*EXTRA!! EXTRA!!
Just got word that I'll be having a solo exhibit of my work at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco (woo hoo!!) from June- October of this year!!

Haven't worked out all the details, but it looks like approx. 40 pieces will adorn the walls in the back gallery California artist section.

The exhibit will include the K Chronicles, (th)ink, my MAD magazine work, my sports strip from ESPN the magazine, and a few choice strips from my new daily comic, the Knight Life!!

*THE KNIGHT LIFE LAUNCHES!!
Thanks for all the well-wishes concerning the launch of my new daily strip. They want to hear feedback in the Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Sacramento Bee, so please send positive emails telling them to keep it.

My evil twin sis sent contact info for the Seattle Paper:
TEST COMICS: We're running a month's worth of two new comics. Please e-mail us your
thoughts at picomics@seattlepi.com.

The Boston Herald hasn't started running it yet. I'll let you know when it does. Also, it recently got picked up in Denver, Albany , NY., and Provo, UT. Look for it to start up in those locations soon.

If you work for a paper, and you're interested in adding the new strip, contact me at syndication@knightlifecomic.com.

And the new website: http://www.knightlifecomic.com

*CHEAP-ASS MOVE OF THE WEEK..
We're shopping for Baby stuff for the upcoming arrival of "He-Who Cannot-Be-Named", and we've found that craigslist is ideal for picking up inexpensive, uppity baby stuff fer cheap.

The key is to limit your search to all the rich sections of town. We've found some incredible deals if we search for stuff in Santa Monica, Brentwood ..and all the other uppity places in L.A.

*WHAT IS UP WITH SOME OF THESE (TH)INK READERS?
I recently did a (th)ink for Earth Day where the Moon, looking like a doctor, tells the Earth that it is infested with "destructive parasites"...

I don't know if someone whined about it on talk radio, but I got a few emails of folks who were extremely bent out of shape. Here's a sample:

"What about all the doctors, musicians, artists, engineers, pilots, taxi drivers, teachers, mail carriers, fire-fighters..just parasites?

I'm a hard-working, honest citizen trying to earn a decent living for my family. I don't like being thought of as a destructive parasite. Should I tell my children they are destructive parasites too?"

Another person wrote; "What if I called African-Americans parasites? Not so funny now, is it?"

Geez Louise. Relax, will ya?

Labels: (th)ink, cartoon art museum, cheap-ass, Knight Life daily

 
IN THIS ISSUE:
-KEEF GOING DAILY!!
-PRE-ORDER THE 500 PAGE K CHRONICLES OMNIBUS AT 30%
OFF
-KEEF COMING TO SCHULZ MUSEUM/INTERSECTION FOR THE
ARTS

Dearest K Chronicles/(th)ink Readers,

Finally!! I can now blab all I want about the top
secret project I've been working on these past 9
months (the OTHER 9 month project)..

*INTRODUCING 'THE KNIGHT LIFE'..
The Knight Life is the new daily strip being
syndicated by United Features Syndicate!! It's
premiering on Monday, May 5th (Cinco De Mayo AND
National Cartoonist's Day)!!

Honestly, folks. This is a dream come true. This is
what I dreamt about as a kid. It's the big leagues.
I want to thank everybody who has supported my work
over the years. I hope you will continue to support
it as it grows and expands like an American waistline.

FAQs-
WHAT'S 'THE KNIGHT LIFE' ABOUT?

It's autobiographical like the K Chronicles. But
different. It has to be, because of the format. It's
a much more character-driven strip.

Sundays will be a combination of reformatted K
Chronicles and new stuff-- all in sparkling, vibrant
color!!

WHERE IS IT RUNNING?

It's starting up in a few choice places (Seattle,
Portland, Las Vegas, Detroit, the Boston Herald,
the Washington Post and more) , but not enough places.
THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN!!

HOW CAN I GET 'THE KNIGHT LIFE' IN MY LOCAL PAPER?

I need everybody to send a polite email, letter, or
make a phone call to your local newspaper editor and
kindly request that they consider adding 'the Knight
Life' to their comics page. You can tell 'em that the
artist won a 2007 Harvey Award for Best Comic Strip,
and that their circulation will quadruple if they add
it. Don't threaten. Don't nag. Don't be too harsh
about other strips. It may back fire. Please be nice.

Newspapers will sometimes ask their readers directly
about the comics page. Others sometimes do a test run
of strips.

BUT GET THIS: THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE HAS NOT
PICKED IT UP!!

After all the years I gave to San Francisco. Damn.

Definitely send some emails the Chronicle's way.
They've been asking for feedback..

*Also, talk it up on yer blogs, podcasts, websites and
all that stuff.

*If you know any publications/radio/TV shows who could
possibly do a piece about the strip or mebbe an
interview, let me know!!

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THE K CHRONICLES AND (TH)INK?

I'm gonna keep on doing them. Plus the daily. Plus
MAD and ESPN. With a baby on the way. NO PROBLEM!!

IS THERE A PLACE ONLINE I CAN FIND THE STRIP?

You'll be able to see it at comics.com, I believe. I
will also be carrying it a week later on my site.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO SEND ME AN
EMAIL..AGAIN, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!!

*THE COMPLETE K CHRONICLES: NOW AVAILABLE FOR
PRE-ORDER!!
You can now go to my website and pre-order the
upcoming 500-page K Chronicles Omnibus Collection
(being published by Dark Horse this summer). It
collects the first four books (including the
out-of-print 'Dances with Sheep', 'Fear of a Black
Marker', and 'Passion of the Keef'), sketches, notes
and a foreward by Kyle Baker!! Click on the link
below to got to the pre-order:

http://www.kchronicles.com/store/index.shtml

I'm looking for places to promote this book as well.
Man, it just don't stop!!

*KEEF AT THE CHARLES SCHULZ MUSEUM/INTERSECTION FOR
THE ARTS
I'll be up in the Bay Area in late May for a couple of
events. On Sunday, May 18th, I'll be the guest
cartoonist at the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, from
1-3pm. I'll be signing copies of 'I Left My Arse in
San Francisco'. If you've never been there, go!!
It's a really swanky place.
http://www.schulzmuseum.org

On Tuesday, May 20th, I'll be sharing the stage with
co-horts Miriam Libicki, Ariel Schrag and Jaime Cortez
for a panel discussion about graphic storytelling as
part of a month-long series of comic strip and cartoon
based events put on by the Jewish Community Center of
San Francisco. It takes place from 7-9pm at the
Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia St. (between
15th and 16th) San Francisco.

http://www.jccsf.org/content_main.aspx?catid=448

Oof!!

-Keef
http://www.kchronicles.com
http://www.knightlifecomic.com

Labels: dark horse collection, Knight Life daily, Schulz museum, upcoming events

 
*GREETINGS FROM THE WORLD'S WORST BLOGGER..
I'm supposed to be updating this every Tuesday night for Wednesday. It ain't working out too well. But I've been hard, hard, hard at work on the not-so-secret-anymore secret project that is set to launch on May 5th, National Cartoonists Day (and Boy's Day somewhere else).

Anyhoo, come see me at the Festival of Books this weekend and I'll tell you all about it.

*LOS ANGELES TIME FESTIVAL OF BOOKS..
This was my first big event that I attended after I moved to La-La Land last year. The festival smothers the UCLA Main Campus with tons and tons of authors, publishers, book shops and the people that love them. I will be parked in ye olde McSweeney's Booth once again hockin' my brand new not-sold-in-stores K Chronicles collection, I Left My Arse in San Francisco. I'll also have copies of the extremely rare out-of-print Dances with Sheep and Passion of the Keef collections. Git yer ass out there this Sat and Sun from 10am-6pm. Booth #685

*DARK HORSE'S 500 PAGE K CHRONICLES COLLECTION..
..is on it's way to the printer. Gosh-darn it looks swell!! I hope to have a page up in the store where you'll be able to pre-order the book for lots off the cover price. I'll give a holla when it's set up. But for now, you can pre-order here.

*CHEAP-ASS MOVE OF THE WEEK..
Since we're in a recession, I've decided to add a new feature to this blog called "Cheap-Ass Move of the Week". It's where I, the Phat Friar of Frugality, share with you a nugget of money-saving goodness...

The big question is--How can a cheap-ass get even cheaper in times like these? I've always lived life like there was a recession, so what do I do now?

Go to McDonalds!!

That's what I did for the past two weeks. They just introduced their new Iced Coffee. And in one of the local rags they had a coupon to try it for free ..

I'm generally a tea drinker, but I'll try anything once...Twice if it's free (actually, 15 times if it's free)..

Apologies to folks who opened their free weeklies and saw something mysteriously ripped out. It wasn't Big Brother.

Anyhoo, so every other day I go get my free Iced Coffee and head on over to the library to draw comix. Pick up a coupla DVDs and walk home. No money spent!!

Oh..And I gotta give it up for the Santa Monica Main Library for having Pete Bagge's big fat Hate collection on their shelves. Guess it helps to be located near the fine comics shop Hi-De-Ho.

Okay...Good luck to everybody going up to Stumptown up in Portland. Let me know how it is..

Cheers,

Keef

Labels: cheap-ass, dark horse collection, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, stumptown

 
*SAN FRANCISCO RELEASE PARTY WRAP-UP..
It's taken a week for me to recover from my trip to San Francisco for the "Arse" release party. Special thanks to the Cartoon Art Museum and Andrew Farago for making everything run oh-so-smooth. And thanks to all the folks that came out and bought books

If you haven't grabbed the latest K Chronicles collection, act fast!! They're signed and numbered and only available in the store section of this website.

