56. HENRY ROLLINS: Who’s the crazier man?
Henry Rollins (1961-) is an American comedian, entertainer, writer, radio DJ, actor, TV-presenter, activist and former punk-rocker. I was always familiar with him but didn’t really know his work, but after a reader submitted this quote I was compelled to check out more of his material. So after watching his YouTube videos, reading some of his interviews and finding out what he’s about, I definitely appreciate him a lot more. You have to admire a guy who tours the world with just a microphone, performing on stage night after night trying to educate people. To me, he seems like a very intelligent guy doing his best to fight bullshit and help others. What’s not to admire?
- Rollins’ official website.
- Thanks to Daniel for sending me this quote.
- My favourite podcast is Marc Maron’s WTF and his interview with Rollins is well worth a listen.
- Share your favourite Henry Rollins YouTube video in the comments!
ABOUT THIS SITE:
MOST POPULAR COMICS
- 50. NEIL GAIMAN: Make good art
- 100. CARL SAGAN: Pale blue dot
- 98. ALAN WATTS: What if money was no object?
- 90: IRA GLASS: Advice for beginners
- 52. PHIL PLAIT: Welcome to science
- 104. MALALA YOUSAFZAI: I have the right
- 116. CAITLIN MORAN: We’re all dying
- 94. The Two Wolves
- 92. CHRIS GUILLEBEAU: 11 ways to be average
- 108. SOPHIE SCHOLL: The fire within
- 42. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: The most astounding fact
- 60. ROBERT FROST: The road not taken
- 97. CHARLES BUKOWSKI: Air and light and time and space
- 17. FRANK HERBERT: Litany against fear
- 89. STEPHEN FRY: Ultimate self-help book
Best of the rest
- 106. CHRIS HADFIELD: An astronaut's advice
- 12. CARL SAGAN: Make the most of this life
- 33. EDGAR MITCHELL: A global consciousness
- 36. BRUCE LEE: There are no limits
- 56. HENRY ROLLINS: Who's the crazier man?
- 65. MARIANNE WILLIAMSON: Our deepest fear
- 73. MARK TWAIN: An educational journey
- 8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT: The man in the arena
- 83. HOWARD THURMAN: Ask yourself
- 91. BILL HICKS: It's just a ride
HOSTED BY:
BRAVO! This piece is so moving, everything in it, I absolutely loved the trace, greetings fron Mexico City ^_^
Agreed, very good job and inspiring as hell!
Hey GAV this is pretty awesome work your doing. I just wanted to recommend a video by Henry Rollins that i just saw. Youtube big think; Henry Rollins, The One Decision that Changed My Life Forever. there’s a great quote about being an “Americanist”. I hope you read this . thanks
Great video, thanks Hasan. Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkvEpoqFx6c&sns=fb
Wow , that was a strong one. Good job!
Iron and Soul is an excellent essay written by Mr Rollins. Definitely worth a read.
http://rosstraining.com/blog/2009/12/04/iron-and-the-soul-by-henry-rollins/
Great article, I feel like working out now!
I absolutely adore your work and this was no exception. You really brought this brilliant quote to life. Thanks for inspiration.
I absolutely adore your work and this was no exception. You really brought this brilliant quote to life. Thanks for the inspiration.
SUPERB!! Great quote for the day to follow dreams and the I AM in your own life – well done Gavin! Love a bit of Rollins!
Amazingly, I’ve run into a situation that totally related to this quote. It was like destiny to read this right now, today. To check my email while sitting and worrying and stumbling across your subscription email and reading this… Truly a message. Thank you
you got the essence of him and the passion of him of trying to educate the public that goes or at least meet him in person
greetings from guadalajara mexico
oh and well this video is the one i like of him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrgOnE7nkPU
good comediant =)
great story-telling!
His duet with Shatner was actually pretty damn awesome too..
No seriously.. *digs through youtube*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-eJQ1mTVzA
That was both awesome and strange
Thank you.
I get it. As the guy at home suffering his ‘mid-life crisis’, I get it!
