Before dreadlockedninja, there was Beatnik. How Beatnik came into existence is the best example of 'like threads in the universe find each other'. There I was, working as an investment account, yet still the comic geek I'd always been. There I met a couple of creative souls with a similar love for comics... friendship was instantaneous. At some point, the light bulb came on… we should do our own comic book! It was that simple. I wrote the script, an artist was brought in and we were on our way.
But, we were still ‘fans’ and comic book publishing is a business. It was the business part that almost ruined a dream. When the dust settled, I was the only one left. Luckily, along the way, ‘like threads’ had managed to find each other in the oddest places. With the other OGs gone, there were still artists and writers we’d met along the way who stayed to help make it happen
Here is the only picture of the Beatnik Crew. This isn't the whole team but we got this pic in during one of Charles Cascone's visits. He's at bottom-center, and is the author of The Dreamtime Gate and Sisters of the Earth.
Then, from right to left: Sharunda Miller, Beatnik Vice President and writer of Sustanus; Darrell Goza, Art Director and inker on The Mission #2; me, Beatnik Publisher/President and writer of Few Survive the Mission; Kevin Darmanie, creator/artist of Kulprit and artist of Urban Hood; and Clarence Coats, creator/artist of Twin Squeaks. Sharunda eventually founded the Unconventional Press; Kelly created dreadlockedninja publishing and Kevin, The Kedar Art Studio. Darrell was and still is churning out material with Scriptgraphics and is the mastermind behind ADAPT.
Sevens stories, seven pages each... that was the concept behind Beatnik's Book of Sevens, a title which never reached publication but spawned Urban Hood and Dalbello. Both were originally done in standard comic book format, but have been reformatted to strips for your reading pleasure.
Urban Hood © 2009 Kelly Williams
Dallbello © 2012 Kelly Williams and all creators involved