...
Show More
we found these comics initially inscrutable, especially in parsing what characters say, and how they say it. a lot of them have their own quirks in how they use language, both in spelling and meaning. despite this lack of comprehension, I felt an irresistible pull to keep on reading, and re-reading, until eventually after a few dozen pages it started making sense.
if we had seen these comics outside of this collection, outside of any context to when they were made, we could readily believe that they were from today, or recent years. there's something to Krazy Kat that feels shockingly modern- apparently it was not well received at the time, unfortunately, but this solidifies it as being well ahead of its time. one of the most fascinating details to me is how background details are redrawn in wildly inconsistent ways from panel to panel, which rather than being jarringly obvious, took me a while to notice!
there is a strong and consistent logic to Krazy Kat, beyond the obvious relations of the cop who arrests Ignatz, Ignatz who throws bricks at Kat, and Kat who loves Ignatz for it. the violence, though cartoon slapstick, was disconcerting, but it's clear that Kat truly does not suffer for it, despite the cop's protests of it. Ignatz puts on an act of throwing the bricks with the intent of causing harm, but sometimes you can see that he does it out of love for Kat. the cop is the most subtle, as rarely are there hints that he, too, is fond of Kat, although he gets the least reward for his endeavors. but who cares about him, because he's a cop and deserves to rot for that.
there is so much to explore about the characters and the world they inhabit, and it's constantly fascinating. we highly recommend this book to anybody, but especially so for fans of comics, bizarre humour, and fuzzy love.
- N, J & R
(note: we first read this collection in 2020)
if we had seen these comics outside of this collection, outside of any context to when they were made, we could readily believe that they were from today, or recent years. there's something to Krazy Kat that feels shockingly modern- apparently it was not well received at the time, unfortunately, but this solidifies it as being well ahead of its time. one of the most fascinating details to me is how background details are redrawn in wildly inconsistent ways from panel to panel, which rather than being jarringly obvious, took me a while to notice!
there is a strong and consistent logic to Krazy Kat, beyond the obvious relations of the cop who arrests Ignatz, Ignatz who throws bricks at Kat, and Kat who loves Ignatz for it. the violence, though cartoon slapstick, was disconcerting, but it's clear that Kat truly does not suffer for it, despite the cop's protests of it. Ignatz puts on an act of throwing the bricks with the intent of causing harm, but sometimes you can see that he does it out of love for Kat. the cop is the most subtle, as rarely are there hints that he, too, is fond of Kat, although he gets the least reward for his endeavors. but who cares about him, because he's a cop and deserves to rot for that.
there is so much to explore about the characters and the world they inhabit, and it's constantly fascinating. we highly recommend this book to anybody, but especially so for fans of comics, bizarre humour, and fuzzy love.
- N, J & R
(note: we first read this collection in 2020)
