the K Chronicles by Keith Knight

*KEEF INTERVIEW IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE BELIEVER..
Did I ever mention this? Great comic scribe Chris Lanier did an interview with me a few years back that went so well, I requested him again. The results are in the current ish of the fine Believer Magazine, on newsstands now.

The coolest thing about it is Charles Burns and Tony Millionaire do these fab portraits of everyone that gets interviewed. Mine was done by Mr. Millionaire (an honor, though my scruff of a beard is absent).

Also included in the ish is an interview with the wonderful Lynda Barry.

Get it, you fools!! (read a preview here)

Labels: Chris Lanier, interview, Lynda Barry, the Believer, Tony Miilionaire

 
*MY LATEST INTERVIEW..
....with comics afficionado Charles Brubaker.

And a BadAzz interview with David Walker at Comic-Con.

Labels: interview

 
*ANNOUNCING THE FIRST KEITH KNIGHT SOLO COMIC ART EXHIBITION!!

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2008
Contact: Keith Knight, keef@kchronicles.com
Images Available Upon Request



The Knight Life:
Bay Area Spotlight on Keith Knight
Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition: June 14 - November 9, 2008



The Cartoon Art Museum is honored to host the first comprehensive exhibition
of Harvey and Glyph Award-winning cartoonist Keith Knight, creator of the K
Chronicles, (th)ink and the new United Features syndicated daily comic strip
The Knight Life.

The exhibition, co-sponsored by Dark Horse, coincides with the release of
The Complete K Chronicles (Dark Horse/$24.95), the 500 page omnibus
collection that incorporates the first four K Chronicles compendiums (three
of which are out of print).

Keith Knight, a Bay Area institution whose move to Los Angeles left a gaping
whole in the S.F. reprobate and indie comics community, will dig deep into
his vast catalog of original artwork for this retrospective. The K
Chronicles, (th)ink, the brand new daily comic strip The Knight Life, his
work for Mad Magazine and ESPN: The Magazine, Marginal Prophets poster and
album art, plus some early high school and college work will be represented
in the exhibit.

Information regarding the official reception for this exhibition will be
announced shortly.

About Keith Knight

Keith Knight is an award-winning cartoonist whose two self-syndicated comic
strips, his humorous, autobiographical the K Chronicles and (th)ink, which
skewers politics and current events, can be found in over 35 alternative
weekly, college and daily newspapers and websites nationwide. He's also a
frequent contributor to Mad Magazine and ESPN: The Magazine. His new daily
comic strip, the Knight Life, has recently launched, courtesy of United
Features Syndicate. For more information or to schedule an interview with
Keith Knight, visit his website at
www.kchronicles.com, www.knightlifecomic.com or send an email to
keef@kchronicles.com.


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Cartoon Art Museum ? 655 Mission Street ? San Francisco, CA 94105 ?
415-CAR-TOON ? www.cartoonart.org
Hours: Tues. - Sun. 11:00 - 5:00, Closed Monday
General Admission: $6.00 ? Student/Senior: $4.00 ? Children 6-12: $2.00 ?
Members & Children under 6: Free

*A PREVIEW COPY OF THE DARK HORSE BOOK IS HERE!!
And it looks FANTABULOUS!
It's HUGE!! Like a phone book!! Chock full of K Chronicles strips the way you wish papers would run it. BIG!! Kerstin was saying that she never noticed all the little things that I put in the strips because the collections were too small.

She also loves the notes that I put in below the strips. Little factoids and things about the work. I'm psyched!! And I'm looking to get a lot of publicity re: this book, so if you know where to send it to, tell me!!

You can pre-order the Dark Horse Book here.

*NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WRAP-UP..
Had a spectacular time in San Francisco and Santa Rosa last week. Thanks to the JCCSF for bringing me up there for their Serial Boxes panel. It was nice hangin' with fellow creators and comic fans alike.

I also rolled into a coupla old spots including the Edinburgh Castle, which still had a pinball machine in the back. I tossed a coupla quarters in the machine to see if I still had it.

40 million points, one free game and a "shoot again" later, I realized I did still have it. I walked away after just one ball, cuz I knew it wasn't gonna get any better than that. It'd make someone's night to find all that free stuff on a pinball machine...

