Reprinted from Green Man Review.
Subtitled “the panoramic dailies of 1920,” this latest volume of the collected tales of Krazy & Ignatz is perhaps the most gorgeous representation of comic strip art published this year. The Kat Who Walked in Beauty is well titled. The book is wonderfully presented in hard cover format, 15″x11.25″, with an embossed cover, black with silver highlights, and a panoramic drawing of Krazy Kat strolling past a mountain, smoking a stogie, looking very happy with himself. Well he should.
Inside, it gets even better. A photo of the artist shows Mister Herriman under a sombrero, holding a hand-rolled ciggie. Is that a holster over his shoulder? His foot up on a chair, he looks like he’s ready for revolucione! Across the page, Krazy looks at him quizzically. Flip a few more pages, and you find an introductory article by editor Derya Ataker. He quotes the Museum of Modern Art’s catalogue “Krazy Kat is an imaginary vision of a perfectly happy and harmonious place. . . .” It compares Herriman to Miro, and uses words like “anthorpomorphic bestiary” and “the zigzag rhythm of folk art.” This sounds serious!
The strips presented here come from March to October 1920, when Herriman provided the newspapers with the largest strips ever seen. They are reprinted in their original size (or close to it), 3″x13″ and they gain weight and importance from their size. The drawings are sketchy, vigorous, with Herriman’s active lines forming the simple shapes of Krazy and Ignatz with apparent ease. These strips are eighty (nearly ninety) years old yet maintain a look of modernity about them. You can see the influence Herriman had on later strips (like Peanuts) in the abundance of white, the focus on writing, and strong characterization. His use of language, especially in the dialect used by Krazy Kat, is fun although it may require more careful reading to newcomers until they get the flow. It’s a surreal world this Kat inhabits.
Every page provides pleasure. The book is a designer’s delight. Kudos to Jacob Covey for the startling design. Included in the back of the book is a reproduction of the programme for Krazy Kat: a jazz pantomime, a musical presentation composed by John Alden Carpenter for which Herriman provided new drawings. A dandy bonus!
This is a gorgeous book, for Herriman lovers, for fans of the comics medium, and for anyone who wants to discover Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse for the first time. Highly recommended.
(Fantagraphics Books, 2007)
Comments