Cartoonists With Attitude

*EMAIL OF TH E WEEK..




Dear Keith,




From the first time I found your book “Dances with Sheep” tucked away in the corner of Half Price books at age 12, your comics have made my day all these years. Your one of the few adults I find inspirational these days, and you also got me into real music(read: Eric B. and Rakim, Heiroglyphics, Public Enemy, Arrested Development) and your sense of humor and respect for other cultures has pushed me to make traveling across Europe a life long dream. I just thought you should know that your work speaks out to kids of all ages, and of all walks of life. Hopefully, if you get a chance to read this it will make your day better, just like your work has done for me.




peace,




H. from Richmond




(Letter’s like above make it all worth it!! -kk)




*EXTRA!! EXTRA!! (TH)INK TO BEGIN IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE THIS WEEK!!

Look for it in the 96 Hours section that comes out on Thursdays. Woo-Hoo!! Back in a local daily.

Now when is the Bay Guardian going to pick up the K Chronicles?

*THE INFAMOUS “BACON STRIP”..

The strip I did about bacon a few weeks back really struck a chord…I haven’t received this many disturbing emails in a very long time. Read on..




>Seeing your bacon strip (get it, HA!) I was reminded of my signature

beverage which I used to make at the Diner I worked at.




My Bacon Maple Milk Shake!




I’d take 3 crisp pieces of bacon, add pure maple syrup, and a combination of ice cream and milk. Blended up for just a few seconds or so, so that the bacon is still in decent sized pieces, it makes for a wonderful creation. The idea was born once I accidentally spilled syrup on my bacon during breakfast. Sooo good.




But, unfortunately, it sounds a bit odd, and won’t do much to turn vegetarians back to their meat eating ways.




Keep up the excellent work, as always,

L.




>Keith,



I’m a big fan, just read your latest in Salon and I had to throw something delectable your way. Not to make the porcine temptation worse but you gotta try this appetizer/garnish/side dish/manna from effin’ heaven. Dice up a fresh pineapple, wrap each chunk in a half slice of bacon, skewer, and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I’ve been doing this a couple times a week for the past few and it’s so friggin good I don’t care that my heart is gonna burst out of my chest any second.



If you’re ever in Seattle come by my winery. If the above recipe doesn’t roll your eyes back I’ll give you a big bottle o’ hooch.



D.




>Weird that after years of reading tKC, the strip that moves me to write is the bacon one. You are very talented and I look forward to Wednesdays because of your strip. Thank you.



I just wanted to tell you my bacon story.



We did a killer party a while back — the Cork-n-Pork. We paired red wines with several different kinds of bacon. It was the best party I have ever hosted. We even had a vegetarian conversion — he brought veggie bacon (shudder) and had to take most of it home with him. And he ate about a pound of the real stuff.



We found that Zin is the best wine to pair with smoked bacon, and Shiraz is best with maple.



I’m putting you on the list for the next one!



>You forgot to mention that bacon is kosher. My friend G.’s dad, a very conservative Jew, makes matzobrei with bacon.




-C.







>Reading your comic reminded me of a true story from Germany:




My wife and I lived for a while in Germany. My wife, Susan, is vegetarian, which was somewhat difficult there. Anyway, we were at little festival and it was lunchtime. Looking at the food booths, the only possibility other than french fries was Schupfnudeln (which is a sort of potato dumpling cooked with sauerkraut). So we asked the cook if the schupfnudeln were made with meat (Ist das mit Fleisch gekocht?– excuse our lousy German). He said, “no.” To be sure, we made sure there was no meat (Das hat kein Fleisch? — “no meat” — Das ist ohne Fleisch? — “yes”). You get the idea. The guy thought we were insance. So Susan orders some and I get something else (I’m an omnivore).



When she starts eating, she gets this funny look on her face. She gives me a forkful of something, asking me to taste it. “Yumm, bacon!” She was a bit annoyed, since we had asked about the food. Our neighbor was sitting across from us and he said (with absolute conviction), “But bacon is not meat (Speck ist kein Fleisch).” We were blown away.



The problem turned out to be our poorly worded question and a subtlety that the dictionary doesn’t teach. The German word for meat, Fleisch, really means something more like a steak or a chunk of what is easily identifiable as coming from such. So bacon is not meat. Neither is sausage. You get the picture.



