In January 2015, English professor and Eisner Award-winning scholar Dr. Susan Kirtley launched PSU’s Comics Studies Certificate program. Kickstarting the program’s courses was Dr. Kirtley’s own Comics Theory, a high-level introduction to the rapidly growing world of comics scholarship and, as the one required course for completion of the certificate, still the bedrock of the program’s entire plan of study. Much to Dr. Kirtley’s surprise, one of the students in that inaugural Comics Theory class was yours truly, so I speak from experience when I say that those of you who have studied with our program director already know how savvy she is. She’s no slouch and no pushover, but her teaching is grounded in a welcoming and warmhearted attitude toward all her students, and year after year she brings excitement and enthusiasm to her courses and to the program as a whole.
From that first Comics Theory class, the program has blossomed to include a wide variety of regularly offered comics courses, with Comics History, Comics Editing, and Writing Comics designed to prepare students for various careers in the field. Other courses, such as Latinx Comics or Research into Comics, allow students to venture even further into different realms of theory, while the always popular Manga: Japanese Comics seeks to expand the medium’s cultural and formal boundaries. In addition to these benchmark offerings, each new year brings new surprises, including 2023’s courses in Nonfiction Comics and French Comics in Translation. And we have something very special in the works for spring 2024, so stay tuned!
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Illustrated by Rictor Riolo for Prof. J.J. Vazquez’s Comic Book Films course.
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Comics Studies isn’t just about great courses, though. It’s really about community. Dubbed “Comics City, USA” by the Oregon Historical Society, the Portland area is home to many of your favorite comic book writers and artists and editors, as well as three major comics publishing companies—Dark Horse, Image Comics, and Oni Press—and some of the finest comics specialty shops in the country. Right from the start, Dr. Kirtley positioned Comics Studies as a place for comics students, fans, scholars, and creators to come together. To that end, she has made a point of reaching out to the local comics community for the benefit of our students by hiring working comics professionals as instructors, including (among others) Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker, two of the industry’s best-selling writers of contemporary comic books, to teach our Writing Comics course. Our successful internship program gives students the opportunity to earn course credit while gaining hands-on job experience with local comics publishing companies. Eisner Award-winning artist Steve Lieber conducts in-person portfolio reviews with our students, and Webtoon hosts virtual workshops on such topics as scripting for scroll comics and character creation, to name just a couple. It is this emphasis on community that makes PSU’s Comics Studies program unique—and uniquely rewarding for our students, our teachers, and the comics community at large.
When I first began attending university, over fifty (!) years ago, it would have been a dream to take courses on comics. Thanks to PSU’s Comics Studies program and its director, that dream is now a reality not only for me but for any student who shares my four-color sense of wonder. Dr. Kirtley is too modest to sing her own praises, but I’m happy to sing them for her—and to ask you to join me in thanking her by donating to the program. As we enter our tenth year of Comics Studies at Portland State, our story is really only just beginning, and with your help we will boldly go where no one has gone before! As we work to shape our comics communities of the future, we thank you for your ongoing generosity, and we encourage you, in this brand new year, to give whatever you can to support your very own Comics Studies program so that we can continue to be the best there is at what we do.
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Your friend in comics,
Diana Schutz
comics translator, editor, educator, & student
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Please click the donate button. Feel free to ignore the pre-set amounts you find there, and in the two blank spaces below—in particular, the designated donation space for the “Comics Studies Program”—just fill in whatever amount makes you comfortable. We know times are tight, and we’re grateful for whatever you can share.
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| Please send a check made payable to the PSU Foundation to:
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PSU Foundation
PO Box 243
Portland, OR 97207
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Please add Comics Studies in the memo field to ensure that your gift reaches our program.
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