*K CHRONICLES NEWSLETTER FOR SEPT/OCT

IN THIS ISSUE:
*SPECIAL K CHRONICLES 2-PAGER ONLINE
*KEEF CARTOON WORKSHOP RETURNS!! /EXHIBITION OPENING
IN SAN FRANCISCO
*WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR
*VOTE FOR THE KNIGHT LIFE
*ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR SALE
* S.P.X./D.C. IN OCT..

Dearest K Chronicles/(th)ink/Knight Life reader,

Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes, cards and gifts commemorating the arrival of the fetus formerly known as Lil Gravy. We’re slow on getting cards out and pictures up, so please bear with us.

*SPECIAL K CHRONICLES 2 PAGER..
In the meantime, check out this exclusive full color 2-pager that I did for the August edition of Dark Horse’s Myspace Comic Book!! It's only up for a few more days so peep that sucka now!!

*500 PAGE K CHRONICLES BOOK REVIEWS..
The reviews are in and it’s.a hit!!. Everyone from the Onion to the Washington Post have great things to say about the ONE BOOK TO RULE THEM ALL!!

-Publisher's Weekly article
-Comics Worth Reading review
-Washington Post
-The Onion
-Amazon reviews (add your own!!)

You can order the book thru my site (http://www.kchronicles.com), but I won’t be selling it outta my crib like the other books. So if you want ‘em signed, hit me up at these upcoming events:

Also keep in mind that the 500 page collection DOES NOT include the strips contained in the latest K Chronicles compendium “I Left My Arse in San Francisco”. You can order that exclusively through my website or at the following upcoming appearances.

*WEST HOLLYWOOD BOOK FAIR- Sunday 9/27 10am-6pm
I’ll be making my 2nd appearance at the ever-growing literary event in the Castro of the South, the West Hollywood Book Fair. They have an indie comix and graphic novel section that’s bigger than the gargantuan L.A. Times Book Fest. Who woulda thunk?

*KEEF "CARTOONS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS" WORKSHOP/EXHIBITION OPENING
Until Nov. 9th, the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco is hosting a 40 piece exhibition of my work. Starting with stuff from high school, up until the launch of my daily strip.

I will be up in San Francisco for 2 EVENTS coinciding with the exhibit. The opening is on Thursday, 9/18 from 7pm-9pm, where I will rambling on about several of the pieces in a drunken stupor and signing books .

The 2nd event will be an updated version of my wildly popular Cartooning workshop, :”Cartoons Are Serious Business “, where I will spill the beans on everything I know about the industry and how I made cartooning my only job. THIS CLASS IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS.

The last time I offered this class, folks flew in from the East Coast for it. Space is limited, so sign up today at http://www.cartoonart.org or call (415) CAR-TOON.

(C.A.M. is located at 655 Mission St. in San Francisco)

I’M LOOKING TO DO MORE SIGNINGS AND READINGS WHILE I’M UP THERE. IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS.

*KEEF AT SPX IN BETHESDA-Oct 4th and 5th 10am-7pm
SPX is always a great show for me. But it will be even greater with two new books in tow. Come on down to the longest running small press show on the East Coast! Now on Saturday and Sunday (the way it always shoulda been!!) I’ll be located with my co-horts in the Cartoonists With Attitude. Also, keep an eye out for readings and signings in the immediate area.

*KNIGHT LIFE BEING TESTED IN COLORADO SPRINGS/BIRMINGHAM/ MORE..
Can you take a minute out to vote my daily comic in at the following places?

-Birmingham News:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/07/what_do_you_think_of_knight_li.html

-Orange County Register :
http://ocregister.upickem.net/engine/ApprovedSubmissions.aspx?contestid=1864

-Colorado Springs Gazette:
opinion@gazette.com

The Gazette

30 S. Prospect St.

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

719-632-5511

-Baton Rouge Advocate:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/includes/comic-survey.html

Thanks!!

*ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR SALE!!!
K Chronicles, (th)ink and Knight Life artwork is flying out the door. What better way to make room for this ever-growing child-o-mine than to unload my artwork onto you?
K Chronicles -$350 and up
(th)ink- $150
Knight Life dailies $150
Knight Life Sundays $200

CHEAP!!
email me to see if your favorite comic is still available!!

IN MY MIX:
*My damned birthday
*Poop
*DEADLINES

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

Labels: cartooning workshop, Los Angeles, newsletter, San Francisco, Washington D.C.

 
*FOR EVERYONE WHO WAS WONDERING WHEN I'D BE TEACHING THAT CARTOONING SEMINAR AGAIN...

Cartoons Are Serious Business:
A Cartooning Workshop with Keith Knight,
Creator of the ?K¹ Chronicles, (th)ink and the Knight Life

Cartoon Art Museum Class: Sunday, September 21, 2008, 1:00 - 4:00pm
Cost per class: $100; $90 for CAM members


On Sunday, September 21, 2008, the Cartoon Art Museum is offering another
installment in its ongoing series of workshops for aspiring comic artists,
writers and fans of all ages. Each class is taught by a professional
cartoonist focusing on an area of his or her expertise, ranging from
character creation and story development to writing and drawing comic books
and strips.

