Synopses & Reviews
covers the last two years of Herriman's masterpiece. With this volume, Fantagraphics and its precursor Eclipse will have reprinted the entire 29-year run of the ! Like Charles Schulz, George Herriman was a cartoonist to the very end. Aside from collecting the last masterful year and a half of "Krazy Kat," this new volume will offer a retrospective look at Herriman's life at the drawing table, offering many never before seen samples of his original art (which the cartoonist often lovingly hand-colored for friends). Gathered from many scattered collections, these pages testify to Herriman's inveterate passion for drawing. Rounding out the volume are scores of daily strips also from Herriman's last years, further testament to the cartoonists vitality. Series editor and veteran comics historian, Bill Blackbeard, also provides a concluding, wide-ranging essay on the life and art of Herriman. More than a simple reprint collection, portrays the full range of a cartoonist who remained an artist all his life.
Review
"Don't read Krazy Kat because it's good for you. Read it because it you, an American being, immigrant-infused, with a light-hearted sense of infinite promise. Herriman's art, word and line, is so damn deep, so damn wonderful and so damnably us." Laurel Maury
Review
"Endlessly perplexing, energetic, deep, and playful." Sarah Boxer
Review
A testament to the creative power of the comic book form. --Tony Brownfield
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The exquisite design and clever wordplay remain sharp as ever. --Gordon Flagg
Review
In truth, nothing less needs to be propped up on the ivory stilts of 'fine art' than Krazy Kat. On a daily basis, in a medium designed to provide simple diversion, Herriman went about his business unpretentiously, seemingly effortlessly, leaving an American masterpiece in his wake.
Review
Herriman's panels convey an irrepressible sense of movement and incorporate distinctly surreal touches, such as the thronged mushrooms that 'rise to feast in florid fungushood,' blooming like umbrellas under a cheese-slice moon.
Review
This beautifully produced series is a must for any reader interested in great art.
Review
One of the very great artists, in any medium, of the 20th century. --Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Review
Language, as deployed by Krazy, is a fluid and fantastic thing, a patois from a people of one…it has a poetical allure and a cadence all its own. The art, rendered in scratchy quill and ink, was endearingly personal…many of his arrangements retain their innovative delight until today…Thus the world is set for a world of fantasy and elastic language. And despite its unvarying central theme, Krazy Kat has a freshness of cartooning and language to it, one that was held to for the entirety of its thirty-year run. This, as any storyteller will readily admit, is nothing short of miraculous. --David Mathews
Synopsis
Krazy and Ignatz, 1943-1944 covers the last two years of Herriman's masterpiece. With this volume, Fantagraphics and its precursor Eclipse will have reprinted the entire 29-year run of the Krazy Kat Sundays Like Charles Schulz, George Herriman was a cartoonist to the very end. Aside from collecting the last masterful year and a half of "Krazy Kat," this new volume will offer a retrospective look at Herriman's life at the drawing table, offering many never before seen samples of his original art (which the cartoonist often lovingly hand-colored for friends). Gathered from many scattered collections, these pages testify to Herriman's inveterate passion for drawing. Rounding out the volume are scores of Krazy Kat daily strips also from Herriman's last years, further testament to the cartoonists vitality. Series editor and veteran comics historian, Bill Blackbeard, also provides a concluding, wide-ranging essay on the life and art of Herriman. More than a simple reprint collection, Krazy and Ignatz, 1943-1944 portrays the full range of a cartoonist who remained an artist all his life.
Synopsis
The final volume covers the last two years of Herriman's masterpiece. In addition to the full-color, full-page Sundays, we present scores of late daily strips and more rare artwork, and a concluding essay by editor Bill Blackbeard.
About the Author
George Herriman (1880-1944), the creator of Krazy Kat, was born in New Orleans and lived most of his life in Los Angeles, California. He is considered by many to be the greatest strip cartoonist of all time.Bill Blackbeard, the founder-director of the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum, is the world's foremost authority on early 20th Century American comic strips. As a freelance writer, Blackbeard wrote, edited or contributed to more than 200 books on cartoons and comic strips, including The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, 100 Years of Comic Strips, and the Krazy & Ignatz series.