More about George Herriman and Krazy Kat; Michael Tisserand, Herriman's biographer, will be at Destinations Booksellers on Monday, November 19.

In Finnish, too.

The more I read about Herriman and his work, the more interesting it gets.

Michael Tisserand, biographer of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman, will be at Destinations Booksellers on Monday, November 19.

Cary Stemle is the impetus for Tisserand's appearance at Destinations on Monday. He has spoken with the author, and the story is here:

Visiting author will talk about what we can learn from ‘Krazy Kat,’ a cartoon born 100 years ago, by Cary Stemle (Insider Louisville)

Early in the 20th century, an eccentric New Orleans-born figure named George Herriman parlayed his wry sense of humor and accomplished graphic skills into a lucrative and influential career.

After drawing several short-lived newspaper comic strips, Herriman struck artistic gold with “Krazy Kat,” which featured the titular black cat along with a white mouse named Ignatz and a police bulldog called Officer Pupp.

Today, Herriman’s strip remains a topic of interest both culturally and artistically. Michael Tisserand, former editor of the New Orleans alternative newsweekly Gambit, will be in the Louisville area on Monday, Nov. 19, to discuss his biography of the artist, titled “Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White” ...

Michael Tisserand, biographer of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman, will be at Destinations Booksellers on Monday, November 19.

Michael Tisserand, author of the acclaimed book Krazy, will be at Destinations Booksellers on Monday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. The book is in paperback and will be available for purchase. Click on the promo poster for details, and learn more about the book here:

Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White, by Michael Tisserand

In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged—and the deep secret he explored through his art.

The creator of the greatest comic strip in history finally gets his due—in an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about his art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, George 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 newspapers of the early twentieth century—including those owned by William Randolph Hearst—Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons quickly propelled him to fame. Although fitfully popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art.

Herriman used his work to explore the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia that was 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—and 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 exhaustive original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and surviving written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.