Robert Crumb: A Short History of America

“A Short History of America” by Robert Crumb.  1 min 12 sec.

As a kid growing up in the 1950s I became acutely aware of the changes taking place in American culture and I must say I didn’t much like it.
I witnessed the debasement of architecture, and I didn’t much like it.
— Robert Crumb

“A Short History of America” by Robert Crumb was first published in the CoEvolution Quarterly #23, in 1979. The cartoon shows the development from farmland to a city street corner, all from the same vantage point.

The final panel asks “What Next?!!”

In 1992, Crumb added color to the original, as well as three new panels to the original 12.  The three new panels predicted three possible future scenarios: Ecological disaster; Techno Fix and the Ecotopian Solution.

For the 1994 documentary “Crumb” director Terry Zwigoff made a video that sequenced the 12 line-drawing images.  That concept has been duplicated from the color version, as seen here.

Can be viewed in full screen to see more of the detail.
Hover over the lower right corner, and click on the square icon there to enlarge the screen.