The Kubert School

What The Kubert School does

The Kubert School (legally The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc.) is a private vocational school founded in 1976 by cartoonist Joe Kubert and his wife Muriel Kubert, focused exclusively on training artists for careers in comic books, graphic novels, animation, and commercial art. The institution operates a three-year full-time Cartoon Graphics program, supplemented by an Advanced Studies Program (fourth year, launched January 2024), Online Studies, Correspondence Courses, Saturday Classes, Summer Sessions for kids and adults, and the Fan Expo Creator Academy. Its curriculum is delivered through an atelier-style model with 8-10 hours daily at the drawing board and class sizes capped at approximately 17 students, combining traditional cartooning techniques with Adobe Creative Cloud digital tools.

The business operates without Title IV federal financial aid, generating revenue through tuition ($18,745 in-person / $18,555 online annually), application and registration fees, and supplementary streams including the Kubert Art Store (online and Dover, NJ retail) and the Kubert School Art Agency, which provides commercial creative services (logos, pre-press, lettering, storyboards) to publishers and creators using faculty and alumni talent. The institution is privately owned by Anthony Marques, a graduate and former DC Comics/Dynamite editor, who succeeded the founders following Joe Kubert's death in 2012 and Muriel Kubert's in 2008. The faculty is composed entirely of practicing industry professionals, and the Advisory Board includes former DC Comics executives (Andy Kubert, Dan DiDio, Paul Levitz), keeping the curriculum aligned with employer needs.

Reported graduate outcomes include a 78-95% employment rate in art fields within one year of completion and 77-100% graduation rates across program years (2015-2021). Approximately 12-15 companies, including Disney, DC Comics, Marvel, Valiant, IDW, Dynamite, Hasbro, and Scholastic, visit campus annually to recruit third-year students. The school relocated to the historic James Building in Madison, NJ in 2025, marking its first major campus transition in decades and providing expanded facilities for future growth.

Name

The Kubert School

Legal name

The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc.

Website

https://kubertschool.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Kubert School is a private vocational school in Madison, NJ, founded in 1976, offering a three-year full-time cartooning and graphic arts program plus online, correspondence, and summer courses, serving aspiring comic book and commercial illustrators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art & Design Vocational Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Visual Arts Instruction (Drawing, Painting, Sculpture) (EDAMAAAA)

Keywords

• Vocational art education
• Cartoon illustration training
• Graphic arts school
• Sequential art programs
• Comic book education

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Full-Time Program Tuition: Three-year vocational program in cartoon and graphic art. Tuition paid in two installments (July and December). Students receive hands-on training 8-10 hours daily at drawing boards. Total annual tuition $17,765 plus fees ($18,745 in-person, $18,555 online).
2. Summer Sessions and Camps: Summer art programs for kids and adults, including summer intensive programs held at the Madison, NJ location
3. Saturday Classes: Year-round Saturday morning sketch classes for all ages and skill levels
4. Correspondence Courses: Distance learning programs including Horror Comics correspondence course co-developed by Tom Mandrake
5. Art Store: On-campus art supply store at 37 Myrtle Avenue, Dover, NJ with over 1,000 items available online at kubertartstore.com. Provides art supplies, merchandise, and apparel to students, professionals, and local community.
6. Art Agency Services: Commercial art services including logos, marketing materials, newsletters, storyboards, pre-press, lettering, and production services for publishers and creators

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Kubert School is a three-year intensive vocational institution training artists for careers in comic books, graphic novels, animation, and commercial art, requiring 8-10 hours of daily work at the drawing board. The core Full-Time Program (Cartoon Graphics I, II, III) is supplemented by Online Studies, Correspondence Courses, Saturday Classes, Summer Sessions, an Advanced Studies fourth-year program, an on-campus Kubert Art Store, and a professional Kubert School Art Agency providing creative services.

Product overview

The Kubert School is a three-year vocational institution dedicated to training artists for careers in comic books, graphic novels, animation, and commercial art. The core Full-Time Program (Cartoon Graphics I, II, III) provides intensive hands-on education with 8-10 hours daily at drawing boards. The school recently added an Advanced Studies Program as a fourth-year option for graduates and professionals. Extended offerings include Online Studies, Correspondence Courses, Saturday Classes, and various Summer Sessions for both kids and adults. The school operates a Kubert Art Store for supplies and merchandise, and a Kubert School Art Agency providing professional creative services. The institution relocated to Madison, NJ in 2025 at the historic James Building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Kubert School Art Agency: A professional creative agency specializing in creating logos, marketing materials, newsletters, digital marketing, B2B assets, OOH materials, storyboards, comps, pre-press, lettering, and production services for publishers and creators.
• Kubert Art Store