Personally, I think the guy on the park bench is tilting a bit far in the other direction, and prefer the milder version offered by Neil Gaiman in his New Year Wish (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/12/my-new-year-wish.html). But, tastes for passion vary, and you did Neil recently with a similar theme. It doesn’t do to fixate on just a few sources.
PS If you feel your ‘Home Sweet Home’ closes in on you a bit at times, and want to get out more, you might find the collaborative workspace ‘HubMelbourne’ worth checking out (http://hubmelbourne.com/). Mr. Rollins may see some value in it as well.
I do!
Thanks Tony – HubMelbourne sounds interesting – I am going a bit stir crazy in my home office
If you are interested, they have ‘open house’ sessions on Thursdays at 11:00am, where Brad, Ehon, or Jan will explain the setup (Yes, there are fees, but you can cut to suit). There’s a sort of potlatch lunch gathering afterwards at 12:30
Lawyers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, software programmers… they have all sorts (even an artist-in-residence!)
Well, seeing as he said ” the passerby will drop a coin into my cup”, I think it may be accurate..
Wonderful. Reminds me of the Dali lama and one other, but I don’t care to look through and find that other…
Two questions, though. One: I am at all times what?
Two: Why did you choose that for the sign on his chest?
I am … present/alive/in-the-moment.
‘End is Nigh’ is the classic crazy-man armageddon slogan.
somthing tells me that crazy guy is just going to give that wad to a random passerby.
awesome mannn..!!
Henyr Rollins is awesome. If he happens to stop by near you on one of his spoken word-tours, absolutely go see him. I guarantee that you will have two very entertaining and thought-provoking hours.
I absolutely adore the panel with the guy in the car and the use of white space to create suspense, nicely done.
You leave me speechless, as usual…
probably the biggest reason for me loving your comics so much is that you pretty much choose to picture my favourite quotes or their authors. most of your work feels like something i’ve done and i love it
keep up the great work 
Very ‘Watchmen-esque’ Gav..kinda reminded me of the Henry Kovacs/Rorschach character…
Excellent job of capturing Henry’s essence and great choice of a quote.
Henry Rollins is one of my heroes. i love this SO much and so glad i found your site. here is a little story about Henry and how he’s made me smile or feel better.. http://mynameisjenne.tumblr.com/post/25364233350/reason-28276302-why-i-love-henry-rollins
Great story Jenne
I hope you’ve read Kate Griffin’s Matthew Swift series; a madness of angels, the midnight mayor, the neo court. Your illustration evoked the spirit of them wonderfully.
This is Rollins telling the story of his friend Joe Cole’s murder. It’s devastating, but the last few minutes make it worthwhile, in my opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vasIL6mtNIk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThZFJwlqfNM
Brilliant, all your works are brilliant! Thank you! Don’t you dare to stop!
Hello from Moscow, Russia
Wow, this was definitely awesome. It really reminded me of xkcd.com/137. Does anybody know of any other quotes, people, songs, books, really anything at all that has a similar message? Thanks.
9gag brought me here. awesome artwork.
really inspirational. seriously dude, most of us will not get the message in the quotes. the artwork makes people get the message.well, most of them. unless u made them too abstract. keep the good work.
High 9!
I do wish people would give credit to the author, although, unlike most others, ‘zenpencils’ is usually not cut off the bottom…
Would love to see you do a Christopher Hitchens quote. The great man has a plethora!
RP
It impress me how you keep this awesome artwork at a post rate so high. When I found out about your website I hoped that there would be some Ali posts, and then you made them.
You are doing a great work GAV! Soon I’ll send some pics to you of the free art you email us, decorating my bedroom.
a tear jerker!
sir, i admire you. your artwork is an inspiration and i love the style. x
Tough quote, great drawing. One of my favourites on your website. Reminded me a little of Stallone’s “Rocky Balboa”: ‘What’s so crazy about standing toe-to-toe with someone, saying “I am”?’
