Sweet 7000 Baaadassss Comics
Star TrekStargate:AtlantisFirefly
Sweet 7000 Baaadassss Comics (7000 BC) is a collective of Northern New Mexico self-publishers who have banded together to generate exposure for the members. Much of what the collective produces is experimental, addressing the idea of the comic book itself as an object of art, rather than a mere container of stories. 7000 BC is also an educational entity, organizing seminars, workshops and school programs that promote comics as an art form. Representing the 7000 BC collective at the Phoenix Comicon were Monica and Bram Meehan and Pete and Paul Ziomek.
Monica and Bram Meehan produce Raised By Squirrels, which started as a free mini a few years back, after an inspirational trip to the Small Press Expo. Currently, Monica and Bram post issues of Raised By Squirrels to the internet and then collect them into trades. Volumes One and Two are currently available.
Pete and Paul Ziomek produce Fakin’ The Funk, a comic about a little kid in Chicago with big hip-hop dreams, under the imprint Over The Top Comics. The first two issues are available, with the third coming out in the next couple of months.
7000 BC has produced two anthologies of the members’ work: Hospital Stories and a collection of erotic stories. The group also exhibits at conventions around the country. I had the opportunity to talk with Monica and Bram Meehan at the Phoenix Comicon in January.
Pink Raygun: I love the name of your company. That’s awesome.
7000 BC:It’s homage to Sweet Sweetback’s Baaadassss Song and 7000 is geographic without being overt, because we’re based out of Santa Fe, which is at an elevation of 7000 feet.
PRG: Tell me about 7000 BC’s mission and about some of the books available at your booth.
7000 BC: We’re a non-profit. We conduct educational programs in school and also independently. We function as a group that pools our resources to market these individual voices. In New Mexico, we’re kind of isolated from the rest of the industry, so we have to band together to get this work out. This is the work of about twelve to fifteen different people, so there is an amazing diversity among them. We came together to do that and to share our love of comics and making comics with people in the community.
It’s also nice to get together and have a couple beers with people who like to do comics and you can see what someone else is doing. A lot of these are collaborations between members. There’s a lot of cross-pollination with everybody in the group.
PRG: How did 7000 BC come together?
7000 BC: We mostly came through the comic shop in Santa Fe, True Believers Comics and Gallery. The former manager there liked making his own comics and got to know people who were also making their own comics. They also hosted 24 hour comic events. We started through there, and now it’s more word of mouth. We’re using the internet to find other people. In a sense, it started with a shared interest among people and grew from there.
PRG: Do you focus on print comics are are you planning on branching out into webcomics?
7000 BC: Everyone here has some of their things online. Also everyone has enough of a traditional background that they love making the object. Some really get into the idea of what the object is as an art object. So they appreciate the craft that goes into making the book as well.
Sweet 7000 Baaadassss Comics currently has nineteen members, many of whom sell their work through the organization’s online store. 7000 BC will exhibit at the Alternative Press Expo in April.
|
|
Stumble it!
