A Maus in Profile: Art Spiegelman's Comix, Essays, Graphics and Scraps

A copy of Art Spiegelman's scarce Comix, Essays, Graphics and Scraps (1999) is personalized with an original drawing of his Maus in profile. It's simple and delicate.

Inscribed with a drawing of his Maus in profile
"FOR STEPHEN + AVIVA
W. WARM WISHES
Art Spiegelman
2000!"

The book's cover I interpret as a surrealistic comics riff on the David and Goliath story with the title character of Frederick Opper's Happy Hooligan grieving, a monumental pipe and that chin from E. C. Segar's Popeye, a lightning bolt straight out of C. C. Beck's Captain Marvel, not to mention a stray brick reminiscent of George Herriman's Krazy Kat. The landscape recalls the work of Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte. Your results may vary.

Art Spiegelman. Comix, Essays, Graphics and Scraps (1999)

Note:  My thanks go out to Stephen Kroninger for providing this scan of a wonderful copy of a Spiegelman book I didn't know existed. Shazam!

I'm always looking for scans or photographs of uniquely personalized books by Art Spiegelman and other New Yorker artists. Go ahead, surprise me!

What's more annoying, Spiegelman's spelling of comix or his avoidance of the Oxford comma? I think it's the spelling. Keep your comments under 500 words please.

By the way, the new American Bystander #5 will carry the very first classified ad for this blog. My wife told me it won't drive any traffic here and—you know what?—she's absolutely right!

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

Art Spiegelman

Stephen Kroninger

Signed Books with Original Drawings

Attempted Bloggery's Scrappy Index

02304

New Books Signed by Michael Tisserand and Patrick McDonnell

Call me an old-timer if you like. I've now been living in the Princeton area long enough to have missed public appearances by Mutts comics creator Patrick McDonnell twice. To make matters worse, this time it was a joint appearance at Labyrinth Books with Michael Tisserand, author of the acclaimed Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White. Fortunately, I was still able to pick up a couple of signed books a few days later at the bookstore, but it just isn't the same thing as being there. Under the bylaws of the town, should I miss a third appearance of Mr. McDonnell, I will need to move out of the municipality and surrender my blog to the Town Clerk.

Michael Tisserand, Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, 2016

Signed by Michael Tisserand

Patrick McDonnell, Year of Yesh, 2016

Signed by Patrick McDonnell

Book Trailer for Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White

(HarperCollins, 2016)

The Virtual Memories Show #199

Gil Roth Interviews Michael Tisserand

Patrick McDonnell of Mutts Comics Draws Earl

Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

George Herriman

Patrick McDonnell

Signed Books

Attempted Bloggery's Krazy Index

02062

Pretentious Krazy

"Mary's a Grand Old Name" was a song in George M. Cohan's "45 Minutes from Broadway" which had its premier in 1906. The chorus states:

For it is Mary, Mary
Plain as any name can be
But with propriety, society
Will say Marie.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/300U-2896.htm

Perhaps George Herriman picked up on this Mary/Marie thing in his Krazy Kat comic strip of February 20, 1922 where the residents of Kokonino are putting on airs. Herriman colored the strip by hand after publication and presented it, appropriately, "To 'our' Mary...."

George Herriman, Original hand-colored artwork for Krazy Kat, February 20, 1922

Illustration House, Spring Premier Auction, May 21, 2005
Sold for $21,375 including the 12.5% BP

 http://www.illustration-house.com/recent/a31/a31_090.html

Note:  Relax, there's lots more by George Herriman on the blog here.

01078

George Herriman: The Right Size for Ignatz

My third most popular blog post ever presents specialty pieces by George Herriman featuring his iconic Krazy Kat. On January 23, a previously unknown example was sold at Swann Galleries in New York. I have added the new image to the earlier post and I am presenting the full auction listing here.

George Herriman, "If only 'Ignatz' could hendle one that size--Ooy--"
Inscribed "To 'Fred Myer'/who had the nerve to ask for it--/from Geo. Herriman/who had the nerve to give it to him./1933"

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2337+++++113+&refno=++681512&saletype=

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2337+++++113+&refno=++681512&saletype=

Note:  My essential blog post of Krazy Kat Specialty Pieces is on view here and today it's better than ever.

