The Book of Genesis Illustrated is by famed cartoonist R. Crumb. Famous among cartoonists for his work as far back as the 1960s, Crumb has always combined cartoons and a social/political agenda. As David Colton of USA Today explains, Crumb is known for "subversive, turn-of-the-century linework, untamed libido, and obsessive social commentary."

Indeed, Crumb personally attributes aspects of his style to experiences with LSD in his younger years. He became known for his "Keep on Truckin'" and "Fritz the Cat" cartoons. Disillusioned with the United States, Crumb took his family to France, where they now live.

Somewhere along the way, Crumb decided to take on the Bible, starting with Genesis. That is no small ambition. But why?

Crumb seems attracted to the book of Genesis as a collection of narratives with deep influence in Western culture. "I'm a spiritual guy," he told USA Today. "I'm not an atheist, more an agnostic. I don't doubt the existence of God. I just don't know quite what God is. It's a question that will challenge me until the day I die."

As for the Bible, Crumb does not take it as the Word of God. He said, "I don't believe it's the Word of God. I believe it's the words of men." He added, "I'm just another human interpreting the story."

In other comments about the project, Crumb has been a bit more forceful. He told Peter Aspden of the Financial Times that working on the Genesis project "nearly killed me." Working through Genesis "ruined my health. I'm in recovery."

He also spoke straightforwardly about his view of the Bible:

"I am completely sick of the Bible. I began to hate it as I worked on it. I've had my fill. The idea that millions of people have taken it so seriously -- it is totally nuts. The human race is crazy."

His Genesis project did not lead him to admire the Bible. "It had the opposite effect on me. . . .  I saw what a primitive, backward morality I had to deal with. It was a good way of exorcising the power of the Bible."

Crumb's distinctive cartoon style plays out across the Genesis narratives. The front cover of the book promises "nothing left out." Very little is. Readers will find cartoon depictions of everything from Creation and the Fall to the curse of Onan. Reading The Book of Genesis Illustrated does reveal the power of this artistic expression (as in the sacrifice of Isaac), but mostly its severe limitations.