2014 Miami Book Fair | Denis Kitchen

In 1969, cartoonist, writer, and alternative publishing pioneer, Denis Kitchen founded Kitchen Sink Press, an innovative house that, until it folded in 1999, published early and new graphic works by some of the most recognized artists in the underground “comix” vanguard. Kitchen founded and for eighteen years chaired the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting first amendment rights in the comics industry. Kitchen co-authored The Art of Harvey Kurtzman with Paul Buhle, andUnderground Classics with James Danky. In addition, Kitchen has written dozens of essays, introductions and annotations for books with numerous publishers including Abrams, W. W. Norton, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Kitchen Sink Press, and Kitchen Sink Books. The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Comics Went Underground (Dark Horse; $35.00) is the eagerly anticipated first collection from the collaboration between Dark Horse and Kitchen Sink Books.

In 1974, legendary Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee approached underground pioneer Denis Kitchen and offered a way for them to work together. Their resulting series was called Comix Book and featured work by many of the top underground cartoonists including Joel Beck, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Harvey Pekar, Trina Robbins, Art Spiegelman (first national appearance of Maus), Skip Williamson, and S. Clay Wilson. The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Comics Went Underground showcases 150-pages of classic underground comix, printed on newsprint, as they originally appeared. It features an essay written by James Vance, illustrated with correspondence, photographs, and unpublished artwork, and features an introduction by Stan Lee. Kitchen’s latest book is Al Capp: a Life to the Contrary (Bloomsbury; $30.00), which he co-authored with Michael Schumacher. More than thirty years have passed since Al Capp’s death, and he may no longer be a household name, but at the height of his career, his groundbreaking comic strip, Li’l Abner, reached ninety million readers. The strip ran for forty-three years, spawned two movies and a Broadway musical, and originated such expressions as “hogwash” and “double-whammy.”

Though Li’l Abner brought millions joy, the man behind the strip was a complicated and often unpleasant person. Capp’s story is one of incredible highs and lows, of popularity and villainy, of success and failure—told here with authority and heart. Dan Wasserman of the Boston Globe said of this book, “It is fast-paced, fascinating, rich in Boston-based history. It will satisfy the appetites of comic fans and political junkies alike.”

2014 Miami Book Fair