Meet a Creator: Kenny Porter

The Comics Experience Creators Workshop is a community of aspiring and professional comic book creators. The Creators Workshop boards are full of discussion about craft and the industry. In addition, there is a lively workshop, where members post scripts and art for critique. If you want to join the conversations, meet new people, and improve your skills, check out details and membership information.

In this new feature on our blog, we’re getting to know some longtime members of the Creators Workshop. First up:

Kenny Porter


Tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do in your day job?

My name’s Kenny Porter and I’m a professional writer living in West Michigan. I work as a Marketing Coordinator and Digital Content Developer while also writing comics.

How did you discover that you want to be involved in creating comics?

I’ve always loved comics, but when I read Natsume Ono’s not simple I realized that I wanted to try and tell stories that moved people with panels and pages the way she does.

What is your area of interest in comics? (Do you write/draw/color, etc.?)

I’m a writer, although I’m always trying to learn every aspect of the process. I’ve taken classes on lettering and editing, and I’m learning more about color and book production.

What do you most enjoy about the Creators Workshop?

It’s a great way for new writers, artists, letterers, and aspiring editors to share their work and grow as creators.

What projects are you working on now?

I just finished a successful Kickstarter for my creator-owned comic Barnstormers!, and now I’m writing a comic adaptation of Yakuza for SEGA.

Art from Barnstormers!

What’s an example of help with your comics creation that you’ve gotten in the Creators Workshop?

One of the best points that were hammered into my skull was how to pace an issue and how to effectively use panels. There are a lot of rookie mistakes that I see even to this day in professional work, but analyzing pages with peers helped me learn how to properly pace out a story.

Who are some of your creative role models? What do you learn from their work?

Some of my creative role models are Darwyn Cooke, Jason Aaron, Alex Toth, and Jeff Lemire. When it comes to Cooke and Toth, no one was better at pacing a story or conveying so much with fewer lines and dynamite cartooning. Aaron and Lemire are two of my favorite writers because they can jump into any genre and bring out true and interesting characters. I use all of their work as inspiration and try to learn how to better tell stories and flesh out characters in my own narratives.

What comics are you enjoying right now?

Right now, I’m reading Southern Bastards, Invincible, Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Batman/The Shadow, and Extremity.

Do you have a website or any other project you want to tell us about?

My website is www.kennyporterwrites.com and you can find me on Twitter and Instagram under the username @KenBlakePorter.


If you want to make comics, write, draw, letter, and color comics, or improve as a comics creator, you’ll find like-minded friends and colleagues in our online workshops and courses. We hope to see you there!

Posted by Jennifer de Guzman