IPOD
RADIO
Sophie Crumb
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Apr 13, 2004
Sophie Crumb is a unique and young talent. At the age of 23 her comic, Belly Button Comix, was published in Holland by Oog & Blik. Fantagraphics was the obvious American publisher to print the work here because they also publish the work of her father, R. Crumb.
Sophie sounds as adjusted as any child of Crumb’s would be. She’s taken drugs, traveled the world, done tattoos on pig’s feet and of course does very personal comics. Some of her hysterical characters are in the book such as ZoZo and ZaZa the oversexed humanoid insects, Eddy Bear the bear who doesn’t care but the most interesting character she writes about is herself.
Order Belly Button Comix here.
Daniel Robert Epstein: How far back do the stories in Belly Button go?
Sophie Crumb: I did them like a year and half ago, September 2002. I drew them over six months.
DRE:
You did them all at once?
SC:
Yeah while I was doing other stuff like tattooing and teaching English.
DRE:
What made you decide to sit down and do them?
SC:
I did some of the characters in like little random stories. It was mainly because I started living alone so I had more time to sit down and draw. Before I was always living with a lot of people around me and there was always lots of parties. I didn’t even have a room for myself so I never had time to do comics.
DRE:
Have you always drawn?
SC:
Yeah pretty much.
DRE:
I think your drawing style is very reminiscent of Gilbert Shelton and R. Crumb.
SC:
I don’t think I draw like Gilbert Shelton or my dad that much. I guess when you’re parents both do something they subconsciously teach it to you. When I was younger my dad would tell me that I should do it more like this. He’s a perfectionist. He didn’t actually teach me, they don’t do that. It’s more of a family occupation.
DRE:
When did you hook up with Oog & Blik?
SC:
They published my dad’s comics for a long time. The boss of the company has a daughter who is my age and we’ve been friends for a long time. She just entered into the company and her first project is my comic.
DRE:
When did you decide to bring it over to America?
SC:
By chance Eric Reynolds [head of Fantagraphics publicity and marketing] asked me what I was doing and I said I was doing this comic in Holland and he said maybe they could do it here. So it was good for everyone especially for the Dutch company, which is so small.
DRE:
The stories are very personal. Is that difficult for you to do?
SC:
Its kind of the only thing I can do. I’m not really good at writing stories and I’m not even going to try to write anymore stories. In the future I’m just going to write real stories from life. I can’t do anything else. The only thing I can decently write about is myself.
DRE:
So you won’t do anything more with the characters you created?
SC:
Maybe. It just seems pointless. All I really want to do is write about myself and face the truth.
DRE:
I was just flipping through it and the last panel of the ZoZo and ZaZa story just made me laugh.
You went over the France when you were 9. Was that a big culture shock?
SC:
It totally was. It humbled me and made me into this quiet and shy person. I didn’t speak the language and we were in this rural village in the south of France where people aren’t used to seeing strangers, especially Americans. I was the center of attention for a year so I just had to act like the other kids and learn to speak French so no one would notice me. I adapted.
DRE:
Did it feel natural to start doing comics?
SC:
Yeah it did. I didn’t do them for a long time because when I was 17, I tried to do comics but I could never end them because I was too hard on myself. I always thought that it sucked and was crap. I wanted to do anything but comics, tattoo artist or anything. But one day when I actually managed to finish a comic then I started to get a little more hope about doing them. But at first I really didn’t want to do them.
DRE:
You do some ambitious ideas in the book like the Eddy Bear story which is silent. Did you consciously want to do a silent story?
SC:
Yeah I wanted to do that so my French friends could understand what was going on in the comic. I didn’t think before I did it and the ending was not planned at all. I don’t think I will do a story like that again. It was a spontaneous impulsive thing.
DRE:
You have a story in here about a dream where your teeth fall out. Dreams about teeth are fairly common.
SC:
I didn’t know it was so common. When it was published a lot of people told me they have dreams about teeth too.
DRE:
Are you a free spirited person? In some of these stories you’re shy and others you are definitely not.
SC:
I can be really shy then I can be reckless and wild. It depends on the situation and my sobriety [laughs].
DRE:
What’s your process for doing the stories?
SC:
I kind of write them page by page having a general idea of the story but not necessarily in detail. I let the things fall into place on their own.
DRE:
What do you draw with?
SC:
Pictograph. I did the two tone color effect in the book too. It’s a French thing called watercolor ink. Its already diluted so when you put it on its not thick layered it’s translucent. It’s a nice grayish purplish. It doesn’t make the black run.
DRE:
Do you keep a journal?
SC:
I have a sketchbook. I don’t come up with ideas in a journal. I just draw whatever everyday. You’ve got to keep the drawing coming.
DRE:
How have your comics been received in Europe?
SC:
I’m not sure. Holland is so small that it’s really a small number of people that have seen it. In France they haven’t seen it at all. I’ve only sent it to my friends there.
DRE:
Was it exciting to see your sketches in the Ghost World movie?
SC:
I guess. But those sketches sucked. I did them when I was 16. My sketchbook was my 11th grade sketchbook which had guys with dreadlocks smoking pot. I look at that and remember drawing them in English class.
