Cartoonist, writer, editor, publisher and entrepreneur DENIS KITCHEN began his career early, writing, drawing, self-publishing and hawking an irreverent mimeozine called Kleptomaniac while still in grade school, continuing it as Klepto into his high school years in Racine WI. The experience proved addictive. At the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee in 1967, he co-founded the campus' 1st humor magazine, Snide, and drew a weekly strip for the UWM Post while majoring in journalism. After graduation and a very brief army stint, his professional cartooning career began in 1968 when he created and self-published Mom's Homemade Comix #1 as a starving cartoonist during the tumult of the counterculture. The publication of Mom's #1 coincided with the birth of the underground comix movement.

The surprising commercial success of his first comic led in 1969 to Kitchen's formation of Krupp Comic Works, Inc. in Milwaukee, which soon developed into a small hippie "empire" encompassing: Kitchen Sink Press, the long-running comix publishing imprint; Strickly Uppa Crust, a local head shop; The Cartoon Factory, an offbeat commercial art studio; Ordinary Records; Krupp Mail Order and Krupp Distribution. He separately co-founded The Bugle-American (later simply The Bugle), a Wisconsin-based alternative weekly newspaper that lasted seven years (1970-77). In 1976 he also co-founded The Fox River Patriot, a weekly alternative rural newspaper he parted with in 1980. For both newspapers he regularly contributed color covers, comic strips, illustrations and ads. But Kitchen's primary focus over more than three decades has been publishing comic books, graphic novels and related items, first as Kitchen Sink Press and now simply as Denis Kitchen Publishing.

KITCHEN AS ARTIST:

Denis Kitchen's own comics have appeared in anthologies such as Blab! #8, Twist #2, Bijou Funnies #8, Consumer Comix, Mom's Homemade Comics #1-3, Mondo Snarfo, Arcade #3, The Spirit Jam and the 2001 Dark Horse Maverick Anthology. He has contributed covers and stories to various issues of Snarf, Dope Comix, Bizarre Sex, Energy Comics, Weird Trips, Great Marijuana Debate, The Badger, Spirit Magazine, Nard n' Pat, Alcohomics and Comix Book. He created many covers for the Krupp Mail Order Catalog; an album cover for the late Jim Spencer's Major Arcana; numerous covers, column logos, ads and strips for The Bugle-American and The Fox River Patriot; comix and illustrations for several issues of The Milwaukee Journal's Insight magazine; and strips for national magazines such as Head, High Times, and Playboy. One-man shows have been held at galleries at the University of Wisconsin--Oshkosh (twice) and Ripon College and individual drawings have been exhibited in aggregate shows. Kitchen's Steve Krupp Serigraph and Major Arcana 3-D Print (claiming the most levels --50-- of any analgyphic art image), are both available from this web store, as are some of the comics and tabloids mentioned here (just enter Denis Kitchen in the search bar).

Kitchen's recent 6-page comic, called "My 5 Minutes with God" (which he insists is a true story), can be viewed free at this link...

http://www.deniskitchen.com/denis/p1.html

His long-promised collection, called The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen, is forthcoming from Dark Horse Comics, possibly in 2007 (assuming he finishes the cover in time).

KITCHEN AS PUBLISHER (Kitchen Sink Press):

For thirty years (1969-1999) Kitchen published a variety of classic, underground and mainstream creators alike. Among the highlights: WILL EISNER (twenty graphic novels, including A Contract with God and A Life Force; over 140 Spirit comics, magazines and books, and Will Eisner's Quarterly) plus serigraphs and assorted merchandise.... HARVEY KURTZMAN (Jungle Book, Hey Look!, Harvey Kurtzman's History of Comics From Aargh to Zap!, Goodman Beaver (with Will Elder), Betsy's Buddies and others... MILTON CANIFF (Male Call, two volumes of Terry & the Pirates and twenty-four volumes of Steve Canyon)... AL CAPP (twenty-seven volumes of complete Li'l Abner dailies (1934-1961) in hard and softcover and two volumes of Fearless Fosdick)... GEORGE HERRIMAN (two volumes of Krazy Kat)... R. CRUMB (The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book, Kafka, Carload o' Comics, Waiting For Food; many underground comix including Mr. Natural, XYZ, People's and Homegrown Funnies; the "Short History of America" poster and serigraph, Zap serigraph, and a variety of merchandise including the "Tommy Toilet" poster, Mr. Natural vinyl doll and Devil Girl Choco-Bars)... JACK JACKSON, a.k.a. JAXON (Secret of San Saba, Lost Cause)... R. F. OUTCAULT ( the definitive Yellow Kid collection)... SCOTT McCLOUD (Understanding Comics and three volumes of Zot!)... V. T. HAMLIN (three volumes of Alley Oop)... ALEX RAYMOND (six volumes of Flash Gordon color Sundays plus Secret Agent X-9)... DAVE McKEAN (Violent Cases with Neil Gaiman, and ten issues of Cages plus the deluxe compilation)... ART SPIEGELMAN (various undergrounds including Sleazy Scandals of the Silver Screen, Snarf and Bizarre Sex)... CLIFF STERRETT (two volumes of Polly & Her Pals)... RICHARD CORBEN (Fever Dreams and contributions to Bizarre Sex, Snarf and Death Rattle)... REED WALLER & KATE WORLEY (over twenty comix and five collections of Omaha the Cat Dancer)... JAMES VANCE & DAN BURR (Kings in Disguise and others)...