Products and services

• Full-Time Program (Cartoon Graphics I, II, III) A three-year intensive vocational program training artists for careers in comic books, graphic novels, animation, and commercial art. Students attend 8-10 hours daily at drawing boards, learning cartooning, illustration, digital illustration, and storytelling skills. Available in-person and online.
• Advanced Studies Program A fourth-year program for graduates and working professionals featuring personalized mentorship, portfolio development, and industry networking opportunities, with limited intake of ten participants per cohort. Culminates in an exclusive art show at the school.
• Online Studies Remote learning option for students who cannot attend in-person classes, offering the school's curriculum standards with online delivery and slightly lower tuition ($18,555 vs $18,745 in-person). Includes computer software and lab fees.
• Correspondence Courses Self-paced distance learning courses for artists seeking to learn cartooning techniques remotely through mailed materials and feedback. Includes the Horror Comics correspondence course co-developed by Tom Mandrake.
• Saturday Classes Weekly art classes held every Saturday year-round at the Madison campus, providing ongoing creative education for community members of all ages and skill levels.
• Summer Sessions - Kids Summer art camps for children where they learn cartooning from professional artists, including drawing superheroes, manga, and creating original characters.
• Summer Sessions - Adults Summer art programs for adult learners offering professional development and creative exploration in cartooning and graphic arts.
• Summer Intensive An intensive multi-week summer program providing concentrated study in cartoon and graphic art techniques.
• Fan Expo Creator Academy Free Creator Academy lessons and demonstrations offered at Fan Expo events, allowing participants to learn from Kubert School instructors at convention booths.
• Kubert Art Store On-campus retail store offering art supplies, materials for cartooning, sketching, painting, and sculpting, as well as official Kubert School merchandise and apparel. Web store available with over 1,000 items.
• Kubert School Art Agency Professional creative services agency leveraging faculty and alumni network to provide logo creation, marketing materials, storyboards, pre-press, lettering, and production services for publishers and creators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 78-95% employment rate for graduates in art field within one year of completion
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Society of Illustrators: Professional association of illustrators and cartoonists that Kubert's instructors and graduates interact with via events, classes, and NYC class trips. Adjacent ecosystem participant supporting the broader community the school serves.
• Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art (Dover, NJ alumni network employers): Major entertainment and publishing companies (Marvel, DC, Disney, IDW, Dynamite, Valiant, Hasbro, Scholastic) that serve as recruiters/employers of Kubert graduates rather than competing institutions. Representative of the employer ecosystem the school's placement function serves.

Broad incumbents

• ArtCenter College of Design (Pasadena): California-based specialized art and design college with strong illustration and entertainment industry placement. Comparable practitioner-led teaching model and industry focus, though operating at degree-granting scale with multiple disciplines beyond cartooning.
• Pratt Institute: Established New York-area art and design school with broader undergraduate and graduate programs including illustration and comics-related concentrations. Larger, multi-discipline incumbent in the same regional and discipline space as Kubert.
• California Institute of the Arts (CalArts): Renowned specialty art institute with notable character animation and experimental animation programs feeding Disney, Pixar, and other studios. Overlaps with Kubert on training industry-ready visual artists but at substantially larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• School of Visual Arts (SVA): New York-based art and design college offering BFA programs in illustration, comics, and related visual arts with a similar practitioner-led teaching model and industry placement focus. The Kubert School's three-year vocational format is more concentrated, but both target aspiring professional illustrators and cartoonists.
• Ringling College of Art and Design: Florida-based specialized art college with strong illustration and animation programs feeding major entertainment studios. Comparable as a focused, industry-connected visual arts program, but larger (4-year BFA) and broader than Kubert's narrow cartooning concentration.
• Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS): Vermont-based MFA-granting school dedicated exclusively to cartooning and graphic storytelling. Most direct functional peer to Kubert in scope, with a similar small-cohort atelier-style model focused on sequential art, though it is MFA-degree-granting versus Kubert's vocational certificate.
• Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD): Midwestern specialized art college offering BFA programs including illustration and comic art with industry placement orientation. Comparable as a focused, four-year specialized visual arts institution but with broader curriculum scope than Kubert.
• Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD): Large specialized art and design university offering sequential art and illustration majors with strong entertainment industry placement. Direct curriculum overlap with Kubert on illustration and comic art, though operating at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/TheKubertSchool
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvLH2cj8oNBqozEIdO3y5jQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/thekubertschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/thekubertschool
• Instagramfacebook.com/thekubertschool

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Kubert School