Millions of kids have dreamed of working in the world of comics. However, as those youngsters get older – and start thinking about a post-secondary education and subsequent career – the path to the funny pages is rarely a clear one.

“I grew up idolizing Batman, as every kid does that’s into the medium,” says Aaron Cunneen, a 30-year-old from Co. Cork tells Celtic Life International over Zoom. “The dream was to make comics. I always wanted to break into it, or to get beyond just starting, but I had no idea how.”

It took some time, but Cunneen is making headway; earlier this year, he came across an opportunity to learn practical, hands-on skills to help him break into comics via classes taught by industry professionals.

“I was at Dublin Comic Con earlier this year, and there was a presentation about this academy,” he recalls. “I was like, whoa! I need to see if I can get funding for this.”

Cunneen is referring to The Tallaght Academy of Sequential Art in Dublin, launched at the onset of 2024 by author and indie comic publisher Eoin McAuley.

“We call it TASQ for the international audiences, and it makes a great handle for social media postings,” McAuley shares in a Zoom call from his office in Dublin, before moving on to discuss the rich Irish origins of some of the storytelling mechanics that are at the heart of all comics. “Ireland has a very rich history of comic book creators. Not even just the recent stuff; for instance, Grace Gifford, the wife of the Irish revolutionary Joseph Plunkett, was a political cartoonist.

“You can go back even further to ancient times; take the Irish high crosses, for example – what you see is essentially a three-dimensional comic strip…scenes from the Bible carved into stone. Or the work of Harry Clarke, the famous stained-glass artist who depicted a series of sequential images in his work. One of our lecturers here at the academy, Derek Tyler Attico, pointed out in his class The Fundamentals of Sequential Storytelling that the stained-glass window was a way for conveying scenes from the Bible, for the masses, for people who couldn’t read or write. Sequential art is one of the fundamental universal languages that we have…”

“With the comic book form the text becomes secondary – the audience will understand what is happening intuitively through the visuals.”

Like many other bright-eyed dreamers, McAuley was unsure how to make a living from making comics.

“My origin story, as it were, goes back to when I studied history as an undergraduate in Trinity College Dublin. There was a competition for a business idea, and I came up with the idea of a comic book publishing company called Lightning Strike Comics.”

McAuley had friends and colleagues from Dublin City Comics, and the support of a local social club called The Geeks Easy.

“I realized there are many talented artists and writers and myself, all gathered in this room on a weekly basis, but none of us had $0.02 to rub together or any gainful employment. Everyone seemed willing to come on board.”

McAuley forged strong connections with these fellow artists – many of whom went on to work for the big names in comics, including Marvel, DC, Image, Boom! Studios, etc – leading him to several professional contracts, as well as a lecturing opportunity with Pulse College in Dublin, where he would teach entrepreneurship in entertainment fields like animation and video games.

“Then, in January of this year, I came to a crossroads,” shares McAuley. “I was reflecting on my career and looking at the body of work I was doing, and I said to myself, ‘what would be next?’ Turns out my passion for comic books was still there. Ultimately, I resolved to redefine what I was doing and set up my own academy in Tallaght.”

McAuley pooled all his connections, colleagues, and experiences he accumulated over his career to open the doors to his academy, which is located at The Edge, a shared office and co-working space in Dublin. He wants to use all the collective experience under his roof to give aspiring comic creatives real, practical advice – from the technical aspects of making comics to entrepreneurial skills like online marketing and social media.

“Essentially, what we have designed is a direct path to industry,” says McAuley, who wants others to benefit from his mistakes. “I was the canary down the mine shaft. I am not here because I’m great – I am here because I have made every mistake possible, and to make sure others don’t make those same mistakes.”

TASQ-Art offers two 12-week semesters through the year between three study tiers; full-time in-person student, full-time online, and part-time/in-person with an online weekend course load.

“We are all working with the same material at the moment,” notes McAuley, “so no group is falling behind.”

For people who aren’t looking to become students but wish to support the academy, there’s an Academy Membership, where subscribers can get access to the same lectures featuring big names in comics as the students do. In addition, there is the anthology series TASQ-Force, published by Lightning Strike, featuring student work and licensed newspaper strips translated into Gaelic

“I would have loved to have had something like TASQ as a kid,” says Dan Schkade, a midwestern USA comic artist whose current run on Flash Gordon is among the titles being translated into Gaelic for TASQ-Force, as well as for the local Dublin newspaper The Echo.

“I didn’t go to any kind of school for art,” continues Schkade, “but I did go to conventions and show my drawings to other artists, and I would get advice from some big names, like Tim Sale, Tony Dezuniga, and Bruce Timm.

“TASQ is replicating that experience without the airfare. The idea of a college where you can enjoy a collaborative collegiate experience with other young people at the same time is awesome and I wish there was one in every city.”

That collaborative collegiate experience is paying off for Cunneen, who found the funding he was hopeful for from Aiséirí, an organization that helps people take their life back from addiction.

“I am making up for all that lost time and I’m absolutely loving it,” he beams. “I am working on a strip now, something that Eoin has been helping me with. I’m not anywhere near close to making a comic, but – even just in this first semester – I have already learned so much.”

Cunneen’s childhood dream of making comics – as with other like-minded dreamers – is the reason McAuley opened the doors at TASQ, and why he hopes they will be open for years to come.

“As long as I can keep a roof over my head, pay the rent, and feed myself, that’s all I want,” he says. “I don’t need to make massive bucks out of this – I am satisfied with seeing the good work, the satisfaction of a job well done, and the pride in watching people achieve their dream of seeing their story published.” ~ Story by Chris Muise

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