by Ray Collins|
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by Ray Collins |
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IN MY HUMBLE OPINION Okie White FEATURED COLUMNIST Ray Collins FICTION
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The good thing about paying a cable TV bill is knowing that you are helping to finance and support C-Span and Brian Lamb. Lamb is the best, the most intelligent and courteous personality in television. His production, Booknotes is an example of what TV can, and should be. Booknotes is a program that gives authors low-keyed time to talk about their lives, works and future projects. One Sunday evening Lamb's guest was a writer who described the Drama Triangle, and its importance in literature, at great length. The triangle consists of a victim, a persecutor and a rescuer. The triangle that I was most familiar with was George Herriman's classic comic strip, Krazy Kat. Krazy was a victim of Ignatz Mouse's persecution, and Offissa Pupp tried to rescue him or her (Krazy's gender was never definite ) for over 31 years. Krazy Kat appeared in fewer than 30 newspapers, 17 of which belonged to the Hearst chain. William Randolph Hearst loved Krazy Kat, and after not hearing from Herriman for years, he asked his syndicate, King Features, to send him a raise. Herriman sent the money back, saying he didn't think he was worth what the syndicate was already paying him. Hearst gave orders, and when WRH gave an order City Rooms all over America shuddered, saying that Krazy Kat was to appear in his newspapers as long as Herriman felt like drawing the strip. Fortunately, this happened... "The Chief", as Hearst liked to be called, suggested to his editors that they run Krazy on the Sunday Drama and Review page. When the Chief suggested something it meant DAMMIT, DO IT! Doubledomes who would never stoop so low as to read a comics page became fans. Then Herriman won cartoondom's finest accolade: art critic Gilbert Seldes' pronouncement in his 1924 book, The Seven Lively Arts that Krazy Kat was, "... The most amusing, fantastic and satisfactory work of art produced in America today. " Cartooning is a male dominated profession. When I taught cartooning in public schools I knew the names of some of the prominent women cartoonists in history and brought this to the attention of girls who were drawing Mr Donut. Minorities don't identify with cartoons, due to past stereotyping in the cartoon profession, but minority kids were impressed when I told them one the pioneer greats, George Herriman, was an African-American. |
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