|
''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focuses on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently goes on wild adventures that sometimes involve sexual escapades. Crumb began drawing this character in homemade comic books when he was a child. Fritz became one of his most famous characters, thanks largely to the motion picture adaptation by Ralph Bakshi. The strip appeared in ''Help!'' and ''Cavalier'' magazines. It subsequently gained prominence in publications associated with the underground comix scene between 1965 and 1972. ''Fritz the Cat'' comic compilations elevated the strip into one of the most iconic features of the underground scene. The strip received further attention when it was adapted into a 1972 animated film with the same name. The directorial debut of animator Ralph Bakshi, it became a worldwide success. It was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States and the most successful independent animated feature to date. Crumb ended the strip in 1972 due to disagreements with the filmmakers. He published a story in which Fritz was murdered by an ex-girlfriend. A second animated film, ''The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat'', was produced in 1974 without the involvement of either Bakshi or Crumb. ==Overview== ''Fritz the Cat'' was created in 1959 by Robert Crumb in a homemade comic book story called "Cat Life", based on the experiences of Fred, the family cat. The character's next appearance was in a 1960 story entitled "Robin Hood". By this point, the cat had become anthropomorphic and had been renamed Fritz, a name derived from a minor unrelated character who appeared briefly in "Cat Life".〔〔 Fritz appeared in the early 1960s ''Animal Town'' strips drawn by Charles and Robert Crumb. Sometimes Fritz was accompanied by Fuzzy the Bunny, who served as an alter ego for Charles, his creator.〔 ''Fritz the Cat'' is set in a "modern 'supercity' of millions of animals." Stories begin simply and become increasingly chaotic and complex as the narrative responds to uncontrollable forces.〔 The look of ''Fritz the Cat'' comics was characterized by the use of the Rapidograph technical pen and a simple drawing style Robert Crumb used to facilitate his story telling. Crumb states that much of the comic books he enjoyed as a child were funny animal comics, particularly those of Carl Barks. Crumb was later influenced by Walt Kelly's daily anthropomorphic funny animal comic strip ''Pogo''; Crumb did not copy Kelly's comics directly, but states that he imitated his drawing style closely; Crumb admired Kelly's storytelling style, which "seemed (be ) plotless and casually done. The characters talked to each other and nothing much happened. Just a lot of foolishness takes place". Robert Crumb stated of his anthropomorphic work: I can express something (animals ) that is different from what I put into my work about humans... I can put more nonsense, more satire and fantasy into the animals...they're also easier to do than people... With people I try more for realism, which is probably why I'm generally better with animals.〔 In 1964, when he was not working at American Greetings, Crumb drew many ''Fritz the Cat'' strips for his own amusement. Some of these strips would later be published in ''Help!'' and ''Cavalier'' magazines and in the underground comix. Fritz also appears briefly in Crumb's graphic novel ''Big Yum Yum Book: The Story of Oggie and the Beanstalk'', drawn in 1964, but not published until 1975. Several characters from the anthropomorphic universe of ''Fritz the Cat'' appeared in another Crumb comic strip, ''The Silly Pigeons'', drawn in 1965 and intended for ''Help!'' In 1970, Crumb redrew an early Fuzzy the Bunny story written by Charles Crumb in 1952; it was published in ''Zap Comix'' #5.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fritz the Cat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|