DRE:
What made you not put your last name on the book?
SC:
I wanted people to buy it not because they are a fan of my dad’s but because it looks cool on the shelf. I wanted to see if it actually sells.
DRE:
How is it doing?
SC:
Its doing ok. A lot of people know it’s my work anyway so my technique isn’t working. I didn’t want the name to be the only thing you see on the cover.
DRE:
You’re in Berkeley now. Did you go to school out there?
SC:
No I’m on a prolonged vacation. I traveled last summer, washed up in Berkeley, met a guy, started living with him and then I worked in a comic book shop. Since January I’ve been doing random art stuff through Craig’s List to make a little money. I’ve been getting fan mail from people who want to buy my art. That’s great. I’ve been making the minimum amount of money dumpster diving until April then I’m going back to France to take care of people.
DRE:
Do you like that lifestyle of living hand to mouth?
SC:
Its only temporary. Its more of an elongated holiday with my boyfriend that I know isn’t going to last. For now its nice though.
DRE:
You went to circus school. What was that like?
SC:
My best friend was at circus school and I wanted to go to school but not art school. I just dropped out of art school because I was a spoiled brat. So I went to circus school and that was like boot camp because it whipped me into shape. Then I started to work, teach English and draw comics at home.
DRE:
How did you teach yourself tattooing?
SC:
I was kind of vaguely interested in learning tattooing and some girl introduced me to a guy that was retiring and wanted to pass on his trade. He stayed with me for an intensive week of training. Oh god I spent all the money I had on this fancy equipment. I kind of said yes without realizing I was jumping into the void. He taught me how to tattoo on pig’s feet. Then for six months after that I practiced on myself, friends and friends of friends. I actually liked it and I was relieved that I didn’t spend all that money on nothing. When I went to New York last summer I met a guy who is a cartoonist and owns a teeny tiny tattoo shop in Brooklyn and we’ve been corresponding by email. He wants to have me as an apprentice so I’m coming to New York in June.
DRE:
What’s his name?
SC:
Adam Suerte and his comic is called Aprendiz. Its about his horrible time as a tattoo apprentice. Hopefully he won’t do the same thing to me. I’m glad to be moving to Brooklyn I want to discover the east coast where my family is originally from.
DRE:
Do you have a lot of tattoos?
SC:
Some but I’ll probably get more.
DRE:
Do people prejudge you because you’re R. Crumb’s daughter?
SC:
Not that much. People are pretty sensitive about it. I don’t have to take that much judgment or shit from people. Less than you would think.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Sophie Crumb is a unique and young talent. At the age of 23 her comic, Belly Button Comix, was published in Holland by Oog & Blik. Fantagraphics was the obvious American publisher to print the work here because they also publish the work of her father, R. Crumb.
Sophie sounds as adjusted as any child of Crumb’s would be. She’s taken drugs, traveled the world, done tattoos on pig’s feet and of course does very personal comics. Some of her hysterical characters are in the book such as ZoZo and ZaZa the oversexed humanoid insects, Eddy Bear the bear who doesn’t care but the most interesting character she writes about is herself.
Order Belly Button Comix here.
Daniel Robert Epstein: How far back do the stories in Belly Button go?
Sophie Crumb: I did them like a year and half ago, September 2002. I drew them over six months.
DRE:
You did them all at once?
SC:
Yeah while I was doing other stuff like tattooing and teaching English.
DRE:
What made you decide to sit down and do them?
SC:
I did some of the characters in like little random stories. It was mainly because I started living alone so I had more time to sit down and draw. Before I was always living with a lot of people around me and there was always lots of parties. I didn’t even have a room for myself so I never had time to do comics.
DRE:
Have you always drawn?
SC:
Yeah pretty much.
DRE:
I think your drawing style is very reminiscent of Gilbert Shelton and R. Crumb.
SC:
I don’t think I draw like Gilbert Shelton or my dad that much. I guess when you’re parents both do something they subconsciously teach it to you. When I was younger my dad would tell me that I should do it more like this. He’s a perfectionist. He didn’t actually teach me, they don’t do that. It’s more of a family occupation.
DRE:
When did you hook up with Oog & Blik?
SC:
They published my dad’s comics for a long time. The boss of the company has a daughter who is my age and we’ve been friends for a long time. She just entered into the company and her first project is my comic.
DRE:
When did you decide to bring it over to America?
SC:
By chance Eric Reynolds [head of Fantagraphics publicity and marketing] asked me what I was doing and I said I was doing this comic in Holland and he said maybe they could do it here. So it was good for everyone especially for the Dutch company, which is so small.
DRE:
The stories are very personal. Is that difficult for you to do?
SC:
Its kind of the only thing I can do. I’m not really good at writing stories and I’m not even going to try to write anymore stories. In the future I’m just going to write real stories from life. I can’t do anything else. The only thing I can decently write about is myself.
DRE:
So you won’t do anything more with the characters you created?
SC:
Maybe. It just seems pointless. All I really want to do is write about myself and face the truth.
DRE:
I was just flipping through it and the last panel of the ZoZo and ZaZa story just made me laugh.
