Sam Sharpe is a cartoonist, illustrator, and art educator from Madison, Wisconsin. In 2006, he received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Sharpe started teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a lecturer in spring 2023. He has always wanted to teach comics to adults, though he originally taught classes to K-12 students.
Sharpe said he’s always wanted an outlet to think deeply and philosophically about comics, and views teaching as a natural progression of that thought.
Originally introduced to comics as a child, Sharpe has been making, printing, and taking his comics to shows since he was 12. His first job was at a comics shop.
Sharpe said he wanted to find a new way of constructing words and images in his youth, finding comics inefficient, before deciding that it wasn’t possible and returning to comics. His current love of comics is fueled by the utilization of combined elements.
“I think comics are the most versatile medium that’s ever been created. Like, of all art forms,” said Sharpe.
Sharpe takes a lot of interest in the development of comics as a medium. “I think that people who are students right now very likely might be part of the first generation to make true masterpieces of the medium. And that’s exciting to be part of teaching,” he said.
In his process of making comics, Sharpe uses a blend of both digital art and traditional comics making processes. While he sees merits in both traditional and digital markmaking, he has a disdain for digital lettering.
Though comics were a medium he embraced from an early age, Sharpe used to be a filmmaker. He initially came to Chicago to make a 35mm film. “[Filmmaking is] a great way to lose money and friends. The amount of asks you have to make a film, either you burn every bridge that you have, or you become wildly successful,” he said.
Sharpe is interested in the idea of making work for those who’ve never read comics before. “My ideal audience is someone who doesn’t read comics. I’m always trying to make someone’s very first comic,” he said.
Sharpe said he believes recurring themes and topics in work find the artists, so they don’t need to be hunted. Many of his common themes include religion, mental illness, time, and human connection.
Sharpe said his mentor, David Mazzucchelli, was one of his greatest influences, and that recently, he’s been very influenced by the artist Jaime Hernandez.
Sharpe has a long-running series called “Viewotron.” He recently self-published his comic “Frankie,” and he is currently working on a graphic novel to be released by First Second.
