View source for Denis Kitchen

{{short description|American underground cartoonist and publisher}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = Loz kitchen.png
| caption       = Denis Kitchen at [[Columbia University]] in 2015
| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1946|8|27}}
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| nationality   = [[Americans|American]]
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| notable works = [[Kitchen Sink Press]]<br />[[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]]
| awards        =
| website       = http://deniskitchen.com
}}

'''Denis Kitchen''' (born August 27, 1946) is an [[Americans|American]] [[underground comix|underground]] [[cartoonist]], publisher, author, agent, and the founder of the [[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]].

==Early life==
Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending [[William Horlick High School]], [[Racine, Wisconsin|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]].<ref>Rosenkranz, Patrick. ''Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975'' Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2002; p. 102</ref> He also provided cartoons for the ''[[UWM Post]]''.

Originally a member of the [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps|ROTC]] on campus, Kitchen left ROTC, a decision he later attributed to an allergy to the wool uniform pants ("...had the pants been made out of cotton, I might be a lieutenant colonel today," he later said). He took classes in [[journalism]] and started frequenting a local coffeehouse called the Avant Garde. He became opposed to the [[Vietnam War]] and joined the [[Socialist Labor Party of America]].<ref>Schumacher, Michael. ''Will Eisner: A Dreamer's Life in Comics''. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2010; pp. 160-162</ref>

==Krupp Comics and Kitchen Sink Press==
In 1969 Kitchen decided to self-publish his [[comics]] and cartoons in the magazine ''Mom’s Homemade Comics'', inspired in part by ''[[Bijou Funnies]]'' and ''[[Zap Comix]]''. The selling out of the print run of 4000 inspired him further, and in 1970 he founded [[Kitchen Sink Press]] (initially as an artists' cooperative)<ref>Acton, Jay, Le Mond, Alan, and Hodges, Parker. ''Mug Shots: Who's Who in the New Earth'' World Publishing: 1972; pp. 121</ref><ref>Schreiner, Dave. ''Kitchen Sink Press, the First 25 Years''. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1994; p. 14 ''et seq.''</ref>  and launched the [[underground newspaper]] ''The [[Bugle-American]]'', with [[Jim Mitchell (cartoonist)|Jim Mitchell]] and others.<ref>Kitchen, Denis. ''Notes on the Underground... Confessions of an Underground Comics Publisher''. ''Funnyworld'' #13 (Spring 1971), p. 30</ref> Under the name of the Krupp Syndicate,{{efn|"Steve Krupp" was a comics character created by Kitchen as a stand-in for then-[[Marvel Comics]] publisher [[Stan Lee]]. Kitchen created the Krupp character in 1975 as part of the cover illustration of ''[[Comix Book]]'' #3.<ref>Kitchen, Denis. [http://www.deniskitchen.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=SK&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SP_DKkrupp "Denis Kitchen Serigraph: Steve Krupp S/N,"] Steve Krupp's Curio Shoppe. Retrieved Sept. 4, 2020.</ref>}} he syndicated [[comic strips]] to almost 50 other underground and [[college newspaper]]s.<ref>[http://www.onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/kitchentalks.html Tanzilo, Bobby. ''Milwaukee Talks: Denis Kitchen''], ''onmilwaukee.com'' July 12, 2006]</ref> 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]], [[Robert Crumb]], [[Art Spiegelman]], [[Justin Green (cartoonist)|Justin Green]], [[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. In 1980 he invited Cruse to edit ''[[Gay Comix]]'', one of the first comics to feature the work of openly gay and lesbian cartoonists.

In the 1980s through the early 1990s, Kitchen Sink Press would publish industry legends such as [[Will Eisner]], [[Harvey Kurtzman]], [[Al Capp]], and award-winning alternative creators such as [[Mark Schultz (comics)|Mark Schultz]], Monte Beauchamp, and [[Charles Burns (cartoonist)|Charles Burns]].

