The Cartoonist Veteran Project

The Center for Cartoon Studies has collaborated with the VA Medical Center, inviting veterans and their families to learn about cartooning and share their stories with the intention of turning those stories into comics.

This past semester students and faculty hosted three public workshop sessions which included on location portrait drawings, a lecture by CCS faculty Stephen Bissette on the history of comics and the military, and a survey of comics on Vet experiences and post traumatic stress.

Special guests included award-winning Brooklyn cartoonist Jess Ruliffson, whose award-winning comic Invisible Wounds examines one vet’s experience with PTSD. She is currently making a comic book based on interviews with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Award-winning painter and writer George Pratt performed a live portrait painting demo during his presentation using both traditional and digital drawing techniques. He is currently working on the International Black Light Project on the genocide in West Africa.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and The Center for Cartoon Studies
National Endowment for the Arts
The Cartoonist Veteran Project is funded in part with support from The National Endowment for the Arts.

Latest updates…

Thanks to all the veterans who collaborated with us. Your stories are amazing.

November 11, 2018

Download these publications for free: gumroad.com/cartoonstudies

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A Cartoonist Veteran Project: A Whole Lifetime of Firsts anthology

July 1, 2018

Every woman who has served in the military has a whole lifetime of firsts to share. This anthology spans half a century, beginning with the Cold War and ending with the War on Terror.  It contains love at first sight, witnessing death for the firs …

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CARTOONIST VETERAN PROJECT: RELEASE OF WHEN I RETURNED

July 25, 2017

Download a digital copy of the When I Returned, a comic book featuring stories by local veterans drawn by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) students and alumni. Edited and designed by James Lunt ’16 and Kelly Swann ’16 with a cover by Noah …

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Cartoonist Seeking Stories

March 13, 2017

Join us for two get togethers between cartoonists and women who serve and have served in the military in order to talk and sketch. These are the first few steps towards a new comics anthology. March 21 at 6 p.m. at the VA Medical Center, Building 44, r …

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New Hampshire Public Radio on NHPR on The Cartoonists Veteran Project

March 23, 2016

CCS student Kelly Swann’s field sketch of Kevin Willey NHPR on The Cartoonists Veteran Project: A Powerful Account of a Veteran Listen to New Hampshire Public Radio on The Center for Cartoon Studies collaboration with the VA Medical Center. This past y …

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Cartoonist Veteran Project: Release of When I Returned

March 22, 2016

Please join cartoonists and veterans for the release of When I Returned, a comic book featuring stories by local veterans drawn by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) students and alumni. Edited and designed by James Lunt ′16 and Kelly Swann …

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War Stories, Illustrated: Cartoonists and Veterans Collaborate on New Anthology

November 11, 2015

CCS student Kelly Swann’s field sketch of Kevin Willey NHPR on The Cartoonists Veteran Project: A Powerful Account of a Veteran Listen to New Hampshire Public Radio on The Center for Cartoon Studies collaboration with the VA Medical Center. This past y …

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Farm life, War Experience, Back Home, Trauma, 30 Lost Years, Massage

June 23, 2015

CCS student Kelly Swann’s field sketch of Kevin Willey NHPR on The Cartoonists Veteran Project: A Powerful Account of a Veteran Listen to New Hampshire Public Radio on The Center for Cartoon Studies collaboration with the VA Medical Center. This past y …

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The Cartoonist Veteran Project: George Pratt

February 27, 2015

Master artist and cartoonist George Pratt will be on hand at the White River Junction VA Medical Center to lead a team of cartoonists to do live portrait drawing. George Pratt will be joined by The Center for Cartoon Studies faculty member Steve Bisset …

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Visiting Artist: Jess Ruliffson

February 25, 2015

Jess Ruliffson is an illustrator and cartoonist residing in New York. She is currently working on a comic book based on interviews with veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. To see more work by Jess, visit:  jessruliffson.com

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The Cartoonist Veteran Project: Cartoonists Picturing Veteran’s Stories

February 3, 2015

Many veterans pass through this small New England village because it is home to The White River Junction VA Medical Center. White River Junction is also the headquarters of The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS), a world-renowned cartooning school. Until …

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Graphic Medicine poster

Comics & Medicine Conference: From Private Lives to Public Health

May 1, 2014

The Center for Cartoon Studies co-founder James Sturm will be speaking at the upcoming Comics & Medicine Conference: From Private Lives to Public Health. Sturm will present on Applied Cartooning: The Cartoonist Veteran Sessions and deliver a worksh …

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