LOAC Essentials
1 primary work • 4 total works
Book 12
Reprinted for the very first time, these century-old strips comprise a key early work from the creator of Krazy Kat, perhaps the most lauded cartoonist of all time.
This book concludes a three-volume LOAC Essentials sub-series by presenting the final year of Baron Bean, one of Herriman's richest and funniest creations, second only to Krazy Kat, whose citizens would occasionally grace these panels.
Herriman found few themes as fascinating as the power of titles and the ways in which worth in society is determined based on a hat, a name, or the color of one's skin. Each day he gives reason to question not only the superiority of would-be "Barons" over their vassals and retainers, but equally the superiority of so-called "humans" over the animals they call "pets."
This book concludes a three-volume LOAC Essentials sub-series by presenting the final year of Baron Bean, one of Herriman's richest and funniest creations, second only to Krazy Kat, whose citizens would occasionally grace these panels.
Herriman found few themes as fascinating as the power of titles and the ways in which worth in society is determined based on a hat, a name, or the color of one's skin. Each day he gives reason to question not only the superiority of would-be "Barons" over their vassals and retainers, but equally the superiority of so-called "humans" over the animals they call "pets."
The inaugural volume of Library of American Comics Essentials features Baron Bean, by one of the greatest comic strip stars of all time: George Herriman. The creator of Krazy Kat drew Baron Bean for three years beginning in 1916. The humor and graphic technique of Bean prelude the comedic and artistic styles emergent in his later, more famous work.
From his earliest cartoons, Herriman found few themes as fascinating as the power of titles and the ways in which worth in society is determined based on a hat, a name, or the color of one’s skin. Baron Bean quickly developed into one of Herriman’s richest and funniest creations, second only to Krazy Kat, whose citizens would occasionally grace the panels of Baron Bean. Each day Herriman gives reason to question not only the superiority of would-be “Barons” over their vassals and retainers, but equally the superiority of so-called “humans” over the animals they call “pets.”
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves, as closely as possible, the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.
This volume collects Bean's first year, while the second year of Baron Bean forms Library of American Comics Essentials Volume 6.
From his earliest cartoons, Herriman found few themes as fascinating as the power of titles and the ways in which worth in society is determined based on a hat, a name, or the color of one’s skin. Baron Bean quickly developed into one of Herriman’s richest and funniest creations, second only to Krazy Kat, whose citizens would occasionally grace the panels of Baron Bean. Each day Herriman gives reason to question not only the superiority of would-be “Barons” over their vassals and retainers, but equally the superiority of so-called “humans” over the animals they call “pets.”
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves, as closely as possible, the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.
This volume collects Bean's first year, while the second year of Baron Bean forms Library of American Comics Essentials Volume 6.
LOAC Essentials Presents King Features Volume 1: Krazy Kat 1934
by George Herriman
Published 30 August 2016
Much attention has been paid to Herrriman’s Sunday full-page comics, yet it is in the daily Krazy Kat strips that the cartoonist most frankly illustrates many of his major themes, especially the shifting nature of social identity.
The 1934 strips reprinted in this book fit anyone’s definition of "essential." They show Krazy Kat at top speed, ever-changing, endlessly inventive, with language that sparkles with double meanings, and more, in lines such as "his malady drills me to my sole."
The year includes homages to old jokes and bricks, followed by playful references to sex, drink, and even drugs. The daily Krazy Kat strips are often Herriman’s most personal works and standouts in this year include Krazy Kat’s attempt to write a memoir and the Kat’s quietly waiting for the last leaf of "ottim" to fall (a tender scene that finds echoes in Charles Schulz’s drawing Linus admiring the last autum’s leaf stubborn spirit). It could also be argued that the daily is more accessible to the new reader. Herriman biographer Michael Tisserand provides an insightful introduction.
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves, as closely as possible, the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.
The 1934 strips reprinted in this book fit anyone’s definition of "essential." They show Krazy Kat at top speed, ever-changing, endlessly inventive, with language that sparkles with double meanings, and more, in lines such as "his malady drills me to my sole."
The year includes homages to old jokes and bricks, followed by playful references to sex, drink, and even drugs. The daily Krazy Kat strips are often Herriman’s most personal works and standouts in this year include Krazy Kat’s attempt to write a memoir and the Kat’s quietly waiting for the last leaf of "ottim" to fall (a tender scene that finds echoes in Charles Schulz’s drawing Linus admiring the last autum’s leaf stubborn spirit). It could also be argued that the daily is more accessible to the new reader. Herriman biographer Michael Tisserand provides an insightful introduction.
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves, as closely as possible, the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.
Collecting the complete second year of George Herriman's much-lauded pre-Krazy Kat masterpiece. Now a century old, these comic strips are reprinted here for the first time.
The New York Journal of Books said that the first volume of LOAC Essentials, Baron Bean 1916, "sets the standard for archival and reprint quality." The Washington Times wrote that it’s "beautiful. It showcases Mr. Herriman’s developing style and his move toward a combination of absurdity, surrealism, and art deco." Now, with Volume 6, Baron Bean 1917, the Essentials series returns for the next installment in the adventures of the much-maligned English ex-pat.
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves as closely as possible the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.
The New York Journal of Books said that the first volume of LOAC Essentials, Baron Bean 1916, "sets the standard for archival and reprint quality." The Washington Times wrote that it’s "beautiful. It showcases Mr. Herriman’s developing style and his move toward a combination of absurdity, surrealism, and art deco." Now, with Volume 6, Baron Bean 1917, the Essentials series returns for the next installment in the adventures of the much-maligned English ex-pat.
LOAC Essentials reprints, one year at a time, the daily newspaper strips that are essential to comics history, in a format that preserves as closely as possible the original reader experience. By reproducing the strips one per page in an oblong format, it allows us to have the experience of reading the comics one day at a time. Each volume contains seminal strips that are unique creations in their right and also contributed to the advancement of the medium, along with panel-by-panel annotations.