And yes, #666 is already taken.

*EMAILS/LETTERS OF THE WEEK..

Keef,

Just wanted you to know that you're my favorite comic strip artist of all
time (my 54 years of it, anyhow). You are funny, sensitive, sweet,
talented, kind-hearted -- and you radiate the true love of God in a very
special way. I get a blessing, along with my laughs, when I read your
strips.

Some of them, of course, are the inverse of funny. I printed off the strip
titled "How Not to Start the New Year" and taped it on the wall over my
computer because I went through some of the same thing back in October. It
blesses me to see that you were so THERE for your wife, and I pray that both
of you -- and your child -- are healthy, prosperous and happy.

This Monday, after the eagle flies, I'm going to start buying your books.

Brightest, warmest blessings to you!

W.

(letters like this make it worth drawing comics!!-kk)
-----------------
Hello, Keith,

I'll send a money order for one of every book and cd that you have. By my count that
comes to $148 for 10 items, including $10 for ten items.

You really are an excellent artist. Many peoples' cartoons don't hit the target, or are
too vague, or lack punch. With yours, every frame and word counts, you stay on track, and
you hit the target, and you do it all so elegantly!

There are very few political cartoonists who are worth their pay these days. My
favourites are Ben Sargent, Ted Rall (except that he can't draw well), and Tom the
Dancing Bug.

You handle complex issues without getting lost, and you're right up there now, in my
opinion, with the best of them, including Bill Watterson, Carl Barks, Dr. Seuss.

It'll be interesting to hear your band and your singing/rapping, as well.

So; are the items in stock and my calculations correct?

J.
Quebec
--------------------

(folks!! passion of the keef and dances with sheep are now in stock fro a very limited time!! order now!!-kk)

Keef!

So it's 2 am and I am working in the Graveyard. In come a couple of guys off the street, one of them says "Is this the hostel Keith Knight used to work at" I tell them no, he used to work Downtown, he's a good friend of mine. He then asks if I'm the one he wrote the dead cat story about, I said I am.

It really made my day! I can't believe anybody remembers that story, that was....years and years ago. It was funny too, that these two guys would be wandering around the Tenderloin in the dead of night, stumble upon the City Center Hostel and find somebody whose story made them laugh a long time ago.

Cheers!

G.

(nice!! that's my man, greg at the city center hostel in san francisco. the best hostel in the city.-kk)
----------------------

Hello Keith,

I've been a major comics fan for 40+ years. I receive about 150 strips a
day. I own hundreds of books of cartoon art and history. So it is with
some authority that I can say that K-Chronicles is an excellent strip and
you are a great cartoonist. (Ignore the fact it is April 1. I sincerely
mean what I say.)

But what has happened to the Chronicles? It has not updated on GoComics.com
since September. I couldn't find anything newer on your website, and it's
too difficult finding anything on Buzzle. So what's happening/happened?

The downside of loving comics is the sadness when a great strip ceases.
Sometimes they must when nature runs its inevitable course (as when T.K.
Ryan retired from Tumbleweeds), and sometimes they end from tragedy (as when
Doug Marlette of Kudzu was killed), and sometimes the creators just get
tired of all the work for so little reward (Citizen Dog, Big Top, Bo Nanas)
or even just tired of the fame and money, hard as that may be to believe
(Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side). Too bad that so many strips (Peanuts,
Dennis the Menace, Nancy, etc., etc.) don't know when to quit and stop
denying newspaper space to better strips.


If there is any way K-Chronicles continues, this fan will be reading it.
Whatever is happening, I wish you the best.

P.
Devon, PA, USA

(there IS a lot happening, but I am still drawing the k chronicles. my contract was up at gocomics, and I signed a contract with another site that should start running it soon. meanwhilst, buzzle.com and salon.com are the places to go to see the strip weekly...though i hope to have them running regularly at this site soon.-kk)

*THIS WEEK'S K CHRONICLES..
What can I say? I was touched by a Love is strip. And not in a Catholic priest sort of way.
Anyhoo, if you don't think Love is can be funny, check out these strips.

Ha!!

Labels: book release party, email of the week, I left my Arse in San Francisco, letters of the week

 
RECYCLE YOUR OLD CELLPHONE, IPOD, E-GADGETS, ETC:
..by dropping them in the mail!!

Check it out here.

 
*BIG FAT BOOK RELEASE PARTY THIS SATURDAY!!
Cartoon Art Museum. 6pm. 655 Mission St. San Francisco. Be there!!

*EMAILS/LETTERS OF THE WEEK...

re: Meat Street Breakdown!!

Hi Keef,
Loved your strip about the LA taco trucks.

Perhaps you know of the Taco Bandini, whose mission is to review every taco truck in LA?
http://tacohunt.blogspot.com/

Crazy! But tasty...

Cheers,
J. R.

----------------------(excellent website!!-kk)

Hi Keith!

I love your comic, I read it regularly at salon.com. Actually, my dad's name
is Keith, my middle name is Keith, and I'm married to a German woman (well,
Czech/German), so I can always relate! ; )

I had to write after today's comic about "street meat," hahahaha. I love it
too, I've had blood sausages in Korea, meatballs in Hong Kong, various
kebabs in Germany, Denmark, and Cyprus, sausages and hot dogs in NY and
Chicago, etc., etc. But I found the best hot dogs in the world here in
Copenhagen--YES, bacon wrapped, and they come with ketchup, 2 kinds of
mustard, mayo sauce, fried onions, chopped onions, and thin-sliced pickles
on the top! Of course, the city is FILLED with these pølser carts and they
are open late for post-drinking dining.

So I want to encourage you to give in and try a bacon wrapped hot dog, if
not in Copenhagen then at least in LA. They are really, really tasty. You DO
want to go there!

Cheers,
J.

---(the bacon-wrapped dog sounds a LOT different over there than here..but I'll take the plunge soon enough.-kk)

Keith,

This didn't qualify as street food, but easily the most bizarre vendor food I had was one
morning at a bluegrass festival -- someone had set up a cart where they were selling

a) breakfast sausage on a stick
b) that had been dipped in blueberry pancake batter
c) and then deep-fried in some sort of maple-syrup oil

I called it "the breakfast log" for lack of a better moniker. I won't admit to how many
of them I had. :o

Congrats on the upcoming l'il gravy!

Mighty

-----(sounds like street-meat to me!!-kk)

Keef,

Here in Arizona, we have street vendors that sell
Sonoran-style hot dogs.

Wrap the dog in bacon before cooking, then add
mayonnaise, tomato, onion, pinto beans, guacamole,
tomatillo salsa, jalapeños, mushrooms, and cheddar and
Cotija cheeses.

It's a delicious nightmare.

Love your comic! It's the bright spot to my Wednesday
workday.

--(the cheese and mayo with jalapenos makes my butt quiver at the thought of it-kk)

Hey Keef,

I used to work at Planet Records in Kenmore Square back in the 80's/90's. Every year we waited for the Red Sox opening day because Pizza Pad would set up a sausage cart on the sidewalk. There always seemed to be a cart outside The Channel after a show got out. Good stuff.

M.

(i had to get a bostonian in there seeing as my sox started there season over in japan. they'll be coming back through l.a. for a coupla games with the dodgers. but i'll miss 'em cuz i'll be up in san francisco this weekend)

*AL SHARPTON OUTFOXES FOX..
Watch this.

Labels: al sharpton, Emails of the week, letters of the week, red sox/yankees, San Francisco

 
*JUST RETURNED FROM ESPN MAGAZINE'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY..
..L.A. stylie. There were two parties: One here and one in New York. I brought the now blatantly pregnant wifey out to the swanky West Hollywood hotspot, Area, for a little schmoozing with the sports-oriented elite.

After strolling the red carpet (I'll never get used to that) past the greatest receiver of all-time, Jerry Rice, we entered the club where I was handed beer. Open bar!! We quickly scoped out the place and discovered fruit and veggie trays 'splayed out at booths around the club.

But the real good stuff was being brought out by a steady stream of wait staff. Sushi, skewers, crabcakes, sliders, and more were streaming out of the back . We established the optimum position (where we could people-watch and snatch all the grub that was coming out) and stayed there for most of the evening.

Also in the far back was this candy bar full out chocolate, gummi-bears, m&ms and the like. And some special cheese and caramel(?) popcorn flown in from Chicago. Kerstin was quite happy. We filled our pockets.

Saw what I thought was Bill Romanowski and the sidekick dude from Borat. There were a ton more athletes there but I'm not too familiar with a lot of 'em. T'was a good party, though I think I'd kill myself if I went out to deez L.A. clubs every week.

The dance floor was crack-a-lackin'. I was hoping Kerstin would hit it, lift up her shirt to reveal her round belly and then start rubbing it while cackling like a pirate. It would've been a good laugh seeing the reaction of the L.A. scenesters.

After talking to a fellow contributor to the mag, I found out that the pass we got to get in was strictly for one person. I think they saw Kerstin was pregnant, so they didn't hassle her. Score one for the baby card!!

If you didn't know, I contribute the Sports Knight comic strip to ESPN the magazine.

