something that you want to change about yourself. If you have a negative view of yourself, you will never be satisfied.

Aline is brutally honest in her depiction, and I believe that many people who share a similar problem will appreciate her honesty.

Interviews with Kominsky

Aline Crumb Interview for the Prime Book

It’s very interesting listening to her talk: it literally gives her words in her books, a voice. With clarity, after listening to her talk, I can read the comic in her voice, and all the vernacular dialogue she applies become that much simpler to understand.

Aline & Robert Crumb (Autofiction/Autobiographie)

Kominsky states she adopts a persona while she writes–she becomes more and more like the Kominsky she is creating, which “is a little different than how [she] is when [she’s] not writing”. She also confesses that her comics used to come from “a deeper place of pain”–similar to a confession. Kominsky iterates that that anger has passed, and she’s already “told that story”, so she doesn’t need to adopt that persona anymore.

There are numerous videos featuring the Crumbs together as a couple–and even more with just Robert Crumb himself. As if to mirror their comic career, Aline Kominsky is overshadowed by her more popular, more widely-accepted aesthetics husband, even in YouTube videos.

Tone and mood

The tone in this book is brutally honest. You can tell that she had a very open mind about life and the way she describes things is very honest. It is informal but it makes sense, as she is writing about all the things that happened to her as she was growing up. Her character is usually very assertive and straightforward, and that makes the reader feel that what they are reading is genuine.

There is a lot of self-deprecating, crude humor but even when sad things are happening, Aline manages to be humorous about it.

The mood of this book is mainly a wild ride; everything feels chaotic especially because of the comics. The comics make some readers feel uneasy or revolted as almost everything is drawn in a very special style that is not necessarily pleasant to look at.

Images and Colour

One aspect that is notable in Aline’s work is its aesthetic. She uses bold, messy lines and colour, seemingly appearing as nothing more than doodles to share her life story. However, this is not the case.

Her unpolished art style is polarizing, with those who find it grotesque, and those who find it charmingly captivating and honest.

“[Her comic] is being released after a world-wide search for a printer who wouldn’t quall at its explicit depictions of blowjobs, masturbation, ass-picking, and self-doubt” (“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview”).

And this is precisely why Aline’s work stands out from the rest. Aline’s art style compliments the motifs and themes of her stories. The ugliness of her drawings depict the ugliness she sees in herself and in others. She is unafraid of depicting the “nightmarish” state of the world as she sees it. She does not shy from subjects that may be too obscene, making her thick lines and strong colours a perfect match. Contrasting this are the few drawings done by her husband Robert Crumb who illustrates Aline beautifully.

An illustration done by Robert Crumb, found in Need More Love.

Similarly, Aline includes many photos of her life in her graphic memoir. This shows a striking difference between the reality that she lived through, and the depictions shown in her comics. She makes it clear that the hideousness she sees is not just skin deep, that a person’s merit is from their character. In the same vain, the reader can take away from the stories that we are all human, with our own flaws that we must overcome.

Bibliography:

“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview.” The Comics Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2017.

Voice

The way she tells us her stories is very unique. You can actually imagine the voice and accent of the characters involved by looking at her comics and the way they have their dialogues. 

– Part of a comic called “Wiseguys”. Part of “Need More Love” by Aline Kominsky-Crumb

She uses a different way of spelling to showcase the way the characters speak, and it is very clear in the example above. The sense of character is very easy to grasp.

Another good example

-“Didi ‘n bunch in HotAir” part of the collection “Need More Love” by Aline Kominsky-Crumb

 

Reactions to Kominsky’s Work

In addition to my previous post regarding the critical reception of Need More Love: A Graphic Memoir, Kominsky also faced some difficulties merely getting her worked published. Hillary Chute, writer on the literature, arts, and culture magazine The Believer, reveals via interview that co-contributor of Wimmen’s Comix Trina Robbins not only discouraged Kominsky from creating autobiographical work, but also found her aesthetic “vulgar and gross”.

Although only so much can be gleaned from this magazine excerpt, it appears that Kominsky also faced criticism from her own mother when it came to her work.

