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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book to be enjoyed more for its insightful visuals rather than its ambiguous textual commentary, August 10, 2011
This review is from: Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration (Hardcover)
Primarily designed as a tribute to the early 20th century comic strip Krazy Kat, Craig Yoe's book can best be evaluated more as a collection of George Herriman art alongside appreciative essays or remembrances about the artist and the strip that made him so famous. Although little to no criticism or analysis is provided in the 15 secondary articles by both Herriman's contemporaries as well as modern-day cartoonists, the book's inherent and long-term value is more as a primer or source reader on Krazy Kat with the full-page color reproductions of Herriman's illustrations, accentuated by short, vignette observations.
The book is largely organized and structured around a brief essay about Herriman or the strip, and followed immediately by a specific gallery of Herriman's art. If the book has but one fault, it is that the essays raise far more questions about Herriman and the comic strip than they answer. Leading the collection is a reprint of Bill Watterson's 1990 appreciation from a different Krazy Kat book. This may strike some readers as bizarre, as it seems that the introductory piece to this new study should not only provide a justification for yet another book on Herriman and Krazy Kat but also explicate why the artist and the strip have remained such popular aspects in the American imagination for nearly 100 years. Unfortunately, Watterson's essay does neither, and his claim about Krazy Kat being commercially unsuccessful does not equate with its lengthy, 30-year publication history that Watterson mentions. Craig Yoe's brief follow-up also fails to address either of the above issues, and those readers with only a tangential understanding or knowledge about Herriman and the strip may turn away from the subsequent essays entirely and simply enjoy the book for its visuals rather than its textual commentary.
Following these entries, Yoe returns with a biographical sketch of Herriman. While he acknowledges the controversy surrounding Herriman's ethnic and racial heritage, and cites the death certificate as part of the confusion, no connection is made to the practice of "passing," nor does he place his discussion within the context of Jim Crow New Orleans. It is difficult to imagine that no academic study of Herriman or artists during the period has been made that addresses this very topic. Although most comic studies can slide by without such critical depth, Abrams Comicarts have shown their ability to publish semi-scholarly books such as Brian Walker's Comics, which actively engages the secondary literature on the topic. Herriman's pre-Krazy Kat achievements and strips are given as a laundry list and never tied into the evolving process that bore Krazy Kat; no explanation is provided as to the sudden appearance of Offissa Pupp in the series; Yoe does not support his claims that Krazy Kat's distinctive linguistic features were due to a concerted ethnological mix of language rather than something done for simple comedic effect. Absent any analysis or specific examples from Herriman to reinforce statements of the strip's subtleties and surrealism, Yoe's article abruptly ends with Herriman's death. The most striking and memorable feature of this piece, however, is the inclusion of very early Herriman sports and political cartoons from the 1900s.
The first of the illustrations appears after Yoe and reprints strips from the 1930s and 1940s. The reproductions are beautiful and Yoe does an excellent job of including previously unpublished materials from Krazy Kat, such as rare color printer proofs. No explanation, however, is given as to why earlier strips from the 1910s and 1920s are not present in the section. While it is quite likely that earlier, publishing-quality versions are no longer in existence, such a statement from Yoe would have been welcome.
Of the remaining essays and illustrations, a few stand out for their originality, impact, and importance. Harry L. Katz provides a much more contextualized biography of Herriman within the framework of Bud Fisher's work on Mutt and Jeff, while Summerfield Baldwin's 1917 article is a solid, engaged, and informed analysis of the strip. By far the strongest essay is Douglas Wolk's short contribution. Wolk provides a guideline for approaching Krazy Kat that is useful not only for those familiar with the strip, but newcomers as well.
The inclusion of publications about Herriman or the strip that were written during his lifetime also makes the book a nice archival collection of both comic strips and primary assessments of the strips from those who first experienced and appreciated Herriman's genius. The ambiguities generated by many of the entries, however, should provide ample fodder for additional scholarship. As such, Krazy Kat & The Art of George Herriman is a welcome text.
