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Krazy and Ignatz
Krazy & Ignatz 1925-1926
In 1999, The Comics Journalthe most respected magazine about the artform of comics since the mid-1970s - named Krazy Kat the greatest example of the artform in the history of the medium.
In 1999, The Comics Journal named Krazy Kat the greatest example of the artform in the history of the medium.
"Krazy Kat has been the acknowledged greatest comic for so long, by so many esteemed critics, that it becomes tempting to knock it from its perch," wrote the editors of The Comics Journal in 1999. "At a casual glance, George Herriman's long-running strip seems quaint and antiquated. But to immerse yourself in Krazy Kat, to yield to Herriman's looping verbal rhythms and lovingly-depicted desert backgrounds, to experience his perfectly-realized triptych of unspoken and unconsummated love, yields a very, very different result. Herriman's creation is not only great comics, with a wonderful command of the medium's possibilities and strengths, but is also great artan affecting exploration of some of life's most basic issues in a way that enlightens and thrills. Every cartoonist who turns to comics as a medium of personal expression follows in Herriman's path, and that is why his is the greatest comic of the 20th Century."
Fantagraphics is proud to re-present Krazy Kat to a new generation of readers, collecting what many consider to be Herriman's prime: all 104 full-page, B&W Sunday strips from 1925 and 1926 (Herriman did not incorporate color into the strip until 1935).
Krazy Kat is a love story, focusing on the relationship of its three main characters. Krazy Kat adored Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse hated Krazy Kat, the expression of which was in throwing bricks at Krazy's head. Offisa Pup loved Krazy and sought to protect "her" (Herriman always maintained that Krazy was genderless), mostly by throwing Ignatz in jail. Each of the characters was ignorant of the other's true motivations. This simple structure allowed Herriman to build entire worlds of meaning into the actions, building thematic depth that led critics like Gilbert Seldes and e.e. cummings to recognize Herriman's genius almost immediately.
Krazy & Ignatz is designed by Chris Ware, creator of the wildly successful graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan (Pantheon Books, 2000).
120 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 21, 2002
5 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
George Herriman
222 books46 followersGeorge 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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 8, 2014
A sublime mix of high art and low brow humour, Herriman's Krazy Kat comics are endlessly, endlessly, endlessly inventive. The characters have a surprising depth for a newspaper comic strip (which could rival the cast of Schultz's Peanuts), the wording is often ridiculously alliterative, the jokes range from amusingly baffling to real belly laughs, and it conjoins a subtle pathos with bizarre surrealism and a Mexican folk-art aesthetic.
It's got way more than just charm, it borders on a sense of beautifully illogical magic.
It takes a while to break into the language of the comic, but once you've "got it", Krazy Kat just keeps giving and giving.
It's got way more than just charm, it borders on a sense of beautifully illogical magic.
It takes a while to break into the language of the comic, but once you've "got it", Krazy Kat just keeps giving and giving.
July 11, 2018
The nice thing about this series is that you can purchase any one of them, the order doesn't matter, and each is a delight to behold.
Before purchasing, you need to know that if you are not familiar with cartoons or humour from this era, you need to be aware that sometimes racially suspect or offensive comments are made. It is better, in my opinion, to have a mature understanding of the history of the United States than to censor something.
Every cartoon is, believe it or not, a variation on the same thing: unrequited love. Krazy Kat is in love with Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse hates him and throws a brick at Krazy's head. Krazy mistakenly believes it's a love-offering. Officer Pup arrests Ignatz and puts him in Jail. Not every cartoon has these exact events, but they are all variations on these events. The fact that Herriman produced his cartoons for decades on exactly the same theme and never repeated himself once is partial testament to his genius.
Mention must be made about his use of language as well: he quotes Shakespeare, quite often in a "mock-Yiddish" accent; there is word-play, alliteration, and all sorts of classical allusions one would never find in any other cartoon. While readers of the time often complained to local editors about that "weird stuff which no one understands," Krazy Kat finds its true reflection in our time, where people appreciate this kind combination of fanciful words and images. William Randolph Hearst, for all of his faults, needs to be recognised as rescuing Krazy Kat from oblivion, as he was in a constant state of war, trying to put Herriman's cartoons back into his papers after they got pulled by local editors.