Keith Knight, 2007 Harvey Award winner and creator of the syndicated comics
the 'K' Chronicles, the Knight Life and (th)ink, will conduct an intensive
three-hour workshop for aspiring cartoonists, entitled Cartoons Are Serious
Business. The cost of this class is $100 per student for the general
public, and $90 per student for members of the Cartoon Art Museum.

Mr. Knight will be drawing upon his 15 years as a self-syndicated cartoonist
for this intensive workshop, which is an advanced class for people looking
to make cartooning a viable money-making career. This workshop will focus
on the business side of comics, from marketing and promotions to dealing
with syndicates and negotiating publishing contracts. In the past decade,
Knight's work has appeared in self-published 'zines, major newspapers,
alternative newsweeklies, professional comic anthologies and major
nationally-distributed publications including ESPN: The Magazine and Mad,
he has promoted his work at more than 100 comic conventions and trade shows,
and he has delivered lectures on cartooning at colleges and universities
throughout the United States.

This is an encore presentation of a class Knight taught at the Cartoon Art
Museum in 2006. Since then, he has launched a daily comic strip with King
Features Syndicate, won numerous awards and signed a deal to produce a
200-page graphic novel. He has a lot more stuff to tell people.

Keith Knight is a Boston-born, Los Angeles-based cartoonist whose three
syndicated comics, the 'K 'Chronicles, the Knight Life and (th)ink, can be
found in newspapers, magazines and websites all across the country. He is
also a rapper with the semi-conscious hip-hop group, the Marginal Prophets.
For more information, please visit his website, www.kchronicles.com
<http://www.kchronicles.com>

Class size is limited, and each class is filled on a first-come,
first-served basis. Basic drawing materials will be provided, but students
are encouraged to purchase sketchbooks and their own drawing implements. To
register or for more information about the workshop, please contact Diane
Shapiro Sommerfield at (415) CAR-TOON, ext. 303, or via e-mail at
education@cartoonart.org.

]{[^]}[
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

The Cartoon Art Museum is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational organization
dedicated to the collection,
preservation, study and exhibition of original cartoon art in all forms.

Labels: cartoon art museum, cartooning workshop

 
*GIGANTIC K CHRONICLES BOOK RECEIVING FINE REVIEWS..

..in addition to the Onion.com giving it an "A" and the Washington Post, an "A-", cool comix magazines Tripwire and the Comic Foundry have nice pieces on the book running this month.

Tripwire listed the book as one of 15 that they recommend fro people who don't read comics. An excerpt:

"Frankly, it's a wonder this award-winning strip isn't better appreciated as one of the great auto-bio cartoons of our time. Keith's certainly on par with the likes of Joe Matt and Harvey Pekar..."

Nice!!

Labels: dark horse collection, reviews

 
*AUGUST GREETINGS FROM THE WORLD'S WORST BLOGGER..
All right. A little catching up to do. But this new dad thing is kicking me arse..

*COMIC-CON 2008 WRAP-UP..
The San Diego Comic-Con was the biggest year ever for me here at K Chronicles Ink. Seeing as I had not one, but TWO new books for sale, lots o' folks came by with their well-wishes and cold, hard cashish.

Thursday's slideshow went exceptionally well. Especially considering they didn't have a laptop set up for my slideshow. Luckily, I was in the middle of Geek Mecca, so finding a laptop in the audience wasn't very hard.

It was also cool cuz it was the first time I was showing Knight Life dailies. They went over really well.

I noticed that the seats weren't completely filled when I started my slideshow, but were when I finished. Turned out there was a huge amount of folks in the crowd who were there for the panel following me. Which was great, because about 90% of the sales following my slideshow began with folks saying "I never seen your stuff before, but I caught the last 15 minutes of your slideshow and now I have to buy all your stuff.." Excellent!!

(By the way, the panel following me was "Humor in Science Fiction")

Notables: The audience was filled with some big time celebs in the comic world, including my Knight Life editor and fellow CWA-er Ted Rall, CWA-er Stephanie McMillan, Pulitzer prize winner Signe Wilkinson and family, United Media sales rep extraordinaire Ron O'Neal and Publisher's Weekly OG and unfortunate Yankee fan Calvin Reid. Good stuff!!

Of course, Comic-Con wouldn't be Comic-Con if I wasn't running around with my Con partner in crime, Mr. Steve Notley. Though we were disappointed by the demise of our annual cheap Maine Lobster dinner at the now defuncted Ol' Madrid restaurant on 5th, we did manage to crash a Dark Horse/LucasArts/Weta party for some free booze and schwag..And the next night we found ourselves in the middle of some of the hottest and most successful web cartoonists in the world, sipping ancient whiskey that tasted like dirty smoked sausage and being serenaded by the likes of Avery Brooks and Jonathan Frakes.

Thanks to everyone who came by to say hello. To those who saw the slideshow. And to those who have picked up the new books online or in real, live bookstores.

*NEW, EXCLUSIVE TWO-PAGER AT THE DARK HORSE MYSPACE PAGE..
As if I don't have enough to do, I did a 2 page/full color comic for Dark Horse's MySpace publication. It's up for the month of August, so I suggest you get on over there and check it out.

*KEEF NEEDS YOU!!
..to post some swanky reviews for the new 500 page book at various websites like Amazon, etc. Say how it changed your life or better yet, ruined it. And when the cops are taking you away and the reporter asks you why you did it, turn maniacally to the camera and say "The Complete K Chronicles" made me do it.

