Ernie in Kovacsland is a Brilliantly Conceived Kovacsian retrospective romp through the 20 th century's most absurd and transgressive comedian. Best known for his wildly imaginative, gleefully dadaesque television show in the 1950s, Ernie Kovacs (1919 - 1962) was also a notorious illustrator, novelist, essayist, newspaper columnist, cartoonist, and poet. In celebration of this cockeyed genius and his prolific creative output, Fantagraphics Books presents a treasure trove of Kovacsiana featuring: Many never-before-seen photos from Kovacs's archive, Rare magazine articles and columns including the legendary "Letters of Apology: A Beginner's Manual" and "Thoughts While Falling Off the Empire State Bunding", Excerpts from his classic novel Zoomar and hand-notated TV scripts, A smattering of the wacky "illustrated profuselies" he drew on-air, Historical and critical essays about Kovacs by musician Ron Mael, Edie Adams's son Joshua Mills, Kovacs archivist Ben Model, and cultural historian Pat Thomas, An appreciation by actress, singer, and performance artist Ann Magnuson, Classic essays about Kovacs by Edie Adams, George Glazer, Richard Gehman, and Frederic Morton, Newspaper clippings, images, magazine covers, and other artifacts from Kovacs's archives, Join Ernie in Kovacsland and enter the mind of a pioneering comedian who influenced two generations of comedians, musicians, humorists, and writers, including those behind Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, and The David Letterman Show, as well as Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), Martin Mull (Fernwood Tonight), Mike Judge (Beavis & Butt-Head, King of the Hill), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy), Chris Elliott (Schitt's Creek), Robert Smigel (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog), and Harry Shearer (This Is Spinal Tap).