Comic book series : Klaus

Visually informed by Short’s love of classic comic strips, especially Charles Schulz’ Peanuts and Tove Jansson’s Moomin, Klaus explores the un-adventures of the eponymous character, a pensive anthropomorphic cat, and a vexatious supporting cast of humanoid rats, inappropriately specie-d romantic interests and Klaus’ libertarian doppelganger Otto. Weaving literary allusions, metaphysical ruminations and physical comedy through crisp, cartoonish artwork Short has transplanted the spirit of the classic comic strip into a new, slightly stranger body, creating a work that is “rather sweet, slightly dark and definitely surreal” (Forbidden Planet). Two self-published issues of Klaus appeared at the end of 2010, the sight of which caused one reviewer to declare, “Short might be best understood as the Ginsberg to Schulz’ Whitman, in that Klaus doesn’t so much recite the poetry of Peanuts as it does advance upon it for a different generation” (Avoid The Future). This 60-page collection will include the best of the previous publications together with all-new work.

Richard Short is a cartoonist, illustrator and solicitor from the North East of England. He is a regular contributor to the international anthology Two Fast Colour and his poster designs can be seen on walls from Byker to Brixton. He is currently living on a hill in the windswept margins of South London.