@rclaytor

Ryan Claytor’s 20-Year Legacy as a Comics Education Trailblazer

March 11, 2025

Ryan Claytor is a trailblazer in comics education whose passion for teaching and talent as an award-winning comics artist and creator is fueled by his love of the expressive medium. Since joining Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design in 2008, Claytor has built a thriving academic and creative comics community at the university, having launched the first comics studio course in MSU’s history and later establishing the interdisciplinary Comic Art and Graphic Novels minor.

Faculty / Grant / International Impact / News / Research / U.S. Impact

Several College Projects Supported by HARP Development and Production Awards

December 13, 2024

Projects by College of Arts & Letters faculty, ranging from a linguistic course, to traveling exhibitions, to books on a range of subjects, received support this year from Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP) Development or Production Awards. Funding for these HARP Grants is provided, in part, through the Michigan State University Research Foundation.

Exhibition / Faculty / News / Student

Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial Exhibit Runs Through July 21 at MSU Broad

February 5, 2024

The works of 22 Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD) faculty are now on display through July 21, 2024, at the MSU Broad Art Museum as part of an exhibition that highlights the diverse, experimental, and interdisciplinary creative practices of these talented and internationally recognized artists/educators. The 2024 Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial exhibition offers a…

Three people standing over an organized table of comics

Event / Exhibition / News

MSU Comics Forum Set for February 21-22

February 8, 2020

This year’s Michigan State University Comics Forum, scheduled for February 21 and 22, will feature two keynote speakers, an artist alley, academic panel discussions, comic art exhibition, and private tours of the world’s largest public collection of comic books. The MSU Comics Forum, an annual event for scholars, creators, and fans of the comics medium, started in 2008, with Ryan Claytor,…

Graphic of Cartoon Network characters with the name Cartoon Network in the center of photo

Internship / News / Student

Studio Art Major Interns at Cartoon Network

March 20, 2019

College of Arts & Letters student Dania Abu-Rmaileh recently spent four months working at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, as a production intern. “I grew up on a lot of Cartoon Network shows,” said Abu-Rmaileh, a senior Studio Art major with a concentration in Graphic Design and minors in Comics, Animation, and Art History in the Department of Art, Art…

graphic illustration for the comic art and graphic novel podcast

News / Podcast / Student

Comic Art and Graphic Novel Podcast Returns for a Second Year

September 8, 2017

The Michigan State University Comic Art and Graphic Novel Podcast is returning for its second year. The podcast is an interview program hosted by Art, Art History, and Design Assistant Professor and the owner, author, and artist of Elephant Eater Comics, Ryan Claytor. Each podcast will begin with updates on various comics-related events around MSU followed by a brief discussion with Michigan State University Special…

photo of multiple comic books laid together

Event / News

Comics Forum Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

February 20, 2017

The MSU Comics Forum will celebrate its 10th anniversary February 24-25 with two keynote speakers, the work of about three dozen artists, and several panel discussions. Director of the MSU Comics Forum Ryan Claytor, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, has been hard at work making sure the event is larger than it…