Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat was a comic strip created by George Herriman, appearing in weekday and Sunday U.S. newspapers published by William Randolph Hearst. It grew from an earlier comic strip of Herriman's, The Dingbat Family, which had started in 1910. Herriman would complete the cartoons about the Dingbats, and finding himself with time left over from his 8-hour day, filled the bottom of the strip with the slapstick antics of a cat and a mouse. This "basement strip" grew into something much larger than the original cartoon, and became a Sunday-only cartoon on April 23, 1916, and before long also a daily strip. In 1935, the strip began to be printed in color. Herriman continued to draw Krazy Kat until his death in 1944.

Legacy

In 1999, Krazy Kat was rated #1 in a Comics Journal list of the best comics of the twentieth century. The list included both comic books and comic strips. http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=2302

Related Topics:
1999 - Comics Journal - Comic book - Comic strip

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Bill Watterson has mentioned Krazy Kat as one of his inspirations for his own cartoon series, Calvin and Hobbes. The work of Hunt Emerson is strongly influenced by Herriman's style. Patrick McDonnell, author of the acclaimed comic strip Mutts, also cites Krazy Kat as a major influence. (McDonnell wrote the introduction to Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman.) Jay Cantor's 1987 novel Krazy Kat uses Herriman's characters to analyze humanity's reaction to nuclear weapons. Larry Gonick's comic strip Kokopelli & Company is set in "Kokonino County", an homage to Herriman's exotic locale. Herriman has also influenced Chris Ware, who has designed a series of reprint volumes of the strip for Fantagraphics Books.

Related Topics:
Bill Watterson - Calvin and Hobbes - Hunt Emerson - Patrick McDonnell - Mutts - Jay Cantor - Nuclear weapon - Larry Gonick - Kokopelli & Company - Chris Ware - Fantagraphics Books

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In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative US postage stamps.

Related Topics:
1995 - Comic Strip Classics - Postage stamps

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