Krazy & Ignatz: Komplete 1935-1936 A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy
One would think there could be no way to improve upon the wondrously sublime contents of Fantagraphics' five previous books chronologically collecting the classic comic stripKrazy Kat,yet the 1935-36 Sunday installments demonstrate that there was. For, more than two decades after the strip commenced, they are the first episodes in color, and that makes Herriman's classic characters and loopy landscapes that much more vivid and appealing. Meanwhile, the other elements that makeKrazy Kata singular delight continue: the unstable settings, the daffy dialogue ("Well, bletz my hott," exclaims Krazy,^B"also my soff blue eye"), and, above all, the eternal triangle of gender--inspecific Kat, beloved but callous Ignatz Mouse, and loyal, lovelorn Offissa Pupp. The strips here are supplemented by original watercolors Herriman painted for friends, vintage photographs of the artist, and a fascinating essay investigating his racial origins and assessing the effects of his African American ancestry.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved