Product Description

The K Chronicles presents a strange and hilariously twisted view of the world through the eyes and pen of a (not so) young, urban, African American male. This fourth collection of Keith Knight's popular comic strip tackles the trials and troubles of an African American hipster living under the Bush junta. This potent and poignant blend of highbrow satire and lowbrow humor is drawn in a style reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes and underground comix. The Passion of the Keef introduces readers to Keith's wife, whom he secretly married at San Francisco City Hall for $99. Also new and notable is the inclusion of "Life's Little Victories." These depictions of small daily occurrences that make one quietly say "YES!" began as a one-shot strip, but quickly bloomed into a regular reader favorite.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1171103 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

funny and original
Keith Knight brings and unusual, original and funny brand of humor to his work and this is a well-needed thing in this time of cookie-cutter humor. His work is often political but he doesn't beat you over the head with his message. Keith's style is to show interesting events that have occurred that aren't necessarily all that unusual until you stop to think about what actually happened; kind of like a black Seinfeld in a way. A lot of his material is about his family, living in San Francisco and about his work as a cartoonist and his band. "The Passion of the Keef' follows events in his life as he progresses into later adulthood; being married, going bald, being recognized on the streets and the beginning of fame.

I enjoyed "The Passion of the Keef" and most of Keith's work because of his unique interpretation of life. For instance, when I usually hear about life in San Francisco most of it is about the food, gay parades or corny TV cop shows. The city is so much more than that. Keith's book actually gave me a small feel of what daily life might be like there, just a peek.

I am sure a few people have compared this to the "boondocks". I think they're apples and oranges but I can see a connection. They both make political statements but "The Passion of the Keef" is much broader in scope and not nearly as edgy, edgy meaning being potentially offensive to some or many but not better or worse. Keith's characters do less editorializing than the Boondocks they look at a situation and they're like "hey, this is messed up". While Boondocks characters say the same thing and start naming names and specific events. Each has its own place and both are great interpretations of often the same events.

The book itself is small; you could finish it in a day. The artwork is minimal but does a good job to convey the emotions of the characters and the situation they're in. It's more than worth the price; I just wish that he would come out with work more frequently.

I'd be homeless if it weren't for Keith Knight
"Look, darling, another check for $15!"
--Keith Knight.

==============
I'm not a rich guy. I'm pretty poor. But I'm rich in other ways, and I love my life.

One of the ways I'm rich is that I get very cool mail from very cool people. Today I got a signed copy of "The Passion of the Keef" in the mail from Keith.
Made my friggin' week.

My gal and I sat and read the book together and laughed our toushies off.

By the way, I make a living writing because of Keith.
I originally gave away all I'd learned about filmmaking at the time from making my film "DIY or DIE: How To Survive as an Independent Artist" on a website called "99-cent film school".
I had a Word document and let people download it free.
I had a paypal icon and encouraged them to tip me 99 cents.
2000 people downloaded it, and not one person tipped me 99 cents.

Then I remembered what Keith said when I interviewed him in DIY or DIE, that "People don't appreciate stuff they get for free." (He was talking about how he used to give his self-published comics away free, before he had a publisher.)

That's when I learned to write a proposal, and wrote one for $30 Film School.

I've since put out six books.
$30 Film School sold 20,000 copies and the second edition just came out.

I'm not rich, I make about what you'd make managing a record store. But I work at home doing stuff I love.
And it's all Keith Knight's fault.

By the way, the first time I ever met Keith, he was at a Fugazi concert in a park in San Francisco, wearing a sandwich board promoting his book "Dances With Sheep." He had a blow up love doll sheep under his arm. I said to myself, "I've GOT to go over and meet this guy."

Wish the ol' Stars and Stripes paper would carry this
"Keef" is my kind of guy. He's almost completely tactless and passionate and makes me laugh at things that would normally anger me. His ability to not difuse but certainly make light of the sad state of affairs for Americans like myself is always welcome. He's raw but valid and in these days of rampant caution he's a breath of good stinky air. That is a very good thing! Rather than dance around the issues in some clever way he, instead, fully engages the same concerns and ironies that spatter my life with inane stupidty. I've come to rely on his wit and candor and since I live abroad his collections are the only means I have to appreciate his cunning and caustic sense of humor. To top it off his observations are infectious. It's hard for me to put his book down. If you like your humor in the same vein as the "Simpsons" and "Boondocks" then this is the book for you. Seriously, Kieth Knight makes me look forward to his future collections. There is always a good dose of belly laughs and this collection may be his best one yet!