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The sublime Mr. Kat, the sublime Mr. Mouse, and the sublime Offisa Pup go at it sublimely.
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Krazy and Ignatz
Krazy & Ignatz, 1931-1932: A Kat a'Lilt with Song
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Fantagraphics's latest volume collecting one of America's true national treasures, Krazy Kat.
In 2002, Fantagraphics embarked on a publishing plan to reintroduce the greatest strip of the first-half of the 20th Century (the Peanuts of its era) to a public that has largely never seen it: this volume is the fourth in a long-term plan to chronologically reprint strips from the prime of Herriman's career, most of which have not seen print since originally running in newspapers 75 years ago. Each volume is edited by the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum's Bill Blackbeard, the world's foremost authority on early 20th Century American comic strips, and designed by Jimmy Corrigan author Chris Ware, who may well go down as the best cartoonist of the 21st Century.
Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932 is a hot-baked brickbat of a volume, a dance with nearly two full years of the Sunday Krazy Kat (Herriman did not use color until 1935), snug between multiple pages of Herriman extras, including an extensive essay by series editor Bill Blackbeard on pre-Kat Herriman work (with reproductions from rare "Baron Mooch" and "Gooseberry Sprig" strips, and a rarely-seen 1923 full-page drawing of the Kat done for Circulation magazine), and, best of all, a 30-page sequence of over two straight months' worth of 1931 dailies! Plus a new "Debaffler" page decoding Krazy arcana, and a stunning layout front and back and throughout by the inimitable Chris Ware!
Krazy Kat is a love story, focusing on the relationships of its three main characters. Krazy Kat adored Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse just tolerated Krazy Kat, except for recurrent onsets of targeting tumescence, which found expression in the fast delivery of bricks to Krazy's cranium. Offisa Pup loved Krazy and sought to protect "her" (Herriman always maintained that Krazy was gender-less) by throwing Ignatz in jail. Each of the characters was ignorant of the others' true motivations, and this simple structure allowed Herriman to build entire worlds of meaning into the actions, building thematic depth and sweeping his readers up by the looping verbal rhythms of Krazy & Co.'s unique dialogue.
In 2002, Fantagraphics embarked on a publishing plan to reintroduce the greatest strip of the first-half of the 20th Century (the Peanuts of its era) to a public that has largely never seen it: this volume is the fourth in a long-term plan to chronologically reprint strips from the prime of Herriman's career, most of which have not seen print since originally running in newspapers 75 years ago. Each volume is edited by the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum's Bill Blackbeard, the world's foremost authority on early 20th Century American comic strips, and designed by Jimmy Corrigan author Chris Ware, who may well go down as the best cartoonist of the 21st Century.
Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932 is a hot-baked brickbat of a volume, a dance with nearly two full years of the Sunday Krazy Kat (Herriman did not use color until 1935), snug between multiple pages of Herriman extras, including an extensive essay by series editor Bill Blackbeard on pre-Kat Herriman work (with reproductions from rare "Baron Mooch" and "Gooseberry Sprig" strips, and a rarely-seen 1923 full-page drawing of the Kat done for Circulation magazine), and, best of all, a 30-page sequence of over two straight months' worth of 1931 dailies! Plus a new "Debaffler" page decoding Krazy arcana, and a stunning layout front and back and throughout by the inimitable Chris Ware!
Krazy Kat is a love story, focusing on the relationships of its three main characters. Krazy Kat adored Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse just tolerated Krazy Kat, except for recurrent onsets of targeting tumescence, which found expression in the fast delivery of bricks to Krazy's cranium. Offisa Pup loved Krazy and sought to protect "her" (Herriman always maintained that Krazy was gender-less) by throwing Ignatz in jail. Each of the characters was ignorant of the others' true motivations, and this simple structure allowed Herriman to build entire worlds of meaning into the actions, building thematic depth and sweeping his readers up by the looping verbal rhythms of Krazy & Co.'s unique dialogue.
120 pages, Paperback
First published May 28,2004
This edition
- Format
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120 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 27, 2004 by Fantagraphics Books
- ISBN
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9781560975946
- ASIN
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1560975946
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Krazy Kat
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Ignatz Mouse
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About the author
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George Herriman was born August 2nd, 1880. He was an African-American cartoonist whose comic strip Krazy Kat has been said by many to be America's greatest cartoon.
