Krazy Kat

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 […]