His skill at drawing should also not be underestimated. There is no visually greater cartoon artistery with the possible exception of Bill Waterson's "Calvin and Hobbes". If you are interested in history, history of cartoons, early cartoon art, or just simply want to be absolutely charmed by much of Herriman's drawings and Krazy's escapades, then I cannot recommend this album enough.
Before purchasing, you need to know that if you are not familiar with cartoons or humour from this era, you need to be aware that sometimes racially suspect or offensive comments are made. It is better, in my opinion, to have a mature understanding of the history of the United States than to censor something.
Every cartoon is, believe it or not, a variation on the same thing: unrequited love. Krazy Kat is in love with Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse hates him and throws a brick at Krazy's head. Krazy mistakenly believes it's a love-offering. Officer Pup arrests Ignatz and puts him in Jail. Not every cartoon has these exact events, but they are all variations on these events. The fact that Herriman produced his cartoons for decades on exactly the same theme and never repeated himself once is partial testament to his genius.
Mention must be made about his use of language as well: he quotes Shakespeare, quite often in a "mock-Yiddish" accent; there is word-play, alliteration, and all sorts of classical allusions one would never find in any other cartoon. While readers of the time often complained to local editors about that "weird stuff which no one understands," Krazy Kat finds its true reflection in our time, where people appreciate this kind combination of fanciful words and images. William Randolph Hearst, for all of his faults, needs to be recognised as rescuing Krazy Kat from oblivion, as he was in a constant state of war, trying to put Herriman's cartoons back into his papers after they got pulled by local editors.
His skill at drawing should also not be underestimated. There is no visually greater cartoon artistery with the possible exception of Bill Waterson's "Calvin and Hobbes". If you are interested in history, history of cartoons, early cartoon art, or just simply want to be absolutely charmed by much of Herriman's drawings and Krazy's escapades, then I cannot recommend this album enough.
December 30, 2023
If you've ever spared even a moment of your time to dive into the history of the funny papers, you immediately hear a handful of names. Bill Watterson, Jim Davis, and Charles Schulz are the immediately recognizable names of the past generation that still endure in our pop culture. Before them, there were a few whose names were equally iconic, such as Walt Kelly, Charles Addams, and, of course, George Herriman. Talk to any passionate comic strip writer and Krazy Kat always comes up as one of the foundation stones that solidified and determined the possibilities of the art form.
That being said, Krazy Kat has lost a lot of context over the years. The artwork is whimsical and subtle perfection. I don't know if someone who isn't looking for it would see it, but the capacity of Herriman to draw such comical landscapes with pen and ink is really remarkable. His style must be one that informed all sorts of cartoonists and strip artists all over the world since. Like a Calvin And Hobbes Sunday, I find myself pausing in the midst of the narrative to marvel at the realities depicted in the backgrounds with so few ink strokes.
If only as much could be said for the narrative strength of these strips. Herriman is extremely articulate and as silly with his slang and spelling as Dr. Seuss is with his nonsense wording. His gags run in a tight cycle, with most strips playing on the interpersonal relationships between Ignatz the mouse, devoted to the brick, desirous only to throw it at the back of Krazy Kat's head. Krazy Kat, the simple-minded lead who speaking in a wild slang and seems smitten with the implications of the mouse's attentions, seemingly immune to any resentment or pain from said brick. And Officer Pupp, the dog patrolman who is constantly eager to arrest Ignatz on any slightest insinuation of a Kat attack. There is almost a love triangle here, because Krazy is eager for any attention (including launched missiles) from Ignatz, who despises him and worships the brick. Officer Pupp is usually carrying out the law according to his own loose interpretation, seemingly eager to gain approval from a Krazy who is oblivious to his attempts to protect him. Indeed, when Krazy Kat sees Officer Pupp arresting Ignatz, he ponders jealously on the attention they pay to one another.
