Comic Book School is launching B-Line Comics, a new experienced-based learning initiative for aspiring comic creators.
The B-Line Comics project is an extension of the multi-award-winning creator challenge started in 2020, which resulted in two 144-page anthologies that showcased the work of the Comic Book School online community. B-Line Comics will focus on two teams who will work with a former Marvel Comics writer and editor to produce two separate one-shot stories to help the creators to experience the working methodologies of mainstream publishers.
B-Line Comics will be a free learning experience that will guide the creative teams through a traditional process to publish a standard 20-page comic book story. The Comic Book School process is a 13-step process designed to closely replicate the steps typically associated with publishing a mainstream comic for a publisher.
All steps, including the writing, editing, art, and production, will be available publicly for free for anyone to read and follow along. The class will publish printed copies to sell and distribute as work samples to editors and publishers.
“This is the first educational resource of its kind in the comic book industry,” said Buddy Scalera, founder of Comic Book School and publisher of B-Line Comics. “This hands-on experience will increase self-sufficiency among our students and improve the quality of their final published work.”
B-Line Comics Editor-in-Chief Glenn Herdling is a former Marvel Comics editor and writer with over 125 published comic book credits. He teaches business communications and storytelling at Montclair State College and holds an MBA in Publishing from NYU.
“There aren’t many places that people can go to learn the basics of comic book storytelling,” Herdling said. “I was fortunate enough in my early years at Marvel to learn the basics from old pros like Tom DeFalco and the late Mark Gruenwald at their weekly Assistant Editor School. I’m looking forward to passing along some of that knowledge to these enthusiastic B-Liners.”
“I’m thrilled that Glenn agreed to be our EIC and lead educator for this interactive course. He is a fantastic storyteller, editor, and teacher,” says Scalera. “Glenn has helped me personally and professionally to improve my craft as a professional comic book writer. Now he will be helping the next generation of visual storytellers.”
All steps, progress, and commentary will appear here with minimal editing. Scripts, art, and other steps in the creative process will be documented. Editorial feedback meetings will be recorded and available on the Comic Book School YouTube channel.
Team One will be led by Kris Burgos. Team Two will be led by Rob Andersin. All coloring will be produced by D. Alley. The full creative teams will be announced with their respective comic book projects.
Step 1: Sharing Ideas with Your Editor
Step 2: Plot
Step 3: Plot Revisions
