Comics and Graphic Novels Archives

Celebrating the 2024-2025 School Year: Staff Party, Student Showcase + Global Education Fair

Last week, we hosted our annual Staff Party that brought MTM’s faculty and staff together to celebrate the end of another successful school year. Held at our campus, we honoured the team’s hard work and support in guiding students toward creative excellence with a wholesome potluck!

Here’s a look at some of the amazing artwork from our students this 2024-2025 school year:

Artwork by 2nd Year Animation Student Karleigh Hollands – Intermediate Character Design

Artwork by 2nd Year Animation Student J’nia Brown – Animation 2A (Background Design)

Artwork by 3rd Year Animation Student Trinity Stephens – 2D Short Film Production

Artwork by 2nd Year Concept Art Student David Gu – Portrait Painting in Oils

Artwork by 3rd Year Concept Art Student Kay Lui – Advanced Props and Objects

Artwork by 4th Year Concept Art Student Vlad Craciun – Advanced Creature Design

Artwork by 1st Year Student Isabelle Albanese – Design and Composition

Artwork by 4th Year Illustration Student Rafael Fernandez – Illustration 2

Global Education Fair

On Saturday, April 26th, we were invited to the Global Education Fair at the atrium of our campus at 95 Moatfield Drive. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth!

MTM Instructor Dave Ross drawing at the Global Education Fair.

See you in the 2025-2026 school year!

Fadi Hakim Brings Captain Canuck’s Legacy to Life at MTM College

On Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 MTM College had the privilege of hosting Fadi Hakim, the visionary CEO and owner of Lev Gleason Publishing, for an unforgettable guest lecture. As the driving force behind the revival of Canada’s iconic superhero, Captain Canuck, Fadi captivated students with his passion for storytelling, entrepreneurship, and preserving Canadian pop culture.

Fadi’s journey in the comic industry is nothing short of remarkable. Since acquiring the rights to Captain Canuck in 2024, he has reimagined the character for a new generation while staying true to its roots. Under his leadership, Lev Gleason Publishing—formerly Chapterhouse Comics, rebranded in 2021—has become a powerhouse for Canadian creators. With imprints like Comic House and New Friday, Fadi has championed diverse voices and expanded the company’s reach with a U.S. office. His latest projects include a striking Captain Canuck comic variant cover celebrating Canadian values and ambitious animated and live-action adaptations in partnership with Lev Gleason Studios, VVS Films, and Muse Entertainment.

During his talk, Fadi shared behind-the-scenes stories of building a modern superhero universe, from navigating creative challenges to fostering collaboration across media. His advice to MTM students resonated deeply. He encouraged aspiring artists, writers, and entrepreneurs to embrace their unique perspectives and take bold risks in their craft.

Fadi’s visit was a reminder of the magic that happens when creativity meets purpose. MTM College is grateful for his generosity and looks forward to seeing how our students carry forward the inspiration from this incredible day.

Stay tuned for more guest speaker events and opportunities to connect with industry leaders at MTM College!

Paris Alleyne Wins Award for Best Comic Book Colourist

Paris Alleyne thought he might eventually get an award in his career as a comic book artist, he just didn’t anticipate it happening so soon. In the summer of 2020, Paris received an Eisner Award for Best Colourist on a Comic Book Series for his work on Afterlift, written by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo.

Natalie Kauffman, MTM Director of Outreach, spoke with Paris, who graduated from Max the Mutt’s Illustration program in 2013, about being an award winning colourist, his work on other projects such as Crescent And Io by Marvel Comics, and Black Comix Returns, as well as his personal work.

Colouring takes thought and attention

When asked how he makes his choices for how he colours his projects, he says it varies greatly each time. “Every project is different…that’ll change what you’re trying to get across.” It depends what the mood and style is that you’re trying to get across working with the illustrator.

Veering away from comics, Paris was a colourist for a book called Deal with it, a graphic novel dealing with real issues experienced by teens, published by James Lorimer & Co. He speaks about how the work that you do for comics – like meeting deadlines, working with writers/illustrators, working independently and fulfilling creative requirements – is not just limited to the comic book world. “Comics really prepare you for other types of illustration.” If anything, working on a book project was easier as the deadlines weren’t as tight as they normally are for comics. It is a profession that has many applications – from freelancing for comics and graphic novels, to graphic design for advertising and film – all of which are covered in the curriculum in the four year diploma Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts program at MTM.