*WELL, THAT WAS A WASTE OF TIME: WIZARD WORLD L.A. WRAP-UP
Egads...What a bad show. Thankfully I was ill on Friday, so I only made it on Sat. and Sun., the "busy" days. This show offers nothing to the Indie cartoonist doing non-superhero/non-mainstream stuff. The only thing that made it bearable was sharing space with cartoonists David Malki and Dave Kellett. Also Jose Cabrera and Javier Hernandez were behind us. All four of these dudes have good senses of humor and kept everything light even though it was hours and hours of poo.

*BUT SAN FRANCISCO WILL SAVE ME!!
Because I'm having my Book Release Party at the Cartoon Art Museum in a coupla weeks!! The wondrous San Francisco institution is opening its doors once again for your truly, and I will be spinning tales of my interactions with the late Herb Caen, Brownie Mary, Phil Frank and more.
All to celebrate the release of I Left My Arse in San Francisco, the 5th K Chronicles collection.
Sat. March 29 @ 6pm. 655 Mission St. San Francisco.

Labels: espn, San Francisco, wizard world la

 
*I'M GONNA BE LATE GETTING INTO WIZARD WORLD TODAY (FRIDAY)..
I'm sick and on deadline for some stuff, so I won't be getting there til later this afternoon. Hope you'll stick around if you came early.

Labels: wizard world la

 
IF YOU'D LIKE TO PRE-ORDER THE 500 PAGE K CHRONICLES OMNIBUS COMING OUT THIS SUMMER FROM DARK HORSE..
go here.

Labels: dark horse collection

 
*SETTLING IN TO OUR NEW PLACE..
..just three blocks away from our old one. I'm just starting to catch up on many of the book orders and correspondence. Thanks for your patience.

The wifey is coming along, and that's why she's the subject of this week's K Chronicles strip. I think she's just starting to move into the phase of the enjoyable part of pregnancy...we'll see.

*YES, THE PRICES GOT RAISED IN THE BOOKSTORE..
..after I took a few orders to mail out and saw that I grossly under-priced them when you factor "postage and handling" into it. Those who ordered early got a nice deal. The rest of you: FEH!!

*SAN FRANCISCO BOOK RELEASE PARTY BOOKED!!
It'll be at the world famous Cartoon Art Museum (655 Mission St. near 3rd in S.F.) on Sat. March 29th from 6-8pm. Nothing too crazy. A little wine, a little beer, some weirdos... I'll be spinning some of my favorite San Francisco tall tales, and also give some anecdotes about my first year in Los Angeles.

For more info on how to get there, go to http://www.cartoonart.org.

*WIZARD WORLD LOS ANGELES THIS WEEKEND...
I'll be attending my first Los Angeles convention this weekend. Wizard World LA is the little sister to the big Chicago convention, and I don't know what to expect. I'm hoping it'll be worth the three straight days I'll be sitting there in Artist's Alley. I'm sharing a table with David Malki and I'll have plenty o' copies of the latest book "I Left My Arse in San Francisco", so come on out of the sun and say hello.

LETTERS/EMAILS OF THE WEEK...

Mr. Knight-

I've been reading you on Salon for some time now, and I just wanted to write
to thank you for an excellent strip. I always enjoy reading your strips and
I like to think I even catch some of your in jokes ("Are you Aaron
Macgruder?"). As a longtime comic reader, your style and content are always
refreshing. I look forward to each strip, and I read Salon's comic page
just for you and Tom Tomorrow.

Keep up the great work!

Sincerely,

B. K.

Greetings Keef,

I was just wondering if a guy already owned your first three books, if the new Dark Horse Omnibus held anything new for me?

Thanks,

J. B.
Baton Rouge, LA

(good question!! the dark horse collection comprises of the first four k chronicles books (sheep, marker, strange and passion), three of which are now out-of-print, in a lavish 8 and a half by 11 inch package with personal notes and anecdotes by yours truly about almost every strip, an introduction by Kyle Baker, and several pages of sketches. It is truly the cat's bottom and a must -have for every k chronicles reader!!-kk)

You can pre-order the Dark Horse collection right here.

Keith,

I lived in the City back in the late 80s and have been a fan of your work for a long time (bought a couple of your early books). Haven't checked out your strip in a while though, and in doing so today was surprised to discover you've moved to L.A. Your Jan. 2007 reminiscences on your blog about living in SF make me homesick all over again. Wish I could talk my husband into moving back there! Hope L.A. life is just as much fun. Keep up the good work!

best,

L.
Athens, GA 30612
(the state that chose Obama and Huckaby in its primary....)

Dear Keith,

Although we've never met, we've corresponded for years... just wanted to tell you that
your concept of Life's Small Victories has kept my spirits high through a shitrain of
karma.

Yesterday, I fixed my mom's kitchen faucet. It was a hundred-dollar Moen, salvaged from
my collection of hardware, and it leaked. So I replaced an O-ring. No luck. I
replaced another O-ring. No luck. And when I came to final O-ring, I prayed not to
the god of plumbing but to the idea of life's small victories -- success. All I
wanted was for the faucet NOT TO LEAK. And, it didn't.

So, never doubt that your Keeftoons change the world for the better. Yesterday, they got
me through. They guided me through the valley of the shadow of Doubt, and helped me
fix a simple plumbing problem that would have really hurt me, if I couldn't prevail. I
would have felt like an abject failure; instead, I won one of LSV. Thank you, Keith.

Toon on,

J.

(nice!!-kk)

Keef,

My 20 year old daughter is a student at Faculte Saint-Jean, the French campus, at the
University of Alberta. She and 8 other Residence Assistants have flown to New Orleans to
work with Habitat for Humanity in the town of Thibideau rebuilding. I just received this
email from her, thought you'd appreciate her views.

"We actually did go to the lower 9th ward today. I'm just so mad at this moment. You
seriously just drive over a bridge and then you just see all this leveled bare land. You
are in this lovely area that is rebuilt and touristy then you drive 5 minutes and there
are houses that look exactly the same as they did 2 years ago.
I'll give you a call tomorrow. I'm so mad at the United States."

So, here we have a 20 year-old white Canadian student, the daughter of an ex-pat
American, seeing the fruit of a policy that began over three hundred years on the shores
of Africa, the auction blocks of Charleston and the fields of countless plantations
rotting on the soil in one of the wealthiest nations ever. Sad.

Your friend,
D.

Dear Keith:
I am sitting here waiting for my teriyaki chicken and rice bowl and considering it a personal victory of restraint that I am leaving you and your wife in peace. I wanted to tell you how brilliant your strip is, but you already know that, right?

Of course, if I see you again, you will totally have to deal with some adulation. Sorry!

-D.

(the above email is a lie, for he came up to us as we were leaving the restaurant. oh, how i hate it when people come up to me and say nice things..;) -kk)

oh!! and the restaurant we were in is my favorite in all of the city of culver: tokyo 7-7 is so perfect, from the $2.35 breakfast specials before 11am, to the autographed photo of erik estrada on the wall, this spot is the coolest and hardest to find place in culver city!!

Keef~

I have a small favor to ask, would you consider please, sparing a few lines of space on your blog, to help get the word out about this site. It's called freerice.com, where you play a word game, for every word you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program. It's a really simple way for people who may feel like they don't have time to help others.

The site also explains how much each country is contributing to this program, we are at the bottom, and a form letter people can copy and send to their government, asking them to increase their participation. Anybody who has 5 minutes to spare on the internet, should be on this site. It's a quick and easy way to make a difference.

Thanks!
G.

(just cuz i posted this message above doesn't mean i'm gonna post a message about your pet cause...g. is a close personal friend of mine that i used to rob old ladies with, so i'm making an exception.-kk)

Labels: book release party, cartoon art museum, email of the week, letters of the week, wizard world la

 
*I'M BAAAACK.
Egads...February 2008 will go down as the busiest month in the history of my existence. So far. Two Collegiate slideshows. Top secret project. Finishing two new books. Wondercon. Comics/comics/comics. Gallery show. And moving to a new place.

*YOUR ORDERS ARE BEING SENT OUT ON MONDAY!!
Those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the new K Chronicles collection, "I Left my Arse in San Francisco", the orders are going out this afternoon. But if anyone needs it right quick for a birthday or something, shoot me an email and I'll express mail it. It's been quite a deluge since I've been gone, and I thank you for it.

Remember folks..Only 1000 of these babies. Signed and numbered, so order 'em right quick.

*WONDERCON WRAP-UP..
Best Wondercon yet, I must say. The show continues to grow with big stars (Steve Carrell, the X-File peeps) and plenty o' artists to be had. I was sitting by Al Gordon as he serenaded my knocked up wife and various other lovelies with his guitar and hippie crooning.

It was great to see all my old San Francisco pals like Andrew Farago, Shaenon Garrity and all the other good folks at the Cartoon Art Museum. Plus Age Scott, Mike Hampton and more. Coming from up north was Miriam Libicki and husband Mike...And coming up from down south: Rob Goodin and wife Georgene, plus L.A. comic fiend Jim Mahfood.

And extra special guest: Jeff K ramer a.k.a. the Noble Def G, my partner in the Marginal Prophets, was in the house doing a special promotions gig for the DVD of "Hitman". He got thrown out on Saturday.

Most were in Artist's Alley, which is the place to be if you're an artist who wants to exhibit at Wondercon. But the Small Press section seems to be getting better.

