In Spring 2018, SCAD Atlanta sequential art students and alumni came together to create black-and-white anthology comics themed around seasons. Curated by Julia Hagerty, “23.5 Degrees” features short comics in a variety of genres and styles, each focusing on a specific season. “I knew I wanted the theme to be broad to give contributors freedom with genre,” said Hagerty, who graduated in spring of 2018. “and I’ve always loved how something that seems so minor—a 23.5 degree axial tilt—influences so much of society and civilization, so that was the thought process behind the theme.”
The anthology demonstrates the wide range of creative talent that the sequential art department in Atlanta has. Autobiography and fiction, romantic comedy and horror, cartoony and realistic comics all appear in “23.5 Degrees.”
“’23.5 Degrees’ came from a need for another SEQA community project,” explained Hagerty. The last anthology produced by the SCAD Atlanta Sequential Art club, the “Temple of Cartoon Mojo,” was released in 2013. “SCAD doesn’t have yearbooks, so as a graduating senior it seemed like a perfect way to have a memento of my classmates as we all embark on this next stage of our career.”
Hagerty designed the final book, as well as the promotional material for contributing artists to post on their social media accounts.
“23.5 Degrees” is currently being sold as a downloadable PDF on Gumroad.