MTM teaches more than art skills

Paris credits MTM with teaching him more than art skills. “It’s where I learned self-reliance.” He continues, “Working as a freelancer now, if I don’t respond to this email or I don’t get this work done today, it doesn’t get done.” Paris remembers overhearing an instructor during his first year in one of his classes say: “The point of this is to learn to see”. Paris admits that his youthful defiant self resisted that instruction at the time, but later it clicked with him, and it’s been pivotal term that he has found has made a difference in his career ever since. He admits these principles taught at MTM saved him a lot of time and agony, which otherwise would have come from trial and error over many years. “The fundamentals that were taught there (at MTM) have carried on with me.”

Contributing to Black Comix Returns is particularly meaningful to Paris

Black Comix Return is a project which holds particular significance to Paris. He remembers seeing the first book, Black Comix (published in 2010), and thought “I want to work on this!”, even though he knew he didn’t have the body of work to contribute anything at that time. Years later, he actively sought out to be part of the next publishing, which worked out well since the author was seeking Paris out to be part of the next book too. “I knew I wanted to be part of a book like this so that I could properly feel like I was part of this community.” Being part of this book is his way of both contributing to the legacy of Black comic book artists, and to his own identity as a Black artist making his mark in this industry, which has traditionally been a white dominated field.

Teaching is a way to give back… and to constantly learn

Something else significant for Paris is to give back to the artist community, which means he has become an instructor at Max the Mutt! Paris taught Digital Painting last year and is teaching Digital Media for our students this Winter semester. Every time he teaches, he says, he learns from his students, which keeps things fresh for him.

Congratulations again, Paris!

We look forward to see what other super interesting projects you will be involved with next.

Watch the full interview on Youtube

Learn more about Paris on Instagram

Learn more about our Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts Program

A chat with Dave Ross: Comic Book Artist and MTM Instructor

Dave Ross, comic book artist and a long time instructor at MTM, loves to tell stories, not with words, but with pictures. That’s why he became an illustrator – specifically, a comic book illustrator.

“Tell a story, whether it’s your own or someone else’s”, advises Ross

MTM Director of Outreach, Natalie Kauffman, “sat down” (virtually, that is) with Dave Ross to chat with him about his career as a comic book artist, his teaching career, his book and more. So what does Ross, who has worked for Marvel, DC Comics and Darkhorse, amongst other publications, and has drawn such well-known characters as Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man, Batgirl and Daredevil (and many more), recommend to those who want to make it in the big leagues? “Get out there and get yourself published.” Start off with an Indie comic, or self publish. “Tell a story, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, but show publishers that you can put together a visual story from start to finish – that’s the key.”

Ross was instrumental in the design of MTM’s Illustration Curriculum

As one of the founders of the Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts diploma program at MTM, Ross has been instrumental in helping to design the curriculum over the years. When asked why Illustration should be a four-year diploma program for a college (upgraded from our original three-year diploma program), Ross has a simple answer: we teach everything you need to know in order to have a life long career in illustration. “It’s a really broad base of skills that you need”, Ross explains. “With a fourth year, we’re able to diversify some of the learning”. He goes on to explain that he’s now able to spend more time on teaching areas of study that there wasn’t time for before, which serves to make students stronger in the field and ready for a wider variety of potential career options.

Dave Ross’s book is used by art students all around the globe

Ross also talks about making his book, Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators, which has been widely received, translated into several languages (Japanese, Korean, Mainland Chinese) and has had him tour places such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He has essentially crafted the book around courses that he teaches at MTM – constructive figure drawing – and has designed the book to be like a text book with exercises after each chapter. Ross loved meeting art students from around the globe, and can’t wait to get back on his book tour again, once it’s safe to do so. “You can go to the other side of the world and essentially be dealing with the same challenges with the students there,” Ross comments. Speaking of these artistic challenges, Ross notes that “the struggle is a universal struggle” – a struggle that he is happy to help students overcome!

This is a must-watch interview for anyone wanting to pursue a career in illustration, particularly in a comic book or graphic novel illustration. It’s also great for any of the multitudes of comic book lovers or fans of Dave Ross!

Watch the full Dave Ross interview here

Interested in becoming a comic book illustrator, a graphic novel illustrator or a children’s book illustrator? Find out more about MTM’s unique Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts Diploma Program – the only one of its kind in Canada!

Be sure to check out daverossart.com too.