I did a signing at the Dark Horse booth and they officially announced the big ass 500 page book I've been telling you about for months. You can actually pre-order it now!! If it ain't their website, I'll post instructions soon.

At night I hit the C.A.M. on Friday and the C.B.L.D.F. and Isotope parties in Saturday. But the coolest thing about it all was that the wifey and I stayed in the hostel I used to work at all those years ago, where we first met in 1994. *sigh*

*I STILL HAVEN'T ADDED THE NEWLY FOUND DANCES WITH SHEEP BOOKS TO THE STORE YET...
I also found a few copies of Passion of the Keef! As much as I hate to move, I find all this crap that I misplace over the years.

HERE'S THE DEAL:
I don't know when I'll be adding those books back onto the website, but if you want to order 'em, make a $16 donation to the tip cup on my site and fire me off an email and I'll send out the book. $16 donation per book. Make sure you point out whether you want "Dances with Sheep" or "Passion of the Keef".

Anyhoo..I got smore to tell but I'm too tired to write. I'll write more after deadline on Tuesday.

Ciao!!

Keef

Labels: Dances with Sheep, moving, Passion of the Keef, San Francisco, Wondercon

 
*FROM A HOTEL ROOM IN CUPERTINO..
..watching the HBO Hooker show and preparing for Wondercon. I'm signing and numbering the new K Chronicles books that just came in. Just had a really good slideshow presentation at DeAnza College. Great questions asked. I was a bit tired considering we drove up here last night and got in at 4:30am.

A few things: I forgot the damn stash of "Sheep" books. Also, my usual display will not be up at Wondercon, so don't expect to see the big red banner up in Artist Alley (long story). Just look for the sleepy-eyed bastard standing next to the pregnant lady.

See you soon..

Labels: slideshow, Wondercon

 
IN THIS ISSUE:

-NEW K CHRONICLES COLLECTION
-KEEF AT DEANZA COLLEGE/WONDERCON
-COPIES OF DANCES WITH SHEEP FOUND!!

Dearest K Chronicles/(th)ink reader,

Thanks to everyone for their congratulations regarding the impending arrival of "Baby Gravy", a.k.a. the fantastical fetus of Keef and Kerstin. Yes, we are scared sh**less.

The first thing we're doing is moving. Not out of L.A. Not out of the neighborhood. Just to a bigger place around the corner, down the street.

The second thing we're doing is putting a lotta Keef Krappe on sale in the store so we can scrape up the scratch to feed and clothe and house the little beast.

So...Come on out, say hello and give me money!!

*THE NEW K CHRONICLES COLLECTION!!
"I Left My Arse in San Francisco!!", the fifth K Chronicles collection is on it's way from the printer for a grand premiere at the Euphrat Museum at DeAnza College in Cupertino Ca. and the Wondercon Comics Fest in San Francisco (details below). But you can also order it from the store at http://www.kchronicles.com/store/index.shtml
THIS BOOK WILL NOT BE SOLD IN STORES!! IT WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE AT SIGNINGS, SLIDESHOWS AND KCHRONICLES.COM.
This latest collection covers our final turbulent year in S.F: Kerstin's tumor, my pneumonia, the move to Los Angeles. Also Hurricane Katrina and the instant classic "One Black Kid" strip.

I self-published 1000 copies that I will SIGN AND NUMBER. It's to raise money for the Keef Baby Fund, so git off yer duff and buy five copies.

*NEXT SLIDESHOW: 2/21 EUPHRAT MUSEUM/DEANZA COLLEGE
I'll be doing my world famous slideshow for the Visiting Speaking series on Thursday, 2/21 at 2:30pm in Classroom S-32 on campus. Following the slideshow, there will be a reception at the Euphrat Museum at 4pm, where you'll be able to view original K Chronicles, (th)ink and Beginners Guide art. The event is free and open to the public. For more info, see http://www.deanza.edu/euphrat/inthemuseum.html

*WONDERCON COMICS FESTIVAL:2/22-24 MOSCONE CTR. SAN FRANCISCO
Back in San Francisco for one of the finest comic book conventions in the nation. If Comic-Con San Diego scares you, Wondercon is the perfect place to be. It's a kinder, gentler San Diego Comic Con. I'll be selling the new book, plus plenty of other schwag. PLUS: There'll be a sneak preview of the 500-page Uber: K Chronicles book being put together by Dark Horse!! You'll find me and the Wifey chillin' in Artists Alley.

*DANCES WITH SHEEP FOUND!!
As I was moving krappe out of our old place and into our new one, I came upon a stash of the first K Chronicles collection, "Dances With Sheep"!! It's been out of print for a coupla years now, but I am putting it back up on the site. It's only a small box, so first come first serve. I'll also bring some up to the Northern California events.

UPCOMING:
March 14-16: Wizard World, Los Angeles
Late March: Book Release party, Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco
May 5: Something effin' huge that I can't really talk about yet

In My Mix:
-the new Indiana Jones trailer
-Mt.Gay Rum
-My new apartment's 2nd bathroom

OH!! I CHANGED ALL THIS STUFF WITH MY WEBSITE SO I LOST A LOT OF MESSAGES THAT I MEANT TO REPLY TO. NICKY G., TIM R., JEFF, AND WINDY, PLEASE WRITE TO ME AGAIN. SORRY ABOUT THAT!!

Keep on sending in those Life's Little Victories!!

Cheers!!

-Keef
the K Chronicles:Winner of the 2007 Harvard Award for Best Comic Strip
Next signing: 2/21 @ Euphrat Museum/DeAnza College, Cupertino, CA
2/22-24 Wondercon Comics Convention, Moscone Ctr, San Francisco
http://www.kchronicles.com

Labels: new book, newsletter, signing, Wondercon

 
*THE K CHRONICLES STRIP IS PRETTY SPECIAL THIS WEEK...
It's part of an action by a group of cartoonists shining light on the plight of doing a comic strip with black characters. (editors treat the comics page like a jury-2 blacks at the most, if any)Read about it here.

And there's lot of neat discussion here.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's different styles. It will really show how diverse we really are.

Cheers!!

Labels: black cartoonist protest, the kchronicles commentary

 
*RECORD TURNOUT FOR A PRIMARY VOTE IN CALIFORNIA..
Who sez Bush ain't good for anything?

*I'M OFF TO GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA..
..for a second slideshow appearance at the University of Florida. I'll be doing my thing Wed. Feb.6th at 7:00-8:00pm, in the Reitz Union Rion Ballroom. They loved it so much last year, they had to have me back.

There'll be some new surprises in this year's slideshow. Hope you can make it.

*SUPERBAWL WRAP-UP...
Oh my gawd. Imagine being a New England Patriot right now. This will be the first SuperBowl where the loser will be remembered more than the winner. But I gotta give it up to the Giants. They earned it. And that scramble and catch was the most outrageous thing I've ever seen in a championship game.

My heart goes out to my ol' college roomie, who paid untold amounts to see the debacle in person.

Florida and NYC, here I come!!

Labels: NYC, slideshow, superbowl, University of Florida

 
*BACK FROM BARBADOS!!
And feeling pretty fine!! What a damn groovy time we had way down on the tiny little island in the Caribbean. Flying fish, mahi-mahi, Mount Gay Rum and Banks beer was consumed by the assload. Mmmm-mm!!

I don't wanna say a whole lot about it cuz I'm gonna do a few strips. But I've got to thank Delia and Bird, who run the great Legend Gardens Condos. This is the place we stayed at up in Mullins Bay, just south of Speightstown. I cannot recommend this place any stronger than I am now. They provide the stuff you cannot get at some hotel. Genuine warmth. Go! It is paradise!! With monkeys and lizards and frogs and lots of other fun and freaky animals.

*I'M BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL..
..trying to catch up. I'm working to get the new K Chronicles to print this week so I can have it for my slideshow at the Euphrat Museum up in Northern California and at the Wondercon Comics Fest in San Francisco. The new title: I Left My Arse in San Francisco!!

*LETTER OF THE WEEK...

Hey man,
I really first became a fan when I caught one of your strips on Salon
about when you saw Thomas Dolby on tour. This was a couple of years back.
Though my favorite band is Talking Heads I couldn't help but feel the love
in that comic. I've tried to follow the strip since then as much as
possible but I'm back in school finally doing my degree and I don't get to
catch up all the time. So, the last time I caught a strip your wife had
just been told she had/may have cancer again and then I caught your strip
on the Barbados vacation. I hope that the vacation was as a result of your
wife's health. I love the strip and I hope sincerely for the best for you
and yours. Oh, and I also caught your strip on Willie O'Ree. I'm a
Canadian, was raised on hockey and know that both hockey and tolerance are
part of our national myth. I wouldn't have known about O'Ree if it weren't
for you. Thank you.

P.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

(the wife is knocked up, not knocked down.-k.k.)

Labels: Barbados, letter of the week, the new K Chronicles collection

 
*I'M OFF TO BARBADOS!!

Have a damn fine week! Go Pats!!

 

*LETTER OF THE WEEK...

Hello,

I hate to ask but are you okay? I have not seen any new comics
recently to tell you the truth I can only read the old ones so many
times!

Hopefully the lack of comics is because you are on to bigger and
better things. Perhaps an update on your website would help your
fans cope with the loss.

Good luck with all that you do.