Taken without expectation of total cohesion, most of these comics are quite enjoyable. Some have lost some context from the prohibition era and some seem like half thoughts that end with a sort of "I didn't know how to end this gag" wrap up. The characters and art are so compelling and one out of 5 is thoroughly enjoyable, but it feels like Herriman could have really built something amazing if he hadn't devoted so much time and energy to drawing and witty alliteration with so little insight or plot to develop. On the rare occasions that a plot develops between the Sundays, it really is the total package.
That being said, Krazy Kat has lost a lot of context over the years. The artwork is whimsical and subtle perfection. I don't know if someone who isn't looking for it would see it, but the capacity of Herriman to draw such comical landscapes with pen and ink is really remarkable. His style must be one that informed all sorts of cartoonists and strip artists all over the world since. Like a Calvin And Hobbes Sunday, I find myself pausing in the midst of the narrative to marvel at the realities depicted in the backgrounds with so few ink strokes.
If only as much could be said for the narrative strength of these strips. Herriman is extremely articulate and as silly with his slang and spelling as Dr. Seuss is with his nonsense wording. His gags run in a tight cycle, with most strips playing on the interpersonal relationships between Ignatz the mouse, devoted to the brick, desirous only to throw it at the back of Krazy Kat's head. Krazy Kat, the simple-minded lead who speaking in a wild slang and seems smitten with the implications of the mouse's attentions, seemingly immune to any resentment or pain from said brick. And Officer Pupp, the dog patrolman who is constantly eager to arrest Ignatz on any slightest insinuation of a Kat attack. There is almost a love triangle here, because Krazy is eager for any attention (including launched missiles) from Ignatz, who despises him and worships the brick. Officer Pupp is usually carrying out the law according to his own loose interpretation, seemingly eager to gain approval from a Krazy who is oblivious to his attempts to protect him. Indeed, when Krazy Kat sees Officer Pupp arresting Ignatz, he ponders jealously on the attention they pay to one another.
Taken without expectation of total cohesion, most of these comics are quite enjoyable. Some have lost some context from the prohibition era and some seem like half thoughts that end with a sort of "I didn't know how to end this gag" wrap up. The characters and art are so compelling and one out of 5 is thoroughly enjoyable, but it feels like Herriman could have really built something amazing if he hadn't devoted so much time and energy to drawing and witty alliteration with so little insight or plot to develop. On the rare occasions that a plot develops between the Sundays, it really is the total package.
March 25, 2024
It took me two months to read this and I found myself not being after to read more than like 5 strips in one sitting, but my book was long overdue so I had to start reading faster. I love that all these classic newspaper strips are in a big book and we can have them forever but they are meant to be read once a week or once daily.
Though Krazy Kat is really quality, even when I was binging the strips they were still hilarious. The comedy is great, not like laugh out loud rolling on the floor laughing (though it got one or two giggles out of me). But still really funny stuff. Even though the strip is formulatic is never really gets old, it’s funny every time. Krazy Kat is highly regarded in comics history and I can see why!
I think most of the strips in this volume hit for me, there was one I absoultey did not get, but most of them are quality.
Krazy Kat is just a delightful crazy read, idk what to say. The main characters are a perfect comic cast. They make the strip work. I absoultey love Krazy and Ignatz I think they are in the running for my favorite comic character.
Also I guess there’s somewhat of a continuity in this. Because some strips will have the same theme as last weeks (same chatacter, location, etc). I didn’t really like that aspect for example I swear there was like 4 Sundays in a row about the Mock Duck. I assume Herriman must have thought of the strips at the same time.
I don’t think I’ll read the next volume. I do want to read the later years because iirc the formula changes a bit.
I’d reccomend this comic in small doses. Because it’s very funny and high quality but you’ll go KRAZY if you read the whole thing in one go.
And also possibly the first gay comic???
Though Krazy Kat is really quality, even when I was binging the strips they were still hilarious. The comedy is great, not like laugh out loud rolling on the floor laughing (though it got one or two giggles out of me). But still really funny stuff. Even though the strip is formulatic is never really gets old, it’s funny every time. Krazy Kat is highly regarded in comics history and I can see why!
