My name is Rey
Sagcal and I am a senior Illustration major. This summer of 2018 I worked as an
editorial intern for Fantagraphics Books, a publishing company located in
Seattle, Washington.
I was initially
drawn to attend this internship after developing a deep interest in comics
through my sequential arts class at MICA and the influence of my peers and
instructors. Through my exploration of comics, I learned that Fantagraphics has
been one of the leading innovators of this medium since the 1970s, consistently
publishing work that challenge the conventions of comics. The people behind
Fantagraphics, such as publisher Gary Groth, were some of the first people in
America to push for the elevation of comics as an art form on the same level as
painting and literature, way beyond the commonplace view of it as simply
childish entertainment. Thus, when I found out that Fantagraphics was looking
for interns, I decided to apply by emailing my resume and cover letter. Even
though the internship listed was for an editorial position and not so much an
illustration- or design-related job, I was excited to be a part of a company
whose work has deeply influenced me in such a short period of time.
During the
internship, I was supervised by one of the editors, Kristy Valenti. She gave me
most of the tasks and projects I worked on, including proofreading comics,
digital de-texting and lettering of comic pages, researching literary and visual
material to publish on the online magazine, The Comics Journal, transcribing
audio interviews between Fantagraphics and various artists, and indexing and
cataloging books and other material for both the physical and digital
libraries. Occasionally, I was also asked by Keeli McCarthy, their senior
designer, to design various promotional materials including flyers, bookmarks,
and bookplates. Of all the tasks I worked on, I was most proud of the design
work I did, as I was eager to put into practice the art training I’ve received
at MICA.
Besides the
technical skills I gained through my internship such as operating Adobe
Indesign, researching, and editorial writing techniques, one of the more
important things I learned is how to work and even just how to be in an office
environment. As I was first starting out at the internship site, I often felt
stressed by my self-imposed expectation to be perfectly adept at every task I
was given. I was quite eager to prove myself and impress others, sometimes at
my own mental cost. Over time, I understood that the internship is truly a
learning opportunity and began to take it easy on myself and learned not to be
afraid to ask others for help. I think I initially felt this way because artists
are often taught to value their own independence and self-importance over
everything, as they self-identify with the work they produce. This internship made
me realize that what is sometimes more important than individual success is the
value of collaboration and cultivating good relationships with the people we
work with.
Overall, I am
satisfied with the time I spent at Fantagraphics and my stay here in Seattle. I
learned so many valuable lessons that are helpful in progressing my career as
an artist and even lessons beyond matters of career advancement. I have grown
more as a person in general, less concerned with striving for individual
success as the main purpose of life and more eager to seek ways to help other
people, during work and outside of work.