MARK SCHULTZ (fourteen issues of Xenozoic Tales/Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, three collections, and the animated C&D TV show movie deal/merchandise licensing)... ERNIE BUSHMILLER (five volumes of Nancy & Sluggo collections)... BILL SIENKIEWICZ (Voodoo Child)... ALAN MOORE & EDDIE CAMPBELL (11 issues of From Hell and the movie deal)... HOWARD CRUSE (Gay Comix series, Barefootz #1-3, Wendel, Dancin' Nekkid with the Angels and various undergrounds)... FRANK FRAZETTA (Small Wonders, Pillow Book, Li'l Abner)... JOE SHUSTER & JERRY SIEGEL (four volumes of Superman daily and Sunday strips co-published with DC)... BILL STOUT (numerous underground covers)... BOB KANE (four volumes of Batman daily and Sunday strips co-published with DC)... JOE MATT (Snarf ---his 1st appearance--- plus Peep Show)... RICHARD SALA (Hypnotic Tales, Black Cat Crossing and many undergrounds) and CHARLES BURNS (Curse of the Molemen, Blood Club, Modern Horror Sketchbook, Black Hole #1-4 and Death Rattle). Plus many, many others. Kitchen also published numerous anthologies including BLAB! #1-8, Snarf #1-15, Dope Comix #1-5, Bizarre Sex #1-10, Twist #1-3, Buzz #1-3, Twisted Sisters #1-3, Blue Loco, Wet Satin, Mona and others; plus strip histories such as the 2-volume boxed Comic Strip Century, additional comic books, magazines, graphic novels and related merchandise too extensive to list here. A 1994 illustrated history, Kitchen Sink Press: The First 25 Years by Dave Schreiner, provides the best primer to this era.

For post-Kitchen Sink Press publishing activities, see "Current Businesses" below.

AWARDS:

Kitchen Sink Press over the years received a disproportionate number of the comics industry's most prestigious Eisner and Harvey Awards and nominations, sometimes dominating the awards, despite a market share generally hovering around 1%. In 1989 Kitchen Sink Press led all publishers with 13 Eisner nominations, edging giant DC Comics, which had eleven. In 1993 Kitchen Sink won six Harveys, more than any other company (and won nearly 40% of the total awards given). In 1994 Kitchen Sink won five Harveys and two Eisners. The company won another five Eisners and Harveys combined in 1995. In 1997 Chris Staros (now heading Top Shelf Publications) surveyed the entire field of comics for his independent The Staros Report, cited numerous KSP publications for outstanding merit and concluded by presenting Kitchen with its first and only Best Publisher Award. Denis Kitchen has also received awards as an individual, including: a 1986 Inkpot Award for "Outstanding Acheivement in Comic Art"; a charter inductee into the Underground Comix Hall of Fame (1991); the Small Press Pioneer Award (1997) at the Diamond 4th Annual Gem Awards; a Special Harvey Award for "Leadership and Service" (2004); and the CBLDF's Defender of Liberty Award (2005).

VOLUNTEER WORK:

In 1986 Denis Kitchen founded the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation dedicated to defending the comic industry's First Amendment rights (http://www.cbldf.org) and served as its President for its first eighteen years (1986-2004). From 1999-2003 Kitchen chaired the Harvey Awards Committee, which oversees the annual industry award program for excellence ( http://www.harveyawards.org). From 2002 to 2005 Kitchen served on the Board of Advisers of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MOCCA) in New York City ( http://www.moccany.org). Since 2005 Kitchen also serves on the Board of Advisors for both the National Cartoon Museum ( http://www.cartoon.org/ ) and The Center for Cartoon Studies ( http://www.cartoonstudies.org ). He has served as the curator or co-curator of several art exhibitions, most notably "Harvey Kurtzman: Retrospective of a MAD Genius" (Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco, 1995); The "Harvey Kurtzman" exhibition at MoCCA, NYC, 2004; and the travelling "Will Eisner: A Retrospective" (MoCCA, Utah Valley State College and University of Massachusetts, 2005-2006). Kitchen is co-curating (with James Danky) the very first museum exhibition on "Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics to Comix," opening at the Chazen Museum of Art (Madison, WI) in April 2008.

CURRENT BUSINESSES:

Kitchen & Hansen Agency, LLC (Since 1999). Kitchen is a partner with Judith Hansen in this literary agency which represents several leading comic artists and writers (www.kitchenandhansen.com).

