Design Feast Series: Quotes

“‘Comics’ connects you to an old and long tradition that I may be part of but I am also working in opposition to. So the form needs a new name. Some people call it a graphic novel, but all novels are graphic. Otherwise you couldn’t see them. They use typography. My idea is to call it ‘autographic writing.’ I am a writer, but I am interested in my handwriting. Most writers don’t want to preserve their handwriting. They choose to set their words in mechanical type, so all traces of physicality are gone. In my writing, I want to preserve my handwriting, and my handwriting includes writing words and images. So that’s probably a better name. And are all “comics” comical? Well, in the ones that strive to be amusing the humor eventually becomes dated. Is ‘Krazy Kat’ mainly of interest because it’s funny? It’s very amusing, but there’s a lot more than laughter going on while I’m reading it.”

Ben Katchor, Cartoonist