Debut party
Star Line Books is located at 1467 Market St. #106. For a full list of Mainx24 activities, visit mainx24.com.
Chattanooga's creative community has significantly grown over the past decade - which is especially evident in the local comic book community.
This past April, a group of aspiring and professional comic artists and writers formed the Chatt Comix Co-op. The goal is to connect creatives interested in supporting one another's work and collaborate to produce locally made comics, said member Meaghan Frey.
The group's first major collaborative project is an anthology of Chattanooga-based comics, which goes on sale at local Star Line Books Dec. 3, during Mainx24, a 24-hour block party that takes over the Southside each year. Topics range from a tale involving rival tourist attractions Rock City and Ruby Falls ("Thou are about to see the seven statesof agony!" reads one line), to a story about the mer-people who have lived in the Tennessee River since the Chickamauga Dam was constructed. There's even a comic featuring female pitcher for the Lookouts Jackie Mitchell, who struck out Babe Ruth at Engel Stadium.
Founder Tara Hamilton says that around the time she came up with the idea for the group, she was going to a lot of comic conventions, and loved the sense of community she felt being around a bunch of creative people. She wanted to form that sort of community here in town, and created the Chatt Comix Co-op Facebook group to give local creatives a platform to criticize one another's work.
The membership quickly grew to more than 100 people.
Hamilton then met one of the owners of Infinity Flux, a comics and gaming shop in Hixson, who also felt the need for a local community for comic writers and artists. They joined forces and began holding co-op meetings at the shop twice a month. Though Hamilton was scared no one would show up to the first meeting, most meetings have about 25 people in attendance, and they've never had fewer than 15, she says.
The meetings are open to anyone interested in the medium, and include writing and drawing prompts, sharing and criticizing one another's work, discussions, and presentations from comic professionals. Mimi Pond, who wrote the first episode of The Simpsons, spoke at a recent meeting. When Pond entered the world of comics decades ago, it was dominated by men, but that has changed, she says, and the equal representation of men and women in the co-op is evidence.
Part of the group's goal is to make getting into comics less intimidating, no matter who you are, says Hamilton. Some members are writers, some are artists, some do both, some are professionals (one freelances for Marvel) and some have never done anything like this before. The co-op gives all of them a chance to connect with someone who could help make their creative visions become realities in print.
The group is free to join and welcomes newcomers interested in creating comics. Upcoming projects people can jump in on include a superhero-themed anthology as well as another focused on first-time experiences.
The co-op meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at Infinity Flux: Cards, Comics, and Games, located at 3643 Hixson Pike. For updates about meetings and events, visit the group's Facebook page at facebook.com/groups/chatt.comix.