Synopses & Reviews
As comic strip scholars well know, George Herriman’s Krazy Kat strip made its debut as a pint-sized supplementary strip running below the Family Upstairs strip before emancipating itself to its own, long-running strip.
What scholars are not aware of, however, is that as part of his work process, Herriman used to draw a complete, essentially finished version of each installment of the “Family Upstairs” Krazy Kat in a sketchbook before carefully redrawing it as part of the daily Family Upstairs. Which means that there exist “original” versions of hundred upon hundreds of Krazy Kat strips that have literally never been published anywhere... until now.
The owner of this priceless artifact would like to share the contents of it with the rest of the world, and has chosen Fantagraphics for this project.
This perfect facsimile edition (so exact that an unscrupulous con man could conceivably try to resell a copy to a gullible Herriman fan as the real thing) will also include a supplementary booklet containing an essay on Herriman, and a large sampling of the final, published Krazy Kat strips, allowing readers to compare and contrast with the original sketchbook version.
Fantagraphics plans to eventually release a complete collection of the Family Upstairs/Krazy Kat strips as part of its “Komplete Herriman” series.
Review
"Krazy Kat is something way better than the greatest strip; it’s a milestone of 20th century visionary art... George Herriman was one of those godsent popular artists like Chaplin, Armstrong, Hitchcock and Dylan whose low art makes mincemeat of the high. Geez, this stuff is wonderful." Tom DeHaven
Review
"One could argue the claim, confidently, persuasively, and with an all-but-inexhaustible store of ever-fresh evidence, that George Herriman was one of the very great artists, in any medium, of the 20th century." Michael Chabon
Synopsis
What scholars are not aware of, however, is that as part of his work process, Herriman used to draw a complete, essentially finished version of each installment of the Family Upstairs Krazy Kat in a sketchbook before carefully redrawing it as part of the daily Family Upstairs. Which means that there exist original versions of hundred upon hundreds of Krazy Kat strips that have literally never been published anywhere... until now. The owner of this priceless artifact would like to share the contents of it with the rest of the world, and has chosen Fantagraphics for this project This perfect facsimile edition (so exact that an unscrupulous con man could conceivably try to resell a copy to a gullible Herriman fan as the real thing) will also include a supplementary booklet containing an essay on Herriman, and a large sampling of the final, publishedKrazy Kat strips, allowing readers to compare and contrast with the original sketchbook version. Fantagraphics plans to eventually release a complete collection of theFamily Upstairs/Krazy Kat strips as part of its Komplete Herriman series. "
Synopsis
A stunning discovery of original Herriman cartooning art.
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.