Comics Experience

What Comics Experience does

Comics Experience is an online education platform founded in 2007 that serves aspiring comic book creators, working independent artists, and comics professionals seeking to sharpen specific craft skills. The company was founded by Andy Schmidt, a former Marvel editor (notably on Annihilation) and current Editor-in-Chief at BOOM! Studios, and is headquartered in Shelbyville, Kentucky with a team of approximately 13 employees. The platform's core product is a structured catalog of self-paced online courses organized across five disciplines — Writing, Art, Coloring, Production, and Business — with a 2024–2025 expansion adding Lettering and a YA/Middle Grade bundle to broaden the addressable student pool.

The technology stack is intentionally lightweight and commodity: a WordPress/WooCommerce e-commerce front end for course transactions, paired with a Discord-hosted community layer for peer interaction. There is no proprietary platform technology, no API surface, and no AI tooling in the product. Courses are licensed one-time for individual purchase, while community engagement runs on a recurring membership tiered at $9.99/month, $55.99 for six months, and $99 annually. Higher-value professional services — Pro Script Critique ($50–$300 per script), one-on-one mentoring ($399 for three one-hour sessions), and end-to-end Creative Services — sit alongside episodic Master Seminars priced at $147–$195 featuring marquee working creators.

Revenue is generated through a multi-modal B2C model that blends transactional course sales, recurring subscriptions, and professional services. Customer acquisition is primarily direct-to-consumer via the website and organic reach within the comics creator community. The company is privately held, founder-owned, has no outside funding, and has no parent company or acquirer relationship. The principal commercial levers are content launches (which drive episodic traffic) and the recurring community membership (which provides baseline retention), with the professional-services arm contributing the highest per-customer revenue but at modest volume.

Name

Comics Experience

Legal name

Comics Experience

Website

https://comicsexperience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Comics Experience is an online education platform founded in 2007 that trains aspiring comic book creators through self-paced courses, subscription memberships, and professional services across writing, art, and production disciplines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Arts Education

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Comics, Manga & Serialized Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Western Comic Books Publishing (Superhero, Indie) (MPAJAGAB)

Keywords

• Comic book education
• Creative writing courses
• Comic art instruction
• Script critique services
• Online learning platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Shelbyville, KY

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Online Courses and Bundles: Digital video courses and course bundles teaching various aspects of comic creation (writing, art, coloring, lettering, production, business). Courses are delivered on-demand and include bundled packages at discounted prices.
2. Community Membership: Monthly, semi-annual, and annual subscription memberships providing access to private Discord community, exclusive live Happy Hour events with industry guests, and feedback on work from professionals and peers.
3. Pro Script Critique: One-time professional critique service where seasoned comic writers and editors review and provide feedback on comic book scripts. Pricing based on page count (1-30 pages).
4. One-on-One Mentoring: Personalized mentoring sessions with industry professionals (Stephen Pakula, Fred Van Lente, Chris Sotomayor). Sold as minimum packages of three one-hour calls with no expiration.
5. Creative Services: End-to-end comic production services including editorial/project management, graphic novel design, logo design, script writing, cover art, and full comic book art services. Clients provide ideas/direction and Comics Experience assembles creative teams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Comics Experience is an online education and professional services platform for aspiring and working comic book creators. It sells self-paced video courses across writing, art, coloring, production, and business disciplines, alongside premium Master Seminars taught by prominent comic creators. It also delivers paid professional services including Pro Script Critiques, one-on-one Mentoring, and end-to-end Creative Services for comic production, supported by a paid Discord community membership and free educational resources such as a script archive and podcast.

