Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman

Rating:
Summary: An American Masterpiece
Review: Eighty-five years after its inception, 'Krazy Kat' remains one of the finest examples of American comic art. 'Krazy Kat' is to 'Dilbert' as chicken cordon bleu is to chicken nuggets.

Anyone who has an appreciation for comic strips or an interest in possibly creating their own sequential art works needs to study 'Krazy Kat' carefully. Herriman was truly a master of the form.

The biography of Herriman and the essay on 'Krazy Kat' by one of his contemporaries are interesting... but it's the huge collection of 'Krazy Kat' strips that make this book worth every penny!

Rating:
Summary: until the COMPLETE krazy is finally published
Review: fine anthologies like this will have to do.

compiled principally by patrick mcdonnell (artist and author of "mutts" -- the finest contemporary comic strip) this is a good introduction to the best comic strip of all time. for some thirty years in the first half of the american century, george herriman created one of the greatest works of american art and literature. based almost entirely on variations on a theme (cat loves mouse, dog loves cat, mouse throws brick, cat deems said abuse [rightly?] as a sign of love), herriman caught the essence of a country barely growing up, as well as love in all its potential manifestations.

"krazy kat" can be appreciated as allegory, or it can be enjoyed simply as damned funny. this volume will allow you to have a bit of both.

but oh dear, when will some brave publisher issue the entire run?

Rating:
Summary: the medium's indisputable supreme achievement
Review: Herriman was undoubtedly a genius, and this volume provides a terrific introduction to his work. But I was disappointed when I saw that Herriman's name does not appear on the spine of this new edition. Even though reprints of classic Krazy Kat strips -- all by Herriman -- make up the bulk of the book, the names of three of the volume's compilers are featured prominently on the spine, but Herriman's is not. A small complaint, admittedly. Personally, I'd rather have seen the name of the artist there, instead of -- or at the very least in addition to -- the names of three people I've never heard of.

Rating:
Summary: Zip........POW......'Kontact'. I'm a heppy, heppy ket.
Review: I was first introduced to Krazy Kat through the auspices of the Tucson Comic News. The world of George Herriman is populated partly by lunatic creatures, partly by all-too-human struggles, and completely by his marvelously "sillygistical" prose. Herriman's art is comic strip art at its absolute best. His prose is misnamed poetry, half "found" in a strange Brooklyn patois, half lifted direct from Yeats. This book also contains a fairly funny and quite accessible biography of Herriman, though by the time you're three pages into the vast Krazy Kat kollection in the second half of the book, you'll be wishing like crazy they'd just filled the whole thing up with strips.

Rating:
Summary: Pop art...pop life, the beginning of the 20th cent. is Krazy
Review: This is what all popular art forms should be. A social commentary as love poem. And poem this is. There is very little that someone can write about the Krazy experience without treading in the same terran as this wonderful book. This is were your Krazy love afair begins. And unlike Ignatz you don't show your love with a brick.

Rating:
Summary: KRAZY KAT IS THE FUNNIEST, MOST LUNATIC COMIC STRIP EVER!
Review: Utterly insane, surreal stuff. Krazy Kat (who is usually female but is sometimes apparently male) is in love with Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz loathes Krazy, and to prove it konstantly kreases that kats krown with a brick. Krazy sees this as proof of his affection, and falls even more deeply in love. Officer Pup, who is in love with Krazy, frequently throws Ignatz into jail for hitting Krazy, which causes Krazy to pine for her would-be lover. This is merely the barest sketch of this weird and wild world.

We are now in the midst of end of the century lists. Although largely forgotten now, Krazy Kat has to merit serious consideration as the finest cartoon strip of the century. Certainly it is the richest. These strips stand up to rereading far more than anyother of which I know.

Rating:
Summary: Woo! Krazy Kat rocks the spot!
Review: What a swell book, I say! Brilliantly manufactured diction and absurd plots make "Krazy Kat" one of the most insanely inventive comic strips ever. Krazy is desperately in love with Ignatz, who pelts her with bricks and gets sent to jail with regularity. George Herriman's stark drawings are the perfect setting for his characters' twisted tales of adoration, violence, abuse and unrequited love. Treat youself to this masterwork of 20th century genius! I dig me some Krazy Kat! Yeah! Krazy Kat!

Rating:
Summary: Woo! Krazy Kat rocks the spot!
Review: What a swell book, I say! Brilliantly manufactured diction and absurd plots make "Krazy Kat" one of the most insanely inventive comic strips ever. Krazy is desperately in love with Ignatz, who pelts her with bricks and gets sent to jail with regularity. George Herriman's stark drawings are the perfect setting for his characters' twisted tales of adoration, violence, abuse and unrequited love. Treat youself to this masterwork of 20th century genius! I dig me some Krazy Kat! Yeah! Krazy Kat!

Rating:
Summary: The greatest comic strip ever? You bet.
Review: When I noticed that many of my favourite cartoonists have said that Herriman's 'Krazy Kat' is the greatest comic strip ever, I decided I should check it out. It didn't take long before I agreed with them.

George Herriman is one of those rare individuals who genuinely deserves to be called a genius. That's a word that gets thrown around a little too casually perhaps, but in Herriman's case it is almost an understatement.

He was a brilliantly inventive artist, but his writing is what really sets him apart. A lot of the dialogue is written phonetically in bizarre dialects, a tricky thing to do, but he uses it to great effect.

Whereas space restrictions force cartoonists today to avoid using more words than is necessary, Herriman would often use a lot more, and much of the pleasure of reading 'Krazy Kat' comes from the sheer virtuosity with which Herriman uses language.

That a comic strip could be as funny, as intellectually stimulating, and as beautiful to look at as 'Krazy Kat' seems to me to be some kind of miracle. This book is a great introduction to Herriman and his work. There's a generous helping of 'Krazy Kat' strips, as well as some of Herriman's other work. Anyone who loves comics should have it. I cannot recommend it highly enough.