#Ignatz - dressing like a flower 50 years before Peter Gabriel made it cool

[100yearoldcomics]

April 30, 1922 Krazy Kat by George Herriman

[ID: Krazy stands under a garden arch, thinking to themself. /end] Krazy: Ah-h, wundafil "Maytime," with thy "butta-kups," and "deffa-dills," and "hollow-hocks," and "pantsies." Thee is indeed the king of months. And that's a fect.

[ID: Officer Pupp leans on his baton and speaks with Krazy, who poses coquettishly. /end] Pupp: Well, "Krazy," I see you are enchanted by the floral witchery and delights of "May." Krazy: 'Ottdaggie!! You bet I are, and that's no i-dill jess.

[ID: Pupp stands with arms akimbo while Krazy listens with his hands on his hips. /end] Pupp: Well, dawgunnit, why shouldn't we like flowers, heh? Ain't they the one things what don't need laws, juries, judges, & kops to keep them good. Why, huh, I ask you. Why? Krazy: Ain't it because they dun't need 'em, "Offissa Pupp"?

[ID: Pupp takes his police cap off and gestures like he's a little teapot. Krazy scratches their head as they ponder his thoughts. /end] Pupp: Why, of course. There ain't no sin nor crime amongst flowers. They're pure, & beautiful, & full of color & fragrance, & they're so derned trustworthy, too. Krazy: Dun't I know it, "Offissa Pupp," gosh dingit, dun't I know it.

[ID: Ignatz stands before a large ring of flower petals with a head-sized hole in the middle. A brick lies on the ground beside him. /end] Ignatz: The time of the year being what it is, I call this a most appropriate disguise.

[ID: Ignatz pokes his face through the hole. /end] Ignatz: And a perfect fit.

[ID: Ignatz slides the petals down around his waist, where they protrude like a tutu. He picks up the brick. /end] Ignatz: And as luck would have it, here come's the party I most desire to meet. And I am glad that "Officer Pupp" is with him.

[ID: Ignatz pulls the petals up, as if his flower hasn't yet bloomed. /end] Ignatz: I will add in no slight measure a greater luster to my genius, by fooling them both.

[ID: Krazy and Pupp bend over to admire the Ignatz flower. Mr. Bum Bill Bee stands on the other side of him, doing the same. /end] Pupp: And now, Krazy, look well upon this beautiful bloom, it is the "Violetus robustus," a flower fragrant with aroma, & sweet with heaps of honey. Altogether a very desirable blossom. Krazy: Yes. Bum Bill Bee: Hm-m-m. This smacks of much honey. I'll tackle it.

[ID: Bum Bill Bee leaps into the flower headfirst while Pupp and Krazy chat amicably. /end] Pupp: Did you notice Mr. "Bum Bill Bee" giving his attention to that flower? Well, it's a sure sign that it is first class in every respect. Krazy: Oh, sure.

[ID: The two are shocked as Ignatz begins flailing around under his flower costume. Judging by the buzzing noises, Bum Bill Bee's making mincemeat of him. /end]

[ID: Ignatz, covered in bee stings, leaps out of the costume and runs off while Krazy and Pupp watch. /end] Krazy: Bless my soul, if it wasn't "Ignatz," making a flower of hisself. L'il rosebud. Pupp: Hmm. Bill: Anything that gets me stinging mad is to be fooled by an "artificial flower."

[ID: Pupp stifles laughter as Krazy watches Bum Bill Bee walk down the road. /end] Pupp: He he he he. Krazy: And Mr. "Bum Bill Bee" should be ashamed of hisself to spoil it all like that.

#newspaper comics #vintage #history #1922 #krazy kat #transcript available #1920s #Ignatz - dressing like a flower 50 years before Peter Gabriel made it cool