HIGHER (CARTOON) LEARNING: JAMES STURN ON THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES

[MattBrady]

by Chris Arrant

In the relative short span of a few years, cartoonist James Sturm has accomplished quite a bit. From his Eisner-nominated comic book The Cereal Killings in 1991, to his widespread success with Time Magazine's "Best Comic 2001" Golem's Mighty Swing to his reinvention of four classic Marvel icons in Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules, Sturm has surprised comics pundits with his ability to remain true to his roots while adapting some of the biggest superheroes of our times. But that's not what we're talking about today.

The newest offering from James Sturm isn't a comic book; it isn't even a book. It's an education. In an effort to give back to comics that's offered him so much as well as foster continued growth in the sequential art, James Sturm has founded the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). Located in White River Junction, Vermont, this two-year cartooning school has an ambitious and simple goal; simply, to be the best education in comics and sequential art in the country.

But what led him to founding this unique facility, and more importantly, what will CCS offer to it's students? Newsarama had a chance to speak with James Sturm, Founder & Director, about what is planned for this institution.

Newsarama: How long have you had the idea for this venture, and what prompted you to finally undertake it?

James Sturm: I’ve always had a passion for teaching and have thought about starting a school for quite awhile. What prompted me to finally get it going was the fact that the teaching position I desired did not exist. I decided that I’d rather go through all the work of building a school from scratch than deal with petty politics at a college where I felt limited as to what could be accomplished.

NRAMA: Can you tell us what you're looking for in your applicants?

JS: The school is looking for students that see cartooning as a calling rather than just an occupation. Students that approach comics the same way a serious painter, poet, or sculptor approaches their work. We’ve starting accepting students. Not all of them are from an arts background but they all possess a fierce commitment to telling stories with pictures. I am surprised and delighted to see a good percentage of our applicants are from students that already have a college degree.

NRAMA: After the completion of the two-year course of study at CCS, how prepared will they be to act as an independent creator and self-publisher in the industry?

JS: How do you define industry? Is anyone who self-publishes part of the industry? The school’s curriculum is designed to have students gain an intimate understanding of not just their own creative process but how to produce and disseminate their work.

NRAMA: One of the reasons you have said you've created CCS is to create the best cartooning school you can. Where do you see CCS in 5 years?

JS: The goal is to have CCS be the best cartooning school in the country, not the biggest, just the best in regards to quality of education. Given the very high caliber of folks who are involved this is an attainable goal.

NRAMA: For a long time, the Joe Kubert School has been the primary, if not only, school devoted to comic education. Not to disparage Joe or the facility, can you tell us how CCS stands apart from it?

JS: I would never disparage Joe nor his faculty. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Joe as a cartoonist and for what he’s accomplished with his school. I do think CCS will differ from the Kubert school in a few ways. For starters, CCS emphasizes self-publishing. This emphasis obviously means the teaching of a lot of marketable skills but more importantly it allows the students to disseminate their work regardless whether they get hired by Marvel or DC or possess a more “commercial” style. Looking at Joe’s distinguished career and his instructors you can see there is a bias on a certain style or type of cartooning. Lynda Barry, Peter Arno, Julie Doucet, William Gropper, Crockett Johnson, and Rory Hayes are as important to the medium’s history (if not more so) than people like Barry Windsor Smith or Gene Colan. This is not meant as a slight to these great cartoonists. They certainly influenced me and have their place but there is so much more to the history of comics than the story of the larger publishing houses.

I think a complete comics education has to be similar to a liberal arts education because with comics you can not separate form from content. To that end, CCS will have visiting artists that include documentary filmmakers, novelists, poets, historians, and sculptors. Cartoonists, to create compelling work, need to have an appreciation of architecture, painting, philosophy, history and other fields of knowledge to inform and inspire.

NRAMA: Textbooks are an integral part to any schooling. Although the first semester is still a year away, could you give us a glimpse at any textbooks or subjects for textbooks that will be a part of CCS?

JS: With five different instructors the first year, there will be a lot of texts and course readers. The course I’ll be teaching will include texts and writings by Edward Tufte, Scott McCloud, David Mamet, David Hickey, Stan Sakai, Gene Byrnes, R. Taylor, and many more.

NRAMA: You've already assembled a list of some of the cartoonists that will stop by CCS as visiting artists. Can you tell us some of those artists, and what is unique and educational about each of their work?

