Hey Chicago! We’re offering portfolio reviews both Saturday AND Sunday of @cakechicago 5/2 & 5/3 from 12pm till 4pm
Come find us at the SAIC sponsorship table where a few of the cohort will be there to offer advice, insight, and invaluable feedback on your art. Bring your portfolio and your questions!
Meet a few of our grad students in the MFA Comics Cohort!
MIBA (she/her) is a manga comic artist from Taiwan. Her main project, Ba & Dino, is a comedy manga about a dinosaur who slips into modern day Taiwan from the cretaceous period and befriends a human named Ba. The story follows them as they try to live happily and foolishly, even while facing fears and setbacks. Most of the characters are introverts, out of sync with the world but slowly learn to reflect and accompany one another. In her time at SAIC, MIBA hopes to translate the series into English so it can resonate with international audiences.
Fiona Murphy (they/them) blends 2D illustrative mediums with 3D installation and sculptural works in order to push the boundaries of what we consider a “drawing”. Having found their way to comics in the process, their work focuses on Catholic deconstruction, narrative icons, and the psychological realm. They’re currently developing their graphic novel Baghead, a coming of age thriller that encapsulates these themes.
Oz Hukalowicz (he/him) is a comic artist and writer from Massachusetts. His work generally includes themes of community strength, surrealism in sentimentality, and queer celebration. Glass Mountain (his first comic) is about a generation inheriting an unstable future and realizing it can’t be fixed alone. In sci-fi series Psychosphere (in progress) these themes remain present but are pointed against fascism and corporate greed.
#saic #comics #gradprogram #gradcomics #studio
Meet a few of our grad students in the MFA Comics Cohort!
TMT Tang (she/her) is a Chinese comic artist, painter and illustrator. She’s currently working on a dystopian comic that takes place in a world where everyone has the legal right to kill, as well as developing a marine apocalyptic sci-fi comic. She’s interested in visual world-building, plans to create a novel-style game, and hopes to find more collaborators interested in storytelling.
Kit Montgomery (they/them) is a Chicago-based cartoonist, zine maker and small press pest. Their current work includes a series of comedic and whimsical mini-zines, Draculester and various hot dog strips. They’ve co-founded small press Christopher Goblin, and work with F Newsmagazine.
Emma Rosengarten (she/her) is a queer Jewish cartoonist, illustrator and art educator from Evanston IL. She graduated from SAIC in 2021 with a BFA in Art Ed, emphasizing art therapy practices, Spanish language and cultural-responsiveness in her teaching. She’s currently developing the temporal style, a nonlinear sequential storytelling structure that utilizes visual scaffolding to define momentary vignettes.
#saic #comics #gradprogram #gradcomics #studio
Meet a few of our grad students in the MFA Comics Cohort!
Gabriel Howell (he/him) is a Chicago based auto-bio cartoonist, illustrator, print-maker and tattoo artist. Howell’s solo graphic novels have been published by Secret Acres, Cold Cube Press, Entropy Editions, Bred Press and Reptile House Comix. His book Forget Me Not was nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2023. Currently he co-owns and tattoos out of Mind Palace Chicago while pursuing becoming a comics educator.
Sherly Hsiao (she/her) is a digital artist from Taiwan who creates Webtoon comics, currently focusing on topics of modern day-to-day life and romantic relationships in her work. In the future she hopes to create comics about the nuances of Kpop idols and social stereotypes for celebrities. She’s currently working on her comic My Roommate Cupid while developing Strawberry Fields and Panspermia.
Sidne K. Gard (they/them) is a queer cartoonist, writer and artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Their work focuses on history, identity, love and monsters. Sidne earned their BFAW from SAIC in 2025, and work as managing editor of F Newsmagazine. Additionally, they are an illustrator for The Copyright Society, and co-founded small press Christopher Goblin, where they’ve published many zines and comics.
#saic #comics #gradprogram #gradcomics #studio
Ready, Set…Zine! ✂️🌟✍️
Can you name these different zine constructions? Kit and Sidne are ready to introduce you this Saturday (3/28) at C2E2! They’ll be covering traditional diy zine formats, as well as experimental. No experience necessary, love for drawing/collage encouraged! Hope to see you there!
- C2E2 Chicago, room S401D @c2e2
- Saturday March 28 2-3pm
#saic #comics #c2e2 #gradcomics #chicago
Are you busy this Sunday (March 29) from 4-5pm, and if not would you LIKE to be?! ✍️🤘🎸
Join MIBA, Sherly and Oz at C2E2 this weekend for a workshop on 4 Panel Comics! They’ll be talking about story beats, punchline setups, and passage of time contained to four panels. Hope to see you there!
- C2E2 Chicago, room S401D @c2e2
- Sunday March 29 4-5pm
#saic #comics #c2e2 #chicago #gradcomics
Interested in joining a graduate cohort of passionate comic artists in the heart of Chicago?
You’re in luck- the application for our program has been extended to March 1! Check the link in our bio to submit your portfolio and other application materials!
www.saic.edu/comics/graduate/mfa-studio-admissions-information
#saic #comics #gradprogram #gradcomics #mfa
Calling Chicago comic lovers!
Quimby’s is hosting a live reading event featuring more than a dozen emerging storytellers from undergraduate and graduate comic programs. Their pages will be shared aloud in an exciting showcase, highlighting short comics and excerpts from visual stories they’ve developed.
The event will take place at Quimby’s Bookstore (1854 W North Ave) from 6:30-8:30pm on December 13th. We hope to see you there! 📚✨
#chicago #comics #comicreading #studentshowcase
Interested in applying to an SAIC graduate program? For example comics?! ✍️ Meet with faculty and visit our adorable snowy ❄️❄️❄️campus at Grad SAIC Day on 12/6. RSVP at saic.edu/grevents