*I WAS GONNA POST A LOT MORE, BUT I AM TOO TIRED AND MY WHOLE FAM IS IN TOWN TO SEE THE BOSS. AKA THE FETUS FORMALLY KNOWN AS LIL GRAVY.
ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Labels: dark horse collection, san diego comic-con

 
*WHADDAYA MEAN YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME ABOUT SISKO AND RIKER?!!

http://www.pvponline.com/2008/07/29/stewards-of-the-moment/

Comic-Con wrap-up coming soon.

 
*OKAY, SO HERE'S ALL THE COMIC-CON INFO I GOT...

1.I will be located in the Small Press Section of the Con..at my usual spot, K-15, alongside Steve Notley, creator of Bob the Angry Flower. I will have the new 500-page K Chronicles collection AND the 5th collection, I Left my Arse in San Francisco.

2.My slideshow/panel will take place on Thursday, July 24th , from 11:30am-12:30pm in room

3.Later on Thursday I will be on a panel of artists featured in F.C. Brandt's "Independents" comix documentary at 7pm in room 26AB

4.I will be drawing caricatures to raise money for the Cartoon Art Museum at booth MZ-11 on Friday, July 25th, from noon to 1pm.

5. That evening, I will be hosting the 5th annual Nappy Hour get-together at downtown San Diego's oldest bar, the Tivoli, at 8pm. Come on by for a drink!! everyone's invited!!

6. I will be signing my new 500-page K Chronicles collection at the Dark Horse booth (#2615) from 3pm-4pm. Show up to this so I look good in front of em...please?

(I bet I'll be the only person going to San Diego to get some sleep!!-kk)

See you down there!!

Labels: san diego comic-con

 
*COMPLETE K CHRONICLES GETS "A" RATING IN THE ONION!!
Nice!! My 500-page Dark Horse K Chronicles collection received the highest rating in this week's A.V. Club section of the Onion. you can read the review by going here and scrolling down.

Plus a coupla nice reviews have been posted up in Amazon review section. Keep em comin'!!

Labels: dark horse collection, reviews

 
*LETTER/EMAIL OF THE WEEK..
Hey Keith,

Labels: cartoon art museum, email of the week, letter of the week

 
*THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR HEARTFELT CONGRATS CONCERNING THE BIRTH OF THE FETUS FORMERLY KNOWN AS LIL GRAVY..
And super special thanks to everyone who sent wonderful gifts. Paintings, baby clothes, letters for him to read in the future....amazing stuff.

And thanks for your concern, too. He's recovering well from the meconium consumption. Like I said in the strip, he's full of crap like his father.

We should have him home very soon.

*THE OBAMA/NEW YORKER COVER..
Wow..I didn't know I would be such a sought-after commentator on the controversy of the week. I was contacted by the S.F. Chronicle, BlackAmericaWeb.com and the Columbia Journalism Review. I feel like I'm somebody!!

I'm not sure what I told everyone, but sometimes satire works and sometimes it doesn't. The New Yorker ain't known for it's brilliant satire. I think the cover would've been far more effective if it was the cover of MAD.

I remember my college newspaper did a parody of a Modest Proposal, suggesting that we eat the elderly to save money. Folks got so bent out of shape about it, it was unreal. I thought it worked. Other people didn't. Oh well.

Yes, the cover was in poor taste. Should there be this huge hullabaloo? Nah. But America never has its priorities straight, so why should it start now?

*WHOOPS..I MESSED UP ON THE TIME OF MY COMIC-CON PANEL IN MY NEWSLETTER..
It is on Thursday at 11:30am-12:30pm. Don't be later, it's gonna be packed. The Comics Reporter did a nice recommendation.

I'm gonna have a lot going on this year what with the two new books and all. I'll have a package deal for both so come on buy and score a few.

*ORIGINAL ART FOR SALE..
I'm also gonna have a ton of original art for sale down in S.D.C.C. (th)ink, K Chronicles, and Knight Life strips will be available for cheap!! Along with a ton of illustration work and more. The earlier you come, the better selection you'll have. Buy, buy!!

Labels: lil gravy, obama, original art, san diego comic-con

 
*ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT COMMENTARY PULLED OFFA THE BOSTON.COM FEEDBACK ABOUT THE OBAMA NEW YORKER COVER:

Labels: obama

 
IN THIS ISSUE:
*WHO’S YO’ DADDY?!!
*500 PAGE DARK HORSE IN STORES NOW!!
*KEEF SLIDESHOW AT COMIC-CON
*KEEF EXHIBIT AT CARTOON ART MUSEUM
*KNIGHT LIFE BEING TESTED IN SAN FRAN, B’HAM
*KEEF NOMINATED FOR 2ND HARVEY
*KEEF CARTOON WORKSHOP AT HAMMER MUSEUM

Dearest K Chronicles/(th)ink/Knight Life reader,

Holy @#%!! I’M A FATHER!!
I won’t bother with the details, but wanted to let y’all know that the fetus formerly known as Lil Gravy entered the building last week. He’s a big boy, and will be kicking my ass in no time.

Due to a few complications, he remains in the hospital. But we hope to have him home soon.

If there EVER was a time to order stuff, now would be that time.