Other posts featuring the comic art of George Herriman may be seen here. They're not too bad either.

There's still time to review Attempted Bloggery's archive of football posts before the big game. See them here.

01034

George Herriman: A Sweet and Hotsy-Totsy Xmas

I don't know all that much about cartoonist Gus Mager (1878-1956), creator of the comic strips "Knocko the Monk," "Sherlocko the Monk," and "Hawkshaw the Detective," but anyone who could get himself on George Herriman's Christmas mailing list must have been all right. Here Herriman has drawn himself in a domestic kitchen scene with his wife Mabel who is baking cookies. Their two dogs are quite enchanting, one attentively eying the cookies and the other captivated by a household critter.

George Herriman, letter to Gus Mager with drawings, December 1943
"Hey 'Guggie'/Look, a 'flock of lebe kookens' and listen!!!
'Dumkopf'--they're made by an [']expert'--
so sink your silly teeth in them, and treat your-
self to a sweet and hotsy-totsy Xmas!!!
Yern,
Ole Man Herriman
P.S.  Now don't be stingy, and give at least one to the Hop Toad & Bobby"

Illustration House, June 25, 2011

http://www.illustration-house.com/exhib/a43/a43pages/a43_005.html

Note:  Further blog posts on the great George Herriman may be seen here.

More Christmas posts are here.

0981

George Herriman: Krazy Kat in Kolor

One doesn't see too many of these! Here is original 1922 Sunday comic strip artwork for Krazy Kat by the peerless George Herriman, hand-colored and dedicated to Hollywood composer Victor Young. Herriman had a poetic streak himself. "Night comes and under the red tape tree a villain slumbers while a moral moon unwillingly blankets him with a mantle of purity." It really doesn't get better than this!

George Herriman
Original hand-colored Sunday artwork for Krazy Kat, June 25, 1922
Inscribed, "To 'old' Vic Young/that Kentucky thrush, that blue grass Paderewsky--/ Etc. Etc. --Mit luff--/From Geo. Herriman--/July-1-/1922"

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7076&lotNo=92176

George Herriman
Original hand-colored Sunday artwork for Krazy Kat, June 25, 1922, framed
Inscribed, "To 'old' Vic Young/that Kentucky thrush, that blue grass Paderewsky--/ Etc. Etc. --Mit luff--/From Geo. Herriman--/July-1-/1922"

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7076&lotNo=92176

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7076&lotNo=92176

George Herriman
Original hand-colored Sunday artwork for Krazy Kat, June 25, 1922
Inscribed, "To 'old' Vic Young/that Kentucky thrush, that blue grass Paderewsky--/ Etc. Etc. --Mit luff--/From Geo. Herriman--/July-1-/1922"

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7076&lotNo=92176

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, June 25, 1922

Image added October 7, 2013

http://www.comicstriplibrary.org/images/comics/krazy-kat/krazy-kat-19220625-l.png

Note:  There is a lot more Krazy Kat on the blog here. Don't miss it.

You'll also find more original comic strip art on the blog here.

Under no circumstances will I write about the government's partial shut-down, not when my previous remarks on the debt ceiling and sequestration have been completely ignored by our so-called leaders. You can read what I had to say here. 

0904

George Herriman's Krazy Kat: Boomerang, Not Brick

George Herriman
Original artwork for Krazy Kat, c. 1917-1918

This original artwork from the early days of George Herriman's Krazy Kat comic strip tells a story in five panels with a few sound effects but without any words. Of note, Ignatz tosses a boomerang rather than the classic brick at Krazy. The outcome is most likely predictable to the contemporary reader.

George Herriman
Original artwork for Krazy Kat, c. 1917-1918

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7079&lotNo=92144#Photo

George Herriman
Original artwork for Krazy Kat, c. 1917-1918

Note:  See more Krazy Kat on the blog here. I dare you.

You'll find more original comic strip art on the blog here.