I think most of the strips in this volume hit for me, there was one I absoultey did not get, but most of them are quality.
Krazy Kat is just a delightful crazy read, idk what to say. The main characters are a perfect comic cast. They make the strip work. I absoultey love Krazy and Ignatz I think they are in the running for my favorite comic character.
Also I guess there’s somewhat of a continuity in this. Because some strips will have the same theme as last weeks (same chatacter, location, etc). I didn’t really like that aspect for example I swear there was like 4 Sundays in a row about the Mock Duck. I assume Herriman must have thought of the strips at the same time.
I don’t think I’ll read the next volume. I do want to read the later years because iirc the formula changes a bit.
I’d reccomend this comic in small doses. Because it’s very funny and high quality but you’ll go KRAZY if you read the whole thing in one go.
And also possibly the first gay comic???
September 1, 2021
Fourth Edition = July 2008
I love Herriman. He's so effervescent with all his funny/surreal shifting backgrounds, quotation marks and various naming of everything. I find his alliterations with fancy words very astute as well. Despite the clear whiff of squeef that I detect, it holds together perfectly just like all the potted trees. There's a bunch more that I savor- read the guy and love it too!
My only problem is in reading him straight through collected-wise because it exposes his fear of plot change. It's now over ten years in and he still won't riff off the brick. He'll take a week off here and there but the marriage to the missle shows me weakness and makes me put it down enough times before finishing a book so that the material stays fresh enough.
I wonder why people keep referring to Krazy as a female in quotes. It makes me think that at some time, even later than this far in, he was pressured because of the widespread domestic homophobia. After all, it's a straight-up dude triangle with no-chaser at this point and I guess the "norm" couldn't handle it. Yet, if it were coming out today it would be all the rage.
I love Herriman. He's so effervescent with all his funny/surreal shifting backgrounds, quotation marks and various naming of everything. I find his alliterations with fancy words very astute as well. Despite the clear whiff of squeef that I detect, it holds together perfectly just like all the potted trees. There's a bunch more that I savor- read the guy and love it too!
My only problem is in reading him straight through collected-wise because it exposes his fear of plot change. It's now over ten years in and he still won't riff off the brick. He'll take a week off here and there but the marriage to the missle shows me weakness and makes me put it down enough times before finishing a book so that the material stays fresh enough.
I wonder why people keep referring to Krazy as a female in quotes. It makes me think that at some time, even later than this far in, he was pressured because of the widespread domestic homophobia. After all, it's a straight-up dude triangle with no-chaser at this point and I guess the "norm" couldn't handle it. Yet, if it were coming out today it would be all the rage.
April 29, 2021
I bet I’m not alone in having discovered Krazy Kat through its placement at #1 in The Comics Journal’s top 100 comics of the 20th century. I also bet I wasn’t the only one perplexed at first by it, mystified by its ranking over the ubiquitous Peanuts as well as heavyweights like Maus. A mouse throws a brick at a cat again and again. So?
I clearly wasn’t ready for Krazy Kat upon first exposure and still feel ill-equipped to explain its appeal. More so than the wordplay, poetry, characters and gags, what makes a permanent home in your imagination as you devour strip after strip is the setting of Coconino County, usually rendered as nothing more than a horizon peppered with mesas, houses or trees. It is simply one of the quintessential comic playgrounds. You are enriched for having spent time in this magical world. A heppy lend fur, fur awa-a-ay indeed.
I clearly wasn’t ready for Krazy Kat upon first exposure and still feel ill-equipped to explain its appeal. More so than the wordplay, poetry, characters and gags, what makes a permanent home in your imagination as you devour strip after strip is the setting of Coconino County, usually rendered as nothing more than a horizon peppered with mesas, houses or trees. It is simply one of the quintessential comic playgrounds. You are enriched for having spent time in this magical world. A heppy lend fur, fur awa-a-ay indeed.