For all of you traveling vegetarians, the right question is “is that vegetarian?” (Ist das vegetarische?).



J.




>Screw you man. I just read yer strip about bacon and now you got me all hungry. Bacon definitely is the best of all foods. I couldn’t live if I never had bacon again. It’s so good, I think I’ll marry it once I turn 18. In fact, one time (as I’m proud to say) I made the food of the gods– Chocolate bacon. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you for this week’s strip, it will not soon be forgotten.




(Yikes!! I was also given a “link” to the “Bacon of the Month Club”!! Who knew? kk)

*OH..AND CATCH ME THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AT 111 MINNA ST. IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR..

..some live drawing with a bunch of other local artists. Come on by and I’ll be creating pieces right before your very eyes!! Then you give me money and take them home.




I’ll be getting there a bit late.. I think it starts at 6pm. I’ll be there from 7:30-9pm.

*EAST COAST TOUR WRAP-UP…

Man..It was only a coupla gigs but quite the adventure…




The Wifey and I flew into JFK in NYC, rented a car and drove up to Boston…just beating the rain by minutes. And after a whirlwind day and a half of visiting family I headed to Harvard Square for a signing at Million Year Picnic on Thurs. June 8th.




Million Year Picnic is my favorite comic book shop in the Boston area. It’s tiny, but chock full of good stuff and they always have a butt-load of my krappe for sale. Plus they had these great, homemade posters announcing my signing. ( I love when other folks draw my stuff for posters..They always have that “bootleg” quality about them).




The first person I recognized when I was approaching the shop was my little cousin Lee who I had not seen in years. She’s twenty and in college and suddenly I aged about ten years. It was cool to see her, but then she disappeared!! Lee: What happened? Email yer cousin!!




It was a nice steady stream right from the beginning. Folks who read my strip in the Dig, or Salon.com, or the Funny Times came through. A guy who came to my comics class at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco came through. And then all my college, high school, and ex-bandmates started to come through. It was great!!




But the biggest surprise was Lisa D., who I’ve known since KINDERGARTEN!! She stopped in. Folks, this was my first “girlfriend” (not in kindergarten). It was great to see her and introduce her to the Wifey.




After the signing, we went over to Shay’s Pub and got blotto. T’was a great time as always. Big ups to Million Year Tony for always coming through with a great event.




The next day, we headed back to NYC, but we stopped just outside of New Haven, Conn. to catch the first match of the World Cup, which featured the Wifey’s home team of Germany playing the first match. We rushed into the bar of a Holiday Inn and I asked the hostess if we could sit in the booth that was right in front of the big screen TV. She said, “You’re not the couple who gets busy in the booth every time they come here, are ya?” Ha!! Good stuff!!




After the German win, we rolled into NYC, dropped off our stuff at my bud Jamie’s (owner of the apt. 6 flights up featured in a past K Chronicles strip). We got rid of the car and picked up our MOCCA fest passes.




The MOCCA-fest kicked some serious bottom. I guess my work is getting around a bit more in NYC, cuz a lot of folks came by. The biggest surprise was selling out all of my copies of “the Beginner’s Guide to Community-Based Arts” It’s a $20 book, so I didn’t expect folks who generally drop $3-$5 a comic to pick up there serious book…but I was oh-so-wrong. I’m gonna be bringing a butt-load to San Diego so folks who missed out late Sat. and Sun can go home with a copy next month.




Anyhoo..It was great to see all the East Coast peeps and have a few beers with ‘em. A party highlight occured at the Fantagraphics party, where the Wifey and I took out team (Brett) Warnock on the Foosball table in the bar. The Ghana win over the Czech Republic was the only World Cup game that came close to matching the intensity and fervor we displayed that fateful evening.




Also whilst in New York, I had a chance to hook up with the folks at ESPN the magazine to watch the U.S. get they’re ass handed to them in their first World Cup match. It was neat to scurry around the offices of the magazine. Shout-outs to Gary B. and Brendan O. for taking me out to lunch on Disney’s dime..




I also hit the brand-spanking new offices of Mad Magazine. Since I am now a *ahem* regular contributor to the magazine, they let me draw on the wall my Mad characters Father O’Flannity, Choir-boy Timmy, and a brand-new character coming soon called “the Bully-Baby”. (I swear they sanctioned the wall drawing, I swear!!) Shout outs to Jon B., Sam V. and Ryan F.




