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Krazy Kat
Black and white Krazy Kat cartoons. Also some color illustrations
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
George Herriman
194 books47 followersGeorge 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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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 22, 2018
This is so strange.
September 9, 2020
1944.. includes e.e. cummings limned essay "Forward to Crazy" (Sewanee Review); to describe a "meteoric burlesk melodrama, born of the immemorial adage love will find a way."
May 31, 2012
Even a casual comics fan such as myself has heard of Krazy Kat, and I was glad to finally get an introduction in this old anthology of strips. e.e. cummings' essay doesn't make much sense, but the comics were cute, fun, and mysterious--I can see why people get so strangely worked up over Krazy. If anything, it gave me and my beau a special goofy love language, as Krazy's dialect works like a virus in the brain, causing me to pronounce everything as if I were Krazy, too. (Oh my dollink, I dweam of a land fur, fur away.)
November 23, 2016
This book feels relevant now, but that's a testament to its status as great art more than a comment on the similarity between the times. The drawing is expressive, the jokes are funny, and the amount of material that makes you groan is miniscule. The only section that didn't hit for me was the final section of song based comics. I'm sure ALK of the songs were popular at one time but almost all of them were unknown to me now.
February 7, 2017
Just adore this entire creation
December 25, 2013
I never want to finish reading this. As long as I look at a page a week, the characters will stay with me. The malleable scenery, the living characters, the dreamlike stories; Herriman may have been the best cartoonist who understood the pleasure of returning to a story every day, and rewarding the reader for doing so.
March 28, 2014
If you've ever read Roger Zelazny's books about the Courts of Chaos and tried to imagine what Chaos might be like, take a look at this book. He we have a Mouse who throws bricks at a Cat who's in love (with the Mouse) and a Dog that attempts to bring order to the situation. On the face of it, not interesting material but it is one of the most wonderful and engrossing books I know.
November 13, 2013
Li'l dollink, allus f'etful.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews