Welcome to the Literature Collective!
You don't get to be in your 40's and 50's and not have some stories to tell. Some tell it through their art, some through music, some through film, and some of us write! Here we will feature some great writers who managed to sit still long enough to share a glimpse of their lives and inspirations, in long form. We do a lot of reading online these days, but there is nothing quite like a good old fashion novel (analog or digital)!
Atomic Basement Comics
400 East 3rd Street
Long Beach, CA
Mike Wellman, Redondo Beach, California
Age: 46
Sign: Scorpio
Left handed
Mike Wellman celebrated his 25th year of comic book retailing by launching The Atomic Basement Comics and Creator Lab with longtime friend and now, business partner, Anthony Davies.
Prior to comic retailing, Wellman has served as a window washer, paperboy deliverer, janitor at a news stand, video store clerk and arcade attendant. This is his final stand!
In addition to comic book retail, Mike has served as a comic book writer and publisher. His most recent book, Guns A’ Blazin’! has seen him and his pal, artist and co-creator Rafael Navarro around the world, as guests from LA to Chicago to the Philippines!
Other creator owned works include Mac Afro and Gone South. He’s also performed writing duties on Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Battlestar Galactica, Cyborg 009 and many other titles.
Mike has taken his experience in the comic book industry and regularly gives back to the community, volunteering at libraries, schools and universities in the greater Los Angeles area. In 2018, he served as an interim advisor at OTIS College of Art and Design.
He fancies himself a chef and loves to cook for friends and loved ones. And he has a dangerous record collecting habit, hence the move to Long Beach, one block away from fingerprints records!
Christine E. Warner, Long Beach, California
Age: 49
Sign: Virgo and Year of the Dog
Right handed and left footed
I’m a high school teacher, world traveler, social activist, foster youth mentor, and a writer. I’ve always been so passionate about words, books and language, so I suppose writing comes somewhat natural to me. For me, the writing process happens so organically that I don’t even know where it’s going until it takes me there. I love developing characters that people can relate to and experience the journey along with them as if they are real people. I enjoy tragic stories full of emotion so much that my friends and I started our very own Sad Book Club. I self-published my first novel, The Jacaranda Gypsy in 2018 and I hope to publish more in the future.
Jeffrey Matucha, Berkeley, California
Age: 55
Sign: Leo and Dragon
Right handed
I am a native and lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. I am city slicker plus! My writing has been inspired by my experiences from living as a rampant clubber and simple resident in the all-too colorful Bay Area, and also the life experiences of many of my friends. From drug addiction to the lives of gutter punks to the dark side of the 80's, I have too many stories to tell!
Jamie Sims Coakley, Long Beach California
Age: 46
Sign: Leo
Left Handed
I have been writing since I was eleven when my Aunt Sandi first gave me a journal and encouraged me to put my thoughts to paper. I took to it immediately and have spent the last thirty-five years writing everything from poetry, to scripts, to songs and now a short story memoir and am currently working on my first novel. Below is a sample of my forthcoming memoir "20 Years."