Marvel's The Art of Storytelling by Proko

Marvel's The Art of Storytelling is a self-paced online comics course produced by Marvel in collaboration with Proko. A team of Marvel writers and artists teach the whole process of making a comic: writing the story, pencilling, inking, cinematography and panel layout, characters, environments, colour and covers. It has 130 video lessons, nearly 36 hours in total, and 22 lessons are free. The regular price is $249 as a one-time purchase.

It is the only course in Proko's catalogue made with a major comics publisher, and it is unusual in covering every stage of a comic page rather than one skill. Each topic is taught by a working professional who specialises in it.

What You Will Learn

Based on the official course page, the course covers:

• Writing a story and structuring it for comics
• Pencilling techniques
• Inking techniques
• Cinematography and perspective for comics
• Page and panel composition
• Poses, acting and performance
• Character and team design, and drawing action
• Designing environments
• Colouring for comics, and designing comic covers

Who Is Marvel's The Art of Storytelling For?

Proko lists it as intermediate to advanced. It suits illustrators and comic artists who can already draw figures and want to learn how professional comics are planned, drawn and finished. Writers who want to understand how artists read a script will also find the story section useful.

It is not a beginner's drawing course. If your figures or perspective are still shaky, Proko's Figure Drawing Fundamentals and The Perspective Course are better first steps.

Course Structure

The lessons are grouped into these sections:

• Story (Jim Zub)
• Pencils (Ryan Benjamin)
• Inking (Mark Morales)
• Cinematography (Mike Hawthorne)
• Page and Panel Layout (Aaron Conley)
• Characters (Alitha Martinez on posing and acting; Sanford Greene on character and team design and action)
• Environments (Daniel Warren Johnson)
• Colour (Matt Wilson)
• Covers (Erik Gist)
• Conclusion and Bonus Content

Alongside lectures, the course includes demonstrations with commentary, interviews with the instructors and some material from the Marvel archives.

Because each section has its own teacher, the course works both as a full sequence and as a reference. You can follow it in order to make a complete comic, from script to cover, or go straight to the stage you find hardest, such as inking or page layout. The course also includes a range of exercises to practise what it teaches.

Price and Access

The regular price is $249 as a one-time payment. Proko sometimes runs time-limited discounts, so check the course page for the current price. Split payments are available.

There are two points to note. The videos are streaming only and cannot be downloaded. And instead of open-ended lifetime access, Proko guarantees access on its site until at least 8 July 2031. Marvel grants a personal, non-commercial licence to make artwork inspired by the course, but not to draw Marvel characters for commercial work. Refund requests go to Proko support within 30 days.

About the Instructors

The teaching team are professionals from across Marvel's books. Mike Hawthorne has drawn Deadpool, Daredevil and Spider-Man; Sanford Greene co-created the award-winning Bitter Root; Daniel Warren Johnson is the writer-artist of Murder Falcon and Extremity; and Erik Gist is an illustrator who teaches at Watts Atelier.

Things to Consider

• Time: Close to 36 hours of video. Proko said new content was still being added about once a week.
• Feedback: Depending on when you join, premium students may have work critiqued by instructors. You can also post assignments in the Proko community.
• No downloads: You will need an internet connection to watch.
• Licence: Work based on Marvel characters can only be shared in the course's discussion board and critiques.
• Materials: Traditional or digital tools both work for most sections; the inking and colour lessons show professional workflows.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with Proko?

Start Marvel's The Art of Storytelling

For the full syllabus and pricing, visit the official Proko website.

Looking for more ways to learn? Browse all courses and learning resources on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 16, 2026