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KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 26, 2021

June Brigman is professor of comic storytelling art at School of Art and Design

Looking back on her career, comic artist feels fortunate that she makes a living doing what she loves. Professor of comic storytelling art at Kennesaw State University鈥檚 School of Art and Design (SOAAD), and co-creator of Marvel鈥檚 superhero series , Brigman still loves drawing comic books and comic strips.

鈥淚鈥檝e been incredibly fortunate that, somehow, I鈥檝e hung in there and I still get to draw funny books,鈥� she says. Originally from Norcross, she studied life drawings and spent a summer in her teens working at Six Flags Over Georgia as a pastel portrait artist, drawing about 600 portraits, mostly children. She couldn鈥檛 have known then what a big influence this would play in her career.

Six Flags Connection
鈥淚n 1984, most of the comic books were superhero comics: idealized, hyper-muscular grown-ups, and there were a lot of artists who were very good at drawing those. But drawing children is different; their proportions are very different, and you can鈥檛 just draw a short, tiny version of an adult. That was basically how I got my big break: I could do something that most artists could not do.鈥� 

She and co-creator Louise Simonson began Power Pack in 1984. The comic book followed adventurous superhero siblings in New York City. Simonson and Brigman, now the power duo,  produced 17 issues together. 鈥淚鈥檝e been very lucky to work with very good writers. It鈥檚 nice to have the kind of collaboration where I don鈥檛 feel I like I鈥檓 being told what to draw.鈥� 

Barbie Can鈥檛 Twist
She also worked on syndicated comic strips such as Mary Worth, Wonder Woman, and Brenda Starr, and even did a stint for toy manufacturer Mattel, who had very strict guidelines for their artists to follow. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the job description, and you have to follow their guidelines: Barbie can鈥檛 twist and can鈥檛 throw a beach ball.鈥� 

Brigman hopes to bring some of the lessons she鈥檚 learned to the classroom. She wants to give students interesting and difficult problems to solve through comic storytelling in the hope that in the future, it will make life easier. 鈥淭o me, storytelling is like solving a series of problems. It鈥檚 a real juggling act: you鈥檙e a movie director, cinematographer, location scout, casting director. It鈥檚 like you鈥檙e making a movie on a much smaller scale.鈥� 

A Scruffy Cat Shows Up
After Power Pack, Brigman launched . Compared to the clean, slick look of the superhero kids, Captain Ginger has a rougher look as 鈥渃ats are on this rundown, junker spaceship, and it has a grittier, rundown, loo

ser quality to it. That wasn鈥檛 something I consciously did; I was under the influence of the story and the characters.鈥�

, the director of SOAAD, says, 鈥淛une Brigman is an extraordinary asset to the KSU School of Art and Design. Students gain an insight to the business of comics and the discipline that making鈥攁nd publishing鈥攃omics require. She is the consummate professional, dedicated to her art form and to her students. We are so fortunate to have her working with us.鈥�

It鈥檚 About Storytelling
She acknowledges that today鈥檚 sequential artists face unique challenges with both positives and negatives but believes it鈥檚 still worth pursuing as a career. She explains that the field is more open to different styles and different approaches, but it鈥檚 also more competitive and can be harder to make a living. 

While her class at KSU covers techniques such as drawing skills and inking, it really focuses more on all aspects of storytelling, 鈥渨hich is the hardest part of drawing a comic book.鈥� But for someone who loves to draw the funny books, 鈥渁 comic book is still a comic book; you are telling stories, and you love telling stories.鈥� 

To see Brigman鈥檚 work, visit the Zuckerman Museum of Art鈥檚 exhibition, 鈥淭he 9th Art: Frames and Thought Bubbles,鈥� now through May 9. Also, don鈥檛 miss 鈥淎rtists in Dialogue,鈥� her interview with Geo Sipp, guest curator, on Friday, Feb. 19 at noon.

--Kathie Beckett