After taking up cartooning and comics editing during the pandemic, Anderson has since published several short comics, a short story collection and a graphic novel.
In the heart of White River Junction, Vt., The Center for Cartoon Studies offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree alongside one- and two-year certificates and summer workshops in cartooning. Accepting students with a wide range of experience, the school delivers an integrated curriculum spanning design, drawing, storytelling and writing under the direction of working cartoon artists, according to its website.
Each year, an emerging cartoonist who has established themselves in the field with “critical and/or professional stature” is awarded the CCS Program Fellowship, which is intended to support them in the next stage of their career. Fellows are given access to the center’s resources, including its community of faculty and other artists. The Dartmouth sat down with 2026-2027 fellow Kit Anderson, a current cartoonist and freelance comics editor. After receiving her MFA from CCS in 2022, Anderson has published several short comics alongside a short story collection and a graphic novel “Second Shift,” which was nominated for Best Comic in the 2025 Nebula Awards — annual prizes presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Assocation in recognition of outstanding short stories.
How did you get into cartooning?
KA:I was kind of a snobby English major. I loved this one professor, and I took a comics class from him in college, but I only took it because he was teaching it. It ended up unlocking comics for me as a very cool medium or modality that other kinds of media can’t really do. It has some really special things that film can’t really touch, and books can’t really tell — I mean they’re great, but it’s just this own special thing. I had read some comics as a kid, but that was the first time I was like, “Whoa, cartoons can be smart and literary.”
I worked in publishing for quite a while. I had done writing in undergrad and it was all short stories, and I hadn’t really drawn at all since middle school. And then all of a sudden COVID happened, and I reintroduced myself to a lot of comics. I think a lot of us had this experience during COVID where something just hit. For me, I just couldn’t stop trying to make comics. I think they were so exciting because they’re so hard to figure out — they just have so much about them that works in these really mysterious ways.
What drew you to CCS, and what has your experience been like there?
KA:During COVID, I was living in a weird town in Silicon Valley, and I was like, “Get me out of here.” Going to rural Vermont sounded amazing, and it was. That was a big part of it, but the school is also pretty well known in comic circles. It’s got this weird special thing going on where some really good people came out of there. There’s also the opportunity to work with Jason Lutes, who’s a legend, and Tillie Walden, who’s a huge inspiration to me, as well as really amazing cartoonists like Dan Nott and Glynnis Fawkes. The program itself just sounded exactly what I was looking for. There’s also a big community aspect at CCS. It’s just a really cool, weird place, and more and more people are staying in the area once they’ve graduated.
That said, I don’t think everybody who wants to make comics needs to do it. You can just make them; there’s this really cool, self-publishing culture in comics, and anybody can. But for me, after trying and failing for a year at that point or something like that, I was like, “Wow, I really need help.” Since I’d already had a career, I was like, “I want to get those going as quickly as I can.”
You have spent five years living abroad before this fellowship. How has that experience influenced your work?
KA:Honestly, being abroad was pretty hard for me, and a big part of me coming back was that I really missed being deeply ingrained in the comics community. I do feel like I was making stuff in isolation abroad. Luckily, one of my big themes is loneliness and isolation and nature, so I was in a really good spot; I was in Switzerland for all of that. But at this point, I’m like, “Cool, maybe we can have all of that and also communities.”
That said, I think my time abroad really helped shape my practice, routines and what I need. It’s very clear that I do need inspiring people around me — I think it shapes how I write. I also need to spend a lot of time outside making and forming ideas. It was really important for that, but I’m really happy to be back.
What has it been like back at CCS as a fellow?
KA:It’s been amazing. I haven’t physically been here all that long — only a couple of weeks. It feels like a different situation from when I was a student, where I feel like I’m supposed to be a working cartoonist and know something. And I feel like I should be imparting inspiration or wisdom or something, and I’m just like, “No, I’m getting that from you.”
I don’t want to feel like I’m a mentor; I want to feel like a peer. There are a couple classes that are new, and there’s also this really cool visiting artist <a href="https://comicvibe.com/prime-video-cancels-6-tv-shows-renews-14-series-in-2026/” title=”Prime Video Cancels 6 TV Shows, Renews 14 Series in 2026″>series. I want to attend their classes; I want to be working right alongside my peers. I’m hoping the balance is like, “Hey, I know a couple things, but also I really believe in learning forever.” I would be so bored if I felt like I knew everything about making comics, about life or whatever. One of my favorite things about comics is that I’ll never unlock all of the secrets or the tricks; I’m constantly learning how to make better comics.
What do you hope to focus on during your fellowship?
KA:I’m kind of back into making short stories; I’m really excited to be doing that. I finished my last graphic novel a year ago, and I’m starting to have ideas that I’m excited about enough to spend two years drawing. I’ve also been working on a medieval adaptation for an anthology, which has been really hard and really exciting.
What are some challenges that come with pursuing a career as a cartoonist?
KA:Most successful cartoonists that I know were kind of cobbling a career together — they’re doing many things. They’re being flexible: They’re illustrating; they’re doing freelance; they’re doing graphic design; they’re librarians; they’re working in publishing, which I’m doing. It’s kind of hard out there for cartoonists. There are a lot of us and there’s so much talent, and I think the publishing environment is really tough right now.
I would say that if you want to go into it to make money, don’t! That’s not a good idea. But you will find the most wonderful, passionate people doing it. I have kind of made peace with the fact that while I might not have a ton more graphic novels, and maybe none of them are going to be a giant hit, I am nonetheless excited to keep making my short comics and maybe self publishing while I support myself in other ways. I love it enough to kind of make it work, however I can.
This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.