In 1993, Kitchen Sink Press merged with [[Kevin Eastman]]'s [[Tundra Publishing]] and relocated to [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]. It would go on to publish works by [[Alan Moore]], [[Neil Gaiman]], [[James O'Barr]], [[Don_Simpson_(cartoonist)|Don Simpson]], and [[Scott McCloud]], winning numerous Eisner and Harvey Awards.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

==Funding defenses==
[[File:4.16.16DenisKitchenByLuigiNovi1.jpg|thumb|left|Kitchen sketching in April 2016]]
In 1986 comic store manager Michael Correa was [[indictment|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. He raised money for the defense of Correa who saw his conviction overturned on [[appeal]].  Kitchen used surplus funds to incorporate the [[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]] as a [[Non-profit organization|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."<ref>[http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000201.shtml CBLDF archives] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218103414/http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000201.shtml |date=February 18, 2006 }}</ref>

==Art agency and art book==
Kitchen Sink Press went out of business in 1999. Kitchen later established himself as an art agent, handling the art sales of both [[Will Eisner]] and [[Harvey Kurtzman]] amongst others through his company Denis Kitchen Art Agency. He is a partner with Judith Hansen in Kitchen & Hansen Agency, LLC, which serves as a literary agency for Will Eisner's estate.

Kitchen was a partner in Kitchen, Lind & Associates which served as agency and book packager <ref>{{cite web |last=MacDonald |first=Heidi |author-link=Heidi MacDonald |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6343187.html |title=Kitchen, Lind Debut Agency, Packaging House |publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]] Comics Week |date=June 13, 2006 }}</ref> for clients including The Estates of [[Harvey Kurtzman]] and [[Al Capp]], [[Rebecca Guay]], [[Howard Cruse]], [[Eleanor Davis]], [[Todd M. Hignite]], [[Mark Fearing]], and [[William Stout]].

In 2010, [[Dark Horse Comics]] released ''The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen'' which served as part art book and part autobiography. In 2011, it was nominated for an Eisner Award<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 Eisner nominees |url=http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_11nom.php |publisher=Comic-Con |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513193750/http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_11nom.php |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref> (for Best-Comics Related Book) and a Harvey Award<ref name="2011 Harvey Award nominees">{{cite web |title=2011 Harvey Award nominees |url=http://www.harveyawards.org/previous-awards-nominees/2011-harvey-awards |publisher=Harvey Award |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814050256/http://www.harveyawards.org/previous-awards-nominees/2011-harvey-awards/ |archive-date=August 14, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> (for Best Biographical, Historical Or Journalistic Presentation). It went on to win a 2011 American Graphic Design Award<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 American Graphic Design Awards winners |url=http://www.gdusa.com/contests/agda11/types/se.php?x=EDT2095 |publisher=Graphic Design USA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109210456/http://www.gdusa.com/contests/agda11/types/se.php?x=EDT2095 |archive-date=January 9, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> in the editorial category.

==Kitchen Sink Books==
In 2013, [[Dark Horse Comics]] announced it had established a joint venture imprint entitled Kitchen Sink Books, directed by Kitchen and business partner John Lind to focus on art books, historical collections and reprints."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1432/dark-horse-announces-all-new-kitchen-sink-imprint|title=Dark Horse Announces All-New KITCHEN SINK Imprint!}}</ref> The first large format hardcover was ''The Best of [[Comix Book]]'', a collection of work edited by Kitchen and [[Stan Lee]] in the mid-1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/24-079/The-Best-of-Comix-Book-When-Marvel-Went-Underground-HC|title = The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Went Underground HC :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics}}</ref>  The imprint's most recent title, a collection of the work of [[Will Eisner]], was published in 2018.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Search/kitchen+sink+books | title=Search :: Dark Horse Comics }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051123191543/http://journal.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=_getfullarticle&aid=1239039 Dooley, Michael. "The Unsinkable Denis Kitchen" AIGA ''Voice'' August 24, 2005]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051221200055/http://www.muuta.net/Ints/IntsDenisKitchen.html The Denis Kitchen interview] Accessed January 19, 2006

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|http://deniskitchen.com}}

{{Underground comix cartoonists}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchen, Denis}}
[[Category:Underground cartoonists]]
[[Category:Writers from Racine, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni]]
[[Category:Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Kitchen Sink Press]]
[[Category:William Horlick High School alumni]]