Of course, I'd be grateful for any information on when this strip was published. Over the years this blog has accumulated quite a few difficult questions regarding publication and date. Interested sleuths may peruse them here.

Did you hear about the government's partial shut-down? Of course you did. Well, if this were a blog about the hazards of putting political ideology over the good of the country, I would have quite a bit to say. But I'm going to stick with my one blog post about sequestration and let it ride-- probably for a while.... 

0903

Krazy Kat Photo Pose

In the early days of this blog I sometimes took on enormous tasks that would have been better left to someone with a lighter schedule. A single specialty piece of George Herriman's Krazy Kat at auction somehow prompted me to assemble a very large and fairly comprehensive selection of Krazy Kat specialty images from all over. The result is, quite frankly, jaw-dropping--I wouldn't lie to you. The credit, of course, belongs entirely to George Herriman, one of the greatest comic art geniuses ever.

Now it is time to add another image--or rather, seven months ago it was time, but I'm just getting around to it now. In order to keep my big blog post from overflowing with auction clutter, I'm adding just a single fine image to that post and creating this separate space here to record the auction information from Heritage.

George Herriman, Specialty drawing of Ignatz Mouse, Offissa Bull Pupp,
and Krazy Kat posing for a photograph.
Inscribed, "To that 'Gran Caballero'--y,--/'Charro Pomposo'--/
From--/the Ole Peon--'Herriman'/Jan 1934."
Heritage Auctions, February 22, 2013

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=92182#Photo

George Herriman, Specialty drawing of Ignatz Mouse, Offissa Bull Pupp, and Krazy Kat posing for a photograph.
Inscribed, "To that 'Gran Caballero'--y,--/'Charro Pomposo'--/From--/the Ole Peon--'Herriman'/Jan.1934." Framed.
Heritage Auctions, February 22, 2013

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=92182#Photo

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=92182#Photo

George Herriman, Specialty drawing of Ignatz Mouse, Offissa Bull Pupp, and Krazy Kat posing for a photograph.
Inscribed, "To that 'Gran Caballero'--y,--/'Charro Pomposo'--/From--/the Ole Peon--'Herriman'/Jan 1934."

Heritage Auctions, February 22, 2013

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=92182#Photo

Note:  My large (but never large enough) and essential post on Krazy Kat Specialty Pieces is here, or you can see all my posts on George Herriman together here.

I shouldn't have to say it at this point, but I will anyway:  If you should happen to have glorious original art by George Herriman hanging on your wall and if that art depicts characters from Krazy Kat drawn in a manner never intended for newspaper publication but rather for someone's personal enjoyment, then you can increase the personal enjoyment factor of that piece many times over by sending a photo or high resolution scan to this blog, where it will be included in the world's most comprehensive online archive of Krazy Kat specialty pieces. Have I made myself clear?

I have important things to do with this blog. I can't just stop and write a scathing essay every time some politicians decide their ideology is more important than the welfare of the nation. To me, the partial shut down of the government is little different from sequestration or refusing to raise the debt limit. One blog post fits all, and it's got a beautiful drawing to boot by Mischa Richter that sums it all up better than I ever could. If Richter were alive today, he might finally be able to sell this drawing to The New Yorker. I think they should have purchased it back in the day and saved it for whenever they needed it. Like now.

0902

Krazy & Ignatz: "A Kat a'Lilt with Song"

Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932: "A Kat a'Lilt with Song" (2004)
George Herriman
Edited by Bill Blackbeard and Derya Ataker

George Herriman's Krazy Kat comic strip is unique in the history of the art form. The full-page Sunday strips are generally exceptional, and this volume collects all of them from 1931 and 1932, although there seem to be a few odd missing dates. Also included is a select smattering of daily strips from 1931.

I have always found Krazy Kat a bit challenging to read with its exotic quirks of language, syntax, and spelling, but generally it is worth the trouble. The story line is an endless variation on a theme, accompanied by zany poetry and fantastic, ever-shifting landscapes. There is, of course, Krazy the lovestruck Kat, Ignatz the mouse with his brick, and Bull Pupp the dutiful police officer devoted to law and order, but also to the Kat. It is a strange but poetic love triangle that wouldn't make sense anywhere else, and come to think of it doesn't quite make sense here either.

