Submitted by Melfi on Sat, 01/12/2008 - 14:11.
This is my first time reading the Krazy Kat coming by George Herriman. And, although at first it seems confusing, after a few strips, I fell in love with it. It plays not only with image, but also with text and the audience's understanding of the text. It also plays on the particular medium of the drawn comic strip and our understanding of how the medium works as a narrative device.
Take, for instance, the September 13, 1940 strip at the top of page 113 of our course pack. The first frame introduces the three main characters of the comic: Officer Pup, Krazy Kat, and Ignatz Mouse. Pup stands nearby, watching Kat and Mouse discuss Mouse's black brick, his typical throwing device that is also usually not black. Kat asks him why it is black, to which Mouse replies that he will throw the brick (presumably at Kat -- his usual victim of choice) in the "third picture." By this he is referencing an upcoming frame in the comic strip. In the second frame, Kat asks Mouse why he doesn't throw the brick in "this pitcha," the second frame. Mouse says the third picture/frame will be black. read more »
