View source for 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... (book 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 (novel)|The Castle]]'', and ''[[Amerika (novel)|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... (book series)|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==
[[File:Rcrumbskafka.gif|thumb|right|Cover of ''R.Crumb's Kafka'']]
* 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:Biographical comics]]
[[Category:Educational comics]]
[[Category:1993 in comics]]
[[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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