Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White

Price: $25.99 - $9.99
(as of Sep 07, 2025 16:56:28 UTC – Details)


In Michael Tisserand’s biography Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, the creator of history’s greatest comic strip finally gets his due.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
WINNER OF THE EISNER AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE NBCC AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY AND THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY
Krazy is an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about George Herriman’s art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, Herriman came of age as an illustrator, journalist, and cartoonist in the boomtown of Los Angeles and the wild metropolis of New York. Appearing in the biggest early twentieth century newspapers—including those owned by William Randolph Hearst—Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons propelled him to fame. Popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art.
Herriman’s work explored the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia inspired by the landscapes he discovered in his travels—from chaotic urban life to the Beckett-like desert vistas of the Southwest. Yet underlying his own life—often emerging from the contours of his very public art—was a very private secret: known as “the Greek” for his swarthy complexion and curly hair, Herriman was actually African American, born to a prominent Creole family that hid its racial identity in the dangerous days of Reconstruction.
Drawing on original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CY0N244
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper
Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 21, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 52.4 MB
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 720 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062098054
Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #816,186 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #346 in Pop Culture in Graphic Design #407 in Biographies of Journalists #471 in Biographies of Artists, Architects & Photographers (Kindle Store)
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