Introduction By Denis Kitchen

(Currently Out of Print)

Alexa first drew a recognizable object (a ladybug) at the age of two, and never stopped. By four she was a darn good illustrator for a four-year old. But at five something fairly unusual happened: she began drawing sequential art. Though initially relatively crude (like every artist I know, she cringes at seeing her "early" work now) the pacing and compositions soon became relatively sophisticated. Not only have her drawing and writing skills continued to steadily grow, her output has become nothing short of prodigious. She personally goes through more than a ream of paper a month, not to mention the various notebooks and journals she maintains. As I reviewed her body of work -no small task- to assemble these first collections on the eve of her "professional debut" at the MOCCA 2004 Art Fest, I calculate that she's produced between 12 and 15 thousand pages of drawings! This figure does not count the many rejects she or we have tossed. Her "archives" already fill five storage boxes and she's not yet seven.

Few of us retain a large number or very detailed memories of our lives at the age of five. But the pages in this volume show Alexa, without self-consciousness, observing and recording her everyday experiences and feelings, as well as indulging in pure fantasy. To my knowledge, the uninhibited autobiographical insights of a child are seldom recorded, particularly when unspoiled by adult intervention. Cartoonists by nature create a sort of visual diary. But the required combination of intellectual and motor skills and a sense of humor ordinarily emerge at considerably later stages of development, even among the professional cartoonists I've talked to. I certainly did not have them at five or six. The innocence of youth is seldom captured by the innocent.

I am particularly amused to see that the toilet humor starts early, as do early concepts of beauty. We see into a child's dreams here (both fantastic and frightening). Not surprising, human conflict is there almost from the start -as are expressions of jealousy and the gender war. And some human experiences are just plain mundane for five year-olds and adults alike.

I've selected what I think are the funniest and most poignant examples (147 pages) from Alexa's cartooning "break-out" year. They appear here in chronological order, so it's easy to observe the incremental growth. Even her earliest stick figures are expressive, but they soon take dimensional form, the language and anatomy become more expressive, and the lettering and drawing styles in short order become increasingly distinctive. The humor is sometimes sweet, cruel, surreal, subtle and at times it is unintentional. Some strips are seemingly pointless but had enough charm to make the cut.

Let me stress for cynics that neither her parents or anyone else assisted in any way whatever with the comics in this or her other collection(s). Other than sometimes answering how a word is spelled, the ideas, titles and every stage of creation are Alexa's alone. The dates, whether on the front corners or backs of the pages, are something that Stacey and I learned to add compulsively as our tiny daughter's production volume quickly swelled. Finally, while "publishing" the work of such a young artist is itself highly unusual, it is done in part to fulfill a demand, first among family and friends, and increasingly by word-of-mouth.

We hope you appreciate this collection. If you do, there is a sequel covering the "best of" Alexa's cartoons at age 6, where she really breaks out.

ALEXA KITCHEN: The Early Years, Volume 1 (Age 5) is © 2002, 2003 by Alexa Kitchen.
Introduction © 2004 by Denis Kitchen. Published by D.K..P. Co, LLC, Box 2250, Amherst MA 01004-2250.
1st printing June 2004 Special thanks to Chris Peters at Paradise Copying in Northampton.