I also hit one of my fave Haight St. foodspots, Askew, for a little pepper encrusted Ahi, but they jacked up the price on that thing BIG TiME. The gas crunch has seriously affected the menu (it was still delicious, though).

There was more food, booze and fun seein' as it was Bay to Breakers weekend, but I won't bore you with all the details. Let's just say that if you ain't spent any time in San Francisco, yer missin' out.

Special thanks to Greg and Jose at the HI SF Downtown Hostel for putting me up. I really enjoy coming into SF from a traveler's perspective.

*I ALSO DID A COUPLA SWELL INTERVIEWS .
One was with Chris Lanier for an upcoming ish of McSweeney's and the other you'll be able to find right here.

*INDIANA JONES REVIEW..
What can I say? If you like Indy, you'll see it. If you're looking for a good movie, don't bother.
Some good parts (the opening stuff, the college chase, the jeep and sword fight), some bad parts (swinging through the trees, THREE waterfalls?), and a sorta weird walk-on by Karen Allen (was she supposed to be acting?)..

T'was the weakest but still far better than any of the new Star Wars movies.

*I KNOW, I KNOW..JACKIE ROBINSON WAS A REPEAT..
..But it was a classic!! Being on the road, coupled with the news of Rory Root's passing threw me for a loop, so I hope you didn't mind the week off.

*LETTERS/EMAILS OF THE WEEK...
Hey Keef,

We've must've seen the same photo. Berra has the ball and misses the tag, Jackie slid towards the inside of the plate, and his toe catches the top corner. We are probably in the same boat as we were too young too have seen him play live. The image of Jackie dancing off the bag at third, and just messing with the pitcher's head, then taking off, arms flailing, the crowd does a collective gasp, somebody yelling, "there he goes!!!!!!!", just gives me the chills. The Original Bum Rush. Truer words have never been spoken.

Just wait until you tell your son about it.

Keef, I love your strip, and look forward to it every week.

J.
(a transplanted Bostonian)
----------
Hey Keef,

Don't know if you ever heard of Major Taylor, but he was one of the most famous, and well-paid, athletes of his day, from about 1895 to 1915. He was a bike racer, he was amazing, he was black, and like Jackie Robinson, he also faced a mountain of prejudice. What most people don't know, is that he ever existed. And he wasn't just famous in the U.S. either, he was world famous--cycling was a huge sport here and internationally in the days before the automobile screwed things up. Anyway, whenever I come across praise for Jackie, I feel the need to make sure Major Taylor gets his due.

Peace,

D.

(i actually did a strip about major taylor when i was contemplating doing a black history panel called "betcha didn't know"..i never pitched it, but if i find the taylor panel, i'll post it.-kk)
-------

Hi Keith,
I look forward to reading (th)ink every week in Boston's Weekly Dig, and just wanted to
write you a note to tell you that I really appreciate the strip. When I read your recent
comic about Mildred Loving, it caused me to look for more information about her - I
listened to the online NPR piece from last year. I realize that on top of entertaining
your audience, you're also informing them - art, commentary, and historical notes all
rolled into one. Nice work! Your strips that address interracial couples always catch my
eye, since I'm white and my girlfriend is asian-american - I often show my favorites to
her, especially the one I mentioned. I also enjoy Tak Toyoshima's "Secret Asian Man"
strip for similar reasons. Anyway, keep up the good work - I look forward to reading many
more of your comics in the future!
-D.

----------

Hi Keef:

I opened the mailbox today and found the book waiting for me. Thanks
for the personalized note on the inside cover. I hope all is well with
your's and your wife's impending parenthood.

I haven't found any local papers that carry you since Pacific Sun and
you parted ways. I'm curious if you're going to be writing anything
about the economy up in these parts.

By day I'm a hard working commercial real estate broker. I also have
three kids, two for whom I pay child support, one who I raised on my own
(his mother passed away). In 2006 I made a little over $117,000. I was
responsible with the money (I always pay my child support and bills) and
my only excursion was a seven day trip to Maui. After taxes and all, I
entered 2007 with a little under $70k in savings. And then the fucking
earth spun off her axis and the market dropped. I was worried, but I
kept the expenses in check and distracted myself with my night time
endeavor. But I kept watching irresponsible,
greedy bankers and lenders make unrealistic loans to small businesses
and investors who were fooled in to thinking that Bushenomics would
continue to expand. It's like thinking you can re-use a rubber:
eventually some spunk is going to be squeezed out and then the chain
reaction begins. In 2007 my income dribbled to less than $7,000. Now,
in late May 2008, I'm faced with eviction. Me! The guy who was never a
dead beat dad, the guy who works 10 hours a day, then comes home and
works some more. The guy who warned people, "Don't take those loan
terms....lock in a fixed rate...you pay a little more up front but you
won't be exposed to the impending melt-down". I'm 44 years old and
facing starting all over. How the f--k did that happen?