-- Nathan Wilson
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly, a Celebration, December 14, 2011
This review is from: Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration (Hardcover)
I have to assume that if you're reading this you know who George Herriman was, why Krazy Kat is so important, etc. So I'll cut to the chase and talk about the book itself. There are two things right off the bat that let you know this is a quality product. 1) It's from Abrams, a publisher known for their high-end art books, excellent printing and binding, and fine reproduction. This is published under the Abrams Comicarts imprint, a new line dedicated to the best in cartooning and comics. 2) The author/editor is Craig Yoe, who in a very short time has established himself as one of the premiere creators of books about comics. Yoe's passion for the subject and attention to detail result in a highly enjoyable book - a work of art unto itself. Here Craig has done a terrific job of collecting impossibly rare art by Herriman, much of it having never been printed before anywhere. Not just original artwork for Krazy Kat strips but beautifully hand-colored pieces that Herriman did for friends, including one-of-a-kind birthday cards, framed artworks, and illustrated thank-you notes. Plus historic photos, posters, book covers and memorabilia. Not quite in the category of traditional "The Art Of..." books, this volume lives up to its subtitle "A Celebration." In addition to the art are many enlightening essays by writers including Bill Watterson, Gilbert Seldes, Tad Dorgan, e. e. cummings, and Yoe himself. Each of them gives a personal perspective on Herriman's work that puts the art in a context. Plenty to read as well as look at. Highly recommended for the Krazy Kat fan, and it makes a wonderful gift.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Twinkle in George Herriman's Eye, October 3, 2011
This review is from: Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration (Hardcover)
In his essay, "The Assassination of Comic Art," Bill Blackbeard bemoaned the fact that "No creative talent...has left us a smaller record or his interior life, views, and artistic judgements than George Herriman. Virtually all we are ever likely to know in these areas will have to be garnered through the content of KRAZY KAT and other Herriman strips." Since the publication of that essay in 1989, all the "Krazy Kat" Sunday pages have been collected, and several odds and ends of Herriman ephemera have appeared. In this book, Craig Yoe gathers several of the strips and much of the ephemera to bring us perhaps an inch or two closer to the artist who might always remain distant. The essays herein are a collection of old and new material. The "appreciation" by Bill Watterson, while perceptive and enthusiastic, is also a rerun, reprinted from the dead-ended "Komplete Kolor Krazy Kat" would-be series from 1990. The Gilbert Seldes and e.e. cummings essays might just as well have been headlined on the cover. But whatever their source or age, the essays are all good and very readable; it's great to have them available in one collection. There are a few editorial misses that should have been caught. On page 33, Yoe tells us that Herriman carried on a flirtation with Louise Swinnerton, "Jimmy Swinnerton's widow." Jimmy Swinnerton survived Herriman by a little more than 30 years, so Louise was anything but a widow when Herriman sent his playful notes. A note on page 35 tells of a "Dingbat Family" strip created as part of a multiple-strip stunt in 1906, but the "Dingbat Family" didn't debut till 1910, so perhaps the year for the stunt was 1916. But these are minor annoyances overshadowed by the abundance of Sunday pages, some hand colored as gifts, in addition to cards, paintings, and illustrated notes of appreciation. After returning to the west coast, Herriman seems to have spent much of his drawing time, at least till the mid-1930s, at the Hal Roach Studios, which may explain, at least in part, the easy-going pace of the strip and its heavy reliance on strong characterization rather than the slam-bang slapstick that a tossed brick would have evoked in the world of the Katzenjammers. You can almost sense Herriman's presence in the radiant cheerfulness of the sketches dedicated to his friends and cronies. In stark contrast, the odds and ends of Krazy's mostly regrettable movie career stand lifeless and hollow. The inner man remains a mystery. And yet--take a look at Herriman's smile on page 170 and then see it reflected on Krazy's face in the cover illustration. Bill Blackbeard was right: everything that Herriman wanted us to know about himself is both concealed and revealed in "Krazy Kat."
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