"Krazy Kat" by George Herriman

Reading many comics, I have grown a love for them. When I was in elementary school, they provided us a child-version newspaper and I would always search for a cartoon page. Although I did not have any specific reasons why I loved to read them, I assume that I liked them because of the interaction between simple characters and their storylines. Looking back on these child-version cartoons, they were very sarcastic and contained a lot of satires about politics or social issues. I did not realize this when I was a child, but I enjoyed to watch the sequential images. Now reading cartoons as a college student, I can see the artists’ settings, characterizations, philosophies, and messages, which makes me consider that cartoons are very attractive art. Recently, I read an old cartoon named Krazy Kat, by George Herriman. I was so amazed by his work because it does not only contain a genetic simple slapstick comedy, but also character settings which are very detailed. Krazy Kat had been stripped from 1913 to 1944, which was roughly about thirty years. The story is very simple; a carefree and simple-minded cat, Krazy, likes a mouse named Ignatz, but Ignatz does not like Krazy back so he would rather always throw bricks at Krazy. There is also a third character, Officer Bull Pupp, who would always protect Krazy from Ignatz and end up falling in love with Krazy. Reading and watching the characters’ actions, I have enjoyed the stories they take part of because they are very simple, generic, and old-fashioned. Furthermore, I can see George Herriman’s creativity through the combination of simplicity, innocent playfulness, and poetic language. The Krazy Kat is widely considered as a serious cartoon and has attracted a number of fans and manias for more than 80 years. Many of today’s cartoon or comics artists regard him as a genius and are mainly influenced and inspired by his works due to the elements I have mentioned so far.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Since I was a child, I have always collected comic strips and manga books. Keeping them on my shelves, I have read them over and over again. This has inspired me to become a comic artist, so I have analyzed shots and techniques that only comics can apply. Films or animations have a similar concept, but they are slightly different with comics. I am not demeaning the art of films and animations, however, they can not express the art that comics show, and vice versa. To understand about comics more deeply, I read Understanding Comics written by Scott McCloud. By reading this book, I found some interesting points about comics that the author presented; they are sequential arts and simplicity.

Both films or animations and comics contain the techniques of sequential art, but they have main differences. Films or animations are sequential in time, but they are not specifically juxtaposed. On the other hand, comics go more with space in deliberate sequence. For example, films always go with projectors, so each frame is projected in the same space. However, comics occupy a different space, so they convey information by playing with the space, which are called cuts.

The other element I found interesting is simplicity. Comics are very simplified from the reality and we readers can easily respond to them, which is iconic. Icons contain various definitions, but for the purpose of this topic, Scott McCloud defines the icon as “any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea.” Non-pictorial icons are languages or words that are absolute and abstract. In contrast, pictorial icons are fluid and variable depending on the subjects. Simply with two dots and one straight horizon line in a circle, it can easily be recognized as a face. Scott McCloud mentions, “We humans are a self-centered race, and we see ourselves in everything.” Cartoons or comics and shapes of characters are very simple and basic, but we find our identities through them, and that is the reason we easily get fascinated by comics.