JS: Craig Thompson, Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, Jason Lutes, and Seth have created some of the most personal and powerful comics of the last decade. They understand and can articulate the formal underpinnings of the medium and possess tremendous knowledge of craft. Scott McCloud literally “wrote the book” about comics. His enthusiasm, generosity, and intelligence makes him an ideal instructor. Cartoonists of my generation owe a tremendous debt to Art Spiegelman. His work and writing has elevated cartooning to new heights and I’m thrilled Art will be willing visiting CCS and inspire a new generation of practitioners. There are so many other great cartoonists who will be stopping in, each bringing different perspectives from New Yorker gag cartoonists to more mainstream stalwarts. There are so many different approaches to cartooning and every cartoonist I know has somehow carved out their own unique niche (most making it up as they go along). The one thing they all share is a strong work ethic and a passion for comics. There is clearly no one right way to make a comic or fashion a career. That said, no one should have to reinvent the wheel and hopefully each CCS student will be able to pick up a little something from each visiting artist and, after two years of focused study, be better preparedt to meet their own cartooning goals than if they hadn’t attended CCS.

NRAMA: CCS's advisory board features nationally known cartoonists and publishers, including Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, Diana Schutz, and Art Spiegelman. Can you tell us how you got them on-board, and give us insight to some of the things they would be contributing to this effort?

JS: All these folks I’ve known for some time. Getting them on board wasn’t a hard sell. They are all passionate about cartooning and believe in the mission of the school. Scott, Art, Will are visiting the school. Art and Scott will be doing workshops with CCS students. Arts’ coming here for a fundraiser November 18. Diana has assisted in marketing and development work. Will is going to try to visit in April. All of the advisory board members are a constant sounding boards for ideas. I want to offer the students the best education available and their insights and experiences will certainly enrich CCS’s course offerings.

NRAMA: What do you have planned for the fundraiser on November 18th?

JS: Art Spiegelman will be speaking at Dartmouth College at 4pm (location to be announced) with a book signing to benefit CCS to follow. At 8:00pm Art will be in White River Junction at the Hotel Reception for an invite-only CCS fundraiser in which we'll talk about comics and education.

NRAMA: Comic book readers may not be aware of this, but you've had considerable experience teaching at the college level. Could you tell us about your tenure at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)?

JS: I taught at SCAD from 1997-2001. I learned how to teach at SCAD. I appreciate the school giving me that opportunity. In the sequential art department I worked with some amazing students and alongside some very good teachers (and a few not-so-good ones). One of my ex-students, and good friend, John Lowe, is now the chair of the sequential art department. What goes on in the classroom, as most teachers will tell you, is the best part of the job. Dealing with the administration is by far the most unpleasant aspect of the job.

NRAMA: CCS received support from the local representatives and lobbied Vermont to include $30,000 in 2004's capital bill to fund renovation of the building CCS will be occupying. With the current downtrend in government funding for the arts, can you tell us what made this government renovation possible?

JS: First off, Vermont is not in as bad of fiscal shape as most states. The building the school will be occupying is managed by a state agency and much of the improvements we put into the building ultimately belong to the state. Vermont is a small state. Politicians, Rebublicans or Democrats, are extremely accessible and and want to see things get better. Both sides of the aisle were very helpful in lending support to CCS. White River Junction is a cool old railroad town that is slowly coming back. There seems to be a growing recognition within the state that a school, in the heart of downtown, would have very positive economic and cultural benefit to the region.

NRAMA: Do you have any plans to become an accredited school?

JS: Yes. The accreditation process has begun. We hope to be able to offer a two-year associate degree in the near future.

NRAMA: Is there any plans for financial assistance or recommendations for students?

JS: CCS is pursuing accreditation which will qualify us for federal financial aid programs. At this time CCS cannot offer federal financial aid. CCS has established both a talent scholarship fund and tuition financing assistance installment payment plans for students.

NRAMA: Could you tell us about the talent scholarship fund, and what is the criteria for eligibility?

JS: On February 15, 2005, CCS will review all completed applications and make scholarships decisions based upon the highest quality of work.

NRAMA: Lastly, what's the story behind Inky Solomon, the "spiritual leader" of CCS?

JS:Interested parties can decide that for themselves at this link.. The cartoonist Seth recorded the ballad of Inky Solomon. Inky, as a teacher and a cartoonist, is the yardstick I measure myself by.

[Gordon McAlpin]

Awesome. Give me a couple of years to get my Master's, and I'll be teaching there with you, Professor Sturm.

(By the way, you Newsarama cats spelled "Sturm" wrong in the headline.)

[ZakK]

Sturm is probably the best guy in the world to teach cartooning. I took classes with him at SCAD and the guy is just awesome. He's a nice guy, and is one efficient teacher. Good deal, Sturm!

[Idébu]

This is great news. I look forward to reading of the school's events and the activities of its students. This is absolutely inspiring. Congrats James!