The American “Ligne Claire”

One of the most well known lineages of American cartooning is traceable from the seminal artist, Bernard Krigstein to Daniel Clowes, and then to the “Wonder Boy of Comics” Adriane Tomine (at the time of writing, a middle-aged dad). Today, Bernard Krigstein’s most referenced work is Master Race. <img alt="This a series of panels that is a perfect example of Bernard Krigstein’s style. The panels which show a man running away and eventually falling under a train are packed with all manner of stylistic innovations." src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*il-f50d0ypbc7LA9atevRw.jpeg" style="height:589px; width:700px" /> Colourised excerpt from Master Race. Written by W.M. Gaines and Al Feldstein. Drawn by Bernard Krigstein Master Race is a story written by William M. Gaines and Al Feldstein (Krigstein was responsible for the art). It tells the story of a former Nazi concentration camp commander living incognito in New York ten years after the Holocaust. On the subway, the officer suffers paranoia that he has been recognised. He believes that a man sitting a few seats away from him is an inmate who had once sworn to avenge the atrocities and torture. Bernard Krigstein uses some major technical innovation in illustration and art techniques to bring this story to life. At the time, it was common for comics pages to be loaded with a lot of text. The page layout evinces Krigstein’s hallmark control of type. He was reputed to sometimes hand-cut words and paste them into a custom arrangement when others would have been satisfied with just the effort to stencil the letters into place.  <a href="https://fanfare.pub/the-american-ligne-claire-5fa82f16385b">Learn More</a>