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Home arrow The Pioneers

The Pioneers
Page 27 of 35

Krazy Kat
'Krazy Kat' (King Features Syndicate, 1926 and 1918). Art/script: George Herriman. The strip was much more than cat-and-mouse slapstick, and could be read on a number of political and metaphorical levels. For this reason, it was a favourite with America's intellectual elite.
George Herriman was the last of the 'big three', but probably the most talented (the 'comics laureate', as he has been dubbed). His first successful strip was 'The Dingbat Family' (1910), a situation comedy about warring neighbours in an apartment block. But it was two supporting characters in that strip - a cat and a mouse -that would form the basis for his enduring masterwork, 'Krazy Kat' (1913). This strip elaborated on the love-hate relationship between the two animals, but set it against a background of abstract and ever-changing landscapes. The deceptively simple plot, which was repeated with minor variations for over thirty years, went as follows: Krazy is in love with Ignatz the mouse, whose sole passion is to throw bricks at Krazy. Though it is intended as an act of aggression, the bricks are interpreted by Krazy as an act of love. However the friendly policeman, Offissa Pupp (who also has designs on Krazy) is having none of it, and locks Ignatz up in a prison made of — what else? - bricks.
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