In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged—and the deep secret he explored through his art. The creator of the greatest comic strip in history finally gets his due—in an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about his art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, George Herriman came of age as an illustrator, journalist, and cartoonist in the boomtown of Los Angeles and the wild metropolis of New York. Appearing in the biggest newspapers of the early twentieth century—including those owned by William Randolph Hearst—Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons quickly propelled him to fame. Although fitfully popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art. Herriman used his work to explore the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia that was inspired by the landscapes he discovered in his travels—from chaotic urban life to the Beckett-like desert vistas of the Southwest. Yet underlying his own life—and often emerging from the contours of his very public art—was a very private secret: known as "the Greek" for his swarthy complexion and curly hair, Herriman was actually African American, born to a prominent Creole family that hid its racial identity in the dangerous days of Reconstruction. Drawing on exhaustive original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and surviving written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.

Krazy Kat adores Ignatz Mouse. She sees the bricks he hurls at her head as tokens of love, and each day Ignatz arranges a cunningly different method of delivery for his missile. But when Ignatz and Krazy witness the mega-brick explosion in the desert, Krazy becomes depressed, and refuses to perform. To coax her back to work so they can regain their lost limelight, Ignatz invents his own brand of psychotherapy, orchestrates her kidnapping, and tries to seduce Krazy with promises of stardom from a Hollywood producer. As the mouse confronts the Kat with bewildering new concepts like sex, death, and politics, Ignatz and Krazy begin yearning to become round, for a fullness of body and spirit beyond their two-dimensional realm. Forming an altogether witty and winning counterpoint to George Herriman’s classic comic strip, Jay Cantor’s kinetic novel has become a classic in its own right, one of those masterpieces that creates its own unforgettable universe.

A series of comic strips by George Herriman which feature the adventures of Krazy and Ignatz.

Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman is a tribute to one of the most influential and innovative comic strips and creators of all time. This unique collection of rare art, essays, memorabilia, and biography highlights the career of the first genius of comics, George Herriman, and his iconic creations, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse. During its 31-year run, Krazy Kat was enormously popular with the public, as well as influential writers, artists, and intellectuals of the time. This book includes original essays by Jay Cantor, Douglas Wolk, Harry Katz, Richard Thompson, Dee Cox (Herriman's granddaughter), Craig McCracken, Bill Watterson, and authorized reprints of two seminal essays on Herriman by Gilbert Seldes and E. E. Cummings, alongside newly discovered vintage essays by TAD, Summerfield Baldwin, and Toots Herriman. With Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman, Craig Yoe reveals this influential artist and writer for a whole new generation. Praise for Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman "The gorgeous volume includes essays by comics historians and creators (including Calvin & Hobbes' reclusive Bill Watterson and poet e.e. cummings) as well as generous servings of sketches, strips, original art and more." --Miami Herald "Craig Yoe has dug up never-published artwork, artifacts, and letters that will bring Herriman to life for the uninitiated while giving fans something new to feast on." --Los Angeles Magazine "It's the ephemera that make this collection invaluable." --The A.V. Club "Craig Yoe has crafted a book that shows as well as it tells; it's a wonderful combination of elegant design and informed and insightful scholarship that does a fine job of conveying why the comic strip is still so fondly remembered nearly a hundred years after its creation." --ICv2

With its eternally beguiling love triangle of kat/dog/mouse, Krazy Kat has long been rated as the best comic strip ever created. Using fantastically inventive language, and a hauntingly minimalist desert decor, the strips included here represent an art form at its highest. This is the 13th and final collection from Fantagraphics' award winning series of reprints of this classic comic. Now, the decades-in-the-making project of publishing every single Krazy Kat Sunday created by Herriman comes to a close.

Widely praised as the greatest comic strip of all time, the initial phase of George Herriman's KRAZY KAT as its own daily strip in newspapers has been all too often overlooked through the years. This book collects daily strips published between November 1913 and February 1914; the first few months of the strip's run.Edited and with an Introduction by cartoonist Snorre Sm�ri Mathiesen, author of the book Max Linder: Father of Film Comedy (BearManor Media, 2017).