*THE 500-PAGE K CHRONICLES COLLECTION...
..arrived in stores the day my son was born!! (great timing, cuz the book is dedicated to him Dark Horse has collected the first four K Chronicles collections and reformatted them nice and big, I added notes and sketches, and Kyle Baker did the introduction. What it amounts to is the must-have book of 2008!!
You can order the book thru my site (http://www.kchronicles.com), but I won’t be selling it outta my crib like the other books. So if you want ‘em signed, hit me up at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con.

If you have the book already, please consider posting an online review at Amazon and all them other places.

Also keep in mind that the 500 page collection DOES NOT include the strips contained in the latest K Chronicles compendium “I Left My Arse in San Francisco”. So there.

*SLIDESHOW AT COMIC-CON (Thurs. July 24th Noon-1pm, rm 4)..
Not only will I be signing that big ol’ Dark Horse book at this year’s Comic Con, I’ll also be doing an all-new slideshow on Thursday, July 24th at noon (room 4). The panel’s called “FROM THE K CHRONICLES TO THE KNIGHT LIFE: KEITH KNIGHT” and .I’ll chronicle the development of all of my strips, present a preview of the Complete K Chronicles collection by Dark Horse, do a little drawing demo, and show some baby pics!!.

I'll also be doing horrible caricatures to raise money for the Cartoon Art Museum on Friday July 25th from Noon -1pm..

SEE YOU THERE!!
REMEMBER: COMIC-CON GOES FROM WEDS.,7/23-SUN 7/27. AND YOU CAN ONLY REGISTER FOR IT ONLINE.

*KEEF CARTOON ART MUSEUM EXHIBITION
From now until Nov. 9th, the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco is hosting a 40 piece exhibition of my work. Starting with stuff from high school, up until the launch of my daily strip.

I hope to make it up there for an official opening in August. In the meantime, go check out the show and email me about it. Also, can someone take photos?
(C.A.M. is located at 655 Mission St. in San Francisco…http://www.cartoonart.org)

*KNIGHT LIFE GEING TESTED IN S.F,. CHRONICLE/BIRMINGHAM/ MORE..
Can you take a minute out to vote my daily comic in at the following places?

San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/12/DDCOMICS12.DTL

Birmingham News:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/07/what_do_you_think_of_knight_li.html

Washington Post:
http://comicsurvey.washpost.com/survey.cfm

Raleigh News Observer:.:
http://share.triangle.com/node/3528?page=63

Orange County Register :
http://ocregister.upickem.net/engine/ApprovedSubmissions.aspx?contestid=1864

Baton Rouge Advocate:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/includes/comic-survey.html


Thanks!!

*K CHRONICLES NOMINTED FOR 2ND HARVEY AWARD!!
Nice!! The K Chronicles has again been nominated for Best Comic Strip in 2008. Industry professionals can download a ballot at http://www.harveyawards.org.
Let’s shock the industry one more time!!

*CARTOONING WORKSHOP AT THE HAMMER MUSEUM
On Sunday, July 20th, I’ll be conducting a cartooning workshop for kids aged 8-12 at the Hammer Museum here in Los Angeles, courtesy of 826la. The 2-hour class will cover the basics of doing a comic strip. Space is limited for the class, so act now!! Go to http://www.826la.org for more details and sign-up info.

IN MY MIX:
*Maconium
*Gigantic, milk-filled breasts
*DEADLINES

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

Labels: cartoon art museum, Knight Life daily, newsletter, san diego comic-con, signing

 
*THE 500 PAGE DARK HORSE/K CHRONICLES COLLECTION SHIPS TODAY!!
Ooh la-la-la!! The book o' the year is here!! The new Complete K Chronicles collection is shipping out today and folks who have pre-ordered through the site should be gettin' theirs soon. I will not be selling this thing on my own. It's too big. The shipping costs would be deadly. I have no room in my apartment for them.

I'll have copies at my table in Small Press at the San Diego Comic Con, but if you've already purchased one, bring it by and I'll sign it!!

Let the reviews begin!!

Well, so far there's only one review. But as soon as y'all get yours, start posting swanky reviews. Will ya?

*I'M DOING A CARTOON WORKSHOP AT THE HAMMER MUSEUM IN LOS ANGELES..
..later this month on behalf of 826LA. It's open to kids 8 to 12. We'll be covering all the basics of creating a comic strip. But I'm really just in it to steal children's ideas. To get more info about it, go here and scroll down.

*THE WIFEY'S DUE THIS WEEK..SO I'LL BE EVEN WORSE THAN THE WORLD'S WORST BLOGGER!!
Ciao!!

Check out my new daily strip!!

Labels: cartooning workshop, dark horse collection, reviews

 
*K CHRONICLES NOMINATED FOR A 2008 HARVEY AWARD!!
Whoa!! I could really get used to this!! The K Chronicles has been nominated for Best Comic Strip for a third year in a row. The Harvey Awards are named after the late great Harvey Kurtzman, whose work was a big influence on the K Chronicles.

Lost the first year, won the second. But I hear the 3rd time is also the charm, so all you folks in the industry, please download and fill out a ballot here. Let's shock the world once again!!

*THANKS TO EVERYONE..
..who participated in the online Q & A at the Washington Post online last week. A lot of great questions, and a coupla weird ones. You can still check out the interview here.