Obama in 08, Knight. He's not going to hand us a fix, but he's sure as
hell gonna hand them some pink slips. Let those irresponsible f--ks
face their sins against this nation without jobs for a while. As I sit
here wondering if I'm going to be sued for eviction, I stress out. I
have anxiety attacks and spend hours better invested sleeping staring at
the ceiling trying to figure, hope, pray for a way out of this mess. I
can only imagine how they might feel with the hope of them one night
laying awake wondering how they're going to fare in congressional
hearings.

Best Wishes,

Pi

-------

Whaddaya mean you didn't know I went daily?
http://www.knightlifecomic.com

Labels: cartoon art museum, dark horse collection, email of the week, Indiana Jones movie review, interview, letters of the week, San Francisco

 
*SPX WRAP-UP..
I like SPX because it's in a town that doesn't have a whole lot going on (unlike MoCCA and APE), so it always has good attendance, and I find myself hanging out with fellow cartoonists a lot more at this show. There aren't 37 parties, events, art openings and keg parties like there are in San Francisco and New York City.

I drove down with fellow CWAer Ted Rall. Ted is not only dangerous with a pen and piece of paper, he is dangerous behind the wheel. I went through three diapers.

This was my first time at the Expo in it's current location: The Marriott in North Bethesda. I like it. It's bigger. Fancier. And easily accessible by subway. I didn't make as much $$$ as in the past, but I forgot my freakin' canvas bags and didn't have a new book to sell. Oh well. Me and many of my fellow Cartoonist With Attitude members crashed at comics historian and collector Warren Bernard's house, much like we did this past summer for the AAEC's 50th anniversary convention in D.C. Good fun.

Also sat on a panel with Zippy the Pinhead creator Bill Griffith, Perry Bible Fellowship and fellow Harvey winner Nicholas Gurewitch, and stunt driver Ted Rall. Nicholas had the book of the show, but the way. His new Dark Horse collection is the cat's bottom. Also pick up Julia Wertz's first collection of the Fart Party. You will not be disappointed. Good stuff.

I'm looking forward to going back next year with my--

*TWO NEW BOOKS FOR 2008!!
What?!! Two new books for 2008? Ya damn right. Things ain't totally figured out yet, but there will be a new K Chronicles collection (#5) out for the 2008 convention season. And coming in June 2008 is the book many have been waiting for: A 500 PAGE K CHRONICLES OMNIBUS COLLECTION!! Featuring every strip contained in the four (mostly out-of-print) K Chronicles collections in a much larger format. With commentary, sketches, foolishness and more!!

*THE NEW KCHRONICLES.COM...
..will be coming very soon. I want to hear your feedback about it . Keep an eye out. It's going to kick bottom.

*ANOTHER INTERVIEW..DONE THIS PAST SUMMER..
http://freynosowrites.blogspot.com/

*OH, BY THE WAY..
THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO HAS BEEN MOVED TO NOVEMBER 1ST AND 2ND OF 2008!! I kinda like the idea of a move to the fall, but NOT the day after Halloween. People are gonna be hungover and not wanting to go to something during the day. I say it should be the second week in November. The closer to the Holidays, the better. People will be wanting to shop for presents.

*AND YEAH..THE K CHRONICLES ABOUT THROWING TOMATOES AT CARS..
..is a repeat. I threw tomatoes in San Francisco. Wouldn't dare throw 'em in L.A. Everybody's packin' heat down here.

Labels: APE, Cartoonists with Attitude, interview, new books, spx 2007

 
*EXTRA!! EXTRA!! KEEF INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE COMICS JOURNAL!!
The premiere publication of the comics industry just dropped the latest issue. And it has an interview with me by Cartoon Art Museum gallery manager and all around good guy Andrew Farago. Here's an excerpt.

Labels: andrew farago, cartoon art museum, comics journal, interview