Cartoon College

White River Junction, VT, has the honor of hosting the recently instituted Center for Cartoon Studies, a two-year MFA college for aspiring cartoonists and "comix" creators. CCS nurtures its visionaries less along the Marvel/DC superhero line and more in the edgy, fine-art tradition of Maus creator Art Spiegelman (interviewed here). Although watching a person sweat over panel penciling and inkings at a sketching table is not terribly cinematic, filmmakers Josh Melrod and Tara Wray succeed in drawing (sorry) the viewer's interest with a narrative that follows the travails of various aspiring artists undergoing the rigors of cartoon-theory class and the dreaded thesis presentation. Students range from Al Wesolowski, an elderly, half-deaf, semi-retired Boston archaeologist, who hopes to turn his whimsical stick-figures into a new career, to young and brash Jen Vaughn, whose comics tend to center on mermaids and menstruation. Aside from the fact that young comics-creators tend to be thoughtful peer-group outcasts, the chances of making a living out of being a cartoonist are slim, so a DIY industry of self-published and very personal graphics has arisen. Big-name cartoonists making guest appearances here include Scott McCloud, Francoise Mouly, Lynda Barry, Jules Feiffer, and Gabby Schulz. Extras include updates on the students and the school. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)