Krazy Kat is many things all at once: lyrical and absurd, comic and poignant, profoundly inventive and occasionally incomprehensible. It has never been surpassed. 

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, February 15, 1931

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, February 22, 1931

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, March 1, 1931

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, March 8, 1931

611

Heppi Boid Day to You!

Today's blog post is dedicated to my wife, who celebrates her birthday today. I wouldn't say she's a fan of Krazy Kat, so I don't know for sure if she'll appreciate a sentiment like "Be you ever so forgotten, there's someone who remembers." Krazy Kat delivers fond birthday greetings via gramophone with birthday cake to the incarcerated and apparently irate Ignatz Mouse, as delineated by the remarkable George Herriman.

First we have the published Krazy Kat Sunday newspaper comic strip, June 4, 1922:

George Herriman, Krazy Kat, June 4, 1922

http://www.rosebudarchives.com/wp/products/happy-birthday-krazy-kat/

Here now is the original Herriman artwork:

George Herriman, Original Artwork for Krazy Kat, June 4, 1922

http://snaporaz.posterous.com/?tag=1922

Note:  My previous post on George Herriman's mailings is here.

0226

Mail from Mr. Herriman

Like many a cartoonist, George Herriman couldn't resist a blank space on a sheet of paper, not even packing paper. Here are some examples of drawings on mail package paper by the creator of Krazy Kat. Receiving a mailing from Mr. Herriman must have been special indeed, but finding that he also embellished the package should have made the recipient overjoyed!

I included Stephen Donnelly's former Krazy Kat pencil drawing in my blog post celebrating Krazy Kat Specialty Pieces. It appears again here only because it is a work drawn on packing paper and conceivably could have been sent through the mail. Just imagine! Alternatively, it may just be a drawing on packing paper. Either way, it's in unfortunate shape.

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=785871&gsub=27878

George Herriman: 1936 self-portrait snoozing on a piece of packing paper.  This is posted by owner Rarebit Fiend on the Comic Art Fans page.

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=625630&GSub=96885

George Herriman: 1936 self-portrait snoozing on a piece of packing paper.  This is posted by owner Rarebit Fiend on the Comic Art Fans page.

George Herriman: 1936 self-portrait snoozing on a piece of packing paper.  This is posted by owner Rarebit Fiend on the Comic Art Fans page.

George Herriman: 1936 self-portrait snoozing on a piece of packing paper.  This is posted by owner Rarebit Fiend on the Comic Art Fans page.

Here is another package to the same recipient, Louise S. Swinnerton, offered for sale at Galerie Laqua in Berlin, which writes:

Galerie Laqua

Image added September 23, 2013

http://www.galerielaqua.de/seiten_englisch/eoauscs02.html

Note:  My previous post on George Herriman's comic artwork is here.

0198

Heppy New Yeer Everybody

So, is it unanimous?

George Herriman, "Heppy New Yeer Everybody"

According to Allan Holtz, this is a "Krazy Kat special drawing found by Cole Johnson in the Des Moines Capital of New Year's Day 1923."

http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2009_12_27_archive.html

Note:  My last blog post on the great George Herriman is here.

192

The Family Upstairs

Krazy Kat got started as a featurette in George Herriman's comic strip The Family Upstairs. 
The Dingbat Family would appear upstairs, while Krazy Kat had a separate comic strip
in the basement, so to speak. This original comic strip art, c. 1912, is from last Saturday's auction
at Illustration House.

Lot 71	George Herriman						1880-1944
		Man imitates William Tell; A race up and down a mountain.
		Daily comic strip, The Family Upstairs/The Dingbat Family, circa 1912; Pen & ink, 9 x 27.5", signed lower right
		Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000
		Condition - Good overall: two large tears were repaired at Graham Gallery.; matted and framed.

Lot 71

George Herriman

1880-1944

Man imitates William Tell; A race up and down a mountain.

Daily comic strip, The Family Upstairs/The Dingbat Family, circa 1912;
Pen & ink, 9 x 27.5", signed lower right

Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Condition - Good overall: two large tears were repaired at Graham Gallery.; matted and framed.