MTM grad M.Sassy.K makes her bread & butter in comic book art

Michele Assarasakorn, a.k.a. M.Sassy.K, has come full circle in her work as an illustrator. She started off her diploma at MTM in Illustration for Sequential Arts, then switched to Concept Art (which she graduated from in 2011) and now primarily works as a comic book artist. She thought that background art for video games would be where she would have ended up, but she came back to her love of comics. So skeptics beware, there is money in the comic book world!

It is possible to have a career as a Comic Book Artist?

Is it possible to have a successful career as a comic book artist that also pays the bills? “It is!”, says Michele from her home in Vancouver, “And it’s a lot broader than you think.” She goes on to say that “all the skills you learn in school with the foundations…it’s so broad that you can just leap into different careers as you progress as an artist”. There’s a lot of crossover in the industry so it’s not like you are stuck with the diploma choice you made, and the training at MTM prepares you for this kind of flexibility as a career artist.

Michele is the colourist on the comic book Isola, co-created by Brendan Fletcher (MOTOR CRUSH) and Eisner Award-winning storyteller Karl Kerschl, which just launched volume 2 (July 2020) in its series.

Understand what the market wants

Michele stresses how important it is to do your research before embarking on your career. Start your research before graduation, so you know what path you want to apply yourself after graduation. “You are your own business person so you have to understand what the market wants,” she emphasizes. As a freelancer, it’s critical that you set out with plan – even if you end up deviating from it. You have to choose your own direction and start working towards it – you cannot sit there and wait for someone to approach you.

It is because of the feedback of alumni like Michele, and others in the field, that the Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts program was expanded in 2018 from a 3 year to a 4 year program to make sure that graduates were better prepared for a career as a freelancer, and to increase their general versatilely as visual storytellers, giving them many potential career options in areas such as Background Painting, Storyboarding, Layout and Visual Design for Marketing alongside freelance or published work in Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Children’s Books.

Want to work in Canada after graduation? Don’t forget to do your research!

MTM is very welcoming to international students – we offer a unique international student orientation, we offer support throughout your time at MTM, and we have one of the lowest international tuition rates of animation, concept art or illustration program in North America.

Michele was one of our international students. When asked about her experience of what it was like to come to Canada as an international student, she says “it was a long journey… but it was definitely worth pursuing”. Michele believes that this country is full of opportunities for illustrators – comic books or concept art – and it’s worth the time and effort to make Canada your home to have the career that you love. Just don’t forget to research the permit process and what you will need to do post-graduating to stay in Canada!

Watch the full interview for helpful tips for any current students pursuing illustration, or for graduates looking for some pointers in starting your career. You’ll also see lots of Michele’s artwork too, a must see for any of her fans!

Interested in MTM’s Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts Diploma Program? We also offer workshops for artists of all levels if you want to take a shorter course or one day workshop.

All illustrations in this article are by M.Sassy.K.

You can check out more of her work here!

Click here to see more of ISOLA

Second time a charm for recipient of our first year Scholarship Award!

Taneikah Anderson could have given up after she got rejected the first time she applied for the Sean Michael Stewart Memorial Scholarship at Max the Mutt, but instead, she took it as a challenge to improve her portfolio and apply again. Good thing she did as the second time around was what made the difference! Here’s why Taneikah chose Max the Mutt to foster her skillsets towards building a creative freelance career.

Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts Program

Taneikah is the recipient of this year’s scholarship which is awarded to a first-year student entering one of our diploma programs; she is going into the Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts (ISSA) program. Taneikah took the time over the past year to improve on her skills and keep pushing herself, a quality that is necessary to have in this field if you are going to make it, especially if you want a creative freelance career. She took the time to develop herself as an artist, to get over some of her anxieties, and “focus on getting better as an artist”, she says in our video interview from her home in Toronto.

Thriving Environment and Catered Art Classes

Taneikah chose MTM because of the small class sizes and the environment that the school provides. “When I went there (for the Open House) I just really liked the environment, I liked the vibes; it just seemed like a really cool place to be”. She also did her background research and was impressed with the instructors who teach at MTM and the courses that are offered. “The programs they had were super specific”, Taneikah commented, as compared to other schools where there were many art skills combined into one class, much “too generalized” for her. She recognizes how this attention to honing distinct art skills is what will set you apart in your art career and better prepare you for success.

Building a Creative Freelance Career

Asked about where she envisions herself after she graduates? “I want to be making my own comics…I want to have my own store where I’ll be selling my own prints”. Taneikah sees herself as an entrepreneur. Which was another reason why she chose MTM as her first choice of college, as one of the courses that are taught to ISSA students is Freelancing and Self Promotion.