You went over the France when you were 9. Was that a big culture shock?
You went over the France when you were 9. Was that a big culture shock?
SC:
It totally was. It humbled me and made me into this quiet and shy person. I didn’t speak the language and we were in this rural village in the south of France where people aren’t used to seeing strangers, especially Americans. I was the center of attention for a year so I just had to act like the other kids and learn to speak French so no one would notice me. I adapted.
DRE:
Did it feel natural to start doing comics?
SC:
Yeah it did. I didn’t do them for a long time because when I was 17, I tried to do comics but I could never end them because I was too hard on myself. I always thought that it sucked and was crap. I wanted to do anything but comics, tattoo artist or anything. But one day when I actually managed to finish a comic then I started to get a little more hope about doing them. But at first I really didn’t want to do them.
DRE:
You do some ambitious ideas in the book like the Eddy Bear story which is silent. Did you consciously want to do a silent story?
SC:
Yeah I wanted to do that so my French friends could understand what was going on in the comic. I didn’t think before I did it and the ending was not planned at all. I don’t think I will do a story like that again. It was a spontaneous impulsive thing.
DRE:
You have a story in here about a dream where your teeth fall out. Dreams about teeth are fairly common.
SC:
I didn’t know it was so common. When it was published a lot of people told me they have dreams about teeth too.
DRE:
Are you a free spirited person? In some of these stories you’re shy and others you are definitely not.
SC:
I can be really shy then I can be reckless and wild. It depends on the situation and my sobriety [laughs].
DRE:
What’s your process for doing the stories?
SC:
I kind of write them page by page having a general idea of the story but not necessarily in detail. I let the things fall into place on their own.
DRE:
What do you draw with?
SC:
Pictograph. I did the two tone color effect in the book too. It’s a French thing called watercolor ink. Its already diluted so when you put it on its not thick layered it’s translucent. It’s a nice grayish purplish. It doesn’t make the black run.
DRE:
Do you keep a journal?
SC:
I have a sketchbook. I don’t come up with ideas in a journal. I just draw whatever everyday. You’ve got to keep the drawing coming.
DRE:
How have your comics been received in Europe?
SC:
I’m not sure. Holland is so small that it’s really a small number of people that have seen it. In France they haven’t seen it at all. I’ve only sent it to my friends there.
DRE:
Was it exciting to see your sketches in the Ghost World movie?
SC:
I guess. But those sketches sucked. I did them when I was 16. My sketchbook was my 11th grade sketchbook which had guys with dreadlocks smoking pot. I look at that and remember drawing them in English class.
DRE:
What made you not put your last name on the book?
SC:
I wanted people to buy it not because they are a fan of my dad’s but because it looks cool on the shelf. I wanted to see if it actually sells.
DRE:
How is it doing?
SC:
Its doing ok. A lot of people know it’s my work anyway so my technique isn’t working. I didn’t want the name to be the only thing you see on the cover.
DRE:
You’re in Berkeley now. Did you go to school out there?
SC:
No I’m on a prolonged vacation. I traveled last summer, washed up in Berkeley, met a guy, started living with him and then I worked in a comic book shop. Since January I’ve been doing random art stuff through Craig’s List to make a little money. I’ve been getting fan mail from people who want to buy my art. That’s great. I’ve been making the minimum amount of money dumpster diving until April then I’m going back to France to take care of people.
DRE:
Do you like that lifestyle of living hand to mouth?
SC:
Its only temporary. Its more of an elongated holiday with my boyfriend that I know isn’t going to last. For now its nice though.
DRE:
You went to circus school. What was that like?
SC:
My best friend was at circus school and I wanted to go to school but not art school. I just dropped out of art school because I was a spoiled brat. So I went to circus school and that was like boot camp because it whipped me into shape. Then I started to work, teach English and draw comics at home.
DRE:
How did you teach yourself tattooing?
SC:
I was kind of vaguely interested in learning tattooing and some girl introduced me to a guy that was retiring and wanted to pass on his trade. He stayed with me for an intensive week of training. Oh god I spent all the money I had on this fancy equipment. I kind of said yes without realizing I was jumping into the void. He taught me how to tattoo on pig’s feet. Then for six months after that I practiced on myself, friends and friends of friends. I actually liked it and I was relieved that I didn’t spend all that money on nothing. When I went to New York last summer I met a guy who is a cartoonist and owns a teeny tiny tattoo shop in Brooklyn and we’ve been corresponding by email. He wants to have me as an apprentice so I’m coming to New York in June.
DRE:
What’s his name?
SC:
Adam Suerte and his comic is called Aprendiz. Its about his horrible time as a tattoo apprentice. Hopefully he won’t do the same thing to me. I’m glad to be moving to Brooklyn I want to discover the east coast where my family is originally from.
DRE:
Do you have a lot of tattoos?
SC:
Some but I’ll probably get more.
DRE:
Do people prejudge you because you’re R. Crumb’s daughter?
SC:
Not that much. People are pretty sensitive about it. I don’t have to take that much judgment or shit from people. Less than you would think.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
loading your activity feed...