About this site

This website is a destination for all students and teachers of comics, whether in a formal program of some kind, or learning independently. It’s also for working cartoonists and committed readers of comics—basically anyone with a passion for and a curiosity about the medium. Here you will find activities, tutorials, advice, videos, and links about learning to make, write, or read comics. This work stems from our teaching and our textbook on comics, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures and its sequel, Mastering Comics.

What makes this site unique is that Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, the creators of this site, are working cartoonists and editors who also have more than ten years’ experience teaching comics in a variety of contexts. This means they have the hands-on experience in both teaching and making comics to bring life to learning comics in its every manifestation, from reading the Sunday comics to becoming a comics pro.

But dw-wp.com isn’t just a blog. We have a deep and growing collection of teaching and learning materials, book guides, and other resources on the site. Click the link(s) below that apply to you and we’ll go into more detail, whether you are…

  • an educator (in an art school, high school, museum, library)
  • student of comics (enrolled in school or learning on your own time)
  • a comics reader (long-time fan or curious new reader)
  • a practicing cartoonist (grizzled vet or wide-eyed webcartoonist)