Sincerely,

M.
Eau Claire, WI
--

I think this letter and others like it are coming from folks who read my stuff at the Ucomics/Gocomics.com site run by Universal Press Syndicate. I am no longer uploading strips to their site. My contract with them was up in September. Both the K Chronicles and (th)ink will begin up on the comics.com site run by United Media sometime in 2008.

For those of you who have fallen behind on my work, check it out at Buzzle.com or Salon.com. But starting in just a coupla weeks, kchronicles.com will relaunch with all the comics I do right on the site, plus forums, new work, never before seen stuff and plenty more krappe.

*WHAT THE HECK HAVE I BEEN WORKING ON?
A trillion things, really:

Due in Feb: A new K Chronicles collection. It'll be available exclusively from this website and I'll have it at all my usual convention stops and slideshow gigs.

Due in May: My super-secret project that ain't really super-secret if you've run into me over the past year. But at least two of you will be surprised.

Due this summer: The Complete K Chronicles. The 500-page Omnibus collection that's going to be published by Dark Horse. With sketches, notes & commentary. Introduction by Kyle Baker.

Also Due this summer: My first kid!!

*UPCOMING GIGS:
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA (slideshow)
Weds. Feb. 6 @ 7pm

EUPHRAT'S MUSEUM OF ART (De Anza College, Cupertino) (slideshow/gallery exhibit)
Thurs. Feb. 21 @ 1:30pm (time not set in stone)

WONDERCON COMICS FESTIVAL (artists alley)
Fri.-Sun. Feb. 22nd-24th 10am-7pm

*ABOUT THIS WEEK'S K CHRONICLES STRIP..
A lotta hockey type things kept on poppin' up in my world. (the New Years Day game.. the Canadian barista at my favorite cafe was talking hockey) a convergence of sorts. So when I opened up the paper and saw the story of Willie O'Ree, I had to do a strip about it.

And heck..You gotta find some perverse joy in Georges Laraque beating the hell out of people. Watch this clip til the end to see how polite he is.

*THIS WEEK'S TOILET READING..
-the latest Funny Times
-the Life and Times of R. Crumb
Your Vigor for Life Appalls Me- Robert Crumb letters 1958-1977
-The Death of Black Mane- Michael LaRiccia
-Bad Cat by Jim Edgar

*THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO IS DONATING TO THE BABY FUND!!


Cheers,

Keef

Labels: letter of the week, toilet reading, upcoming events

 
*HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. We stayed down here in Los Angeles, and went to the beach on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I even hit tennis balls on Christmas day. It was nice.

We brought the new year in at home, too. Eating fresh crab and watching Holocaust movies.

We watched "the Trial of Sophie Scholl". Great film, inspirational, but super depressing. We paused her beheading to bring in the New Year. After watching that, 2008 can only get better.

But mostly I've been working. Doing a lot of drawing. It's shaping up to be the biggest year yet here at K.Knight Komix. There are many projects in production (including a kid!!) I hope you'll follow me throughout the year to see what's in store.

*KYLE BAKER TO WRITE THE INTRODUCTION FOR THE DARK HORSE K CHRONICLES COLLECTION!!
Just got word that the great Kyle Baker will be doing the Foreward to the Complete K Chronicles Collection, which collects the first four K Chronicles collections, along with commentary by yours truly, sketches and notes.

*MY 5 FAVORITE MOVIES FOR 2007 (in no particular order)
*Michael Clayton (this was done by a first time director??)
*No Country For Old Men (although the ending was sorta wack)
*Ratatouille (I don't know how to spell it)
*3:10 to Yuma (That was Peter Fonda?)
*Once (great songs and music/I thought the bad acting actually made it more realistic, 'cept the studio guy and the bank guy)

*5 MOVIES FROM 2007 THAT I STILL NEED TO SEE
*Persepolis
*King of Kong
*American Gangsta
*The Savages
*Eastern Promises

*5 GREAT MOVIE PERFORMANCES
*Amy Ryan- Frighteningly realistic Bostonian white trash in "Gone Baby Gone"
*Amy Adams- I cannot explain how good she is in "Enchanted". If she wasn't , the movie would be unbearable
*Javier Bardem- Effing badass in "No Country.."
*Tom Wilkinson-Is he nuts? Is he a pervert? Is he a genius? In "Michael Clayton"
*Josh Brolin/Phillip Seymour Hoffman make at least 7 2007 movies better because of their existence.

Looking forward to Batman, Bond and Indiana Jones (though I'm afraid of what I might see).


*WE'RE OFF TO BARBADOS!!
..in a coupla weeks. Barbados is where my father's side of the family is from and I've never been there!! I'm looking forward to the misbehavior that will ensue.

*IT'S 2008!!
Whaddaya mean, ya haven't ordered a K Chronicles/(th)ink/Little Victories Calendar yet?!!

Labels: 2008 calendar, holiday orders, holocaust, kyle baker, movies

 
*EMAILS OF THE WEEK...

Re: Kerstin's knocked up!!

Hi Keith!

I've never written before, but I just wanted to congratulate you on your
upcoming fatherhood!

(I'm assuming the implied pregnancy in this week's K Chronicles was not,
like the woman giving birth in front of a Bel Air mansion, a fake story.
Come on, who fakes their wife's pregnancy for laughs?!)

If your wife isn't pregnant, please ignore the rest of this email.

I'm a recent father, myself, and I'd like to welcome you to the ancient
and noble Fraternal Order of Dads! To a progressive, sensitive, socially
aware guy like yourself, there will be no greater life-changing event.

No, seriously, dude.

Your life will change in ways that you will not expect, and cannot be
described. Your priorities, will ... not change, exactly, but be entirely
different. What was once a big deal, will become trivial. What was once
trivial, will become all-important.

If your wife is like the majority of women who give birth, you will see in
her emotions that you did not know existed. One minute, you will be the
sweetest, kindest man for getting her a glass of water. Fifteen (yes,
I've timed it) minutes later, you will be worthless, insensitive scum for
not offering her a second glass of water before leaving the room.

And watching the slimey lizard alien that comes out of her grow from a
mewling blob into a person is just ... well, I can't describe it very
well. You'll just have to experience it yourself.

I'm a longtime fan of both (Th)ink and the K Chronicles - you're one of my
favorite cartoonists. BTW, did you by any chance used to run a strip in
the Daily Cal at UC Berkeley?

Anyway, congratulations, again. For your own safety, keep your hands
inside the vehicle, and hang on tightly.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Eid Al-Adha, Kwanza, Lohri, Yule,
and Winter Solstice.

Peace,
R.M.

***********

Keith & Kerstin,
Congratulations. I hope you're looking forward to new and adventures (and
new little victories).
How about an on-line baby shower? It would be all the fun of getting baby
stuff without having to play all those silly baby shower games (which I've
only heard about since I dodge baby showers).
Anyway... Don't worry about how your "lives are over." It's just a new
life. The new life will probably include fewer Stevie Wonder concert and
less sleep. However, there will be many, many fine new small wonders in your
day (and lots of poop jokes for the strip).
--
K. C.

**********
Hi Keith,

I read your strip faithfully here in Madrid, Spain, courtesy of salon.com. It often picks me up on tough days! I am a nun and I prayed for you and your daughter/son in our group prayers the other night... "and for Keith, who is awaiting a child..." so you are being prayed for by nuns! Surprise! And thanks for the "life's little victories" which remind me not to be so grouchy on Monday mornings.

J., aci

(Nice!!-k.k.)

**********
Hi Keef -

Just wanted to let you know that my husband LOVED
LOVED LOVED the calendar. I think it was his favorite
- beat out the day at the chocolate factory!

thanks for all your help making it extra special!

L.

(Another satisfied recipient of the 2008 Little Vics/Mega-Mix Calendar!! Remember: I'll sketch a little drawing on the birthdate of your choice if you email me along with the order..-k.k.)

Labels: 2008 calendar, Emails of the week, kerstin's pregnancy

 
*WHOA!! KERSTIN'S KNOCKED UP!!
If you haven't read already, Kerstin and I just found out there will be an heir to the K Chronicles/(th)ink Cartoon Empire. Yikes!!

Thanks to everyone sending well-wishes and how our lives are over. BUT WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS CASH. So make sure you order many of the fine products on the website. Or have me come do a slideshow at your college, high school, art school, museum, university or living room.

Upcoming slideshow in Feb: University of Florida

I'll be posting some email reactions from the strip soon. S'funny how some people still didn't get that it was a baby, even after saying the extraction is scheduled for 9 months from now.

*MOST EXCELLENT WEEKEND WAS HAD...
..With the opening party of 826LA's new Time Travel Store in Echo Park. The party was Saturday evening and it was packed. With music and food and drink in this swanky space a coupla storefronts over from the Time Travel Store.

The event was co-hosted by 826 founder Dave Eggers and most swanky director Spike Jonze (who are working on a film adaption of Where the Wild Things Are). Plenty of movie stahs in the house including Edward Norton and Princess Amidala.

It was great, but Kerstin and I cut out early cuz we had STEVIE WONDER tickets!! Yes!! I missed his tour stop at the Greek Theater in September, but it turns out he has a special fundraising show every Xmas here in Los Angeles. It was a cheaper ticket than the tour show, and from all accounts, he played a lot of the same stuff as the show at the Greek.

It was amazing. He ran through a buttload o' hits with a full band and a trio of background singers that included his daughter. This being a Stevie Wonder "and friends" show, a few guests came out to play their own hits and jam with Stevie. Two Johns.

