Artwork from “My First Tattoo,” by Fiona Avocado. _Courtesy of MSU Libraries _
When MSU Libraries Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator Ruth Ann Jones came up with the idea for the “The MSU Student Comic Art Anthology,” she wanted to shine a light on student creativity.
“Because our library is known for the comic art collection, it seemed like a good genre to start with,” Jones said. “We are so well-known for our comic art collection.”
“The MSU Student Comic Art Anthology” was published on March 1. The 80-page anthology comic anthology includes 12 stories by 11 artists from current and former MSU students.
After Jones received permission from library administration to pursue the project, she put out the news she was looking for student comics to display in the anthology. Jones then assembled a jury to judge a total of 30 submissions.
MSU alumnus Matt Dye had two comics make the cut: “Chewski Goes Fishin’” and “Chewski Goes Sledding.” Both stories are based on the hamster he had in his dorm room when he was a student.
“He was just so chubby and funny looking he seemed like a cartoon character already,” Dye said. “I just wanted to write some humorous stories as if he were going on adventures and not just trapped in a cage.”
Currently working as a graphic artist for Ypsilanti-based screen printing company VGKids, Dye said the comics were produced when he was a student in professor Ryan Claytor’s comics studio course.
“He kind of inspired us in his course and he (gave) us prompts on what kind of stories to write and stuff,” Dye said.
Claytor, who currently serves as the director of the MSU Comics Forum, was one of three professors selected to serve on the jury.
Another one of Claytor’s students, biomedical laboratory science junior Bridget Flanagan, had her comic “Brain vs. Voice” published in the anthology. The comic chronicles one of her most embarrassing moments — when she insulted another person by saying they smelled like a horse.
“In the comic, I wrote what was going through my brain at the time, which involved the little characters that I made up,” Flanagan said. “It involved really thinking outside the box. And I liked the concept of little people running your brain, in a way.”
Jones anticipates “The MSU Student Comic Art Anthology” will lead to more anthologies in the future.
“There’s just many different genres that students are involved in,” she said. “Now that I have an example in hand, I can go to different departments and say ‘Would you like to work with us
on this?’”
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