Taneikah knows that she has a lot to learn and explore as a young art student, but she is clear about two things: “I love to tell stories and I love to draw”. Well, we can’t wait to see where she will take this passion of hers.

Congrats Taneikah and welcome to MTM!

Watch the full interview:

Do you see yourself as a freelance illustrator or are you looking towards building a creative freelance career? A comic book or graphic book artist? Do you love telling stories with your images? Then check out our ISSA diploma program or contact our admissions counsellor to learn more about how you could become a student who, like Taneikah, follows their passions to pursue the career of their dreams.

Just What Are Sequential Arts?

Sometimes, even the most complex names and terminology are actually quite easy to understand, and sequential arts falls into that category. You might be stumped on first hearing the term, but it’s really very simple. Drawings and/or images that are used in a sequence (suddenly it’s starting to make sense, eh?!) to tell or illustrate a story are known as the sequential arts.

Comic books and graphic novels are two of the most common uses of sequential art.

But, if it’s easy to get a good understanding of the term sequential arts. It’s not so easy to simply pick up a pencil and start drawing a series of images that produce meaning and a story when they are viewed one after the other.

That fact is one of the reasons that the term sequential arts was used by Will Eisner, one of the earliest cartoonists in the comic book industry. To describe the comic book medium and the elements that go into creating a comic book.

Comic Books as Sequential Art

Just like a story told in words can be conveyed in any of a virtually limitless variety of ways, so too can a story told using sequential arts.

To give you a sense of what can be involved in sequential arts, let’s stick with the comic books example and look at some of its components.

The Panel

If the basic building block of a written story is the sentence. The corresponding element in sequential arts is the panel, or frame of each individual image used in the sequence.
Just like sentences can be long, short, complex or simple, panels can take a variety of forms. They generally have a visible, rectangular border. But panels can take any shape and have no visible border. Whether they have a border or not, panels are usually separated by an area called the gutter.

The Page Layout

The basic page layout of a comic book is a series of rectangular panels in an obvious order. But just like panels can take different forms so too can page layouts. Many sequential artists don’t use rectangular panels, borders or the uniform page layout used in most comics. Instead, the borders of their panels may only be defined by the gutter, and the layout of the page can seem to have very little structure.

The Style of the Art

A story of revenge as told by Stephen King gives the reader an entirely different experience than a similar story told by J.K. Rowling. Of course, they would each use their own words to tell the story, but it is their style of writing that is as much to do with the different experience as anything else.

The same is true for the style of art used to create a comic. Your story will create a different impression if the style of art is cartoonish, abstract or realistic. And, as a visual medium, sequential arts can borrow from other visual media in its style. For example, the long shots, close-ups and zooms of film can also be part of your sequential arts style.

Marrying Text & Image

Not all sequential arts use text, but, when they do, it adds yet another level of complexity to the story telling. In addition to simply expressing dialogue, as it does in a Garfield comic, text can be used as narration, sound effects, thoughts and commentary. Text can appear in speech balloons, text boxes and within the image itself. Including the right text, in the right context, in the right position in each panel is as important as any graphic element of the panel and the overall story.

If you would like to find out more about learning sequential arts, get in touch with us at Max the Mutt College of Animation Art & Design.

8 Graphic Novel Stats You Need to Know

Before we reveal some of the impressive graphic novel stats that every aspiring illustrator and/or storyboard artist should know, it’ll help to clarify just what is a ‘graphic novel’.

Except that’s not so easy. Wikipedia even says “the term is not strictly defined” and “…the exact definition of a graphic novel is debated…”. Other definitions include: “a novel in the form of comic strips.” (Dictionary.com) and “a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a book” (Merriam-Webster).

For our purposes, a graphic novel can be any story that has more than one chapter ( similar to the difference between a short story and a novella or novel) and is told through a combination of sequential drawings and words. However there are rare examples of terrific graphic novels that don’t fit this description: one is told completely through sequential drawings with no words at all, another is a sequence of one sequential drawing chapter followed by a written chapter. Sometimes a sequence of individual comic books is published over time as a continuous story and is later published as a graphic novel.

In general graphic novels are a story in book form that is largely told through the use of illustrations, like “This One Summer”, written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.

That said, take a look at some of the graphic novel stats listed below. They show, in a world of increasing digital animations and illustrations, that traditional forms of the art are not only still used, they are thriving. Even if you want to be a purely digital animator or illustrator, learning more about about ‘pen and paper’ techniques will add a new dimension to your work.