Note:  My last post on George Herriman's Krazy Kat was here.

0172

Krazy Sunday

Illustration House offers this original art for a Krazy Kat Sunday strip in its December sale. At first I thought the estimate was on the high side, but many Krazy Kat Sunday pages have indeed been selling in this range and higher. Krazy Kat may never have been the most popular strip, but many aficionados consider George Herriman to be the greatest of 20th century cartoonists. Leaping legumes!

Lot 70 George Herriman 1880-1944 x x Jumping beans get their revenge on Offisa Pupp. x x Sunday comic strip, “Krazy Kat”, August 22, 1943; Pen & ink, 22.25 x 14.5", not signed x x Estimate: $12,000 - 15,000 x x x x Condition - Good overall: mat and frame are from Graham Gallery.

Lot 70	George Herriman						1880-1944		x
x		Jumping beans get their revenge on Offisa Pupp.								x
x		Sunday comic strip, “Krazy Kat”, August 22, 1943; Pen & ink, 22.25 x 14.5", not signed								x
x		Estimate: $12,000 - 15,000								x
x										x
x		Condition - Good overall: mat and frame are from Graham Gallery.

Lot 70

George Herriman

1880-1944

x

x

Jumping beans get their revenge on Offisa Pupp.

x

x

Sunday comic strip, “Krazy Kat”, August 22, 1943;
Pen & ink, 22.25 x 14.5", not signed

x

x

Estimate: $12,000 - 15,000

x

x

x

x

Condition - Good overall: mat and frame are from Graham Gallery.

.illustrationhouse.com/

“Krazy Kat” detail, August 22, 1943

My most recent post on George Herriman's Krazy Kat can be read here.

0162

Not So Krazy

When I was putting together my post about George Herriman's Krazy Kat Specialty Pieces, I came across this piece by Ron Campbell, who was the director of the Krazy Kat television cartoons. While it's clearly not up to George Herriman's impossibly high standards, it's not a bad-looking piece, and it puzzled me that it looks more like Herriman's classic cartoon strip than the animated series ever did. True, Herriman's line is more frenzied, imparting a vital energy to even static figures. In the specialty drawings, Herriman saturates his landscapes in deep orange often contrasted with black ink, and he usually imparts some color to the ground and even the speech balloons as well. This piece seems just a little off. For example, the overpowering yellow used here seems to be Campbell's own stylistic choice; indeed all the colors are fairly flat and way too bright, almost psychedelic. It's nice as a tribute, but it's not the Kokonino I remember.

The second image here, a Sunday comic strip, goes a long way toward explaining the first:

Ron Campbell after George Herriman, Krazy Kat Jail Mirage

http://www.inter-activities.com/AnimScoobydoo%20Ron%20Campbell.html

From Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration by Craig Yoe, Abrams ComicArts, 2011, page 20: May 15, 1938. Credit: KRAZY KAT™ Hearst Holdings, Inc. Courtesy of Craig Yoe’s collection of Herriman images and ephemera. 

https://plus.google.com/108672329185573341478/posts/RnUXVixrAqs

Now it becomes apparent that Campbell copied this from the final panel of a Krazy Kat Sunday strip, and it is perfectly clear how the piece came about and why it appears to capture a few elements of Herriman's classic style. Possibly Campbell used a lightboard to get this drawing started.

Ron Campbell after George Herriman, Krazy Kat Jail Mirage

http://www.inter-activities.com/AnimScoobydoo%20Ron%20Campbell.html

From Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration by Craig Yoe, Abrams ComicArts, 2011, page 20: May 15, 1938. Credit: KRAZY KAT™ Hearst Holdings, Inc. Courtesy of Craig Yoe’s collection of Herriman images and ephemera. 

https://plus.google.com/108672329185573341478/posts/RnUXVixrAqs

Note:  My post on Krazy Kat specialty pieces remains my most popular post of all time and continues to be updated occasionally as I find more amazing material to include. You can see it all here and I believe you will feel better immediately, if not sooner.

140