Introducing Kafka
{{short description|1993 biography by David Zane Mairowitz}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Introducing Kafka
| image = IntroKafka.gif
| caption = Book cover
| author = David Zane Mairowitz
| illustrator = Robert Crumb
| country = United States
| language = English
| genre = Biography
| publisher = Totem Books
| pub_date = 1993
| media_type =
| pages =
| isbn = 1-84046-122-5
| series = Introducing...
| oclc =
}}
Introducing Kafka, also known as R. Crumb's Kafka, is an illustrated biography of Franz Kafka by David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb. The book includes comic adaptations of some of Kafka's most famous works including The Metamorphosis, A Hunger Artist, In the Penal Colony, and The Judgment, as well as brief sketches of his three novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika. The book also details Kafka's biography in a format that is part illustrated essay, part sequential comic panels.
Publication history
The book was released as part of the "Introducing..." series by Totem Books; the popularity of Crumb's renditions of Kafka's works led to additional printings under the titles R. Crumb's Kafka and Kafka for Beginners, and its most recent edition by Fantagraphics Books (2007) is titled simply Kafka.
Content
The book focuses on the biographical details of Kafka's life, interspersed with illustrated vignettes from his writing. The author relates Kafka's personality and various incidents in his life to the composition of his stories. For example, Kafka's complicated relationship with his family is linked to stories where the main character is an animal – notably The Metamorphosis, whose protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens to find himself transformed into a giant bug, and becomes a burden on his family.
Editions
- Mairowitz, David Zane (writer) and Robert Crumb (illustrator). Introducing Kafka. New York: Totem Books, 1993. {{ISBN|1-84046-122-5}}
- Mairowitz, David Zane (writer) and Robert Crumb (illustrator). Kafka for Beginners. Cheltenham, England: Icon Publishing Ltd, 1993.
- Mairowitz, David Zane (writer) and Robert Crumb (illustrator). R. Crumb's Kafka. iBooks Graphic Novels, 2005. {{ISBN|1-59687-812-6}}
- Mairowitz, David Zane (writer) and Robert Crumb (illustrator). Kafka. Fantagraphics Books, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-56097-806-0}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Kafka adaptations}}
{{Robert Crumb}}
Category:Works about Franz Kafka
Category:Cultural depictions of Franz Kafka
Category:Non-fiction graphic novels
Category:Biographies about writers
Category:Comics based on real people
Category:Comics by Robert Crumb
Category:Comics set in the 19th century
Category:Comics set in the 1900s
Category:Comics set in the 1910s
Category:Comics set in the 1920s
Category:Comics set in the Czech Republic
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