*FROM THE K CHRONICLES TO THE KNIGHT LIFE: SPOTLIGHT ON KEITH KNIGHT..
..is the title of the panel Ill be doing at this year's San Diego Comic Con on Thursday, July 24th at 4:30pm. I'll be doing my world-famous slideshow that'll highlight work featured in my new Dark Horse 500 page collection, and a look into how I developed the Knight Life, my new daily blazing a trail across newspapers nationwide and beyond (including Honolulu and Trinidad!!)!!

*KEITH KNIGHT COMIC ART EXHIBITION AT THE CARTOON ART MUSEUM IS NOW OPEN FOR VIEWING..
..in glorious San Francisco from now until November 9th. If you go see it, take some pics and send em my way. I won't be up there for a while. For more info on it, go to http://www.cartoonart.org.

*LETTERS/EMAILS OF THE WEEK...

Keef,

Because I have been reading K Chronicles for thirty-five years, I feel I have an
understanding of your work.

It is obvious The Knight Life is a love letter to wifey and your family.

And for letting us read that,

Thank You

Yours,
J.
Denver

-----
(RE: Alien Abduction Knight Life Strip)

K,

Barney and Betty Hill, perhaps the first and most famous alien abductees, were an interracial couple. Their account of their abduction introduced several features that are now commonplace in abduction stories (fragile gray aliens, surgical probes).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Hill

--------

(RE: K Chronicles Vaccination strip)

Hey Keith!
I'm a devoted fan for your wit, wisdom, humor and slice-of-life
installments of The K Chronicles!
But, getting chicken pox as a kid was no big deal to me, fun to stay home
and miss school...at the time.
As an adult, I've become one of the 20% who suffer from SHINGLES, which is
no fun!
Medical science has learned that shingles is the SAME virus that is
responsible for chicken pox.
Read all about it at:
http://www.stopgettingsick.com/Condtemplate.cfm-1341-82-1

Also, be sure to check out Jenny McCarthy's info about "Green Our Vaccines"
and spacing out childhood immunization programs to avoid possible links to
AUTISM complications associated with multiple vaccine programs. Just
sayin'!!

Best Regards,
B. in SLC

Keith,

I've been a fan for a while now, but your recent articles have really hit close to home
since my wife is preggers with our first kid too!

After your most recent comic, I'm sure you're going to get a bunch of emails from
anti-vax folks telling you not to vaccinate your kid at all. Just wanted to temper that
a bit with some facts. Make your own decisions, but please inform yourself with the
science. Personally, I don't think there's any reason not to give all the vaccines to
your kid at once (they've been shown to be perfectly safe), but you're well within your
rights to space them out as makes you comfortable.

Don't listen to the anti-vax crowd. They completely ignore the sound research and divert
research dollars from where it should be going - to fund research into what actually
causes autism, and to finding a cure. Instead the NIH has wasted millions of dollars
appeasing these folks by funding study after study that tells us the same thing -
vaccines are safe. The "toxins" they claim to be in vaccines are not in there. The CDC
took the mercury out of childhood vaccines to appease these people, and there was no drop
in the autism rate (interestingly, the anti-vax crowd still claims that it's in there).
I can assure you that there is no anti-freeze or formaldehyde in any vaccine, they simply
do not understand the chemical nomenclature.

Alright, that's my rant.

best,
m.
----

(RE: K Chronicles Bucket List strip)

Mr. Knight,

We have a 6 month old, and while our lives are different (I?'m not used to be
up and sober at 4am), you?ll be amazed at what you can still do with kids.
Our daughter comes to happy hour (I call ahead to work it out with the
restaurant), formal dinners, goes on planes, buses, trolleys, and just took
a 3 ½ week cross country road trip with us. She loves new places, and is
actually far more flexible than we, the adults, are.

Good luck!

-E.
---
(Re: (th)ink U Miss. Pot strip)

Hi,

Saw your great comic in the chronicle this morning...Good stuff.

My husband is on the board of Norml and I know he'll get a great laugh. So thanks and in
October we are holding the Annual Conference in Berkeley if interested.

Take Care,
T.

------

Keith -

You got my vote in the WashPost survey. I've enjoyed your stuff in "Funny
Times" for years. Keep up the good work, and good luck with making it as a
regular in the "Post".

- A.

(folks can still put in a good word for my daily strip at the Post and a few other places:
go by their website and say something nice about the strip:

http://comicsurvey.washpost.com/survey.cfm

Another important paper testing the strip is in Raleigh, NC.:
http://share.triangle.com/node/3528?page=63

Also, the Orange County Register is taking a survey about what they should add to their paper:

http://ocregister.upickem.net/engine/ApprovedSubmissions.aspx?contestid=1864
thanks!! k.k.)

