Krazy & Ignatz: The Kat Who Walked in Beauty

A unique collection of rare "Krazy Kat" in a handsome hardcover format.

For the past five years, Fantagraphics has been comprehensively publishing the complete "Krazy Kat" Sundays. Now we offer a unique, stand-alone companion to that series. "The Kat Who Walked in Beauty" collects many rare and unique dailies from the 1910s and 1920s. Though many readers are aware of Herriman's dynamic Sunday pages, fewer know that during 1920, in what must have been an editorially unrestrictive period for Herriman, he drew some of the most graphic and brilliantly conceived daily strips ever created; they look like "mini-Sunday" strips. This nine-month stretch of dailies, never-before-reprinted, is among the treasures included in this collection. The revolutionary layout and pictorial content of these strips ended in late-1920, but for a brief period in 1921, the expanded layouts resume and are included here. The collection includes many other Herriman gems, including the very first stand-alone Krazy & Ignatz strips from 1911, and the illustrations from Herriman's Krazy Kat Jazz pantomime/ballet, performed to captivated New York audiences in 1922.

Although Herriman's work is an American treasure, the "Krazy Kat" daily strip remains obscure even for the determined enthusiast. This book fills in several gaps in the daily strip history, reproduced at close to their original size.

"Fans of the ongoing series reprinting all the Sunday Krazy Kats shouldn't miss this essential supplement." Booklist

"It's clear from the beginning that Herriman is a master of wordplay, and he quickly establishes his trademark mutable backgrounds, Krazy's uniquely accented (and spelled) dialog, and the running gag of Ignatz punctuating every strip by flinging a brick at Krazy's head." Library Journal

"Behold the comic strip's proudest achievement: Brickism!" Art Spiegelman

"One of the very great artists, in any medium, of the 20th century." Michael Chabon

A unique, stand-alone collection of some of the most graphic and brilliantly conceived daily strips ever created, along with many other gems, including the very first stand-alone Krazy & Ignatz strips and more rarities.

Presenting a unique, stand-alone companion to our Krazy & Ignatzseries, The Kat Who Walked In Beautycollects many rare and unique dailies from the 1910s and 1920s. Though many readers are aware of Herriman's dynamic Sunday pages, few know that during 1920, in what must have been an editorially unrestrictive period for Herriman, he drew some of the most graphic and brilliantly conceived daily strips ever created; they look like "mini-Sunday" strips. This nine-month stretch of dailies, never-before-reprinted, is among the treasures included in this collection. The collection includes many other Herriman gems, including the very first stand-alone Krazy & Ignatz strips from 1911, and the illustrations from Herriman"s Krazy Kat Jazz pantomime/ballet, performed to captivated New York audiences in 1922. This book fills in several gaps in the daily strip history, reproduced at close to their original size.

George Herriman was born in New Orleans, LA, 1880 and died in 1944 in Los Angeles, CA. His work was recently showcased in the landmark Masters of American Comics exhibition at the Hammer and MOCA museums in Los Angeles.