Denis Kitchen
Encyclopedia
Denis Kitchen is an American
underground
cartoonist
, publisher, author, and agent from Wisconsin
, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
.
, Racine
, where he cofounded and edited Klepto, an unofficial school paper, also contributing stories and illustrations to the paper. He continued this interest at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where in 1967 he cofounded and served as art director for the humor magazine Snide, also supplying cartoons.
and cartoons in the magazine Mom’s Homemade Comics, inspired in part by Bijou Funnies and Zap Comix
. The selling out of the 4000 print run inspired him further, and in 1970 he founded Kitchen Sink Press
(initially as an artists' cooperative) and launched the underground newspaper The Bugle-American, with Jim Mitchell
and others. Under the name of the Krupp Syndicate, he syndicated comic strips to almost 50 other underground and college newspapers. In addition to the Milwaukee artists like himself, Mitchell, Bruce Walthers
, Don Glassford and Wendel Pugh, Kitchen began to publish works by such cartoonists as Howard Cruse
, Trina Robbins
and S. Clay Wilson
, and he soon expanded his operations, launching Krupp Comic Works, a parent organization into which he placed ownership of Kitchen Sink Press and through which he also launched such diverse ventures as a record company and a commercial art studio.
occurred in 1986, after comic store manager Michael Correa was charged
with possession and sale of obscene material. Since two of the works cited in the case as obscene were published by Kitchen Sink Press, Kitchen felt some responsibility for Correa's predicament, and so he set about raising funds for the defense of Correa, who saw his conviction overturned on appeal
. Kitchen used surplus funds to incorporate the fund as a non-profit
charitable organization in 1990. Kitchen served as the fund's president from its inception until 2004, noting on his retirement from the board that "The challenges facing comics are different from when I founded the Fund ... I think it's fitting that the generation directly facing these challenges ... should be the ones standing up to them."
and Harvey Kurtzman
amongst others through his company Denis Kitchen Art Agency. He is also a partner with Judith Hansen in Kitchen & Hansen Agency, LLC, which serves as a literary agency
for Will Eisner's estate.
On June 10, 2006 at the Mocca Art Festival
in NYC, Kitchen announced the formation of a new company with partner, book designer John Lind. Their company Kitchen, Lind & Associates serves a dual role as agency and book packager.
Kitchen is also working with Boom! Studios
to release old Kitchen Sink Press titles as part of the company's imprint called Boom! Town.
He is also releasing The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen through Dark Horse
, a collection of his art and reminiscences of his time in the comics industry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
underground
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, publisher, author, and agent from Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a United States non-profit organization created in 1986 to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses....
.
Early life
Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending William Horlick High SchoolWilliam Horlick High School
William Horlick High School is a comprehensive public four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students. The school opened to students in 1928, after William Horlick, the original patent holder for malted milk, donated the land the school was built on...
, Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
, where he cofounded and edited Klepto, an unofficial school paper, also contributing stories and illustrations to the paper. He continued this interest at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where in 1967 he cofounded and served as art director for the humor magazine Snide, also supplying cartoons.
Publishing beginnings
In 1969 Kitchen decided to self publish his comicsComics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and cartoons in the magazine Mom’s Homemade Comics, inspired in part by Bijou Funnies and Zap Comix
Zap Comix
Zap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
. The selling out of the 4000 print run inspired him further, and in 1970 he founded Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...
(initially as an artists' cooperative) and launched the underground newspaper The Bugle-American, with Jim Mitchell
Jim Mitchell (cartoonist)
Jim Mitchell is an American underground cartoonist from Milwaukee. Mitchell was part of the late-1960s/early-1970s Milwaukee underground comix scene and a co-founder of the Krupp Comics/Kitchen Sink group .In the early 1970s, Mitchell regularly created strips for the underground newspaper...
and others. Under the name of the Krupp Syndicate, he syndicated comic strips to almost 50 other underground and college newspapers. In addition to the Milwaukee artists like himself, Mitchell, Bruce Walthers
Bruce Walthers
Bruce Walthers von Alten is an American underground cartoonist. Also known as Bruce von Alten, Walthers was part of the late-1960s/early-1970s Milwaukee underground comix scene and a member of the Krupp Comics/Kitchen Sink group, which also included Denis Kitchen, Jim Mitchell, Don Glassford and...
, Don Glassford and Wendel Pugh, Kitchen began to publish works by such cartoonists as Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse is an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics.Cruse was raised in Springville, Alabama, the son of a preacher and a homemaker. His earliest published cartoons were in The Baptist Student when he was in high school. His work later appeared...
, Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
and S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson
S. Clay Wilson is an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix,...
, and he soon expanded his operations, launching Krupp Comic Works, a parent organization into which he placed ownership of Kitchen Sink Press and through which he also launched such diverse ventures as a record company and a commercial art studio.
Funding defenses
Kitchen's founding of the Comic Book Legal Defense FundComic Book Legal Defense Fund
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a United States non-profit organization created in 1986 to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses....
occurred in 1986, after comic store manager Michael Correa was charged
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
with possession and sale of obscene material. Since two of the works cited in the case as obscene were published by Kitchen Sink Press, Kitchen felt some responsibility for Correa's predicament, and so he set about raising funds for the defense of Correa, who saw his conviction overturned on appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
. Kitchen used surplus funds to incorporate the fund as a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
charitable organization in 1990. Kitchen served as the fund's president from its inception until 2004, noting on his retirement from the board that "The challenges facing comics are different from when I founded the Fund ... I think it's fitting that the generation directly facing these challenges ... should be the ones standing up to them."
After the press
Although Kitchen Sink Press collapsed in 1999, subsequent ventures have seen Kitchen establish himself as an art agent, handling the estates of both Will EisnerWill Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
and Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
amongst others through his company Denis Kitchen Art Agency. He is also a partner with Judith Hansen in Kitchen & Hansen Agency, LLC, which serves as a literary agency
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
for Will Eisner's estate.
On June 10, 2006 at the Mocca Art Festival
MoCCA Art Festival
The MoCCA Art Festival is an independent comics showcase that typically includes artist booths, slide shows, and educational panels. It was created by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in 2002 by bringing together over 2,000 artists, publishers, editors and enthusiasts.-History:The MoCCA Art...
in NYC, Kitchen announced the formation of a new company with partner, book designer John Lind. Their company Kitchen, Lind & Associates serves a dual role as agency and book packager.
Kitchen is also working with Boom! Studios
Boom! Studios
BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....
to release old Kitchen Sink Press titles as part of the company's imprint called Boom! Town.
He is also releasing The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen through Dark Horse
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, a collection of his art and reminiscences of his time in the comics industry.
Sources
- Dooley, Michael. "The Unsinkable Denis Kitchen" AIGA Voice August 24, 2005
- The Denis Kitchen interview Accessed January 19, 2006