------

Keef,

I don't know if you remember me - I've E-mailed you a few times in the past asking for information in getting my own comic strip out there. (No luck yet, incidentally.)
Anyway, the topic this time is completely different - I'd like to bring up something that I think should be addressed in your strip. I know that you've got a lot to draw on in your own life at the moment, what with the upcoming baby and all (congrats, by the way), but I really think this is something that the more people know about, the better.
The topic I refer to is that of Zimbabwe. I don't know if you've been keeping abreast of the political situation over there at the moment, but let me tell you, it makes ours look like a cakewalk. Bush may be an idiot and a warmonger, but Robert Mugabe is an out-and-out MONSTER.
The reason I know about this is that my mom grew up in Zimbabwe, and she still has family and friends living there. They have been corroborating the news reports via E-mail, and adding to them. It's not just as bad as people have been saying - it's worse. The people are not only being starved, they're being beaten, bullied, killed, tortured and indoctrinated. Food is now seen by the government as a weapon - in a country that is dying of starvation, feeding someone is now a potential crime. Why? Because they might have voted for the MDC (the opposition party to Mugabe's ZANU-PF). Anyone who might have voted for the 'wrong side' is now automatically a target.
Keef, you have often addressed issues of racism and politics in your strip - and rightly so; as a black man in America, you've seen the discrimination that still exists in our society. What's happening in Zimbabwe is worse - far worse. It started with the reverse of what we're used to - blacks against whites - and has steadily snowballed into a nightmare. Racism is wrong, no matter who initiates it, and Zimbabwe is a prime example of how it can be used in the wrong hands.
Now, none of this affects me - I don't live in Zimbabwe, and neither do any of my immediate family or friends. But that changes nothing. What's happening there is wrong. It's wrong, it's horrifying, and something should be done about it. South Africa, Zimbabwe's neighbor to the south, has proved that something CAN be done about it - our protests helped lift Apartheid.
Is there any chance you could address this subject in one of your strips? Right now, Zimbabwe is just a blip on the news to most folks, but your strip has a pretty loyal following, and could help bring things into focus for a lot of people. At the very least, would you mind printing this letter on your site?
Thanks, either way. The 'K' Chronicles is still one of my favorites!

Sincerely,

D.

(thanks for this, d. is it a black on white thing in zimbabwe? or a black on everybody who oppses him thing? cause all i ever see in the news is black folks getting hacked up, beaten and killed-kk.)

--- -

Mr. K,

It just hit me today why I like your strip so much. [I read it in Salon] You're always so enthusiastic, and your illustrating style makes the excited. It's great to see so much un-abashed, un-ashamed, un-ironic enthusiasm in anything.

That's all I really wanted to say other than good luck with the kid, I love the restaurant review idea, and better luck in the next life with Linda Carter.

Keep up the good-
-C.

(thanks!! when we moved down here to l.a., my wife & i agreed that we can have one celeb sleep over if they would like to. and mine is lynda carter. -kk.)

Cheers!!

Labels: cartoon art museum, email of the week, Knight Life daily, letter of the week, new papers

 
EXTRA!! EXTRA!! KNIGHT LIFE Q&A!!

Folks,

I'll be doing a live, online chat about my new daily strip with the Washington Post today (Friday) at 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific.

Feel free to join in and ask questions. This is a great chance to make a good impression at the Post.

Here's the link to get in on it:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/06/16/DI2008061602062.html

Cheers!!

Keef
The K Chronicles: 2008 Glyph Award Winner for Best Comic Strip
Coming soon from Dark Horse Comics: The Complete K Chronicles
Pre-order now at http://www.kchronicles.com

Labels: Knight Life daily, online chat

 
*NEW YORK CITY/PHILLY WRAP-UP..
Had a marvelous time hitting the east coast for the AAN Convention and MoCCA Festival. Always a pleasure hooking up with folks like Mike LaRiccia, Pete Friedrich, Hilary Price and my infamous gang of radicals, the Cartoonists with Attitude.

One of the coolest things I did and one of my cheap-ass moves of the week was to take the Chinatown bus from NYC to Philly. Have you ever taken one of these things?It takes you from one Chinatown to the other. $20 round trip. 2 hours. Clean. Efficient. Excellent. I recommend it over Greyhound, Amtrak, and all the others alternatives. They also do Boston, D.C. and a lot more. http://www.apexbus.com

I made some nice connections at AAN, which is the yearly Alternative Newsweekly Convention. I think I'll be picking up at least a coupla papers in the near future, including one in Vermont and Washington D.C.

One more cheap-ass move: If you're gonna take money from an ATM, and your bank 's ATMs are nowhere to be found, use the Chinese or Korean bank ATMs. The Bank of America surcharge for using their ATMs is $2.00. The Chinese bank that I used: .50c!!

*SPEAKING OF WASHINGTON D.C...
I cannot overstate how important it is for me to have my daily strip, "the Knight Life", secure a permanent place in the Washington Post. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go by their website and say something nice about the strip:

http://comicsurvey.washpost.com/survey.cfm

Another important paper testing the strip is in Raleigh, NC.:
http://share.triangle.com/node/3528?page=63

Also, the Orange County Register is taking a survey about what they should add to their paper:

http://ocregister.upickem.net/engine/ApprovedSubmissions.aspx?contestid=1864

*MY CARTOON ART MUSEUM ART SHOW OPENS THIS WEEK..
..though I won't be there. I'm gonna try to come up for a late opening event in August. I gots ta wait for the little one to arrive, and the big book, too.

