''The K Chronicles'' is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

weekly

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

by the independent cartoonist Keith Knight that has been produced since the early 1990s. Knight is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

artist whose comics often explore themes relevant to his racial heritage, as well as current events, both personal to Knight and general to the world.

Publication history

Until February 2010 ''The K Chronicles'' was updated every Wednesday at

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

. The strip previously appeared in the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

''.

Story and characters

Keith "Keef" Knight — The cartoonist and protagonist. The strip centers mainly around his life. Kerstin Konietzka-Knight — Keith's German-born wife.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

— Keith mercilessly lampooned the 43rd President of the United States and his administration. In many strips, Bush is shown as a child, or having the mind of one, as shown by his tiny size and frequent childish giggling.

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

— In contrast to Bush, Vice President Cheney appears in the strip as a sort of evil mastermind (for example, after the real-life shooting of Harry Whittington, Cheney appears and after hearing a witness say that what he did was illegal, boasts that he has already done so many illegal things, such as fixing the 2000 election, without being punished, that he is confident that he will escape penalty again). He also makes an appearance in an installment entitled "People Who Can't Be Trusted", where he is placed on the list along with people who put cats on leashes, people who have never seen ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', and others. God — Depicted in ''The K Chronicles'' as a

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The b ...

. In one ''K Chronicles Collection'', "The Passion of the Keef", God appears to deliver the introduction, in which he reveals that ''The K Chronicles'' are among his favorite reading material. He also shows up at other times in the strip, such as to visit and hang out with Keith. Evil Twin — Keith's twin sister. Gunther — Ex-roommate and drinking buddy.

Special features

''Life's Little Victories'' — A frequently occurring feature of ''The K Chronicles'' in which Knight lists the small victories of everyday life, such as "Running into a movie theater and making sitting down just as the lights are fading", or "Having just enough ingredients to make a fresh bowl of guacamole!" Sometimes the feature has a special theme, such as the "foreign version" which takes place when Keith is visiting his in-laws in Germany, and the "on crutches" version, taking place when Keith was on crutches for two months after tearing his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

In other media

In November 2018 it was announced that

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

would be producing a half-hour

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

, titled ''

Woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...

'', based on ''The K Chronicles'' and events from Knight's life. The show will be co-written by Knight; actor

Lamorne Morris Lamorne Morris (born August 14, 1983) is an American actor, comedian and television personality. He is known for roles such as Winston Bishop in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011-2018), Darrin Morris in the National Geographic docudrama ''Vall ...

will be playing Knight.

Awards

In 2007, ''The K Chronicles'' won the Harvey Kurtzman Award for Best Syndicated Comic Strip. The other nominees were ''Antiques: The Comic Strip'', ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States The president ...

'', ''

Maakies ''Maakies'' is a comic strip by Tony Millionaire. It began publication in February 1994 in the ''New York Press''. It has previously run in many American alternative newsweeklies including '' The Stranger'', ''LA Weekly'' and ''Only''. It has a ...

'' and '' Mutts''. ''The K Chronicles'' has won "Best Comic Strip" three times in the

Glyph Comics Awards The Glyph Comics Awards is for the best comics made by people of color from the last calendar year. The goal is to award the People of Color for their awesome work in the comics industry and also to inspire young writers from diverse backgrounds t ...

, in 2006,Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community: The 2006 Glyph Awards winners
/ref> 2007 and 2008.

Collections

*''Dances with Sheep: A K Chronicles Compendium'' (1997,

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It was ...

). *''Fear of a Black Marker: Another K Chronicles Compendium'' (2000, Manic D Press). *''The 'K' Chronicles: What a Long Strange Strip It's Been'' (2002,

Top Shelf Productions Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia. Top Shelf pub ...

). *''The Passion of the Keef: The Fourth K Chronicles Compendium'' (2005, Manic D Press). *''The Complete K Chronicles'' — compilation of the first four ''K Chronicles'' books (2008,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

). *''The 5th K Chronicles Compendium: I Left My Arse in San Francisco'' (2008, Keith Knight Press) * ''The K Chronicles: The Incredible Cuteness of Being'' (2012, Keith Knight Press). * ''Go East, Young Fam!: K Chronicles #7'' (2016, Keith Knight Press).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:K Chronicles, The African-Americans in comic strips African-American comics American comic strips Comic strips set in the United States Comic strips started in the 1990s Non-fiction comic strips Comics about politics Satirical comics Autobiographical comics Cultural depictions of George W. Bush Cultural depictions of Dick Cheney