Krazy Kat

by George Herriman

Black and white Krazy Kat cartoons. Also some color illustrations

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Art, Comix

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

George Herriman was an American cartoonist celebrated for creating the groundbreaking comic strip Krazy Kat, a work widely regarded as one of the most inventive, poetic, and influential achievements in the history of comics. Raised in a culturally diverse environment and navigating complex racial identities throughout his life, Herriman developed a singular artistic voice that combined humor, surrealism, philosophical reflection, and emotional nuance. He began his career as a newspaper illustrator and political cartoonist before transitioning fully into comic strips, producing several short-lived features and experiments that helped him refine his sense of rhythm, timing, and visual storytelling. Krazy Kat, which emerged from an earlier strip called The Dingbat Family, became his defining work and ran for decades in newspapers across the United States. The strip centered on a triangular relationship among three main characters: Krazy, a blissfully optimistic and androgynous cat; Ignatz Mouse, who continually expressed his contempt or affection by throwing bricks; and Offisa Pupp, a dutiful dog who sought to protect Krazy and maintain order. What might have been a simple gag became, in Herriman’s hands, a lyrical exploration of love, longing, misunderstanding, and the complexities of emotional connection, articulated through shifting perspectives, inventive language, and a dreamlike visual landscape inspired by the American Southwest. Herriman developed a distinctive style that blended loose, expressive brushwork with carefully considered composition, often altering backgrounds from panel to panel to evoke mood rather than physical continuity. His dialogue employed dialects, puns, poetic phrasing, and playful linguistic invention, creating a voice for Krazy Kat that felt both musical and deeply human. The strip attracted a passionate following among intellectuals, writers, and artists, including figures such as Gilbert Seldes, E.E. Cummings, Willem de Kooning, and many others who recognized its sophistication and emotional resonance. However, Krazy Kat never achieved the widespread commercial popularity of contemporaries like Popeye or Li’l Abner and often relied on the support of influential newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who admired Herriman’s work and insisted it remain in publication despite fluctuating readership. Herriman also produced the comic strip Baron Bean, as well as numerous illustrations, editorial drawings, and commercial work throughout his career, but it was Krazy Kat that defined his legacy and shaped the development of visual narrative art. The strip influenced generations of cartoonists and graphic storytellers, contributing to a lineage that includes artists working in newspaper strips, comic books, underground comix, graphic novels, animation, and contemporary experimental media. Herriman maintained a private, quiet personal life, working diligently and steadily, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of California, Arizona, and New Mexico, which he visited frequently and often featured in his art as stylized mesas, desert plateaus, and open skies. His deep engagement with the American Southwest brought texture, symbolism, and environmental presence to Krazy Kat, making setting an integral emotional and thematic component rather than a mere backdrop. Although widely honored posthumously, his work was recognized during his lifetime by peers and critics who understood the originality of his vision. Today, he is acknowledged as one of the key figures who expanded the expressive potential of the comic strip form, demonstrating that sequential art could convey subtle emotional states, philosophical ideas, and complex storytelling with elegance and humor. Herriman’s legacy endures in the ongoing study, republication, and celebration of Krazy Kat, which continues to be admired for its innovation, sensitivity, and unique artistic spirit.

Reviews

[Genna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is so strange.

[Nathanael Greene Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

1944.. includes e.e. cummings limned essay "Forward to Crazy" (Sewanee Review); to describe a "meteoric burlesk melodrama, born of the immemorial adage love will find a way."

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even a casual comics fan such as myself has heard of Krazy Kat, and I was glad to finally get an introduction in this old anthology of strips. e.e. cummings' essay doesn't make much sense, but the comics were cute, fun, and mysterious--I can see why people get so strangely worked up over Krazy. If anything, it gave me and my beau a special goofy love language, as Krazy's dialect works like a virus in the brain, causing me to pronounce everything as if I were Krazy, too. (Oh my dollink, I dweam of a land fur, fur away.)

[Berslon Pank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels relevant now, but that's a testament to its status as great art more than a comment on the similarity between the times. The drawing is expressive, the jokes are funny, and the amount of material that makes you groan is miniscule. The only section that didn't hit for me was the final section of song based comics. I'm sure ALK of the songs were popular at one time but almost all of them were unknown to me now.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just adore this entire creation

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never want to finish reading this. As long as I look at a page a week, the characters will stay with me. The malleable scenery, the living characters, the dreamlike stories; Herriman may have been the best cartoonist who understood the pleasure of returning to a story every day, and rewarding the reader for doing so.

[Al Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever read Roger Zelazny's books about the Courts of Chaos and tried to imagine what Chaos might be like, take a look at this book. He we have a Mouse who throws bricks at a Cat who's in love (with the Mouse) and a Dog that attempts to bring order to the situation. On the face of it, not interesting material but it is one of the most wonderful and engrossing books I know.

[Richard Epstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Li'l dollink, allus f'etful.