Heroic pursuit: Must ... write ... comics

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There’s gold in them there funny books! Comic books and graphic novels are all the rage in Hollywood, and you can sense that, for a younger generation, a new sort of viable career path is emerging. That or it’s just the latest way of piling up rejection letters before shuffling off to corporate America in defeat. Either way, here’s an interesting tidbit: Mediabistro is now offering a four-week online class called ‘Comic Book and Graphic Novel Writing,’ but it ain’t cheap: $350!

Yes, that might sound steep these days, but this monthlong tutorial promises to take novice writers and emerging artists deep into the world of self-production with the hands-on help of David Seidman, who has been a writer for ‘Simpsons Comics’ and an instructor at UCLA on writing comics. The syllabus? A crash course on the most popular genres, formats and styles; do’s and don’ts of visual storytelling; and the business of comics, including how to pitch a publishing company and market your work.

Sure, it sounds good, but you could also just take that $350 and invest in a more traditional crash course in comics. We’re just saying...

F.Y.I., Speidman also is hosting a seminar on Wednesday (April 1) at Blankspaces in mid-Wilshire for $60. The workshop condenses the online class into a three-hour lesson.

-- Alicia Lozano