John Mayer and John Legend.

T'was a good night. AND we saved $20 by parking two blocks away and NOT in them damn garages.

*A FEW MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE BILL WATTERSON DOC..
This is a small personal project being made by a guy who is a big fan. It's not a huge studio movie. He's just interested in hearing from folks in different walks of life who were touched by Watterson's work. I'll forward you're email to him. If you haven't heard from me, please be patient.

Happy Holidaze!!

Keef

Labels: 826la, baby, K Chronicles, Stevie Wonder show

 
*THANKS FOR ALL THE HOLIDAY ORDERS...
I just got a fresh supply of "Strange" in from the Top Shelf fellas. So all orders are being filled over the next coupla daze.

*S'FUNNY HOW FOLKS THOUGHT THIS WEEK'S K CHRONICLES WAS TRUE..
No, there aren't real women giving birth in the front yard of a Bel Air mansion's Christmas display. But thanks for asking. Wanna buy a bridge? Or name a star after somebody?

*LOOKING TO DONATE TO A GOOD CAUSE THIS HOLLA-DAY SEASON?
It's a tax write-off! ! It makes ya fell good!! It'll come back to you two-fold!!
-826la
-826Valencia
-Cartoon Art Museum
-Just Think Foundation
-Planned Parenthood
-ACLU
-Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

*OHMIGOSH!! SHOCK OF ALL SHOCKS!! LOOKIT ALL THE BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO'VE DONE STEROIDS!!
I remember coming home from San Francisco in '91-'92, and seeing a few of the fellas in my 'hood who were a year or two younger than me and my buds. They're bodies had ballooned to completely abnormal sizes of muscle. They had Popeye arms. Necks the size of elephant calves. It was insane.

So if those guys were on steroids that far back, YOU KNOW the pros were on 'em even earlier than that.

Kovak! I told you Clemens was on 'roids years ago.

Labels: donate, holiday orders, K Chronicles, steroids

 
*HAVEN'T POSTED FOR A BIT..
First off..To those of you who subscribed to the K Chronicles and (th)ink on the go.comics/Uclick website, my contract with them was up in September, and I didn't renew. That's why there hasn't been a new comic posted since mid-Sept.

Apologies for the confusion, but the strips will be up on a new subscriber-site soon.

*BEEN WORKING ON A SUPER-SERIOUS PROJECT..
..that will be making its debut in early 2008. What is it? Well, let's just say I'll have to change one of the FAQs on the website. Stay-tuned for more details.

*I'M SICK THIS WEEK..
..So a K Chronicles Klassic is being run this week. From 1996!!

*IN THE MEANTIME..
The calendars are flying out the door...And for those of you interested in a personalized Life's Little Victories original piece of art, for yourself or a loved one for the holiday, act now. I'm gonna take as many orders as I think I can fill, & then I'll take some New Year's orders.

*MORE LOS ANGELES NEWS..
I was drawing in my local cafe when I struck up a conversation with an elderly man about a big influence, Jules Feiffer. Another guy approached and told me his friend was doing a documentary on the influence of Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes, another huge influence. He invited me to be interviewed for the film.

This project just started and the filmmaker is looking for more folks to talk to. If you love Calvin and Hobbes and want to be interviewed, this guy may be coming to your town. Email me and I'll put you in touch.

Cheers!!

Keef

 
*HAPPY TURKEY DAY...
Well. More like sad turkey day.

Concerning this week's K Chronicles. I always enjoy bringing back the Turkey character, and I liked having the opportunity to comment on capital punishment. For the record: I am a meat-eater, but I hope to grow out of it.

*CARTOON ART MUSEUM WRAP-UP
Thanks to all who came out to say hello at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. I was told it was the most popular Artist-in-Residency they've ever had since they started doing it in 2002. No doubt folks were excited about what's in store for me in the next few months. I will have an official announcement soon.

Go check out the CAM's Mary Blair show that's up right now. If you haven't heard her name before, you'll know her work. Beautiful.

Big shout-out to Andrew Farago for setting everything up.

*K CHRONICLES IN THE MOVIES!!
I was asked for K Chronicles krappe to hang in a booth at a faux comic-con set for the upcoming film SuperHero. It's being made by the Scary Movie folks and is a parody of all the superhero films (obviously). I think it's coming out in March, so make sure to illegally download it!

Labels: cartoon art museum, K Chronicles, movies

 
*LETTERS OF THE WEEK...
RE: K Chronicles "Shooting babies in the face"

Keef,

First, if you Americans really want to get rid of
the prez. he must be
found in bed, drinking French beer, (is there such
a thing?) with a 12
year old ... boy... and just before he !@#$, he
shouts, "Down with the
NRA!" Then he might be a goner. But then what do
you do with Cheney?
Something with a puppy, a blowtorch and a blender
maybe?

Life's Little Victories. This is for my daughter.
You discover the
mid-term exam you thought you hopelessly bombed
came back with a A.

D.
Somewhere in Alberta, Canada


KEEF!!

I've been reading your strip since it was published in HARPOON
MAGAZINE!!! Remember that one?
I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that now that I'm
living in the armpit of Amerikkka (Lansing, Michigan), your
collections remind me of the good ol' Bay Area!
Thanks for keeping on!
D.
(BTW...you moved to L.A.???)

(Whoa!! Harpoon Magazine was the first magazine that ran my stuff regularly..Waaaaaay back in 1991-92!! Nice one!!-k.k.)

*NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER..
IN THIS ISSUE:

*KEEF AT SAN FRANCISCO'S CARTOON ART MUSEUM THIS SATURDAY
*NEW K CHRONICLES COMPENDIUM DUE FEB. 2008
*2008 LITTLE VICS/MEGA-MIX CALENDAR
*PERSONALIZED LITTLE VICS ORIGINAL ART

Greetings K Chronicles/(th)ink reader,

Happy Holla-daze from the burned out confines of Southern California. Many,many things are brewing here at K Chronicles Ink that will be revealed in the next coupla months, but if you'd like a sneak preview, come see me in S.F. this Saturday:

*ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY @ the CARTOON ART MUSEUM (655 Mission, San Francisco) SAT. NOV.17,2007 1pm-3pm
Watch me draw next week's strips!! I will reveal one super-duper secret as I sit at the C.A.M. drawing table, scribbling away and signing copies of the new 2008 Little Vics/Mega-Mix Monthly Calendar.

*THE NEW K CHRONICLES COMPENDIUM!!
Keep an eye out for the new K Chronicles Compendium (#5) "I Left My Art in San Francisco", scheduled to drop in Feb. 2008.

*2008 LITTLE VICS/MEGA-MIX MONTHLY CALENDAR!!
Get yer Hot-Keef-Injection all yer long with one of these quite spanky calendars. Chock full of Life's Little Victories, K Chronicles and (th)ink strips. When you order, let me know the birthday of the recipient, and I'll draw a personalized birthday message on the specific date. Available only at http://www.kchronicles.com
(Limited quantity, so get yours now!!_

*LIFE'S LITTLE VICTORIES ORIGINAL ARTWORK-
If you really want a unique gift to give, order up an original Life's Little Victory, hand-crafted from photos and a victory that YOU come up with. I will send the original art, ink on bristol, signed and dated, to you early enough to make it a damn fine holiday gift. $250. MUST ORDER BY DEC.6TH, 2007 FOR XMAS DELIVERY. It can be dirty, but I reserve the right to reject profoundly disturbing victories.

IN MY MIX:
*Best of Craigslist
*PJ Morton Band, live at the Temple Bar
*Sox/Pats/Revolution/Celtics Championships
*My evil twin sister's new T(ea) Gallery, 700 5th Ave. Downtown Seattle (http://www.myteagallery.com)

Cheers!!

Keef
"The K Chronicles"
2007 Harvey Award Winner for Best Comic Strip
http://www.kchronicles.com
Next signing: Sat.Nov.17th 1-3pm @ the Cartoon Art

Labels: 2008 calendar, cartoon art museum, letters of the week, signing

 
*EXTRA!! EXTRA!!
I'll be the Artist-in-Residence at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Saturday Nov. 17th from 1-3pm. I'll be signing copies of the new 2008 Little Vics/Mega-Mix Monthly Calendar and latest (th)ink collection. I'll also be dropping some SERIOUS, SERIOUS NEWS on anybody who shows up at the signing. The biggest K Chronicles news ever!!

The museum is located at 655 Mission St. in downtown San Francisco. Around the corner from MOCCA.

I'll also be hanging out with the crew of 826Valencia as a representative of 826LA, which has a new storefront opening up in Echo Park on Sat. DEc. 15th.

*HOB-NOBBIN' WITH THE STARS..
I went to my second "only-in-Los Angeles" star-studded event since moving down here. It was this great dinner event for the Children Defense Fund. The dinner celebrated these 5 young women that have gone through shite that would've broke 99% of the rest of us in the room. I saw even the most botoxed faces break down in tears listening to their stories.

Anyhoo, I got all decked out and took the bus to the Beverly Hills Hotel where I chowed down in the same room as Reese Witherspoon, J.J. Abrams and the lady who played Malcolm in the Middle's mom.

I got introduced to upstanding citizen Cameron Crowe and panicked halfway through telling him what a great film "Almost Famous" was. For a second I thought "What if he didn't do that film?" so I got all weird and vague..But I'll see his ass again and set it straight. I also got to meet Lisa Kudrow. Very nice lady, indeed.

