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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Krazy Kat in glorious Kolor!!!, November 11, 2005
This review is from: Krazy & Ignatz 1935-1936: "A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy" (Krazy Kat) (Paperback)
Fantagraphics has proven its fortitude yet again. With rumors lingering of financial problems and a release date that seemed to stretch out for months this volume finally appeared (the "first printing date" inside says "July 2005" but the volume didn't actually see release until early November) . Add to that, this volume presents Krazy Kat completely in Krazy Kolor. The strip ran in color from 1935 until 1944, its final year. Sadly, as the introduction says, only two newspapers carried the strip through the entire last leg of its journey. Suprisingly these strips still exist. That they do at all demonstrates the dedication of the strip's fans and historians. And this volume shows Fantagraphics dedication Q.E.D. to one of the best comic strips ever produced.
Krazy Kat's popularity declined as the years progressed, but the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst made sure it continued (he at least had great taste in comics). Regardless, the strip's quality seemed to increas through the color years. It became more surreal, more esoteric, even more beautiful to look at (when the colors came out right, at least), and even more satisfying intellectually. Which, of course, probably accounts for the plummeting circulation. In fact, without Hearst's support the strip probably would have disappeared altogether sometime in the 1930s. Editors apparently hated it. Some have even claimed that certain editors tried to secretly cut the strip from their papers only to receive a personal verbal lashing from Hearst himself. So we have Hearst, who imbued certain other questionable qualities, to thank for the existence of this volume.
Here the fun continues but in color. Everything a fan expects sits between these well-designed covers. Ignatz mouse continues to give in to his id by tossing bricks at Krazy. And Krazy continues to cherish each skull beaning. Offisa Pupp continues to keep order with sanctions against Ignatz that take the form of prison (the famous jail begins to appear more and more at this point in the strip's history; it becomes almost ubiquitous during its final decade). The bittersweet, bizarre, and poetic love triangle at the heart of the strip continues interminably as in the previous volumes. Most of the strips defy description. The color adds a new dimension. Following five volumes of black and white (fourteen including the defunct Eclipse series) this volume feels a little like the moment Dorothy opens the door to Munchkin Land in "The Wizard of Oz" and exposes a dazzling world of color.
Not only that, this volume includes a fascinating essay on a flaming controversy: the racial background of Krazy Kat's creator, George Herriman. Historians have determined that Herriman had African American ancestry, but the extent that he actually identified with the African American culture at the time remains hotly debated. The essay explores this idea in depth. Anyone interested in this intriguing topic should definitely read this piece. In addition to the strips and the essay the book also contains reproductions of watercolored sketches by Herriman, examples of early strips, pictures of Herriman (without his hat!), pictures of Krazy Kat toys from the era (lovingly stuffed with sawdust), and an insert that includes "corrected" reconstructions of strips from previous volumes.
All in all, Fantagraphics has pulled off another triumph with this volume. The addition of color must have presented numerous additional challenges, but they obviously made it through them. So, just like we have Hearst to thank for the continuation of Krazy Kat, we have Fantagraphics to thank for preserving this amazing work of comic art in mass form.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Krazy Kat: Kompletely in Kolor!, April 28, 2006
This review is from: Krazy & Ignatz 1935-1936: "A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy" (Krazy Kat) (Paperback)
Many comic strips rely a lot on variations on a theme. The classic example would be Peanuts. There were dozens of Peanuts strips that involved Charlie Brown trying (and failing) to kick a ball that Lucy was holding. Even though the idea was the same in each, the execution differed from strip to strip. Years earlier, the same could have been said about Krazy Kat; how many different ways can a mouse attempt to hit a cat with a brick? As it turns out, many ways, each interesting in its own way.
For those unfamiliar with Krazy Kat, the three main characters in the strip are Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse and Officer Pupp. Krazy loves Ignatz, who in turn, dislikes Krazy. In fact, Ignatz is constantly beaning Krazy in the head with a brick, an act that Krazy interprets as one of affection. Meanwhile, Officer Pupp loves Krazy and hates Ignatz, constantly arresting the mouse for assault. (While Ignatz and Pupp are definitely male - Ignatz is even married with children - Krazy's gender is much more indeterminate, occasionally referred to as male, sometimes female, but usually left completely uncertain. Personally, I think of Krazy as male, but mainly so I am consistent in what pronoun to use.) Of course, just as not every Peanuts strip involved kicking a football, not every Krazy Kat strip involves Ignatz's efforts to obtain a brick and throwing it at Krazy, but usually the idea is at least lurking in the background.
What makes Krazy Kat special? It's hard to describe exactly. It is certainly different from any comic strip around nowadays: it has much less of an emphasis on punchline humor and instead relies on pure absurdity (or should I say "kraziness"). Even in its time, Krazy Kat was mainly successful due to the patronage of William Hearst, as well as the praise of such well-known figures as e.e. cummings and Walt Disney.
This particular volume covers the Sunday strips of the latter part of 1935 and all of 1936, the first period in which Krazy Kat was in color. Despite some obvious errors by the original publishers seventy years ago - such as times when Ignatz is blue or green - Krazy Kat works as well in color as in black-and-white. There are supplemental materials as well, most notably an essay on Krazy Kat's creator, George Herriman, the controversies regarding his racial background and how it was reflected in his work. Although interesting, you can skip this stuff if you want and go straight to the comics: Krazy Kat is kompletely kaptivating!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 'must' for any KK fan, December 5, 2005
This review is from: Krazy & Ignatz 1935-1936: "A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy" (Krazy Kat) (Paperback)
Krazy Ignatz is the sixth volume of the Krazy Kat reprint series - but it's the first volume to appear in full color, representing the comic strip's color appearance in June 1935 after being a black-and-white Sunday strip. The new color format has been digitally cleaned for sharp appearance - better than the original strips - and harvests a wealth of Krazy Kat and non-Kat materials from Herriman archives from 1935-36. Krazy Ignatz is a 'must' for any KK fan.
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