Denis Kitchen Publishing Co., LLC (Since 1999). Though nothing approaching the scale of Kitchen Sink Press (1969-99), Kitchen still publishes a small number of carefully chosen books, art prints and boxed trading cards each year under this new imprint. DKP published Will Eisner's final serigraph ("River of Crime"), books by Harvey Kurtzman (Grasshopper and the Ant), R. Crumb (Mr Natural Postcard Book and the Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats and Pioneers of Country Music cards), plus the Sketchbook Adventures of Peter Poplaski And DKP almost exclusively publishes books by that new cartooning sensation Alexa Kitchen, including Drawing Comics is Easy (Except When It's Hard). www.deniskitchenpublishing.com

Denis Kitchen Art Agency (Since 1990). D.K.A.A., a division of Denis Kitchen Publishing Co., LLC, exclusively sells original cartoon art and/or represents clients such as the Will Eisner estate, the Harvey Kurtzman estate, the Russell Keaton estate, Capp Enterprises, Inc., Peter Poplaski, Frank Stack, Kellie Strom and others. (www.deniskitchenartagency.com )

Steve Krupp's Gallery & Curio Shoppe (Since 1999). Also a division of Denis Kitchen Publishing Co., LLC. Steve Krupp and Stacey Kitchen operate this online cartoon art gallery and retail outlet for out-of-print and rare books, comics, posters, underground newspapers, buttons and related comics merchandise, most of which you'll find no where else, at www.deniskitchen.com where you are presumably reading this very text.

Cheesy Products, LLC (Since 2004). With partner Milton Griepp, Kitchen has resurrected the Devil Girl Hot Kisses hot cinnamon candy in decorative round tins designed by R. Crumb. Available from Steve Krupp's Gallery & Curio Shoppe or see www.cheesyproducts.com

Kitchen, Lind & Associates, LLC (Since 2005). Partner John Lind and Kitchen operate this new book packaging and artist representation entity which may also begin publishing books and limited edition art prints by leading talents in the graphic novel field. www.kitchenandlind.com

CURRENT & RECENT CREATIVE ACTIVITIES:

Aside from the businesses noted above, as a "book packager" Kitchen is assembling several projects. These include The Complete Shmoo (2 volumes) for Dark Horse Comics in 2007 followed by a definitive Trump collection (Harvey Kurtzman's noble, "slick" but ill-fated satire magazine for Hugh Hefner in 1957) and possibly a Nancy & Sluggo series. Kitchen earlier wrote the behind-the-scenes annotations and introductions and provided the source material for four earlier full-color volumes, Li'l Abner: The Frazetta Years. That Eisner Award nominated series collected for the 1st time the Sunday Abner strips (1954-1961) that Frank Frazetta penciled and/or inked with Al Capp. Kitchen contributed similar introductions and extensive annotations for Dark Horse's 2-volume Little Annie Fanny collections (Kurtzman & Elder). In 2005 Kitchen wrote "Man, I'm Beat!", an illustrated article about Kurtzman's difficult post-Trump freelance years, for Todd Hignite's fabulous Comic Art magazine. He also wrote and illustrated a piece about first meeting Will Eisner in Jon Cooke's Eisner tribute issue of Comic Book Artist. Kitchen is also working on at least three new Harvey Kurtzman-related projects, including The Unsyndicated Kurtzman for DKP and a long overdue Kurtzman coffee table book for a major publisher. Also in the works is a "secret" Ernie Bushmiller project, a book about Shmoo Collectibles and an eventual collection of his own work, The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen. Of course we'll believe the last one when we see it.

INTERESTING ARTICLES and INTERVIEWS ---LINKS:

The online publication of the American Institution of Graphic Arts (AIGA) featured a wide-ranging article by Michael Dooley (co-author of The Education of a Comics Artist) in August 2005. It's called "The Unsinkable Denis Kitchen".

An interview with Kitchen appeared in RiverWest Currents ("The Community Voice of Milwaukee's Left Bank") online and in print in July of 2003. Read it online here...

http://www.riverwestcurrents.org/2003/July/000771.html

In 2002, Editor Shannon Wheeler of Too Much Coffee Man magazine interviewed Denis about his alleged connections to the mysterious Bushmiller Society cult. Read the unexpurgated version here.

Publishers Weekly ran a piece on the debut of Kitchen, Lind & Associates and Alexa's new book in June 2006:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6343187.html

Milwaukee Magazine (July 2006) ran a piece on what DK did at the age of 30:

http://www.mkeonline.com/story.asp?id=1392728

Bob Andelman (author of Will Eisner: A Spirited Life) interviewed DK about Will Eisner in mid 2006: www.aspiritedlife.com/blog/

Defender of Liberty award on Newsarama 07/2005

FAMILY: Oldest daughter Sheena is a go-getter in the retail business in NYC, married to Gary who collects religious kitsch (no relation). Middle daughter Scarlet creates amazing one-of-a-kind funky jewelry. Littlest daugher Alexa (9) is a comic book prodigy with her own published books and web site http://www.alexakitchen.com . All our family websites were created by DK's ever-versatile (stunningly beautiful, thin, amazingly funny, and completely modest * * ) wife Stacey