J. R. "Bob" Dobbs is the
figurehead of the
Church of the SubGenius. His image is derived from a piece of 1950s
clip art. According to SubGenius dogma, "Bob" was a drilling equipment salesman who, in 1953, saw a vision of God (
JHVH-1 according to Church scriptures) on a television set he had built himself. The vision inspired him to write the "PreScriptures" (as described in the
Book of the SubGenius) and found the Church. The theology holds that "Bob" is the greatest salesman who ever lived, and has cheated death a number of times. He is also revered for his great follies and believed to be a savior of "Slack". He was assassinated in
San Francisco in 1984, though the Church claims that he has come back from the dead several times since then.