Comics You Can Openly Admit To Reading - San Francisco

KRAZY KAT

(by: George Herriman)
This charming early 20th century strip explores the curious one-sided relationship between Krazy Kat and his object of desire, Ignatz the mouse. The perpetually disinterested Ignatz reacts to Krazy’s blubbering affection by smiting him with a brick at the conclusion of each scene.

The comic has undertones of southern race-relations and gender politics. (Both characters are ambiguous in gender).

Krazy’s emotional naivety and early 20th century dialect render him a vulnerable and relatable character, while the strangely cunning Ignatz reminds us of the strange harmony between cuteness and violence.

Somehow it is more palatable to examine the extent mankind will suffer for irrational love in an anthropomorphic context.

GHOST WORLD

(by: Daniel Clowes – Bay Area Local)
In yet another examination of the typical American household, teenage bossom-buddies Enid and Rebecca push the boundaries and design their own suburban demimonde, spending their days skipping class, collecting old records, and feeling existential. Their pseudo-absurdist/blasé outlooks conflate oddly with their typical small town backdrop, as they search for meaning amidst yard sales and 1950s-style chain diners.

The Workings Of BEN KATCHOR

Cartoonist, Ben Katchor manages to simultaneously evoke 1940s New York and punk in his gritty, often bleak works. He is the first cartoonist to win Macarthur “Genius Grant.”

For the past two decades, Katchor has followed the wanderings of title character, Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer in surrealist New York.

The Workings Of NATALIE DEE

Q: What does the bored tuna can in Natalie Dee’s universe say to the loaf of bread? A: Let’s make sandwiches! Utilizing her trademarked Windows-Paintbrush-esque figures, Dee somehow manages to roll the One-Liner Joke into instant Jpeg hilarity.

Natalie Dee celebrates the facts that poison cupcakes are funny, and there’s just about nothing worse than trying too hard.

The Workings Of CHRIS WARE

Known best for his characters Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth (above), and Quimby The Mouse, Chris Ware meticulously hand-draws these dejected characters as they search for their respective places in the social arena.

Have Some Comic Pride

Get your reading material here: