50 Free Comic Book Template Pages

If your kids aren’t quite sure how to get started on making their own comic book, never fear, we have plenty of tips and tricks to help them get going!

1. Creating Characters

The most important part of any comic book is the people you put inside its pages! However, coming up with comic book characters can be easier said than done, especially when your child is staring at a blank page just waiting to be filled. The seemingly limitless possibilities can make it hard to choose who to feature in their comic book.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to come up with three main characters – the hero of the story, their nemesis, and an additional person to help drive the narrative, most likely a helpful sidekick of some kind (think Batman’s Robin).

Once your child has come up with those three characters, it’s time to flesh them out. For instance, if their hero and villain have super powers, what do those powers involve? What drives the characters? What do they hate? What are they afraid of? Thinking of all these things before they start creating the comic book can be a huge help when it comes to thinking up a story.

2. Where is the action happening?

Now that your child’s comic book characters have been created, it’s time to think about their location. Do your characters live in a city or in the countryside? Maybe they even live on another planet! Do they stay in one location for the whole story or do they move about? Again, the possibilities are abundant.

3. What happens?

Now that your child has come up with the foundation for their comic book it’s time to decide on the action. Figuring out the plot of their comic book is all part of the fun. Of course, if they’re still very young, then they won’t want to do anything complex or use all the pages, but whatever they come up it will work wonders for developing their creativity, their drawing, and their writing skills. However, if they are older, then they can really let their imaginations run wild and come up with all kinds of fun-filled plot twists and zingy dialogue!

Perhaps you have tweens or teens who are really into comic books – if they are eager to create their own, you could introduce them to the traditional stages of the hero’s journey, as famously explained by Joseph Campbell. After all, if this kind of story structure is good enough for the likes of George Lucas, your kids are sure to take it on board (although you may want to simplify it a bit).

In the hero’s journey, a character (the hero, of course) begins as an ordinary person leading an ordinary life in an ordinary world. However, something comes along to disrupt things (like the appearance of the villain, for example) and the hero is forced to go on a quest, usually with the help of some kind of mentor or trusty sidekick (or both). There are plenty of interesting dilemmas that can be thrown in along the way – the important thing is to have a satisfying ending.

Your kids might want to make a simple storyboard of their plot so they know what they’re doing before they actually start filling in our free printable comic book template pages.

4. Bringing the characters to life

Probably one of the most thrilling parts of designing a comic is getting to figure out what your characters look like! Whether your kids are using human characters, monsters, aliens, or maybe even animals, there is so much fun to be had in designing each character.

To help them finalise what each character looks like, they can experiment with different character traits and drawing styles. For instance, is a particular character tall, thin, short, fat, or muscular? Are they shy, nasty, scared, or brave? Do they wear a special costume unique to their character? Experimenting with what each figure is like in every detail can provide hours of fun before they even start creating their comic!

5. Filling in the free comic book template pages

Now that your kids know what their characters look like, where they’re located, and what is going to happen to them, it’s time to start filling in the printable comic book pages. It’s a good idea for them to start off by using pencils so they can easily rub something out if they make a mistake. Once they have completed the sketch in each space, they can then go back over it in black pen or fill it in with coloured pens or pencils if they’d like.

When it comes to filling in the speech bubbles, it’s important to come up with dialogue that fits the scene they’ve drawn and keeps the action moving along nicely. Thought bubbles are handy as they shed light on what a particular character is thinking, and, of course, exclamations are essential for showing excitement, anger, or even fear!

6. Add some colour

Once the comic book has been completed, your child can enjoy going back through it and filling it in with vibrant colour. This really brings the book to life, and colouring in all those pages will keep your kids entertained for ages, which is another bonus!

Once it’s been fully coloured in, you can staple the pages together and turn it into a fully finished bona fide comic book. Your child is sure to be thrilled with their achievement and you’ll get to read it through and enjoy the fruits of their labour.