What motivates me to make comics is
wanting to tell stories. It's always been
the most digestible for me as a visual
learner, and it's just the most engaging
form of art and literature. So the MFA in
Comics program has a unique
low-residency structure: Students come out for three annual summer sessions
where they take classes here on campus, but the fall and spring semesters in between
can be completed here in the Bay Area, or
from anywhere around the world.
I'm really happy to be a part of my cohort.
We're very diverse. We come from all
different parts of the country. We come
from all different backgrounds.
A lot of the times when I do get feedback from them, it's very meaningful. They want
to make sure you're doing your best. So
it is challenging sometimes—but in a
good way—because we're all bringing
different sorts of perspectives to the
class environment. It brings really
interesting class discussions, and I'm
learning a lot from the people around me.
We all know that we're here for a reason
and we want to be here, and in that sense
we want to also find all of ourselves
come out of it feeling like we've done something and we've
accomplished something. Every cohort is
different from year to year, but they all
kind of vibe with each other in
different ways, and so I really feel very
understood and very supported by that.
What we really focus on is helping
students make comics that have never
existed before; a comic that can only be
made by that student. Usually, we'll have
the students come in with one body of
knowledge about comics, either knowing a lot about superhero comics but not
knowing about other kinds of comics,
or only knowing the underground,
independent American comics but not knowing
anything about manga, and to watch their
horizons get broadened is amazing.
Watching the connections form is really
incredible, and then they get to use that
as the basis for their own work.
I see our students pushing what it means to make comics at every stage of the
program. Our students are in an
environment where they're able to
practice a lot and take a lot of risks
with their work. And I think the program
is helping in improving my traditional
techniques, but also helping me to
see that there is a digital platform
that I can use. We are introduced to a
variety of comics-making media and we're definitely encouraged to get creative
with it. We have comics that are coming
out of the program that are in every
style, every genre, and really seem to
come from an authentic place from the
student's voice.
One of our great strengths here at the
program is the incredible faculty.
They love comics, they love making comics, they love sharing their techniques and their
experience, but are also so, so dedicated
to working with the students on a
one-on-one basis and really helping them
shepherd their projects from start to
finish. What surprised me about the
program was the background of the
teachers and where they came from. There were books that I had read by
certain authors and I did not expect to just see them walking in my classroom
and then teaching me. They just let you dream wildly and they know how to accommodate
these aspirations that you come into the
program with. To see that comics history
is still flourishing here in San
Francisco is really reaffirming to me as
far as why I'm continuing to pursue this
MFA, and comics are just not going to go
anywhere anytime soon.
Know that you are going to learn about
every side of comics, both from technique
to theory to inking styles to
publishing to editing to teaching comics.
We have so much to show people when we leave.