Then, in the scrum outside the hotel of incredibly rich people waiting for valets to bring their autos around, a man said "Wheelchair coming through!!" And lo and behold, Larry Flynt, publisher of children's mag Hustler, came rolling through more blinged out than I've ever seen any rapper. Turns out it was his birthday and they were having a party in one of the other function rooms.

Talk about balance.

Shout out to Sally W. for the invite!!

*TYPO OF THE WEEK..
I spelled "complacency" wrong in the K Chronicles this week. I sent out a corrected version, but it was too late in some places. Whoops.

IN MY MIX:
-Gym Class Heroes
-Okra
- Curt Schilling's blog

Labels: cartoon art museum, in my mix, Los Angeles, signing, typo

 
*HAPPY HALLOWEEN
I will celebrate my first Halloween in Los Angeles with the Wifey in West Hollywood, which I hear it's like San Francisco's Castro ('cept without all the violence and shootings and stuff).

Anyhoo. Below is my top three scary movie list for all y'all to peruse. Starting with number three: (By the way, see the UNCUT versions of these movies. Not the watered down crap)

3.Suspiria- I never saw this one for years simply because of the trailer. It had a woman with her back to the camera, combing her hair. Saying "la-la-la-la-la-laaa" She turns and it's a skull face with hair on it and "Suspiria" appears across the screen. That was enough for me.
Anyway, Rene Murray in my 6th grade class would always mention "the maggots on the ceiling" but the knife blade sticking in the beating heart was what gets me. There ain't no story here. Just weird colors, 70s film stock, dwarves in cloaks and women dying. Rough-ass movie.

2.The Exorcist- I don't care that you can see the strings when she's floating above the bed. This was another film I was afraid to see for years because of the people I've met whose parents took them to see it in the movies when they were 10. Junkies, reprobates, pedophiles. Don't see the cut T.V. version. In fact, don't see this movie at home. It should be seen in the theatre in the dark where you cannot pause it to answer the phone, or go to the fridge. Part of what is scary about it is you wonder why Linda Blair's parents let her do dirty things with a cross screaming "Eff me Jesus". But that's the 70's for you. See the latest cut where the kid "crabwalks" down the stairs, but wear a diaper, cuz you will soil it.

1.The Wizard of Oz- Straight up the scariest movie I've ever seen. Probably because they advertise it as a kids film so you end up seeing it when you were small. And they don't take out any scenes even when they play it on network T.V. Everything is scary about this movie.
Judy Garland. The tornado. The feet stickin' out of the bottom of the house. The munchkins. The sets. The effects. The songs. The trees. The Flying Monkeys. The dudes shes meets along the way. Both witches. It's lasting effect is obvious when you see Garland doing her pill-poppin' freak-out singing routine decades later. And her daughter Liza Minneli? Why do you think she married that weird dude? The most traumatizing movie of all time.

*LETTERS OF THE WEEK:

RE: Jena K Chronicles

Ok, so I wrote you ages and ages ago to tell you about a push poll call against then US Senate Candidate Ron Kirk, who would have been the first African American US Senator from Texas, when he was running against John Cornyn back in 2000, and how "someone" called elderly white FDR Democrats in Central and West Texas and said "this is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance calling to remind you to vote for Ron Kirk for US Senate - Ron will help us get gay marriage - so remember, vote for Ron Kirk." Needless to say, nobody from the Kirk campaign, nor any known GLTB group commissioned those calls. I don't know if that alone cost Ron Kirk the election, but I do know it had to freak out that category of Democrats, who were already a little wiggy about voting for a person of color, but completely would flip about gay marriage. I was working for a Democratic Congressional campaign at the time, and the only reason we knew about it was one of the calls went out to the San Saba County
Democratic Party Chair's mother's answering machine.

I guess I go into that because anybody with eyes from Texas or any other Southern state knows that racism is alive and well in our part of the world. But sometimes I wonder why it ferments so in small towns, which in other ways are good places to live - people notice if you don't come into town or miss church (are you sick? is everything ok?) people literally plow each others fields in times of sickness or hardship - and often you see people who otherwise would be completely intolerant of so-called social misbehaviors accepting of the social misfits because they are local - part of our tribe, so to speak, so while we may not approve, we still accept them. For example, when I was in college I had several friends from one small town in South Texas who were very intolerant of any illegal drugs, though you could drink yourself into having your stomach pumped once a week, except for their one screw-up friend, who they felt if he was only doing pot it was a big improvement from
when he was snorting tons of coke and whatever else he could find back in the day.

So I have about decided it is because those that could and would make changes, that would negate the racism and narrow-mindedness all leave - both black and white - they go on to college and big cities and take their brains and commonsense with them and sit around with their city friends and try to explain their backward hometown and go home at Christmas and shake their heads but get in their car afterward and head back to Shreveport, or Dallas or Atlanta and leave those behind to continue to simmer in their pot of poor economic development and ignorance. Which leads us to your cartoon, which has so much truth in it that it sickens - all those protesters boosting Jena's economy more than anything that has happened since the sawmills closed. Economic development based on hate and teenage idiots.

So I guess this rant has no real point to it, except keep up the good work.

Thanks,

A.

RE: Life's Little Victories:

Hello Keith! Just a quick note to say how much I enjoy "Life's Little Victories" and your other presentations over the years in Funny Times. Your work in particular helps pull me up out of the doldrums when things get tough! Keep on keepin' on -- PLEASE! Thanks, C.

(Look for another full color Little Vics in the Dec. ish of the Funny Times.-kk)

RE: Throwin Tomatoes K Chronicles:

Hey Keith--

Now, that's a great story (and cartoon, as usual). Good idea too, about car
horns. (Now, if we can just think of an incentive for car-makers to do that...).

I once planned to stand at the intersection near my house -- where I'd nearly
been taken off umpteen times, by jackasses sailing merrily through *red lights*
-- with several water balloons, the water dyed red. Waiting.

I was stopped only by the fear of getting punched out. Maybe a justified fear,
too, as I'd found a few years before. I was peacably riding my bike through
another intersection -- green light in my favour, mark you -- and was nearly
greased by some oncoming dolt pulling a screeching left-hand turn, all of a
foot-and-a-half behind my rear wheel, and without benefit of signals. Almost
automatically I flipped him off, whereupon he pulled a screeching U-turn, came
after me, and... well, I'll just say that the ensuing exchange of views was
ugly. From my point of view, leastways.

Ah, well. Glory days. Speaking of which: Go Sox!

best,

B.
Vancouver

RE: Tax the Rich K Chronicles

Keef, I haven't written in a while, but first of all,

HI! Hope you and the missuz are doing great.

Second of all, your comic this week is such a big DUH...it is pretty slick how this very simple concept is lost on so many. Oh wait - maybe it's not, but the fact that it's rich people that have most of the power means that it doesn't matter how obvious this is.

By the way, as a straight white upper-middle class male, the Bush Era has been really good to me...so why am I so pissed, ashamed and sad?

Peace, and continuing to care about poor women of color (even though it's against my best interests),

E.
San Jose

*CAN YOU DIG IT?
Ahhhh...Another Sox celebration had. Congrats to the team and those of us who have followed them through think and thin. The new empire? Ha! Boston spends money on decent players who fit in (barring Gag-ne with a Spoon and a few others), and have plenty of great prospects that were grown through the org (Pap, Pedroia, Ellsbury). The Sox are gonna be set for years to come.
Pats got next. Celts got after next.

*IF YOU WERE TO RENAME THE K CHRONICLES (NOT THAT I'M GONNA), WHICH NAME WOULD YOU PICK:

1. "The Knight Life"

2. "For Keef's Sake"

3."K by Me"

Send me an email with your vote at keef@kchronicles.com

Labels: halloween, letters of the week, scary movies, the Castro, West Hollywood

 
*FEMA FAKES A NEWS CONFERENCE..
Geez..Even when they don't eff up they eff up. Instead of having just one fake reporter asking questions like Bush did, FEMA goes a few steps further. Very, very sad and just another embarrassing display courtesy of the U.S. government.

*THE JOY OF SOX..
Mike Lowell: M.V.P. Pap-ajima perfection. Plus the preposterous pick-off play. All while Boston College pulls out a win in the last two minutes, and the Bruins beat the hell out of Chicago.
Boston sports is CRAZY right now. Even the soccer team is in the playoffs.

*AND FINALLY..
After spending two years in jail, they've finally released Genarlow Wilson, the Georgia teen who was sent up the river for 10 years without parole for CONSENSUAL oral copulation with a 15 year old, when he himself was 17 . I hope he sues everybody involved.

Labels: Boston sports, FEMA, red sox/yankees

 
*WHOA *COUGH*...
Greetings from southern California...Where the sky is brownish-gray with ash as the place burns to the ground. Those of us in the cities are far from the flames, but we're all breathing in air that is even more toxic than it usually is.

The wifey and I walked to the top of our local Trader Joe's parking garage to watch the blood red sun set this evening. Eerie stuff.

HopE firefighters can get control of all these fires (there are plenty). And I hope folks directly and indirectly affected can make it through this really difficult time.

It will be interesting to see how our federal government and all the moronic talking heads react to these events (bravo to the state of California and local folks for handling things exceptionally well). There's no way you cannot think about New Orleans and Katrina. Who will get rebuilt first: San Diego or New Orleans? Even with N.O.'s two-year head-start, I'm bettin' on San Diego.

