Stepping into Sheep Cult Comics, you’re surrounded by whimsical, winding caverns of cloud-like shelves, presided over by sculpted sheep heads.
Co-owners Emma Akins and Trevor Hormel opened the shop this year because they wanted to create a space where local artists of all experience levels can sell their work and receive a fair cut of the profits. They accept art submissions online, in person, or through the mail.
“I feel like our biggest accomplishments are the times a 13-year-old kid comes in with a zine they made,” Hormel said. “You can get some really unique stuff from people who might be considered outsiders. It’s exciting to see people get to create something and put it out into the world for the first time.”
Ok, But What’s With the Sheep?
Hormel designed and crafted free-form sculptures for the store’s displays based on drawings that Akins made. He used wooden shelves as a skeleton, then constructed frames around them with chicken wire, burlap, and concrete.
“I grew up going to a lot of roadside attractions because my dad loved them,” Hormel said. “So, I really wanted to create something like that, where it doesn’t necessarily look good, and it just looks like someone built something.”
Define: Comics
Akins and Hormel said they’re stocking “anything you wouldn’t find in the Barnes and Noble across the street.”
From low-budget DIY zines printed off home computers to $30 one-of-a-kind hand-risographed art anthologies, Sheep Cult Comics sells all kinds of printed works with a focus on autobiographical stories, photo zines, poetry, and comics.
“What I love about comics is that we artists have gotten really good at portraying an emotion in just one panel,” Akins said. “It gives you a moment in time where you can just be with the character in whatever they’re feeling, and I think that makes us feel less alone.”
Sheep Cult Comics also regularly hosts makers’ markets, comedy shows, and other events where creatives can come together.
