Editors’ Day expands opportunities for students

By: Monique Bos

Published: Friday, May 19, 2006

The sequential art department at the Savannah College of Art and Design is holding its annual Editors’ Day May 25-26. An array of experts will visit the college to review student portfolios and hold a panel discussion about the comics industry.

Portfolio reviews are scheduled to take place May 25, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., and May 26, 2-5:30 p.m., at Norris Hall, 548 E. Broughton St., home of the sequential art department. SCAD alumni working in the industry including Mike O’Sullivan, editor at Devil’s Due Publishing Company, will participate in the reviews. Also on the roster are Bob Schreck, Batman group editor at DC Comics; Axel Alonso, group editor at Marvel Comics; Chris Staros, editor in chief and publisher of Top Shelf Comics; Tim Beedle, editor at Tokyopop; James Lucas Jones, editor in chief of ONI Press; Jeff Mason, editor and publisher of Alternative Comics; and Chris Duffy, editor of Nickelodeon magazine.

“We have eight editors this year, which is the most we’ve ever had at one time,” said department chair John Lowe. “That increases the possibilities for students to find work.”

The editors also represent a diverse range of companies, he said.

“For example, we have Nickelodeon magazine, which prints comics for children. We have students who want to create comics and stories for children; that’s a market that I think we’ll see emerging in the next two to 10 years.”

Student work also will be critiqued publicly for the first time this year. At the panel discussion, which will take place May 25 in the Oglethorpe House ballroom, 201 W. Oglethorpe Ave., 9-10:30 p.m., student creations will be projected onto a screen behind the editors, who will provide their perspectives of the work.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public, and Lowe said the public-format critiques should appeal to students in other majors as well as those studying sequential art.

“This would be beneficial for any student who’s interested in comics,” he said. “It’s a perfect chance to see how editors think.”

In addition, the top three prizewinners for the 2005-06 sequential art anthology, “Science,” will be announced at the panel. The anthology, distributed through Staros’ company, Top Shelf Productions, will be available at Editors’ Day and should be on shelves at comic book stores and other venues by late summer or early fall.

Lowe said he’s excited about the opportunities Editors’ Day creates for students.

“Each year, students are hired due to this event,” he said. “I’m impressed with both the quality and the volume of student work. I’m anticipating that a lot of students will get their first professional work through this event, which is exciting for them and for us, as a program and as a college.”