Trees & Hills drawing party at CCS from Feb. 23

Cat Garza of White River Junction, Vt. works on the latest installment of his "Year of the Rat" comic as he snacks.



Here's a view of the main teaching room at the Center for Cartoon Studies.



Megan Baehr of Putney, Vt. colors one of her comics.

A Few Quick Notes of Interest

Burlington artist Gregory Giordano – who did that fantastic NEW STARS cover for us – landed the cover of Seven Days this week, Vermont's large alternative weekly, with a Halloween-themed cover. Giordano went the extra mile to get a mention of the Sputnik-theme anthology comic and the Trees & Hills comics group in his bio that the paper published! These are just a few of the reasons we love him.

Congratulations to CCS grad Colleen Frakes , who returned to Vermont from SPX last week to discover that she has been awarded an Xeric Grant. Frakes plans to use the grant to publish a collection of her awesome mini-comic TRAGIC RELIEF for MoCCA 2008.

In case you didn't hear: Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau came to the Center for Cartoon Studies! Here's the Associated Press story about him speaking to the students there and here's my story for the Rutland Herald and the Times Argus on his lecture he gave that evening to a sold-out crowd of 250.

Keene, N.H. Cartoonist Tim Hulsizer, the fine artist of the first issue of $ELL OUTS, first issue out in March 2008, has posted rare strips that Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson did for his college newspaper. His find has been linked by Heidi MacDonald's The Beat, BoingBoing and others. But we all know Tim is really just upping the ante for me to post the Frank Miller high school newspaper strips that I have.

There's a few Trees & Hills members that also appear in the new DEAD MAN'S HAND anthology ,published by Tree Fort Press, a new publishing group that has formed in the CCS community in the White River Junction, Vt. area. The square-bound book looks great and is shock full of western comics, including a new story by Stephen R. Bissette. Other notable contributors include Morgan Pielli, Cat Garza, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Megan Baehr and a story written by myself and drawn by Bill Couture!

CCS Portfolio Day

THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES PORTFOLIO DAY Saturday, November 17, 10am-1pm

Show your portfolio for an admissions review, Learn more about the program and courses, Meet faculty and students, and Tour the campus!

Who should attend? Prospective students, Applicants, High School seniors and graduates, College students.

Location: The Center for Cartoon Studies, 94 South Main St., White River Junction, VT (directions) Questions? (802) 295-3319.

R.S.V.P. Space is limited! Contact Robyn Chapman: chapman at cartoonstudies dot org.

Vermont's cartooning school now offers MFAs

The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction was given the authority to grant MFA degrees by the state of Vermont. Astonishingly Awesome Reporter Dan Barlow (I think that's me) nabbed the story right here.

CCS student Bryan Stone - check him out at www.bryan-stone.com - drew a nice little cartoon to go with the story. Oddly, my editors asked me to find a student they could pay to draw it. Hopefully this becomes a regular occurance.

CCS Portfolio Day

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS)
CCS PORTFOLIO DAY
SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2007
10am-1pm

(click 'Full Article' below)

Bring your sketchbook!
Show your portfolio for an admissions review
Learn more about the program and courses
Meet faculty and students
Tour the campus

Who should attend?
Prospective students
Applicants
High School seniors and graduates
College students

Location:
The Center for Cartoon Studies
94 South Main Street
White River Junction, Vermont
Directions available online: http://www.cartoonstudies.org/wrj.html
Questions? (802) 295-3319
R.S.V.P. Space is limited!
Robyn Chapman
chapman@cartoonstudies.org.

About The Center for Cartoon Studies
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) offers a one and two-year course of
study designed for a small group of dedicated students with a passion and
appreciation for graphic novels, storytelling, writing, comics, and design.
Experienced and internationally recognized cartoonists, writers, and
designers will teach classes. For more information on CCS programs, visit:
http://www.cartoonstudies.org/programs.html