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A six-panel page in Zap #1 that caused Crumb a lot of trouble, KOT struck a note in the collective hip unconscious. For a while, KOT was everywhere. The characters and their odd mode of pedal ambulation were made into merchandise, mostly without permission. In the early '70s, Crumb's lawyer threatened suits against anyone who had swiped Crumb's work or ideas. Thousands of dollars rolled in. Then in 1976 a judge ruled that Crumb didn't own KOT --and suddenly he was being pursued by the IRS for the taxes they said he owed on past royalties. Crumb didn't dig himself out of that hole for years.

In 1965, Crumb took some bad acid that left his perceptions "fuzzy" for several months. He couldn't function well on the physical plane, but his smeared brain invented and his hand recorded in his sketchbooks such characters as the Snoid, Flakey Foont, Eggs Ackly, Shuman the Human, and, foremost among them, this guy. Equal parts con man and saint, Mr. Natural was everyone's favorite cartoon guru. Dispenser of wisdom, kicker of silly asses, Mr. Natural had a bad stretch in the '70s when he was committed to an asylum. He came back in the '80s, only slightly the worse for the wear.

One of Crumb's most famous characters, Fritz took his name and personality from two felines in the young Crumb's household. Created in 1959, Fritz's adventures were first recorded in little notebooks, then in Harvey Kurtzman's Help! , then in Head Comix , and finally in a book of his own in 1969. A glib, fast-talker popular with women, Fritz's next step up was his own movie, a hit in the early 1970s. A second film followed. Crumb disowned them both. Sickened by the notoriety the character had brought him, indignant at how Fritz was portrayed, Crumb used the Leon Trotsky icepick-in-the-head method to kill Fritz in People's Comix , 1972.

This is Whiteman, introduced in Zap Comix #1. When readers met him, he stood for everything wrong with the guys who ran America. Whiteman's chief concern was keeping a tight asshole in all situations. A hard charger, he was both on the go and constipated. Whiteman kept his gut sucked in and his chest thrust out. Whiteman wanted people to think he was tough--and he was--but maintaining the facade was hard work. Crumb rescued him in Home Grown Funnies . He was kidnapped by Yetti and underwent an epiphany in the woods. He found happiness with the forest creature. His bowels no longer on fire, able to satisfy his lust any time he wanted, this former paragon abandoned his wife, kids and civilization for eternal comic book heaven with Yetti.

He's Mister Snoid to you. One of the characters Crumb created during his "fuzzy" acid period in the mid 1960s, the Snoid has made his presence felt in many a comic book, and even had his own solo book (Snoid Comix , 1980). This little guy is capable of anything when it comes to sex. He seems to represent the id. We'll let you guess whose. He can appear anywhere, from the sewer to the doctor's office. Since he's buil close to the ground, he either directs his attentions to the lower half of bodies, or he climbs legs and other bits of anatomy to work his perverted wiles. An unsavory little peckerhead, to be sure.

In the 1980s, Crumb's solo books were Hup 1, 2 and 3. In them he brought back Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont, and introduced the young lady to your right. Her name is Cheryl Borck and she calls herself Devil Girl. Foont can't get her out of his mind. From the time they met, Devil Girl's outrageous tongue and zoftig body have been plaguing his thoughts. He is about willing to throw over everything he has just to be near her. He knows he's a fool, but it makes no difference. The only guy for Devil Girl seems to be Mr. Natural, and even he has his hands full. This woman is one of the strongest characters Crumb has ever created. Like Foont, you won't soon forget Devil Girl.

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