Krazy Kat

I’m still trying to process the 80th Annual Reuben Awards. For three days in Columbus, Ohio; cartoonists, illustrators, wirters, animators, editors, and fans came together to celebrate the people who make this art from so special. The National Cartoonists Society was founding in 1946, and there was something really meaningful about marking 80 years in a city with such a deep connection to cartooning history. Columbus was an amazing host. Between the National Cartoonists Society conference, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, and the energy around Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the whole weekend felt like a love letter to the craft. And honestly, I felt like a kid in the candy store! Working with King Features means I get to be around some truly legendary creators, but imposter syndrome definitely creeps in sometimes. Then you find yourself standing in a room with cartoonists whose work you’ve admired for years, talking shop, sharing a laugh, or watching them draw for a crowd, and it all becomes altogether rewarding. King Features was proud to be represented by an incredible group of nominees: Ricardo Siri, better known as Liniers (Macanudo), Ricardo Martinez (Goomer), […]

Krazy Kat, April 17, 1922 Krazy Kat, February 12, 1944 What does a brick mean? In unsettling times, symbols tend to carry extra weight. A brick can be seen as a weapon. It can also be the beginning of a foundation. It can destroy; it also can create. As a part of a recent Six Chix series, award-winning cartoonist Bianca Xunise shows us the humble brick as an icon of resistance. At first glance, the focus is on resistance in a broad sense — standing defiantly firm, refusing to give up. But for readers who know their comics history, there’s a nod to the strange, beautiful symbolism of comics’ most famous brick and a quiet tribute to George Herriman, the groundbreaking creator of Krazy Kat. A Brick, a Mouse, and a Legacy Readers of Krazy Kat will remember that Ignatz Mouse’s defining act was hurling bricks at the head of Krazy. Though thrown in anger, Krazy interpreted the act as love. What could have been simple slapstick became layered with absurdity and poetry. Herriman, who began drawing Krazy Kat in 1913, is widely regarded as one of the most innovative […]