Comic class brings new Kresge show

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Tearing apart a newspaper and scavenging for the comics section before reading any major news headlines is something of which many are guilty.

MSU has the largest comic art collection available to the public in the nation and a growing niche of students interested in comics, graphic novels and anime-style art are making their interest more aware to fellow students on campus.

Kresge Art Center’s Gallery 101 exhibit “%$#&!: A Comics Exhibition” features the work of 15 student comic artists in MSU’s only comic studio course, taught by associate professor Ryan Claytor, and will run until March 30.

The comics and visual narrative class is entirely devoted to teaching students how to create sequential comic art.

Claytor’s previous comic classes have been popular — and often overenrolled — leading Claytor to infer a strong interest in different types of comic art. And his students are helping people realize the importance of comics, Claytor said.

“I want them to show MSU and the community that this is a legitimate, viable art form,” Claytor said. “I’m really proud of the work they produce, but I’m an admitted slave driver in this class because comics (are) something very near and dear to me.”
Claytor also is a comic artist himself. He is the owner, author and artist of Elephant Eater Comics.

The interactive comic art class has increased interest in the library’s Comic Art Collection, said comic art bibliographer Randall Scott, who has been collecting comics at MSU for almost 36 years.

“Lately there have been several classes teaching or using comics, and people come here all the time to read comics,” Scott said.

The comic exhibit in Gallery 101 is a way for the public and MSU community to see the work that goes into making comic art, Department of Art and Art History specialist Michelle Word said.

“Art is all around us all the time, and maybe even when you don’t think about it — like comics,” Word said. “When you’re reading a comic you might not think about the trained artist behind it.”

Word said she is not surprised the comic book course is popular.

“We do see students from the art department and all over who come in and are really into anime and graphic novels.” Word said.

“And the graphic novel has become such a big thing. There really is a big group of people (who like comics).”

For more information on the exhibit taking place in Gallery 101 in Kresge Art Center and more comic events taking place in the future, visit elephanteater.com.

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