I know that many teachers have begun using comic creation as a way to springboard into composition: students can use the "3 panel" format to sketch out a scene and then flesh out the scenario in prose. For younger students, it can also be a great way to build simple stories....and it's fun too!
Comic Life gives students lots of great options, but if you don't have a Mac, or you don't have it installed, you may feel left out.
There are two web-based comic creators that just might fill the gap. While your options are limited (scenes, props, characters are all preset), you can still have fun building a scene. Stripgenerator has a very "Jetsons" feel and gives extra options if you create an account. My preference would be to create without an account and then print or take a screen shot (SHIFT-APPLE-4) and save to the desktop. The downside of this site is that some of the user created strips might not be appropriate for a younger audience.
A more "realistic" looking strip is easy to create with "Make Beliefs". What I like with this second option is the many story suggestions and idea starters that the site provides. (In addition, there is no requirement to create an account and students aren't distracted by work others have created.)=======
Just as a little extra, if you are planning to teach comics as an art form, there is a wealth of info in the gURL site to get you "savvy". (I'd use this more as a teacher resource since some of the referring links might not work with younger students!)
