Strip Search, Episode 32

Strip Search, Episode 32 — Keith Knight

Keith Knight, Gentleman Cartoonist.

All of the guests on the Strip Search podcast are superstars — but this month we've got a REALLY super superstar.

For our latest episode, cartoonist, activist and erstwhile Michael Jackson impersonator Keith Knight — the man behind the nationally syndicated comic strips “The Knight Life,” “The K Chronicles,” and “(Th)ink” — goes deep with us on his Hulu TV show “Woke,” his "Black Mug Shots" project, his honorary doctorate, and what’s next for his illustrious career.

Like the character based on him and his work in "Woke," Knight didn't necessarily start out as an activist cartoonist. But he found that the strips dealing with issues important to the Black community were the ones that resonated most.

“I guess I was putting a perspective in comics that you just never saw quite often, so I became ‘that guy,’” Knight told us. “And I don't mind being that guy, because I think telling my story is super important now.”

Listen or watch below to hear about all that and more, and see samples of Keith's latest work from his website below. (Or read highlights from the interview at Boston.com.) And as if that weren't enough, at the start of the podcast we'll also tell you about "Aren't You Finished Yet?," the new collection of Pet Peeves "Singles" now available on Amazon! Plus, Pete admits he recorded the entire interview while having COVID!! We told you this one was special.

Some recent work by Keith Knight:

Comments

Introducing Strip Search, the cartooning podcast

Hello all! Welcome to Strip Search, a new podcast where we'll be interviewing cartooning professionals and talk comic strips: their history, classic comics, the current state of the industry, and comics to watch out for. If you're a cartoonist or humorous illustrator and want to appear on the podcast with Dave and Pete, email us at petpeevescomic@gmail.com .

Strip Search, Episode 41 — Jimmy Craig

When most comic strip animals talk, they don’t exactly scream “realism.” It was hard to imagine that Garfield was speaking for most cats when he declared his hatred of Mondays or his love for lasagna. But the animals that populate “They Can Talk,” the wry, brilliant weekly webtoon by cartoonist Jimmy Craig, don’t just sound authoritative — they’re downright relatable. And fans of both comics and animals are clearly listening to what Craig’s creatures have to say. In the seven years since he launched the strip, it’s amassed 615,000 followers on Instagram, 658,000 on Facebook, and has spawned two books; the latest, “Are You Gonna Eat That?” from Ulysses Press , hits shelves this month. Listen or watch below as we catch up with Craig to talk about talking to the animals, and them talking back. You'll find samples of his work at the bottom of this post, and for more you can visit Jimmy's website, theycantalk.com , or his Facebook and Instagram feeds. (Plus, for his standalone New...

Strip Search, Episode 38 — Harry Bliss

It's not every day that Steve Martin calls looking for a new writing (or drawing) partner. And it's not every day we get to interview someone who got that call! But that's what happened with Harry Bliss. Bliss is a longtime New Yorker cartoonist with thousands of gag panels and several dozen covers under his belt, and — more recently — he's the collaborator with the aforementioned comedy legend on a series of books: 2020’s “A Wealth of Pigeons,” and this year’s bestselling “Number One is Walking,” a series of comic book-style illustrated anecdotes about Martin’s film career. Harry sat down with us to talk about how that partnership came about and what Steve is like to work with, along with a deep dive into his cartooning style, his favorite cartoons and cartoonists, and his early days in the cartooning biz. (BTW, Harry contacted us later to identify the cartoonist behind one of his favorite gags, whose name escaped him when he mentioned it around the 35-minute mark — i...

Strip Search with London + Chianca

Search This Blog