For more info: http://www.cartoonart.org

*CARTOONING WORKSHOP AT THE HAMMER MUSEUM..
I'll be conducting a cartooning workshop at one of L.A.'s swankiest museums, courtesy of 826LA, in July. It's open to kids, aged 8 to 12. For more info, go to

http://www.826la.org/workshops/


*HOW SWEET IT IS..
..to be a Boston sports fan. Sure, the Pats blew it, but they've tasted victory in the past few years already. Congrats to the Boston Celtics for hoisting for the first time in decades.

A coupla things:
*The Celts were always known as the white guy team. Not anymore. Wonder how the Townies feel about that
*I went to high school with the black dude sitting behind the Boston bench (Mr. Ellen Pompeo).

Labels: 826la, boston celtics, cheap-ass, Knight Life daily, MoCCA, New York, Philadelphia

 
*A CALL TO ACTION..
Folks..

Just got this message from a reader in Baton Rouge:

Greetings,

In today's issue of the Advocate here in Baton Rouge, there was no Knight Life! It turns out that the strip that the yours replaced in the Advocate (Doonesbury, or something) is just taking an extended vacation. In the mean time, the paper is going to be running several

different strips, and let readers vote on which one will become a permanent fixture of the

Advocate's comics page. We need to send people to http://www.2theadvocate.com/help/comments to tell the Advocate that we want the Knight Life to become that said fixture.



Sincerely,

J.

Charge!!

*JUNE 08 NEWSLETTER..

IN THIS ISSUE:
*KEEF AT MOCCA IN NEW YORK CITY
*KEEF RETROSPECTIVE AT CARTOON ART MUSEUM IN SF
*K CHRONICLES WINS 2008 GLYPH AWARD FOR BEST COMIC STRIP
*KNIGHT LIFE DAILY BEING TESTED IN WASHINGTON POST


Dearest K Chronicles, (th)ink and Knight Life reader,

Whoa...Things are getting a bit crazy up in here with the launch of the new daily. So
many great things have been happening, and I thank everybody for their endless support!!

*KEEF AT MOCCA IN NYC THS WEEKEND!!
I will be in the wondrous city of New York for the 2008 MoCCA Festival. This is one of
the best Indie Comix shows in the country. And it seems to be attracting a lot of daily
newspaper cartoonists as well. I will have a small number of my older books, but will
mainly be pushing the not-available-in-bookstores "I Left My Arse in San Francisco", the
latest K Chronicles collection.

I will also have ONE COPY of the new 500-page K Chronicles Collection from Dark Horse.
Ya gotta see this thing. It's HUGE!! Pre-order it here:

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

The show is this Sat./Sun, June 7th/8th at the Puck Building in NYC. SEE YOU THERE!!

*KEEF RETROSPECTIVE AT CARTOON ART MUSEUM!!
Nice!! Starting June 17th, the Cartoon Art Museum wiill be hanging a big ol' exhibit
chronicling ME ME ME!! It's pretty all encompassing, covering stuff from my high school
days up until the present, with artwork featuring the K Chronicles, my MAD
work,(th)ink,my ESPN work, Marginal Prophets artwork and more, more more!!

The show runs through Nov.2nd.
For more info, go to http://www.cartoonart.org

*K CHRONICLES WINS 2008 GLYPH AWARD FOR BEST COMIC STRIP!!
Three years in a row!! Man!! I gotta tell ya I'm humbled. Special thanks to Rich
Watson for always lookin' out!!

*THE KNIGHT LIFE NEEDS YOUR HELP!!
I know I continue to ask this, but the first year of a daily strip is the toughest. And
the only way a new strip like mine can make it is if folks write in and say good stuff.

Right now, the biggest most important paper that runs comics is testing my new strip,
the Knight Life. If you planned on doing it but haven't gotten around to it, THIS IS THE
ONE PAPER TO DO IT WITH. It is the Washington Post and you can fill out a survey here:

The Wash, Post:
http://comicsurvey.washpost.com/survey.cfm
and/or email: comics@washpost.com
and/or call: (202)334-4775


But you should check out the strip first, so you can comment on it, so go here:

http://www.comics.com/comics/knightlife/index.html

Thanks!! See you in New York!!

Labels: cartoon art museum, Glyph, new papers, New York

 
*I'M SITTING IN LAX AT THE MOMENT...
...watching minor celebrities walk by.

This pee-wee see-leb is on his way to New York and Philadelphia, for the Mocca Comics Fest and the AAN alternative weekly newspaper convention.

I hope folks can make it to the Puck Building this weekend, June 7/8 for one of the country's finest Indie comix fests. I'll have the new K chronicles collection in tow, some other books, bags, and original art, and a preview copy of my 500 page collection from Dark Horse (this sucka is HUGE!!)

Remember: Puck Building, NYC, this weekend!!

Lots more to come!!

Labels: MoCCA, NYC, the new K Chronicles collection

 
*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.


]{[^]}[
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

 
*NEW PAPERS FOR THE KNIGHT LIFE..

Folks!

My new daily comic strip, The Knight Life, is currently being tested at the following
newspapers:

The Washington Post in D.C.

The Contra Costa Times in Northern California

and the Sacramento Bee.

If you have a moment, please send these folks an email (or call!!) to give a thumbs up to
the strip. It would be most appreciated. The links are below.