Graphic Novel Stats

$1.085 billion

Total graphic novel sales in the U.S. and Canada in 2016 (comichron.com)

16% – 23% – 16%

The growth in graphic novel sales in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively, to a total of $405 million in 2016. The graphic novel category is considered one of the biggest growth categories in all book publishing. (comichron.com)

The First Graphic Novel to Receive the U.S. National Book Award

Released in March 2016, “March: Book 3” became the first ever graphic novel to receive the National Book Award. A story about the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., every installment of the March Trilogy, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydi and illustrated by Nate Powell, held the top three spots in the New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller list for six weeks. (Wikipedia)

Six of the Top 10 Grossing Films of 2014 Were Based on a Graphic Novel

Have you seen “Guardians of the Galaxy”; “Transformers: Age of Extinction”; “X-Men: Days of Future Passed”; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”; “The Amazing Spiderman”; and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”? All of them are based on graphic novels. (CNBC.com)

Graphic Novels Boost Library Circulation

As traditional libraries continue to redefine themselves in an online, on-demand world, graphic novels are a welcome area of growth.

“In our library it’s (graphic novels) 3% of the collection and 30% of our circulation,” says Esther Keller, a New York school media specialist. (publishersweekly.com)

11.3 Million

The number of graphic novels sold in 2017 (comicsbeat.com)

992,000

Number of copies sold of the #1 selling graphic book of 2017, “Wimpy Kid #12: The Getaway” by Jeff Kinney. (comicsbeat.com)

Wide Employment Horizons

In addition to jobs as illustrators for graphic novels, those who learn traditional illustrating have success in finding job opportunities in gaming, animation, digital graphics, graphic facilitation, advertising and marketing.

To learn more about learning traditional illustration and animation skills and techniques, get in touch with us at Max the Mutt College of Animation Art & Design.

October 2016 Open House – Check It Out!

Open House: Saturday and Sunday, October 1st & 2nd, 2016

Max the Mutt draws passionate people who want to develop first-class skills. Are you one of them? Find out at our two-day Open House! Our graduates have gone on to careers at top companies including Corus/Nelvana, Guru Studio, Arc Entertainment, Toon Box, National Film Board of Canada, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Nelvana, UbiSoft, Warner Bros. Games, and Pixar. Come see where they got their start!

Come for one or both days. RSVP to admissions@maxthemutt.com or call 416 703 6877.

Once again Canada’s renowned comic book artist Dave Ross will present a free one-hour workshop on his figure-drawing methods. If you can’t stay for the workshop, you can still buy a copy of Dave’s book or get your copy signed after the main presentation! The workshop and signing will both take place on Saturday, October 1st (full schedule below).

Dave Ross is one of Canada’s best-known comic book artists, with work that has appeared in such well-known series as Spiderman, Daredevil, Avengers Westcoast, Batgirl, Catwoman, Punisher, Captain America, Excalibur, Birds of Prey, Aliens, Alpha Flight, Star Trek, and Star Wars: Dark Times. He is one of the founders of Max the Mutt’s Illustration for Sequential Arts Diploma Program, the only in depth program of its kind in Canada. His instructional book, Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators, based on a course he designed for that diploma program, is now available from Watson-Guptill Publications, an imprint of Random House.

Come learn from Dave, get a copy of his book signed, and find out about all that Max the Mutt has to offer! Sign up today at admissions@maxthemutt.com or call 416 703 6877.

On Sunday, you’re invited to attend two more great free workshops: at 11:00 am, Comic Book Layout with Kent Burles, illustrator, comic book artist, and our Sequential Arts Coordinator, and at 1:00 PM, Intro to Cartooning with Tina Seemann, character designer, illustrator, and our Animation Coordinator.

Program Coordinators and Admissions staff are also available to answer questions and for private tours (please book in advance by calling 416 703 6877 or emailing admissions@maxthemutt.com).

We look forward to meeting you!

Full Open House Schedule:

Saturday, October 1st

10:30am Doors Open

11:00am Presentation on the Diploma Programs, followed by book signing with Dave Ross

12:00-12:30pm Tours with Program Coordinators

1:30pm Free Workshop: Figure Drawing with Dave Ross

Afternoon available for individual tours and questions. Doors close at 4:00pm.

Sunday, October 2nd

10:30am Doors Open

11:00am Free Workshop: Comic Book Layout with Kent Burles

1:00pm Free Workshop: Intro to Cartooning with Tina Seemann

Afternoon available for individual tours and questions. Doors close at 3:00pm.

Note: Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils if you are taking part in a workshop.