Remembering the Comic Arts Program at New England College

 

Five years ago yesterday I wrote:

"Announcement! OK, I just signed my contract so it's all official.

"I will be teaching comics history at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College (formerly the New Hampshire Institute of Art) beginning today. Looking forward to it! This is going to be fun."

Wow. I can’t believe it’s been five years. So much talent. I didn’t want to say it at the time, but I was really worried that I wouldn’t like the 20-something students. I was wrong on that count. And happy to be wrong.

The school was bought by New England College and, within a couple of years, its students moved to the main campus in Henniker, NH. The Manchester campus was shut down and most of its buildings sold. A terrible loss for that city.

As of last year, college enrollment at the school, like a lot of colleges, had dropped and the Comic Arts program has quietly gone away. I don't know if it's for good, but it was grand fun and good work while it lasted. Ironically, Garry Trudeau was commencement speaker last year. 

The surprising thing about teaching was how excited some of the students would get about some of these old cartoonists and illustrators. As I taught (and I taught three courses: The History of Comics, The History of Political Cartoons and The History of Illustration), I was able to show them work by Tove Jansson, John Held, Jr., Ludwig Bemelmans, Ronald Searle and many, many others. Some of these really resonated with these 21st century young students, and that was great to see.

I won't miss driving in the dark for a winter early morning class. I won't miss the various educational computer programs (Navigator, Blackboard) used to post attendance, post grades, etc. But I will miss the students. 

For now, back to the studio and the drawing board. In the freelance business this was a good, long gig. I am used to things ending, and know that other gigs are out there.