According to the book’s copyright page, “The Life and Death of Fritz the Cat collects R. Crumb’s major Fritz the Cat stories,” published between Oct. 1964 and 1972. Fritz, the first iconic character Crumb created, is an anthropomorphized male feline, in his early 20s, who enjoys the sex and drugs that came with the rising counterculture, but not necessarily its ideas. Crumb is quoted on the back of the book stating he “can put more nonsense, more satire and fantasy into the animals” than he could with humans.
Buy The Life and Death of Fritz the CatAn untitled story in R. Crumb and Other Stories finds Fritz return home for a visit after living in the big city. He takes way too much interest in how his sister’s body has matured. The art and lettering are as crude as is Fritz who eventually seduces his sister, so one’s response to that should dictate whether the reader wants to continue.
“Fred, the Teen-Age Girl Pigeon” is one of many girls excited by the airport arrival of Fritz, who has to flee the horde, reminiscent of The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night. Fred is able to accompany Fritz back to his hotel room, which she comes to regret. The art looks better in this wordless comic, but is forgettable, as is “Fritz the Cat, Magician” where he tries to impress a group of kids. The oldest gal calls him a fake and steals his hat. They end up making out and heading down a garden path. Both stories are inconsequential filler.
“Fritz Bugs Out” sees Crumb step up in his artwork and social commentary. After his recent breakup from Winston (dog), he is set up with Charlene (cat), who is also just over a romance. After hooking up, she is already in love him but he heads home to study. After taking a few Benzedrine pills to stay up all night, his mind can’t focus on his school work and he becomes disillusioned with life as it lies ahead. Rejecting conformity, he sets his papers on fire, which leads to the whole apartment burning down. He hides out at a bar where he meets Duke (a crow). They head to an apartment party where Fritz smokes pot for the first time. While high, he attempts to lead the crows in a revolution against an oppressive society, but they ignore his babbling. He reunites with Winston and they bug out of town, but split soon after. The satire is interesting, both that of society and of Fritz, a stand-in for a young man finding his place in the world. Unfortunately, the story’s conclusion is anticlimactic.
“Fritz the Cat, Special Agent for the C.I.A.” heads to China to learn the “sinister mysterious weapon” they are working on. Unfortunately, Crumb is embarrassingly lazy. He has the Chinese (rats) speak in broken English, which I understand helps capture the desired sound and was what was done in that era, but naming the head of the secret police Stin Ki Chin Ki is rather lame. Su Su (alligator) tries to seduce Fritz to learn why he’s in China, but his kisses cause her to fall in love. Like many great spy heroes of the era, Fritz wins one for America.
“Fritz the Cat” finds him playing music in the park. He picks up a trio of ladies with his flowery talk, after tricking a crow they were interested in to leave, and takes them back to a friend’s pad where a party is happening. Fritz takes the ladies into the bathroom and gives them all some attention, but party-goers venture into the bathroom and an orgy occurs, with Fritz getting pushed out of the pile. This story also has an anticlimactic end.
“Fritz the No-Good” really lives up to title. He’s a deadbeat dad and his wife kicks him out for being more interested in getting high and having sex rather than getting a job. He reconnects with Winston for a night of sex, which is not depicted. Later, his pal Fuz (rabbit) introduces him to Spick (lion), former biker and wannabe terrorist. While planning “some great guerilla action,” the crew brutally attacks Fuz’s gal Harriet (horse), physically and sexually, which is depicted. The misogynistic violence and the satisfaction Harriet eventually receives from it doesn’t add anything to the story beyond showing what disgusting animals these characters are, which is rather disappointing as its inclusion only seems for shock value. The plot to blow up the Bay Bridge is foiled. By story’s end, Fritz is back on the street, having learned nothing.
For his directorial debut, Ralph Bakshi adapted the character to the silver screen, creating the first American animated film to receive an X rating. The script used elements from “Fritz the Cat,” “Fritz Bugs Out,” and “Fritz the No-Good.” Although the film received critical acclaim and box-office success, Crumb was so disillusioned by the film and those involved he created “Fritz the Cat, Superstar” in response with Fritz now a jaded film star. Crumb stopped using the character after this story as the book title suggests.
In these stories, Fritz the Cat is a fascinating character, though not always an appealing one, which is part of the point. His adventures are wide ranging even though Fritz (and Crumb) can be single-minded in pursuing base desires. The satire is when Crumb’s writing is at his best, but it’s a shame some stories stop abruptly as if he didn’t know how to end them. There is some nonsense that seems unnecessary and will challenge readers, not always in a good way. After the untitled story, the art work improves, from the characters to the shading on objects.