The Wash, Post:
http://comicsurvey.washpost.com/survey.cfm
and/or email: comics@washpost.com
and/or call: (202)334-4775

Contra Costa Times:
cctcomics@bayareanewsgroup.com

Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/dyn/comments/standard/comments_separate.html?uri=http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/808707.html&o=d&ud=u&avatar=n&tie_to=808707&url_type=1&headline=New%20Comics%3A%20Tell%20us%20what%20you%20think

Haven't seen the strip yet?

http://www.knightlifecomic.com

Early copies of the 500-page K Chronicles Omnibus Collection just got back to Dark
Horse. I hear it looks spectacular. I'll have a copy to show at Mocca in New York in a
coupla weeks.

Thanks for your help!!

Keef
The K Chronicles: 2008 Glyph Award Winner for Best Comic Strip
Next signings: NEW YORK CITY- Mocca Comics Fest Sat./Sun. June 7/8
the 5th K Chronicles Collection: "I Left My Arse in San Francisco"
Available at http://www.kchronicles.com
Now running in a paper near you: "the Knight Life" Keef's New Daily!!

Labels: Knight Life daily, new papers

 
*R.I.P.-RORY ROOT..
Man..Some devastating news..The big Kahuna of Comic Relief, Rory Root, passed away yesterday after being in a coma for a few days.

Everyone in the indie comics industry knows what Rory meant to the world of comics. He welcomed and championed both mainstream and indie/underground comix work. He embraced my own stuff from the very beginning, selling my homemade zines and cassette tapes of my band in the back of the old location in the early 1990s (Comic Relief has always solds more of my books than any other store). He did this for everybody and he always had a minute to give advice and encouragement.

It's weird, because I had walked into Comic Relief just yesterday, at about 2pm. I didn't look at any books, I just stood at the front counter looking around the space, because the store was one of the things I missed most about living in the Bay Area. I didn't expect to see Rory, because he hadn't been in the shop the last few times I had been there. But I thought about him and the conversation we had at this year's Wondercon about the role of comix shops in the age of the internet (He never stopped schooling me).

He passed in the hospital two hours later.

Rory: You will be missed. But I'm sure you're scoutin' out some decent Indian Food places for when the rest of us join you.

Cheers,

Keef

 
*GREETINGS FROM THE WORLD'S WORST BLOGGER...
So I'm still trying to find out when my new daily, the Knight Life, will be launching in the Washington Post and the Boston Herald. I'll post it as soon as I find out.

Meanwhilst, it has started in the Detroit News and will be launching in Albany, New York, where I gave the worst interview of my life. I kept on talking about Detroit, then I realized two-thirds of the way through that I was talking to a reporter from Albany.

Wanna get away?

The posters are slugging it out on the Sacramento Bee's forum about the strip. If you want to put in a good word, head on over to the site by clicking here.

*I'LL BE IN SANTA ROSA AND SAN FRANCISCO THIS WEEKEND!!
Doing the artist in residence thing at the great Schulz Museum on Sunday May 18th from 1-3pm. I'll be drawing and signing copies of my new K Chronicles collection, I Left My Arse in San Francisco.

My Arse will be in San Francisco, Tuesday May 20th at Intersection for the Arts. It'll be a graphic novel panel sponsored by the JCCSF and will feature Miriam Libicki, Ariel Schrag, Jaime Cortez and yours truly. Slideshow and panel starts at 7pm.

Attend both and win a prize!!

*LETTERS/EMAILS OF THE WEEK..

When I flipped to the comic section this morning I
nearly flipped out in surprise. They are test-running
your strip in our paper!

I've followed your strip on Salon, bought all the
K-Chronicle books and am gearing up to get the latest
one. I sincerely hope your new strip will catch on
with the readership... tho fearfully I suspect
Sacramentans are "Garfield" people. But I went
straight to the paper's web forums to post my props,
and saw a whole bunch of others voting "yes" for
Knight Life in 08! Here's hoping!

Also, congrats on the Solo Show @ Cartoon Art. Totally
swinging down there in June to support your work.

L. aka C.

Hi Keef,

I am stoked to open my Sac Bee and see you in the pages. Congratulations! I wore my Keef on the Throne t-shirt today as a sign of support, and I will tell the Bee that this is the most brilliant strip I have ever read and will cancel my subscription if they don't pick you up for good -- even if you left SF for LA.

It's got to be tough to break into the daily paper. Some of your work that are my favorites deal with some of the less than family friendly topics. But don't forget the politics. And we love our babies; do you have your own little diaper soiler yet?

Best of luck to you, and hoping to see you every day,

m.

K,

"Once upon a time in the play ground"

You should win a Pulitzer Prize for that one!
I am behind the curve, I should have said these years ago!

Much Love for what you do,

A.

(going waaay back for that one. before the war started.-kk)

Keef,
I've been a fan of yours for some time, reading your work on
Salon.com. When I saw "The Knight Life" in the pull-down on
comics.com, I was expecting... well, some sort of midieval
Wizard-of-Id thing. Figured I'd check it out. Didn't even have to
see the byline to know that I would now be seeing daily goodness from
you.

(Adds to bookmarks)

I must admit, though, that I am DYING to see how far you push the rules of
syndication.

Rock on, man.

--C.

(i'm dying to see how far I can push it, too.-kk)

Labels: cheap-ass, email of the week, I left my Arse in San Francisco, intersection for the arts, letters of the week, Schulz museum

 
*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,