Porcellino (publishing under the moniker Spit and a Half) began producing
King-Cat in 1989. (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".) Content-wise,
King-Cat has evolved considerably over the years: through the mid-1990s,Early issues featured themes associated with punk rock and included a mix of aggressive and comedic stories. A popular, ongoing feature was "Trail Watch", where Porcellino criticized the drawing and story elements 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. Later issues shifted focus toward philosophical themes and reflections on the nature of life. Porcellino's later work includes adaptations of Zen koans and stories regarding the transient nature of life. The change in thematic focus coincided with a shift in the publication's readership. ''King-Cat's''
letter column is titled "Catcalls". As of February 2022, Porcellino had published 81 issues of
King-Cat (an average of three issues per year).
Collections La Mano,
Zak Sally's publishing venture, released Porcellino's
Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man in 2005, collecting various
King-Cat stories about Porcellino's experiences as a pest control worker. The book won the 2005 Outstanding Anthology or Collection
Ignatz Award, presented at the 2005
Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. Another collection,
Perfect Example, was released in 2005 by
Drawn & Quarterly.
Perfect Example focused on stories of Porcellino's final days of high school and the following summer in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Drawn & Quarterly released the 320-page collection
King-Cat Classix in 2007. The 2009 collection,
Map of My Heart, published by Drawn & Quarterly, collected material from
King-Cat in celebration of the title's twentieth anniversary. Translations of
King-Cat Comics have been published in French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, and Korean. == References ==