The Official K Chronicles and (Th)ink Website

*THIS IS FROM THE GLYPH AWARD WINNERS ARTICLE WRITTEN BY FINE COMICS JOURNALIST RICH WATSON:

The first time I encountered Keith Knight’s work was in the graphic novel section of a Virgin Megastore several years ago. I couldn’t say what exactly it was about Fear of a Black Marker that attracted my attention — maybe it was the title, maybe it was the cover art — but I flipped through this K Chronicles compilation and bought it on impulse, not having a clue who the creator was but somehow getting a good feeling from it.

I’m almost certain the first time I met Keith was at the Small Press Expo. I had brought my copy of Marker with me for him to sign and I also purchased Dances With Sheep and he signed that too. He immediately struck me as the kind of guy I would have more than a few things in common with. I remember how impressed I was to see the CDs for his band the Marginal Prophets on sale as well, and I remember vowing to buy one the next time I saw him — and I did. (I have all of his CDs now; get one, they’re awesome!) I also remember reading Sheep in my hotel room, lying on my stomach on my bed, and laughing hysterically while my friend Reid was wondering if I was about to have a seizure.

Over the subsequent years I like to think I’ve become a friend of Keith’s; an acquaintance at the very least. I’ve attended his world-famous slideshow lecture; I’ve been to a Marginal Prophets concert (and that is surely one of my all-time best comics-related memories from the past decade or so); and I own almost everything Keith-related. Sometimes I think I should just give him a check for $100 to put towards anything and everything he comes out with. (Gratuitous plug: check out this book he co-wrote with Mat Schwarzman called The Beginner’s Guide to Community-Based Arts, a handbook for starting up arts programs in your neighborhood, citing examples from all across America. Includes cartoons by Keith and others. Fascinating book.)

Keith’s not only an exceptional cartoonist but a fine person as well, and I’m privileged to know him and more than willing to support whatever he does because he’s just that good.