Keith Knight
Animation by Brittain Peck
How woke are you? No, seriously? We just kicked it with Keith Knight, brilliant cartoonist and the mastermind behind Hulu's satirical series WOKE:
What is your morning drink?
Coffee, and water. Not necessarily in that order. Light roast. Real
milk. No sugar.
WOKE’S main character Keef often experiences visions, are we to question his sanity?
You could. Racism is designed to drive Black folks insane.
Do you (th)ink about UFOs?
Not often. But they do exist.
What talent do you wish you possessed?
I wish I could sing. But it'‘s never stopped me from singing.
Do you express different parts of yourself in your comics vs. your music?
Comics are great because all you need is a pen and a piece of paper,
and voila! You can draw anything. It's the perfect D.I.Y. medium.
A band is great because it's a team effort. You come in with an idea,
and others add to and enhance that idea. Hopefully it becomes
something richer and better than you could ever imagine on your own.
And I love the immediate gratification of playing live. You're band is
this team of Avengers going out there, against all odds (shitty sound
system, tiny stage), to win over an indifferent crowd who has never
heard of you. (Can you tell we never got that big?)
Television is just a bigger extension of that. You use visuals and
music and effects and actors to create this universe. And the hundreds
of folks that work on it are like this gigantic marching band. Everyone
has a job to do, and in the end, you hope it's this thing that is way
better than you could've ever imagined it to be. WOKE season 1 was like
that for me.
The comics, the music, the T.V. show... All 3 mediums are part of the
same thing. I guess it's my "brand" -smart, nerdy, weird stuff.
Why cartoons?
It's a medium that cost about 10 cents in equipment. It's been
around forever and you can tell any story. Hell--hieroglyphics and
cave paintings are just old-school comics!
What do you miss about San Fran?
The intangible magic that it has. I could walk across town and find
myself in all sorts of trouble. Good trouble. Other cities have their
own magic, too. New Orleans, especially, is my other favorite
city in the U.S.
Subscribe to Keith Knight’s Weekly Comics: www.patreon.com/keefknight
