King-Cat Comics

King-Cat Comics

King-Cat Comics and Stories, authored and self-published by John Porcellino, is one of the longest-running and most critically acclaimed series of photocopied mini-comics ever published. Porcellino (under the name Spit and a Half) began publishing King-Cat in 1989. As of November 2011, Porcellino had published 71 issues of King-Cat.

Porcellino's work consists of very simple line drawings, usually without any attempts at shading or anatomical realism. His style has been highly influential on a generation of alternative comics creators, notably the Fort Thunder group. Content-wise, Porcellino's work has evolved considerably over the years: through the mid-'90s his comics were much more angry and humorous, with a punk rock sensibility. A popular, ongoing feature was "Trail Watch", where Porcellino affectionately criticized the various drawing and story peculiarities in the syndicated Mark Trail comic strip. Porcellino also did an entire issue chronicling his (fictional) romantic relationship with Madonna, and did a series of strips following the adventures of Racky Racoon, a slacker-ish animal who works at a series of dead-end jobs and likes to get drunk. But mixed in with these stories there were always more quiet, melancholy or philosophical stories, and as the years went on these stories increasingly took over the book. Porcellino developed a strong interest in zen, and he began creating very zen-like stories reflecting on the transient nature of life and sometimes recounting tales of various zen masters or illustrating ancient zen koans. These stories alienated Porcellino's old fans who had enjoyed the humorous elements of his work, but they won him a new audience.

The title of King-Cat comes from the Beat poem "Sometime During Eternity," by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, which Porcellino reprinted in an issue. In the poem, Jesus Christ is referred to as the "king cat".