Origins While
meditating in 1980, Crumb conceived of a magazine with a
lowbrow aesthetic inspired by
punk zines,
Mad, and
men's magazines of the 1940s and 1950s. Contributor
Kim Deitch believes that another inspiration for
Weirdo was
Bay Area cartoonist and
zine publisher Bruce N. Duncan (often credited as "B. N. Duncan.") Before
Weirdo came along, Duncan published a zine called
The Tele Times, covering "culture and street life in Berkeley." Crumb's detailed cover borders for most issues of
Weirdo were an homage to the 1950s humor magazine
Humbug (edited by
Harvey Kurtzman); Crumb claimed that the elaborate
Jack Davis–
Will Elder cover to the second issue of
Humbug "changed his life".
Dori Seda's first published comics work was in
Weirdo #2 (Summer 1981), a strip titled "Bloods in Space". Her work appeared often in
Weirdo through issue #24 (Winter 1988/1989), shortly after her untimely death.
Dennis Worden's first published work appeared in issue #4 (Feb. 1982); he was a frequent contributor to the magazine throughout its run. Peter Bagge sent copies of his self-published comics
Comical Funnies to Crumb, who published some Bagge strips in
Weirdo #8 (Summer 1983). Bagge contributed to many issues from that point forward, mostly illustrating "Martini Baton" stories written by Dave Carrino. In addition to those mentioned above, other cartoonists whose work appeared in early issues of
Weirdo included Robert's brother
Maxon Crumb,
Robert Armstrong,
Ace Backwords,
Drew Friedman,
Kaz,
J. D. King,
Spain Rodriguez,
Robert Williams,
Harry S. Robins (the "Professor Brainard" feature), Jeff John, Terry Boyce, and B. N. Duncan. The magazine's
letter column, "Weirdo's Advice to the Lovelorn", was helmed by
Terry Zwigoff.
"Coming of the Bad Boys" era With issue #10 (Summer 1984), Crumb handed over the editing reins to Peter Bagge (who had become a regular contributor with issue #8); Crumb continued as a regular contributor. New contributors to
Weirdo during this period included
Kim Deitch,
Mary Fleener,
John Holmstrom, Carel Moiseiwitsch,
Diane Noomin,
Raymond Pettibon,
Savage Pencil,
J. R. Williams (his first published comics),
S. Clay Wilson, Ken Struck, and Ken Weiner/Ken Avidor.
"Twisted Sisters" era With issue #18 (Fall 1986), the editorial reins of
Weirdo went to Kominsky-Crumb; the "
Twisted Sisters" monicker being a reference to an all-female comics anthology that Kominsky-Crumb co-produced with
Diane Noomin in 1976. Bagge returned for a single issue as editor, with
Weirdo #25, Summer 1989. New contributors to the magazine during this era included
Lloyd Dangle,
Julie Doucet,
Dennis Eichhorn,
Justin Green,
Krystine Kryttre,
Carol Tyler (her first published comics), Penny Van Horn, Michael Dougan, and Mark Zingarelli.
Harvey Pekar began a regular column, "Harvey Sez", in issue #19; his column ran in most of the later issues. Many stories published in
Weirdo from the "Twisted Sisters" era were later collected in the 1991 anthology
Twisted Sisters: A Collection of Bad Girl Art — including work by Kominsky-Crumb,
Carol Lay,
Phoebe Gloeckner, Carel Moiseiwitsch, Van Horn, Kryttre, Doucet, Sternbergh, Seda, and Tyler. In 1991, after the publication of
Weirdo #27, Crumb and Kominsky-Crumb moved their family from Northern California to France.
Weirdo was at the center of a legal case in 1986: the manager of a comics retailer in the Chicago area, Friendly Frank's, was arrested on charges of distributing obscenity. The comic books deemed obscene were
Weirdo,
Omaha the Cat Dancer,
The Bodyssey, and
Bizarre Sex. The case led to the formation of the
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
Weirdo #28: "Verre D'eau" Weirdos final issue, #28, released after a three-year hiatus in 1993, was an internationally themed 68-page giant subtitled ''Verre D'eau'' (in French, "glass of water"). Promoted as a "One-Time-Only Special International Issue of Weirdo — Absolutely the Last Issue Ever!", it was co-edited by Aline Kominsky-Crumb and French editor Jean-Pierre Mercier. In addition to the usual roster of contributors, issue #28 featured work from French and European cartoonists such as
Edmond Baudoin,
Florence Cestac,
Jean-Christophe Menu,
Placid ,
Willem, and
Aleksandar Zograf. R. Crumb's contributions to the issue — two tongue-in-cheek stories called "When the Niggers Take Over America!" and "When the Goddamn Jews Take Over America!" — got the issue banned as
hate literature in
Canada. == Publication schedule and page count ==