A character study: Mark Waid, Howard Chaykin use decades in writing to create Comic Book U

Jan. 16—Howard Chaykin and Mark Waid know their way around comic books.

Each has an accomplished career of creating in the industry — and they are taking it on the road.

Chaykin and Waid created Comic Book U, which is a traveling workshop to help aspiring comic book writers learn about the industry.

Comic Book U will make a stop in Albuquerque from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19.

"We plan tours around comic conventions," says Waid. "We get down to the basics that one needs to get into this industry. Then I talk for an hour about storytelling and how to use the comic book medium in telling the stories."

Waid is a New York Times-bestselling author whose work has appeared in countless languages across the globe.

Over the course of his almost four decades in the comic book industry, Waid has developed characters and stories for "Batman," "Superman," "Spider-Man," "The Avengers," "X-Men," "Archie," "Star Wars," "the Incredibles" and almost every other franchise currently enjoying success across all media platforms.

"Kingdom Come," which he created with artist Alex Ross for DC Comics, has become one of the highest-selling graphic novels in history.

Many of the storylines and characters he wrote and created in his eight-year run on "The Flash" comic books can be seen on the television show.

He has written and edited over 2,000 comic titles and has received every major award in the industry.

Meanwhile, Chaykin's credits include "American Flagg!," "Star Wars" and "Hey Kids! Comics!" He has worked extensively at Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Image Comics from the early 1970s through the present day.

"I've pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to do in this industry," Waid says. "That's why we started Comic Book U. We want to help aspiring artists and authors steer clear of the pitfalls in the industry."

Waid first got interested in comics when he watched "Batman" starring Adam West.

"It premiered and I was hooked," he says. "I'm lucky to have worked with nearly every single character in comics. I ended up being an editor at DC Comics and then a writer. I've even owned a comic book store."

Waid was commissioned about five years ago to write a book on comic book storytelling.

"That got me really fired up," he says. "The book hasn't come out yet. There's nothing like teaching to remind yourself of how much you know. During COVID, we did a handful of Zoom lectures and the rest is history."

Waid says Comic Book U runs just under five hours, with enough time for Albuquerque Comic Con to begin.