The way I drew degrading, ugly sex and everything–it was really a turn-off to men. They hate it.” – Aline Kominsky-Crumb

Bibliography

Chute, Hillary. “Aline Kominsky-Crumb.” The Believer. The Believer, Nov. & dec. 2009. Web. 28 July 2017. <http://www.believermag.com/issues/200911/?read=interview_kominsky-crumb&gt;.

Characterization

Although Need More Love has been praised by countless people around the world for its history and the way it speaks for women, it is not without technical merit.

Aline’s riveting and engrossing art style captures her experience as a woman, born in the 1940s. Her use of deformed anatomy and intentionally hideous renditions of people truly reflect and characterize what it means to be human. The reality is that we’re not all Superman or Wonder Woman. Every single one of us have our flaws, and Aline bares proudly her insecurities and vulnerabilities for the world to see. Many of the more “normal” drawings of Aline in Need More Love was drawn by her husband Robert Crumb. Conversely, Aline regularly portrays herself grotesquely.

“Trina couldn’t understand why I would draw myself on a toilet. I would completely deconstruct the myth or romanticism around being a woman—all that stuff. I was just vulgar and gross and everything. I enjoyed pushing that in people’s faces. For me that was somehow satisfying” (“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb”).

She depicts the mundane drivel women goes through, in an unflattering way. She does not beautifully render out scenes, or emphasise action needlessly. Through these elements she shares her life story and normalises what it means to be a woman.

As one would imagine, Aline did face backlash and frequently encounters situations where her identity as a person is mistaken for the silly, fictionalized rendition of herself in her book (“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview”). Many mistaken these two selves to be one and the same, not realizing the work that went into crafting a relatable character.

Bibliography:

“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb.” The Believer. N.p., 01 Nov. 2009. Web. 28 July 2017.

“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview.” The Comics Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2017.

Historical, Social, and Cultural Context

Due to Aline’s work as a comic artist, she has been hailed as a pioneer of writing memoirs in graphic form, as well as the forefront of women authors in comics. This was not an easily accomplished feat, however. Being born in the 1940s, Aline was met with harsh critics  (“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview”).

“THE WAY I DREW DEGRADING, UGLY SEX AND EVERYTHING—IT WAS REALLY A TURN-OFF TO MEN. THEY HATE IT”.

-(“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb”).

Needless to say, Aline met much resistance. With so many strips being mundane, and others being self-deprecating, it was hard to imagine capturing a large fanbase.

“Who wants to read about your personal daily things? That’s not interesting. People want, you know, to be uplifted in their work, and…” (“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb”).

“Who wants to read about whether you’re worrying about being fat and ugly?” (“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb”).

Surprisingly, Aline’s work resounded with a rather large demographic. People found her comics to be real and relatable, spurring other women to take different approaches as comic writers. It was a refreshing change from the non-stop action of other mainstream comics. In fact, thanks to her efforts paired with her husband Robert Crumb, these two catalysed the evolution and introduction of “alt comix” (Serendipity).

Aline not only represented women. As a Jewish girl born in the years following the Second World War, she faced much hardship (Serendipity). However, with her self-deprecating form of humour, she manged to turn this hardship into camaraderie, for those who faced prejudice.

Bibliography:

“Interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb.” The Believer. N.p., 01 Nov. 2009. Web. 28 July 2017.

Serendipity. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2017.

“The Aline Kominsky-Crumb Interview.” The Comics Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2017.

Themes

She describes the themes in this book better than anyone else “In my comics I ‘ve reconstructed my impressions and stories from a selective albeit drug-damaged memory bank… here are recurring themes of sleaziness, out of control materialism, upward striving, tension, financial problems, selfishness, and misery… not a typical post-war jerk family atmosphere!”  (Kominsky 14).

There are many other themes like substance use, family trauma, romance, heartbreaks and sexual affairs.

The book revolves around many aspects of her life and how she felt. It is a book about coming of age and finding her true self.

A major theme in this book is the sexuality in her life. It tends to be a bit graphic and it is often expressed through the written portions of Aline and also in the way she draws in her comics. The other themes mentioned are minor, even though they do have an important role in telling this story.

I believe that not everyone will find the drawings appealing or easy to read, but I think that was done on purpose and it is quite a genius way of expressing what she was going through.