And to finish it off, I met up with my old editor from Africana.com, Ken G., who now works for A.O.L./Black Voices. We met for coffee and he spun delightful tales of New York City parties and tasty hip-hop gossip. It was good to see him, and who knows? Mebbe we’ll be working together again soon…




After the usual consumption of have-to-have East Coast type of foods (you know by now what they are) and shopping (always buy clothes in cities you’re visiting, only buy sox and undies at home), we boarded a JetBlue flight home. (Cable T.V…Whee!!) Flying Jetblue cross country is the only time you can ever sit next to your spouse and not talk to them for six hours straight.




Oh..But I did manage to leave my booth display stuff on the platform in the Subway at E.4th St. When we arrivewd home, there was message from “Tony” saying he had my bag. Ha!!




*I’M OFF TO NEW ORLEANS ON WEDS…

Hope you Crescent City folks are able to read my interview in the current issue of Anti-Gravity magazine.. I also did the cover.

Remember: World-Famous slideshow this Friday at Handsome Willy’s!




Stay posted!! I’ve got a coupla things brewing for late August and it’s gonna be wild!!




Cheers!!




Keef

*FROM FCC COMMISH MICHAEL COPPS:




“The more I grasp the pervasive influence of media on our children, the more I worry about the media literacy gap in our nation’s educational curriculum. We need a sustained K-12 media literacy program—something to teach kids not only how to use the media but how the media uses them. Kids need to know how particular messages get crafted and why, what devices are used to hold their attention and what ideas are left out. In a culture where media is pervasive and invasive, kids need to think critically about what they see, hear and read. No child’s education can be complete without this.”




(Wow! There’s someone with a brain appointed by the Bushies!!-kk)

*NEW YORK POST…




Hey, kiddies…I’m writing from my bud Jamie’s apt. on the sixth floor of a tenement in the East Village. (I did a strip about it last year..no elevator/shower in the closet!!) It’s been a good Mocca..Sold outta most books and met a lotta great peeps. Saw a lotta folks I only get to see in New York City. (Fly, Kuper, Speigelman, Rall, Bordeaux, Tomine, Bell, etc..) Eating a lot of great food and kicking ass in bar foosball…




I just wanted to say that my bacon strip this week has really struck a chord with a lot of folks…and I am quite disturbed by it. I will post some of the messages upon return to the Bay Area.




Enjoy the World Cup, y’all. Drink up!

*YES!! THE K CHRONICLES NOMINATED FOR A HARVEY AWARD FOR BEST COMIC STRIP..




FROM WEBMASTER ROBBY GEE:




Kongrats K!




Never heard of the Harvey Awards, but if they nominated you, they must be cool!




Web site: http://www.harveyawards.org/




Note that “comics professionals” can vote on who wins.

Ballot: http://www.harveyawards.org/2006ballot/harvballot_fin1.pdf

or

http://www.harveyawards.org/2006ballot/Harvey_2006_finbal1.doc




I wonder if reading comic strips makes me a “comics professional”….




R.




(The Harvey’s are named after the great Harvey Kurtzman..A great Mad magazine and Playboy cartoonist..-kk)




IF YOU’RE IN THE INDUSTRY, VOTE VOTE VOTE FER ME!!




*I’M OFF TO THE EAST COAST THIS WEEK…

For a signing in Cambridge Mass at Million Year Picnic on Thursday at 6:30pm. Come on by…It’s gonna be an odd combination of family, friends, classmates (college and high school), former girlfriends, and people I still owe money to…




Also, I’ll be in New York for the annual Mocca Festival. Should be a great time. And I’m sure I’ll be hanging out with New York tooners like Mikhaela Reid and Ted Rall…




*EMAIL OF THE WEEK..

(RE:G.W. Cheerleading cartoon)

Just caught it in the Funny Times. Genius. Fantfuckingtabulous. Love it. It so perfectly captures the last few sorry years.




Love ya




M.P.

Pittsburgh




Speaking of M.P. The Marginal Prophets are setting up some gigs for the first time in a while..So if you ain’t ever seen my band..git ready..




Ciao!!




Keef