My first exposure to Robert Crumb's work was in college when a class I was in showed the movie Fritz the Cat.
Up until then, the only animated movies I had seen or known about were either by Disney or Don Bluth. It was an eye-opening experience. It taught me that animation could be so much more than cute, cuddly animals. I admired the gritty look to it and loved Crumb's character designs.
Since then, I've always searched out more of his work.