If a picture is worth a thousand words, then just imagine the stories you can tell with comics.

From political cartoons and the newspaper funny pages to emotionally resonant biographies and multi-volume superhero epics, the scope of comics is a broad one. While many people may still hold onto the outdated idea that comics are silly or childish, the truth is comics comprise a multi-billion-dollar industry with an immense, world-spanning fanbase of all ages and from all walks of life. Whether you consume them as syndicated strips on cheap newsprint or as serialized arcs in glossy, collector’s edition volumes (often labeled “graphic novels”), comics have something to offer everyone.

Comics in the US began in earnest at the tail end of the 19th century, with the first newspaper comic strip in 1896. However, if you look back to political cartoons and other forms where text and image collide, you could actually say comics have been around, in one form or another, for centuries. Since the early 20th century, iconic characters like Superman and Captain America have leapt from the pages of comics and onto the screen, culminating in comic books as the source material for some of our most successful films, television shows, and video games. Comics have also proven to be an ideal form for memoirs, biographies, historical narratives, and other more “serious” literature, with many titles becoming bestsellers and even finding their way into school curricula.

So, how are comics made? What are the rules of the medium? How would a writer or an illustrator—or both—begin creating their own comics? These and other questions are what you will explore in the 12 inspiring lessons of How to Create Comics. Taught by Peter Bagge, a cartoonist and award-winning comics creator, these lessons will show you how comics are made and why they have become so enduringly successful. Like any wide-ranging and long-lived medium, comics creators put certain technical and creative tools to use when they produce their stories. You will get a firsthand look at how these tools are used—and how digital tools have changed the comics landscape. Whether you want to create your own comics or simply better understand the medium as a fan, this course will give you the tools and the insight to see how comics work and to start you on your way to creating your own stories.