Cartoonist, writer, editor, publisher and entrepreneur DENIS KITCHEN began his professional career in 1968, creating Mom's Homemade Comics as a self-published underground cartoonist in Milwaukee WI. The success of this venture led in 1969 to his formation of Krupp Comic Works, Inc., a small hippie empire which encompassed: Kitchen Sink Press, the comix publishing company; Strickly Uppa Crust, a head shop; The Cartoon Factory, a commercial art studio; Ordinary Records; Krupp Mail Order and Krupp Distribution. In 1970 he separately co-founded The Bugle-American, a Wisconsin-based alternative weekly newspaper that lasted seven years. In 1976 he co-founded The Fox River Patriot, a weekly alternative rural newspaper. But Kitchen's main focus over three decades was publishing comics.

KITCHEN AS ARTIST:
Denis Kitchen's own comics have appeared in anthologies such as Blab #8, Twist #2, Bijou Funnies #8, Consumer Comix, Mom's Homemade Comics #2-3, Mondo Snarfo, Arcade #3, The Spirit Jam and the 2001 Dark Horse Maverick Anthology. He has contributed covers and stories to various issues of Snarf, Dope Comix, Bizarre Sex, Energy Comics, Weird Trips, Great Marijuana Debate, The Badger, Spirit Magazine, Nard n' Pat, Alcohomics and Comix Book. He created covers for the Krupp Mail Order Catalog; an album cover (the late Jim Spencer's Major Arcana); plus numerous covers, column logos, ads and strips for The Bugle-American and many covers, ads and column logos for The Fox River Patriot; comix and illustrations for several issues of The Milwaukee Journal's Insight magazine; and strips for national magazines such as Head, High Times, and Playboy. One-man shows have been held at galleries at the University of Wisconsin--Oshkosh (twice) and Ripon College and individual drawings have been exhibited in aggregate shows. Kitchen's Steve Krupp Serigraph and his Major Arcana 3-D Print (claiming the most levels --50-- of any analgyphic art image), are both available from this web store, as are some of the comics and tabloids mentioned here (just enter Denis Kitchen in our search bar).
Kitchen's recent 6-page comic, called "My 5 Minutes with God" (which he insists is a true story), can be viewed at this link...
http://www.deniskitchen.com/denis/p1.html
His long-promised collection, called The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen, is forthcoming from Dark Horse Comics, probably in 2007 (assuming he finishes the cover in time).

KITCHEN AS PUBLISHER:
For thirty years (1969-1999) Kitchen published a variety of classic and underground artists alike. Among the highlights: WILL EISNER (twenty graphic novels, including A Contract with God and A Life Force; over 140 Spirit comics, magazines and books, and Will Eisner Quarterly); HARVEY KURTZMAN (Jungle Book, Hey Look!, Aargh to Zap!, Goodman Beaver with Will Elder, and others); MILTON CANIFF (Male Call, two volumes of Terry & the Pirates and twenty-four volumes of Steve Canyon), AL CAPP (twenty-seven volumes of Li'l Abner in hard and softcover and two volumes of Fearless Fosdick), GEORGE HERRIMAN (two volumes of Krazy Kat); R. CRUMB (The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book, Kafka, Carload o' Comics, Waiting For Food, many underground comix including Mr. Natural and Homegrown Funnies. the "Short History of America" poster and serigraph, Zap serigraph, and a variety of merchandise including the Tommy Toilet poster, Mr. Natural doll and Devil Girl Choco-Bars); JACK JACKSON, a.k.a. JAXON (Secret of San Saba, Lost Cause), R. F. OUTCAULT ( the definitive Yellow Kid collection), SCOTT McCLOUD (Understanding Comics and three volumes of Zot!), V. T. HAMLIN (three volumes of Alley Oop); ALEX RAYMOND (six volumes of Flash Gordon plus Secret Agent X-9), DAVE McKEAN (Violent Cases with Neil Gaiman, and ten issues of Cages plus the compilation); ART SPIEGELMAN (various undergrounds, including Sleazy Scandals of the Silver Screen, Snarf and Bizarre Sex); CLIFF STERRETT (two volumes of Polly & Her Pals); REED WALLER & KATE WORLEY (over twenty comix and five collections of Omaha the Cat Dancer), JAMES VANCE & DAN BURR (Kings in Disguise and others), MARK SCHULTZ (all fourteen issues of Xenozoic Tales/Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, three collections, and the animated TV show/merchandise licensing): BILL SIENKIEWICZ (Voodoo Child): ALAN MOORE and EDDIE CAMPBELL (11 issues of From Hell and the movie deal); HOWARD CRUSE (Gay Comix, Barefootz, Dancin' Nekkid with the Angels), FRANK FRAZETTA (Small Wonders, Pillow Book, Li'l Abner); JOE SHUSTER & JERRY SIEGEL (four volumes of Superman daily and Sunday strips co-published with DC), BOB KANE (four volumes of Batman daily and Sunday strips co-published with DC); JOE MATT (Snarf ---first appearance--- plus Peep Show), and CHARLES BURNS (Curse of the Molemen, Blood Club, Modern Horror Sketchbook, Black Hole #1-4). Kitchen also published numerous anthologies including BLAB! 1-8, Snarf 1-15, Dope Comix 1-5, Bizarre Sex 1-10, Twist 1-3, Buzz 1-3, Twisted Sisters 1-3, Blue Loco, Wet Satin, Mona and others; plus histories such as the 2-volume boxed Comic Strip Century. Additional comic books, magazines, graphic novels and related merchandise are too extensive to list here. A 1994 illustrated history, Kitchen Sink Press: The First 25, by Dave Schreiner, provides the best primer to this era.
For post-Kitchen Sink Press publishing activities, see "Current Businesses" below.

AWARDS:
Kitchen Sink Press over the years received a disproportionate number of the comics industry's most prestigious awards and nominations, sometimes dominating the awards, despite a market share generally hovering around 1%. In 1989 Kitchen Sink Press led all publishers with 13 Eisner nominations, edging giant DC Comics, which had eleven. In 1993 Kitchen Sink won six Harveys, more than any other company (and won nearly 40% of the total awards given). In 1994 Kitchen Sink won five Harveys and two Eisners. The company won another five Eisners and Harveys combined in 1995. In 1997 Chris Staros (now heading Top Shelf Publications) surveyed the entire field of comics for his independent Staros Report, cited numerous KSP publications for outstanding merit and concluded by presenting Kitchen Sink Press with its first and only Best Publisher Award. Denis Kitchen has also received awards as an individual, including: a 1986 Inkpot Award for "Outstanding Acheivement in Comic Art"; being a Charter inductee into the Underground Comix Hall of Fame (1991); the Small Press Pioneer Award (a Carl Barks "Barkster" statue) at the Diamond 4th Annual Gem Awards(1997); a special Harvey Award for "Leadership and Service" (2004); and the CBLDF's Defender of Liberty Award (2005).


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