October 12, 2024
La verdad es que me ha dejado frío. Me espera una obra maestra y me he encontrado unas tiras un poco sosas. Me da la impresión de que la traducción elimina gran parte del espíritu original de la obra (basta el título para juzgar) y aunque el dibujo tiene puntos surrealistas muy interesantes y es agil y expresion, tampoco es nada del otro mundo.
December 30, 2018
George Herriman is everything. Poet, artistic virtuoso, scholar. Every strip is worth so much thought. Also my boys love it.
December 9, 2007
I didn't find this particular edition of Krazy Kat to be quite as entertaining as the first time I read the strip. I'm not quite sure as to why--it may be that the verbal interplay of these full-length strips are not quite as crisp as the shorter ones I read in the other collection. There's less reason for Ignatz to throw the brick on behalf of the reader because Krazy doesn't always say something that's just plan pun-bad as he did on the daily strips.
These are still funny and clever--Ignatz finds new and interesting ways to try and hurl a brick at poor Krazy's Kranium, and Officer Pup is right there on the scene to make the arrest. There are even a few where Krazy takes his lumps in different ways, such as a tragic mistake about igloos.
We also get cameos from some other characters, such as the bum, Bill Bee, who roam in and out of this strange mesa as needed. The drawings are fun, and I still enjoyed this, but I think that, despite what the introduction says, there is a point where you can only read one more brick joke, no matter how clever the wordplay and the drawings around it.
Still, this is a classic, and holds up well compared to the other strips of its day. I definitely will keep reading the editions that the library has, and I think you should, too. (Library, 12/07)
Trebby's Take: Not quite as funny this time around, but still recommended.
These are still funny and clever--Ignatz finds new and interesting ways to try and hurl a brick at poor Krazy's Kranium, and Officer Pup is right there on the scene to make the arrest. There are even a few where Krazy takes his lumps in different ways, such as a tragic mistake about igloos.
We also get cameos from some other characters, such as the bum, Bill Bee, who roam in and out of this strange mesa as needed. The drawings are fun, and I still enjoyed this, but I think that, despite what the introduction says, there is a point where you can only read one more brick joke, no matter how clever the wordplay and the drawings around it.
Still, this is a classic, and holds up well compared to the other strips of its day. I definitely will keep reading the editions that the library has, and I think you should, too. (Library, 12/07)
Trebby's Take: Not quite as funny this time around, but still recommended.
March 6, 2012
The classic comic series Krazy Kat is introduced to a whole new audience. Krazy Kat is a lovelorn feline who suffers the problem of so many women--no matter how badly her love object (Ignatz the mouse) treats her, she just loves him more. It's obvious how much the modern comic strip Mutts was inspired by this one, what with the scribbly doodle characters and creative use of the English language.
January 30, 2008
This might not be the exact one I read. But Krazy Kat is great. Even though it is a collection of comic strips, where one of about three things happens (Ignatz throws a brick, Ignatz goes to jail, or Officer Pup does something goofy), each one is well-written, well-drawn, and I love the ambiguity of it all. For anyone who likes comics, this is a good classic to know.
November 30, 2011
Most comic strips suffer from being reprinted in a book. The creator's game becomes obvious and cloys. The extraordinary thing about KRAZY KAT is that it was essentially a one-joke strip, but Herriman's endless creativity and depth never made even the predictable parts feel old, and best of all, he could subvert his own clichés to keep the strip endlessly entertaining. KRAZY KAT is sublime.
September 29, 2007
Every strip is a work of art. Plan to read all the reprints.
June 19, 2008
"Yes! I am going to toss this beautiful brick at Krazy Kat."
February 16, 2009
This book was fair......cartoon art! Not one of my favorite cartoons though!
December 30, 2012
Pup loves Krazy, Krazy loves Ignatz, Ignatz loves hurting others. Funnier than it sounds.
September 18, 2013
Every book in this series. Herriman you the fucking boss.
October 12, 2014
Absolutely terrific!
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August 31, 2016At first it wasn't funny. And then, suddenly, it was.
Who knew a brick to the head could be so entertaining?
Who knew a brick to the head could be so entertaining?
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews