Do you have burning questions about CCS’s MFA and certificate programs but aren’t able to make it to one of our admissions events? Drop us a line at outreach@cartoonstudies.org and we can set up a 1-on-1 video chat session to answer any of your questions about the curriculum, the application process, student housing, financial aid, living in Vermont, or anything else you need to know about applying to CCS!
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) Students travel from across the U.S. and around the world to study comics at CCS in a diverse and vibrant community in Vermont.
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree w/low Residency Option
“A book that I’ve been researching and working on for the past 3 years… I’m already crying tears of joy.”
The brilliantly researched and illustrated book officially hits bookstores on April 30, 2024. More from Hachette Books: “In The Art of Crying, Pepita Sandwich makes the case that crying is humanity’s most misunderstood and magical special effect. We are the only animals who shed tears as a result of the emotions we feel. But crying is not our weakness: it’s our superpower. Our tears are a path to growth and healing that leads to deeper and more fulfilling experiences.”
Each year, the Cartoonist Studio Prize will be awarded to work that exemplifies excellence in cartooning. The creators of two exceptional comics for this year will be awarded $1,000 each. The winners will be selected by The Beat and The Schulz Library staff at The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS).
This year, there are thirteen nominees in each the “long-form” category and the “short-form” category.
The CCS community is happy to announce recent graduate Juniper Kim ‘23, was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Award! Juniper will be pursuing a graphic novel project in Seoul, Korea, with her grant.
“While living in Seoul—a vibrant center of all kinds of arts and culture, and the place in which my family has roots—I will attempt to answer important questions about identity, art, and culture…” said Juniper.
The project’s current title is Gyopo’s Ballad. Juniper describes the work-in-progress as a “fictional graphic novel describing a Korean-born American-raised woman’s experience living in Korea for the first time since her emigration as a toddler. Sang, who is researching the Korean folk music revival, arrives in Seoul eager to reconnect with her roots; however, she also struggles to feel at home in her ‘home country’ and define herself somewhere in between being Korean and being American.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2024! An exhibit featuring work by the graduating class is on display at the CCS Gallery. The gallery is located at 94 South Main Street, in downtown White River Junction, in the Colodny building. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 12 noon to 4 pm. The Thesis Exhibition will be on display and open to the public from May 8th to May 31st.
The Commencement Speaker for the class of 2024 is Ngozi Ukazu. Ngozi is a New York Times-bestselling cartoonist, a DC Comics artist, and the creator of the award-winning graphic novel Check, Please!, BUNT, and has a forthcoming graphic novel FLIP. Check, Please! began as a popular webcomic, noted as the highest funded project in Kickstarters history. The series won numerous awards including the Reuben and the William Morris Award. Check Please has also been translated into multiple languages. Since 2020 her cartoons have also appeared in The New Yorker. She graduated from Yale University with a degree in Computing and The Arts, and later received a master’s in sequential arts and comics. Commencement will be held on Monday, May 6th, at 12 noon at Northern Stage’s The Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction.
Safer Spaces is a 208-page new collection of stories about isolation, memory, liminal spaces, and small magic from up-and-coming author Kit Anderson with Avery Hill Publishing. From road trips to doctors’ offices to the mysterious spaces under the house, Kit Anderson’s short stories explore the secrets and magic typically unseen in everyday life. A walk through the forest, a family move, a day in a normal life – Anderson’s depictions of these ordinary moments transform them with a double-take, revealing the strangeness, surreality, and transformation within. Order a copy!
The much-awaited graphic biography of world-renowned artist Ruth Asawa by Sam Nakahira ‘21 who was bestowed the privilege of documenting and sharing the life of such an amazing human being. RUTH ASAWA: AN ARTIST TAKES SHAPE released on March 20 by Getty Publications and ABRAMS Kids!
“This graphic biography by Sam Nakahira, developed in consultation with Asawa’s younger daughter, Addie Lanier, chronicles the genesis of Asawa as an artist—from the horror of Pearl Harbor to her transformative education at Black Mountain College to building her life in San Francisco, where she would further develop and refine her groundbreaking sculpture.” —Getty Publications
“Nakahira chronicles the young adult years of acclaimed Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa (1926–2013) in this illuminating graphic novel debut.” —Publishers Weekly
Join us in Summer 2024 to brush up on your cartooning skills or learn new ones! Click here to check out the complete line-up and register today! In-person and online workshops, from beginner to advanced.
Click here to learn more and make an online donation now.
BIPOC Cartoonist Fund Accepting Donations
CCS wants your old comics! These comics and many more were donated to support CCS's BIPOC Cartoonist Fund. If you're interested in making a comic book or cash donation drop us a line.
FREE COMICS
CARTOONING IN AN ANXIOUS AGE
Cartooning In An Anxious Age (pdf)is a free comic by Cara Bean on the act of drawing, which focuses your attention and intimately connects you with the generative act of creation. It’s an inspiring read.
Let's Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health
Using the power of comics to teach teens about the way our government worksThis Is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance is a 32-page comic book created by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). This short comic guide helps to bring democracy back to the hands of the people by explaining what democracy actually means and how the whole thing works. This guide will be a great jumping-off point to learn about our government.
The Applied Cartooning Manifesto
Download a free copy of The World is Made of Cheese, The Applied Cartooning Manifesto.