March 27th

David Petersen

Michigan State University Comics Forum 2009 Keynote

Time: 7:00-8:30 PM

Location: Bessey Hall 108

David Petersen was born in 1977. His artistic career soon followed. A steady diet of cartoons, comics, and tree climbing fed his imagination and is what still inspires his work today. David won the 2007 Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer. In 2008, David won the Eisners for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 & Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album – Reprint (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 Hardcover).  David and his wife Julia reside in Michigan with their dog Autumn.

March 28th

please note, Artist’s Alley and all panels will be located in the Spartan Room of the International Center on the campus of Michigan State University

Artist Alley

Saturday, March 28, 11:30 AM-4:30 PM
Spartan Room, International Center, Michigan State University

The Michigan State University Comics Forum 2009 Artists’ Alley gives attendees the chance to meet and greet creators, many of which sell original art, sketches, and exclusive limited-edition prints and sketchbooks.

view full list of artists in attendance

Scholarly Trends in Comics Studies

Saturday, March 28, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM
Spartan Room, International Center, Michigan State University

Join several comic book scholars as they discuss their approaches to studying comic books. Panel members will include:

Joseph Darowski (moderator) is a PhD student in American Studies. He completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in English from Brigham Young University. His primary research area is comic books.  He has been involved with teaching AMS 270: Comics in America.

Dr. Gary Hoppenstand is a Professor of American Studies teaching in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures at Michigan State University. He has published thirteen books and over sixty scholarly articles on topics ranging from popular culture studies to popular fiction studies to entertainment media studies. For the past six years he has served as the editor of The Journal of Popular Culture, the most widely read and respected peer-reviewed scholarly journal in its field. In addition, he has won the College of Arts and Letters “Paul Varg Alumni Faculty Award” in 2008 for his teaching and research, and he has recently won Michigan State University’s prestigious “Distinguished Faculty Award” in 2009. He developed the first undergraduate comics course at Michigan State University entitled Comics in America.

Randy Scott is Comic Art Bibliographer for the Special Collections Division of the Michigan State University Libraries.  He has been collecting and organizing comics for the MSU Libraries since 1974, and hardly remembers a previous life.  He has an MSLS degree from Columbia University. He is old enough to retire but not old enough to quit reading comics.

The Comic Book in the (University) Classroom Panel

Saturday, March 28, 1:15 PM-2:45 PM
Spartan Room, International Center, Michigan State University

Join several university faculty members as they give their perspective on teaching with comics and teaching classes about comics in a university setting.  Panel members will include:

Ryan Claytor is a comics artist and professor living in Lansing, Michigan. In 2007, he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from San Diego State University with an emphasis in multimedia, researching autobiography in comics. Claytor’s achievements have included a Cartoonist in Residence position at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, California, visiting lecturerships at the Dallas Museum of Art and Michigan State University, an internship with Marvel Comics in New York City, and judging the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award in 2007.  In early 2009 the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco featured an exhibition of his work and Claytor began teaching the first “Comics and Visual Narrative” class in Michigan State University’s history.  As a creator, Claytor is most widely known for his self-published, autobiographical, comic book series And Then One Day. Although the series has undergone several format changes and incarnations since its inception in 2004, And Then One Day readers are consistently treated with Claytor’s thoughtful and entertaining personal anecdotes immaculately packaged with a designer’s eye for production detail. Most recently, in the summer of 2008, he released a republication of his Master’s Thesis on autobiography in comics entitled Concatenations. For more information about Ryan Claytor or any of his work, visit his website www.ElephantEater.com

Joseph Darowski is a PhD student in American Studies. He completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in English from Brigham Young University. His primary research area is comic books.  He has been involved with teaching AMS 270: Comics in America.

Ethan Watrall (moderator) is an Assistant Professor in MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online and the Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University.  In addition, he is an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of History, The Museum Studies Program, and The American Studies Program at Michigan State University.  Among his many and (varried) classes, Ethan teaches HST110h - Panels & Pages: The History of the Modern Comic Book

Comic Book Creator Panel

Saturday, March 28, 3:00 PM-4:00 PM
Spartan Room, International Center, Michigan State University

Join several Michigan comic creators as they discuss their work and their approach to the art of comic book storytelling.  Panel members will include:

Xeric Grant winner Gary Scott Beatty read his first comic book, a beat up old Tin Tin hardcover, in his grade school library some time before
the ’60s Batman craze. The first alternative comic he produced (They were called “underground” then) was on his high school’s mimeograph maching, after hours, without permission. Nearly three decades later  the tools and format have changed, but Gary is still producing printed  pieces that communicate and entertain. His coloring and lettering for 3 Boys Productions’ “Students of the Unusual” has appeared since the  popular indy comic’s first issue – now his logo design graces each cover. The controversial “Wedding of Popeye and Olive” Gary colored  for Ocean Comics was discussed on Good Morning America, in “The New  York Times,” “Time” magazine and “Newsweek.” His work with nationally syndicated cartoonist Aaron Warner included coloring “Adventures of Aaron” Sunday strips, producing the “Sparky and Tim” collection cover and typography and coloring for much of Aaron’s advertising studio work. His cover coloring for Scott Rosema’s “August” are now definitive of the character. His production assistance in Omega7’s “America’s Forgotten Children” publication helped lead to the recovery of several missing children. He letters for Viper and for Kaso Comics, has written scripts for Nicky Cruz Outreach and, locally, produces a full color, monthly entertainment magazine.

His current Aazurn Publishing projects include Xeric Grant Winner “Jazz: Cool Birth,” “The One” with “Adventures of Aaron” artist Aaron Warner, “Seductions” with Oz artist Bill Bryan and “Adam Among the Gods” with James Lyle. Lengthy articles detailing every step in Aazurn Publishing’s birth are cataloged at www.aazurn.com. Gary can be found at www.garyscottbeatty.com.

Ryan Claytor is a comics artist and professor living in Lansing, Michigan. In 2007, he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from San Diego State University with an emphasis in multimedia, researching autobiography in comics. Claytor’s achievements have included a Cartoonist in Residence position at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, California, visiting lecturerships at the Dallas Museum of Art and Michigan State University, an internship with Marvel Comics in New York City, and judging the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award in 2007.  In early 2009 the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco featured an exhibition of his work and Claytor began teaching the first “Comics and Visual Narrative” class in Michigan State University’s history.  As a creator, Claytor is most widely known for his self-published, autobiographical, comic book series And Then One Day. Although the series has undergone several format changes and incarnations since its inception in 2004, And Then One Day readers are consistently treated with Claytor’s thoughtful and entertaining personal anecdotes immaculately packaged with a designer’s eye for production detail. Most recently, in the summer of 2008, he released a republication of his Master’s Thesis on autobiography in comics entitled Concatenations. For more information about Ryan Claytor or any of his work, visit his website www.ElephantEater.com

Jason Howard is a comic book artist whose most notable work is illustrating The Astounding Wolf-Man - written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics.  Jason’s website can be found at http://jasonhoward.blogspot.com

David Petersen was born in 1977. His artistic career soon followed. A steady diet of cartoons, comics, and tree climbing fed his imagination and is what still inspires his work today. David won the 2007 Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer. In 2008, David won the Eisners for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 & Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album – Reprint (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 Hardcover).  David and his wife Julia reside in Michigan with their dog Autumn.  David’s website can be found at http://www.davidpetersen.net/