Herriman was born in New Orleans, but his Creole family soon moved to California. As a teenager, he contributed drawings to local newspapers. In his early 20s, he moved to New York City and freelanced until newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst hired him for the New York Evening Journal. During the first decade of the 20th century, Herriman's first success was called The Family Upstairs. Krazy Kat gained independence on October 28, 1913 as a cartoon character of his own, and ran until George Herriman died in 1944.
Krazy Kat never achieved wide popularity among newspaper readers, though it attracted a highbrow following. Fans included Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frank Capra, H. L. Mencken, and Ernest Hemingway. Krazy Kat's lengthy tenure owed much to Hearst's personal love of the strip. Acceptance by the cultural mainstream grew after Herriman's death, as Krazy Kat appeared in an animated series by Paramount Studios and even in a novel.
Throughout the 20th century, cartoonists have considered Krazy Kat the founding father (or mother) of sophisticated comic strips.
Herriman was born in New Orleans, but his Creole family soon moved to California. As a teenager, he contributed drawings to local newspapers. In his early 20s, he moved to New York City and freelanced until newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst hired him for the New York Evening Journal. During the first decade of the 20th century, Herriman's first success was called The Family Upstairs. Krazy Kat gained independence on October 28, 1913 as a cartoon character of his own, and ran until George Herriman died in 1944.
Krazy Kat never achieved wide popularity among newspaper readers, though it attracted a highbrow following. Fans included Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frank Capra, H. L. Mencken, and Ernest Hemingway. Krazy Kat's lengthy tenure owed much to Hearst's personal love of the strip. Acceptance by the cultural mainstream grew after Herriman's death, as Krazy Kat appeared in an animated series by Paramount Studios and even in a novel.
Throughout the 20th century, cartoonists have considered Krazy Kat the founding father (or mother) of sophisticated comic strips.
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6 reviews All reviews
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Of all the Fantagraphics Krazy Kat's, this is my least favorite. I feel like the freshness of the 20s comics has dissipated a bit. Also, the reproductions are either (for the most part) fuzzy and muddy. The best part of this collection is the early 1932 dailies at the end of the book.
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BONUS-> pages 98 through 127 are dailies from 1931!
I'm on a Krazy bender like no other title that I've devoured voraciously. I now have only 12 years left to read out of the whole run from it's naissance in mid 1916 to his death in mid 1944. I own 4 more years but after that the obsession would begin to cost me dearly. Money that I don't have. So a week from now I will be going through an acute withdrawal. How much I will miss this immortal cast of wonders frightens me. I will probably break and spend $25 on one book* much faster than I think.
He's an artistic genius. FACT. His mastery of characters and the language overflows into his work in deluge fashion.
Story = *****
He's still not to his masterpiece material but it's getting close.
Art = ****
He's not perfect but it matters so little.
*Those who follow me should know that I do not get to choose the order in which I read unless I pony up extra money for titles such as these. Only my favorites get such attention. I read based on what books, usually that I have wanted for years, drop in price to my woefully stingy price range.
I'm on a Krazy bender like no other title that I've devoured voraciously. I now have only 12 years left to read out of the whole run from it's naissance in mid 1916 to his death in mid 1944. I own 4 more years but after that the obsession would begin to cost me dearly. Money that I don't have. So a week from now I will be going through an acute withdrawal. How much I will miss this immortal cast of wonders frightens me. I will probably break and spend $25 on one book* much faster than I think.
He's an artistic genius. FACT. His mastery of characters and the language overflows into his work in deluge fashion.
Story = *****
He's still not to his masterpiece material but it's getting close.
Art = ****
He's not perfect but it matters so little.
*Those who follow me should know that I do not get to choose the order in which I read unless I pony up extra money for titles such as these. Only my favorites get such attention. I read based on what books, usually that I have wanted for years, drop in price to my woefully stingy price range.
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Every now and then, there’s a strip I don’t get. And I smile and move on. Not everything needs to make sense.
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It was a pleasant surprise to find some of the daily strips collected in this volume! I really hope Fantagraphics starts a complete dailies collection soon!
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Krazy Kat will never get old.
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