*HOW 'BOUT THEM FREAKIN' RED SOX!!
BOW DOWN!! Man, oh man!! I have to tell ya..I've given up on the Sox several times this year and yet they keep on surprising me. They had no business winning that Cleveland series with all the double plays they hit into. I'm loving this team, even though I believe Julio Lugo and Eric "Gag ne with a Spoon" are spies paid off by Yankees GM Brian Cashman.

Colorado's dangerous. They're so young, they don't realize they shouldn't be winning 21 out of 22 games. But they've had 8 days off. Enough to cool them. Sox in six. And then Papelbon will dance.

*MY EVIL TWIN SISTER UP IN SEATTLE..
..is opening up a second T(ea) Gallery!! Tomorrow (Wednesday), 7:30am-3:30pm , 700 5th Ave, the Seattle Municipal Tower in downtown Seattle. So get on down there and pick up some great tea. And say hello. Here's her website.

*ART SHOW IN LAS VEGAS..
I just got a call from my man Andy Taylor in Las Vegas. He asked me for some art for a comics show he's putting together for Las Vegas First Fridays on November 2nd. I won't bew there in person, but you should be. I will be out there for Thanksgiving, though. Mebbe I'll set up a signing to kick off the Holla-day Season.

Labels: art show, evil twin sis, Las Vegas, red sox/yankees, so-cal fires, t(ea) gallery

 
*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

 
*WHERE THE HELL AM I RIGHT NOW?
I'm in an internet cafe somewhere in New York City where there' a lot of Japanese restaurants. Cool!! I'm in town for some very special neatness that will be revealed to you all soon enough. But in the meantime, let us hope and pray that the Yankees go down in flames (but not without a fight...Gotta tire out Cleveland for the series with the Red Sox)

*AIN'T IT A PLEASURE TO BE BOSTON SPORTS FAN RIGHT NOW?
Sox. Patriots. Heck..the Celtics?!! I got friends back east complaining because their kids are growing up spoiled with all these good teams now. Whaddaya expect? Boston fans gotta complain about something.

*YES, YES, Y'ALL AND YA DON'T STOP (SPX THIS UPCOMING WEEKEND..)
I expect to see many faces at the wondrous SPX 2007 at the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel this weekend. I always enjoy SPX because there ain't a lotta distractions to take away from the event. It's just creators and comix fans. I always have a good time at it. Look for me right next to my Cartoonist with Attitude Brethren and Sistren near one of the doors and against the wall..

And come see our CWA slideshow at the Barnes and Noble in Bethesda this thursday at 7pm.

*WILL I BE HOSTING THE IGNATZ THIS YEAR?
Some of you may recall that I was a last minute replacement as host of the Ignatz awards that take place at SPX. After making fun of most of the audience and special honored guest Harvey Pekar, I made the winners and presenters drink shots of tequila and left the stage in a drunken stupor. Why haven't they asked me to host again?

*WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOKFAIR WRAP-UP...
Thanks to all who came by to say hello at the WHBF. It was a swell time and a good opportunity to meet my L.A. readers. I also got to hang out with some really cool local cartoonists, Christian and Llyn. Of course, I am spacing on their last names now so I can't link to them at the moment.

*HAVE YOU READ MY COMICS JOURNAL INTERVIEW YET?
Pretty snazzy!! Thank you Andrew Farago for the inquiries. This ish of the Journal is one of the neatest I've seen in a while. I just wish they used a bit more of my recent K Chronicles. A lot of the strips were taken from my first book, Dances with Sheep.

Ciao!!

Labels: ignatz awards, New York, red sox/yankees, spx 2007, West Hollywood Book Fair signing

 
*WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE..
I just got an email that I'm nominated for an African American Literary Award Show Open Book Award for Best Comic Strip. Other nominees are Jerry Craft (Mama's Boyz) and Aaron McGruder (the Boondocks). The award show is tonite in New York City. Wish me luck. If you're a drag queen living in New York City, feel free to accept the award on my behalf if I win.
Here's a full list of the categories and nominees.

*WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR THIS WEEKEND...
..So git yer ass on over there, 'kay? It'd be great to see some folks, considerin' I'm new in town.
It's Sunday, Sept. 30th, 10am-6pm. 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. (North Hollywood Park) THIS IS A FREE EVENT. I'll be in the Comix Scene section.

*LETTERS OF THE WEEK...

(RE: Jena, LA K Chronicles)

Keith-

I really like your strip, but wanted to protest your use of
"Jebediah" as a stereotypical racist hick name. It's just a little too
close to my name for comfort...


Thanks,

J.

(It's true, I screwed up. It felt contrived as I was writing Jebediah in the comic strip. Hypocritical. Thanks for calling me on it. I'm gonna change it when the strip is reprinted in book form.-kk)

(RE: K Chronicles/Harvey Award Win)

Dear Keef,

Way to go man! I am so happy for you. To think (no pun intended) that a
cartoon with as much life and reality and honesty as yours can be recognized
makes one believe that at least some people really do "get it"!

Sincerely,
Mark Whitley

(RE: Random Kindness)

Keef (if I may take the liberty),

This is the second time I've written you a note...how weird is that to
contact a total stranger????....but you freakin' RULE!!!!! Your stuff
is so incredibly funny and lively and life-affirming. If I had a
million dollars I'd buy everything you've ever written, and if I had 2
million I'd give you a grant.
Keep on keepin' on, man. What you do makes me happy.
May love surround you,
V

 
*EMAILS OF THE WEEK..

(Re: This week's K Chronicles (about Confession) )

Keef,

Classic. Of course, we'll lose half our advertisers, but I think we'll
run it anyway.


T.

(Ha!!  This is from my editor at the Sitting Duck up in Olympia.-k.k.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Re: The last Life's Little Victories strip (which was all about the Boston area)

Hello, Keith


I am a huge fan of the your work. I'm also a proud fellow Maldonian. In

fact, I once took (wait for it) break dancing lessons from you at the Malden

Studio of Dance on Highland Ave. back in my Girls Catholic High School days.


The steps you taught me came in very handy at Dance Factory (rip) and The

Palace (rip) back in the day. Today, I occasionally amaze my friends when I

bust a move to "Rockit."


Anyway - your Life's Little Victories are my faves and your reference to the

Squire in today's strip was FUGGINAWESOME. It reminded me of the old, skinny

black-haired Squire stripper who was a regular customer at Mal's. Thanks so

much.


Go Tornadoes,

K.

(Man!! She's really reachin' back!! This is back to my Michael Jackson impersonator days!!-k.k.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith,

It's wonderful to find out how far a state education can go!

Congratulations on your success, and I can benefit by telling my kids I know
someone famous.

My name is K. and I attended Salem State college from 87-92. I remember
you in Bowditch Hall and around the commons.

I think you were there also, but if I'm wrong make a cartoon of a stranger
claiming to know you.

-K.

(hmmm..a lot of Boston folk comin' out of the woodwork..-k.k.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(RE: The Purple and Green people strip)

Keith,

I'm not prone to send fan-mail of any sort, but your cartoon "Who the heck
are all these green and purple folks white people are always talking about?"
really struck a chord with me. I'm a professor of Political Science who
occasionally teaches Ethnic Conflict (and I'm white, too!). I've been
overheard frequently while asking rhetorical questions of my students or
pontificating on some larger point saying something along the lines of your
recent cartoon. Needless to say, your work had the effect of holding up a
mirror, confronting me with the absurdity of my statements. My first
reaction was to LOL, but then quickly gave way to a momentary wave of
embarrassment. Touche! And, kudos!

But, while driving my daughter to the store this afternoon, I think I
figured out why white people talk so much about the green and purple folks
so much. Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" came on the radio and
I felt compelled to share with you where I think the origins of liberal,
white, misplaced-rainbow silliness reside:

Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I'm in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a blue one who can't accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha - we got to live together
I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag l'm in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a long hair that doesn't like the short hair
For bein' such a rich one that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha-we got to live together
There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one
That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks
Anyhow, keep up the good work. I've read your strip religiously for years
and don't plan on stopping anytime soon (although I may think twice about
lecturing on Skittle-colored people in the future).

Best,

C.

(I wrote back to him and said the Sly excuse doesn't fly cuz he wuz on drugs when he wrote the above tune. And you DO see purple people when you are on drugs...not that I'd know.-k.k.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*NEXT APPEARANCES ARE SET..

Sun. Sept. 30- West Hollywood Book Fair, West Hollywood, CA. 9am-6pm (Tabling)

Thurs. Oct. 11- Barnes and Noble, Bethesda MD. 7:30pm (Slideshow with CWA)

Fri./Sat. Oct.12/13-SPX in Bethesda, MD. 2pm-8pm Fri- 10am-7pm Sat. (Tabling plus a comic strip panel)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*THE IN-LAWS HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING *sniff*
The wifey's parents headed back to Deutschland after a 3 and a half week stay. We rocked it on both coasts and had a great time. Now it's time to grind out a butt-load of comics and gear up for my favorite time of the year: Autumn. Sure, leaves don't change in Los Angeles. But at least it ain't 105 in the shade anymore...

Stuff I'm working on:
*the new K Chronicles collection
*a super-secret project that will be announced soon
*a graphic novel proposal

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*WHERE TO FIND ME THIS MONTH..