Making comics is about more than just drawing masked heroes with rippling muscles. Comic artists must also master the serious art of storytelling. That means studying line, color and composition as well as character development, storyboarding and plot craft. Today's comics cover everything from the incredible to the mundane. And with many comic artists now using the Internet to create and display their work, the future of comics is as unknown as it is exciting.
One thing's sure, though: The rippling muscles aren't going away any time soon. *

So begins the descriptive text available online at Minneapolis College of Art and Designs (MCAD) website describing the degree program in Comic Art. Like the rippling muscles, the students enthusiasm for the art form, like the students themselves, do not appear to be going away anytime soon. While the ripping muscles of the super-hero may be stereotypical of comics, the new breed of comic artists is diverse, interested in expanding the form, rather than just carrying on the super-hero tradition.

These artists spend years honing their technical craft in the serious side of storytelling, but as importantly, students spend a great deal of time investigating the meaning of the story. I ask these artists: what makes a good story? What is deeper meaning of the story? What is the message you want to convey? Whether their message is to simply entertain, or to impart upon the reader a greater message or meaning, learning this about storytelling is as important as technical craft in drawing the story.

Early on in their studies, these students are cultivating their technical skills.
They may search out the more technical ways to do this through page layout and panel transitions as they also explore the quality of line to evoke mood, or pacing to heighten the feeling of the story. . As they develop and mature as storytellers, they find their own voices as artists, the content and meaning of the story gains an ever-increasing importance.

Just as all artists mature and strive to find their own voice; these students are also doing that in a media that has traditionally been considered throwaway pop culture.

These students are exploring a media that has the possibilities of commercial entertainment, as well as artistic and individualistic expression. Both Hollywood and the art world are now validating the importance and form of comics in society. The big screen brings to life comic book stories with “super hero” films such as “Superman Returns,” and independent films such as “Art School Confidential” Meanwhile, National museums are showcasing classic and contemporary comic artists’ strips and books with traveling retrospective such as “Masters in American Comics.”

Is it really any wonder that this popular culture art form has so captivated the world and is now making in-roads into academic areas of study around the globe? Go on-line or to a bookstore and you will see the number and diversity of comic books, (and therefore artists) ever multiplying.

Truly, comics are one of the most easily accessible art forms to convey a message to a broad number of people. Comics are easy to disseminate over the web, or affordable to publish in print form. These artists studying comics will hopefully push its boundaries, as they become the next generation of storytellers.


Barbara Schulz
Assistant Professor, Comic Art
Design Department
Minneapolis College of Art and Design




*MCAD

Nikki Cook
Small sampling of Alumni and their current projects

Nikki Cook
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Book Arts, Literature