K is for Knight in Shining Humor

This summer, Dark Horse Comics will release a collection of rapper/cartoonist Keith Knight's Harvey Award-winning, semi-autobiographical comic strip, The K Chronicles, presented for the first time in a comprehensive omnibus edition. An unabashedly provocative mix of political and social satire, The K Chronicles tackles such touchy subjects as racism, violence, and sex with a self-deprecating sense of humor, personal honesty and light-hearted goofiness rarely found in a newspaper comic strip. The result is accessible yet subversive, compassionate and sardonic, without being preachy. Currently out of print or rare to find, the first four volumes of The K Chronicles—Dances with Sheep, What a Long Strange Strip it's Been, The Passion of the Keef, and Fear of Black Marker—are in high demand. The Complete K Chronicles will collect these four books in a larger format—keeping closer to Keith's original vision for the work.

“Folks have been clamoring for this collection ever since my books went out of print,” says Knight “The fact that one of the best publishers in the business is doing it is the cat's bottom. Black Knight + Dark Horse: It makes so much sense.”

Keith Knight is part of a new generation of talented young African-American artists who infuse their work with urgency, edge, humor, satire, politics and race. His drawing style is fluid and dynamic—evoking the spirit of Calvin and Hobbes—and his great strength is the deftness of his wide-ranging wit—simultaneously wild and jovial, clever and conscious. His art has appeared in various publications worldwide, including Salon.com, ESPN the Magazine, L.A. Weekly, MAD Magazine, The Funny Times and World War 3 Illustrated. Knight also won the 2007 Harvey Award and the 2006 & 2007 Glyph Awards for Best Comic Strip. Three of his comix were the basis of an award-winning live-action short film, Jetzt Kommt Ein Karton, in Germany.

Keith Knight's comic art has appeared in museums and galleries from San Francisco (CA) to Angoulême (France).

The Complete K Chronicles hits the streets on July 23, 2008.