Product overview

Comics Experience is a comics education and professional development platform offering a comprehensive suite of online courses, professional services, and community features for aspiring and working comic creators. The platform operates on a course-based model with five main course categories: Writing (covering story foundations, script writing, and professional practices), Art (perspective and visual storytelling), Coloring (tools, theory, lighting, and special effects), Production (lettering and project management), and Business (contracts, distribution, marketing, and career building). Supplementary offerings include Master Seminars with industry luminaries, Pro Script Critique services for personalized feedback, one-on-one Mentoring with working professionals, and Creative Services for full comic production assistance. The platform also maintains an active community through Discord with monthly live events and maintains a free Comic Book Script Archive as an educational resource. Products are delivered digitally through on-demand video courses, with bundled pricing options available for multiple related courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Courses - Writing Self-paced video courses teaching comic book writing fundamentals, story development, script formatting, and professional industry practices, designed for aspiring and working comic writers.
• Online Courses - Art Art instruction courses covering perspective drawing, visual storytelling techniques, and artistic fundamentals for comic creation, intended for aspiring comic artists.
• Online Courses - Coloring Comprehensive coloring instruction covering tools, color theory, lighting, rendering, and special effects for comic book coloring, targeted at aspiring comic colorists.
• Online Courses - Production Production-focused courses including comic book lettering, editing, and project management for comic creation, intended for aspiring comic production professionals.
• Online Courses - Business Business and professional development courses covering comics business fundamentals, contracts, distribution, marketing, crowdfunding, and freelance career building, targeted at aspiring independent comic creators.
• Course Bundles Discounted bundles combining multiple related courses (such as the Introduction to Comic Book Writing Bundle, Coloring Bundle, and YA/MG Course Bundle) offering a lower combined price versus purchasing courses individually.
• Master Seminar with Kieron Gillen: Surviving Work For Hire Writing Premium intensive video seminar taught by comic writer Kieron Gillen offering a deep dive into surviving work-for-hire writing, including career planning, pitching, story planning, crossover management, and professional best practices.
• Master Seminar with Greg Pak: The Pak Process Premium intensive video seminar taught by comic writer Greg Pak covering his writing process developed over 475 comic book scripts, including storytelling principles, outlining techniques, script writing, and professional career advice.
• Master Seminar with James Tynion IV: Team and Ensemble Writing Premium intensive video seminar taught by comic writer James Tynion IV focusing on team and ensemble writing techniques, covering character arcs, team dynamics, villain creation, and story arc structuring.
• Introduction to Perspective Self-paced video art course teaching perspective drawing fundamentals for comic artists, covering one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective with practical application.
• Introduction to Comic Book Lettering Self-paced video production course teaching comic book lettering and production work, covering Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop for professional lettering and comic production.
• Pro Script Critique One-time professional critique service where seasoned comic writers and editors (including Molly Lazer and Marc Sumerak) review submitted comic book scripts and provide detailed feedback, priced by page count ($50-$300).
• Mentoring One-on-one personalized mentoring sessions with industry professionals (Stephen Pakula, Fred Van Lente, Chris Sotomayor), sold as a minimum package of three one-hour calls at $399 with no expiration.
• Creative Services End-to-end comic production service including editorial and project management, graphic novel design, logo design, script writing, cover art, and full comic book art services, where Comics Experience assembles and manages creative teams for clients.
• Comics Experience Community (Membership) Subscription membership providing access to a private Discord community, monthly live Happy Hour events hosted by founder Andy Schmidt, occasional industry guest appearances, peer and professional feedback on work, and a 10% discount on Pro Script Critiques.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple graduates have become working professional comics writers at Marvel, DC, and other major publishers

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CGMA (Computer Graphics Master Academy): Premium online school for computer graphics and digital art with industry professionals as instructors. Comparable in specializing in a creative arts sub-discipline with structured courses and active community engagement.
• Proko: Art education platform founded by Stan Prokopenko featuring figure drawing and anatomy courses with a YouTube-driven funnel. Comparable as a creator-led creative education brand built around a recognized instructor and free content marketing.
• Schoolism (Cubebrush): Online art education platform originally focused on concept art and illustration, now part of Cubebrush. Most directly comparable as a domain-specialized creative education platform with industry professional instructors and an engaged community.

Broad incumbents

• MasterClass: Premium online education platform featuring celebrity/industry experts teaching creative disciplines. Comparable as a high-touch, expert-led subscription course model targeting aspirational learners, though broader in scope.
• Webtoon (Naver): Major digital comics platform with global reach and a creator-focused ecosystem. Comparable as a pipeline for aspiring comic creators, though primarily a publishing/distribution platform rather than an education provider.
• Skillshare: Subscription-based online learning community offering thousands of creative courses including illustration, writing, and design. Comparable business model (membership + courses) and target market of aspiring creative professionals.

Emerging players

• Storybird: Visual storytelling platform with educational applications. Comparable at the intersection of creative writing education and comics-style visual storytelling, though focused on younger student audiences.

Regional players

• Madefire: Digital comics platform with motion comics and a toolset for creators. Comparable in serving the comics creator ecosystem with technology-enabled tools, though primarily a publishing platform.
• Panel Syndicate: Digital comics platform by Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente offering pay-what-you-want comics. Comparator in the comics creator ecosystem with a direct-to-consumer model, though focused on publishing rather than education.

Others

• Patronage (Patreon): Membership platform enabling creators to monetize via subscriptions. Comparable as an enabling technology that Comics Experience-adjacent creators commonly use to monetize directly, functioning as an indirect alternative for self-publishing comic creators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comics-experience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Comics Experience