7 Zine #1

The pen”, Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, “is mightier than the sword.”

The first issue of 7 Zine by Kevin Wilkins features his high contrast skate drawings and no photography is mighty indeed.

Every zine-maker, at one point or another, had to face the sad realization that they were fighting a toner-spewing robot who was not one bit interested in trying to accurately replicate that picture of your best friend’s lien-to-tail for you to share with 25 of your like minded zine-making pen-pals.

7 Zine was Kevin’s “fuck you” to the greyscale reproduction capabilities of the time. He responded the technical limitations with highly stylized drawings of faceless skate figures which mimicked the forms of photos abstracted by the cold hard lens of a xerox machine. His drawings distilled the energy of the photos, improving on the photos they were based upon.

The core of the issue is an interview with local Nebraskan Jay Cummings. If you are reading this, I’m pretty sure you know/knew someone who was attracted to skateboarding with a certain energy, an anger, and a complete commitment that channeled their energy that otherwise would have been applied to mere self-destruction. That was Jay. Kevin’s interview gives 18 year-old Jay a chance to vent about whatever was top of mind that day, and captures they type of delirious interaction you would have had with him at any session. We fucking loved Jay. (RIP)

There were other all drawing zines, of course, but I can’t think of any with such a unique and bold style. It’s no surprise that 7 Zine was the launch point for Kevin’s trajectory across and through and around skateboarding for the last three decades and counting.

Download a full PDF scan of this issue.