Thanx for all the great work.
goosebumps…
well done
why not a like button on every page. would quadruple your traffic
There is a Like button on every page …
I love Henry Rollins, read almost all of his books and saw a few of his spoken word tours.
This piece is very funny I think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOjjY-Pp_og
Ah! Watching you pick and quote my favorite comedians (Spoken Word in this case) is so much fun!
keep it up!
Thanks again
Love ur work!!Jus awesome!!
Namaste from Mumbai,India!
this one is my favorite (so far).
i really, really appreciate your work. can i translate to portuguese and post into a blog ? with full credit and link to the original post, of course.
hello Gav. i’d really like to buy this as a print, it’s wonderful. but society6 doesn’t seem to have it. could you add it? take my money!
thank you so much.I’ve been really inspired by this peace that you made.It actually moved moved me to tears
Henry Rollins is probably the best role model anyone could have.
Gav, I recommend reading this:
http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/strength-articles/iron-henry-rollins
Would be a great source for your work, I think.
Keep up the good work!
GAV – U R Awesome! : ^)
Is Rollins depiction in this inspired by Big Shot from The Tick by any chance? You even got the tear rolling down his cheek as he smiles.
No, but I do love The Tick. Spoon!
This is amazing. Plain and simple. Gives you a real jolt. Made goosebumps rise on my arms.
Rollins is brilliant, and if you ever see him perform a spoken word you will thank yourself for life. He has a brilliant, and inconceivable outlook on the world.
This is great. If you didn’t know you can also get the Rollins radio shows as a podcast: http://rollins-archive.com/
Man oh man is this inspiring. Resonates so well with what I look around me and see. Folks in their early 20s settling down with a house and a car, yet complaining about that alternate reality they wished they existed in.
I hope to not grow older and be that man in this comic!
Do keep churning out such remarkable work! Very inspiring and re-assuring.
Inspiring and amazing. This actually inspired me to step out of the relationship I wasn’t being happy in. Thanks, man.
Good cartoon here, too bad I know the author of the quote far too well to appreciate it. I would like to live without judgement but Henry Rollins is an egotistical, self-centered, pretentious hypocrite.
I don’t get it.
“I AM…” what? I am alive, I exist? Well so does everyone. We are all alive unless we are dead, in which case we can’t hear your words so what’s the point. As I’m cursing my job, my partner, or whatever, I’m just as alive, breathing, living, as you are.
What’s he saying? That he’s living in-the-moment, fully experiencing life at every instant while I let it pass me by? BS. You can’t feel every moment of life, it is too vast, too impossible to comprehend. You cannot enjoy life at every moment. You cannot be aware of your own existence at every moment. Life is dynamic, changing, shifting between moments of sharp awareness and insight to dull lethargy. Life is all of the above and to claim otherwise is denial.
(Am I not getting this? Seriously, someone please explain this quote to me.)
I’ve seen HR speak twice to date, and he’s incredibly motivational. And I love how subtly you captured his essence in these illustrations. Except instead of “subtly,” I meant “blatantly.”
Off topic, but you remind me of ThreeDog.
Only as an artist. And the way you are able to combine the quotes with imagery is absolutely brilliant.
What does inane means?
Greetings from Southern China. Jumped over from reddit…so glad I did! Great stuff, been reading a few panels and following your footnotes. Righteous stuff. Carry on!
AMAZING
It’s funny. He was pretty big when I was a teen. I just remember him as the guy with the big neck who screamed a lot.
The guy’s actually incredibly amazing.
Does anyone know what album/interview/book this quote is from? I have scoured the internet and no one seems to know.
Not sure, I found a girl reciting it from a book on YouTube but couldn’t make out the cover.
thus spoke zarathustra!
We absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for.
Does one offer guest writers to write content available for you?
I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write related to here. Again, awesome weblog!
These constituents can easily reduce the appearance of hyper pigmentation, age spots, sun damage melasma, acne marks, old scar,
dark elbows and uneven skin tone with ease.
Great article.
Interesting piece.
and yet the crazy homeless guy still needs money, and Henry Rollins is still rich as fuck.