Make a Comic

Every kid has a comic inside them. This is the book that draws it out.

Make a Comic isn’t a book about comics. It’s a comic that hands you the pencil and walks you through making your very own, one panel at a time. Your guide, Gio, has made this journey before, and he knows the road is crawling with trouble: the Distraction Beast, the Pressure Demon, the Trolls of Indecision, and every other “art monster” that stops great ideas from ever becoming finished pages. The good news? He knows exactly how to get past them, and he’ll show you how to do it, too.

Part graphic novel, part hands-on workshop, this book transforms the blank page from something scary into something fun. You don’t just read about how comics work—you draw, write, and build right in the book, with simple lessons, helpful templates, and “try this” challenges throughout the book. No fancy art skills required. If you can draw a squiggle, you can make a comic.

Author, comic maker, and teacher Gio Benedetti wrote Make a Comic for kids ages 8–12, but it’s welcoming enough for younger kids, older teens, and even grown-ups who’ve always wanted to make their own comic. By the end, readers won’t just understand comics: they’ll have actually made one, start to finish.

Along the way, you will learn how to:

• Come up with ideas and characters, even when your brain says, “I’ve got nothing”

• Draw in a simple, loose style that anyone can pull off (no perfect art needed)

• Write dialogue and dream up stories worth telling

• Lay out panels and pages so the action flows

• Beat the real-life “monsters”—distraction, perfectionism, giving up—that stop most comics from ever getting finished (or even started)

Whether you dream of drawing graphic novels, webcomics, or just one wild story of your own, Make a Comic gives you the map, the tools, and the confidence to go from “I wish I could” to “I made this.”