Student Comics Anthologies: INK

The School of Visual Arts has had a long history of student-run comics magazines, chronicling the start of the careers of many great SVA alumni. We'll be taking this week at the CA Blog to look out our department's current magazine projects and what students can do to promote their work in them.

When Cartoon Allies found itself overburdened to run both a club and SVA's long-running anthology Inkstains, Amedeo Turturro and Trent Thompson responded to the call and put forward their vision of an anthology comic. By MoCCA Fest 2011, they had presented their primer of INK, and in the Fall they unveiled their first issue. They've foregone traditional print runs for a digital-only release platform, hosting each issue on their website while distributing comics straight to Apple devices with their iPad app. So how is the digital revolution holding up?

February 3rd - Movie Night

Hallo, Allies!

Last week's critique was a great way for us to improve and get to know each other's work. This week, we will be doing something more relaxing with a...

MOVIE NIGHT

American Splendor

This Friday, 2/3

6:30 - Room 703G

We will be watching the movie American Splendor, about Harvey Pekar, this week. A trailer of it can be watched here!

Matt's Good Reads: Tenjō Tenge

Need some black-and-white stimulation? Join Matt Clark  for Matt's Good Reads, where he'll share a bite-sized overview of what he's been reading (and what you should too) on his breaks from the drafting table. This week he recommends...

Tenjō Tenge

by Oh! great

1998-2010 in Japan

22 volumes, published by VIZ in the US

Library Recommendations: Wandering Son

The School of Visual Arts Library is a sanctuary for students and comics lovers. While it's easy to get caught up in our work, it's important that we take advantage of this great resource to find inspiration, get a new perspective on our work, and to take a break and remember why we're working so hard. Join us as the Cartoon Allies recommend stories in our library that captivate and inspire us in these semi-regular Library Recommendations.

Wandering Son by Shimura Takako (published in the U.S. by Fantagraphics) is one of my favorite Japanese comics, and I can safely say it has contributed in changing my life.  The sensitive, well-paced, and down-to-earth storytelling coupled with Shimura's simple yet effective art only touch the surface of the reasons why you should pick up Wandering Son for an afternoon browse. 

January 27th - Group Critique #4

Hallo, Allies!

After our romp to the Rubin, it's time to return to the classroom and put the focus on our own creations. This week, we're returning to regular group critique sessions! Join us in Room 703G with whatever you're working on in class or for the CA Zine, whether you've got a plot outline to discuss, thumbnails to sharpen, or pencils to ponder.

GROUP CRITIQUE

This Friday, 1/27

6:30 - Room 703G

Bring work to share, in-progress or finished!

We'll have three groups: developed comics, story pitches, and sketches/illustrations. Check under the cut for specifics, coming events, and other business, including information regarding the CA Zine and the Fresh Meat Poster Search.

The Road to Fresh Meat: The Poster

One night a year at the end of April, cartooning students at SVA transform the school's dingy basement lounge into a buzzing marketplace.  The public is invited to browse, buy and barter for self-published comics by SVA's cartoonists. This is...

Fresh Meat is our annual tradition promoting the work and talent of our student body, and it needs your help! Like any convention, our comics fair is only as good as our attendance, through which students share their work with industry figures and get attention from the comics press. Long before the warmth of spring reaches our fair city,  SVA's halls need to be decorated with posters heralding this culmination of a school year's work, while local magazines require early submissions for the ads they'll be running to promote our event to the public. This is where you come in:

We're calling for art submissions for Fresh Meat 2012's ad campaign!

Check under the cut for submission requirements and examples of previous ads.

January 13th - Jam Comic Jam

Welcome back, Allies!

We hope you had a splendid break, whether you spent it on a foreign operation or hunkered down in the trenches. Prepare to get your fingers covered in ink (and if your hands are already dirty, get a pair of gloves), 'cause classes are in session and the Cartoon Allies are back in full swing. This semester will be packed with more field trips, more tutorials, and appearances from professional cartoonists, along with returning events such as group critiques and another Live Comics Reading. The semester will culminate with MoCCA Fest and our annual Fresh Meat art show, where our department transforms the Monkey Bar Lounge into a public comic festival to showcase our work.

We're kicking off this semester with a...

JAM COMIC JAM

This Friday, 1/13

6:30 - Room 703G

Collaborate and create (or destroy) in multiple formalist comic games (while listening to JAM Project)!
Check under the cut for specifics, coming events, and other business.