This free comic strip template set comes as ten separate printable PDFs. They range from four panels for a quick joke to ten panels for the epic saga about the dog who learned to fly.
I handed my 6-year-old a blank sheet of paper once and asked him to draw a comic. He drew one enormous dinosaur, wrote “THE END,” and walked away. Panels help. 😄
Every page has a name and date line, a rounded title bar, and black-and-white line art that prints clean on a school copier.
These have become some of my favorite classroom printables for early finishers and rainy indoor recess.
Download the Templates
Grab the free PDFs below 👇 Each one prints on standard letter paper.
What’s Included
- 9 separate PDF downloads, 56 pages total
- Panel counts from 4 up to 10 per page
- 5 unique layout variations inside every panel set
- Two storyboard sets with caption and ruled lines
- Beginning/Middle/End planning boxes
- Printed speech bubbles, thought clouds, and halftone action bursts
- Superhero kid, unicorn, and ladybug mascots tucked into the borders
- A bonus character and speech bubble page in every single file
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Features and Benefits
- I print a few of each and keep them in a folder with my other blank paper printables.
- Everything is monochrome line art, so it copies well and doesn’t drain your color ink. Pair the storyboard sets with numbered lined paper if you want kids to draft the story before they draw it.
- The printed speech bubbles do a lot of quiet work. Kids who freeze up on a totally empty page will fill in a bubble that’s already there. It. Works. Every. Time.
- That bonus character page is my favorite part. Five superhero kids, a unicorn, a ladybug, and about a dozen empty bubbles and bursts. Kids color them, cut them out, and glue them into their panels.
Teacher Tip: If your crew likes that part, there are more coloring and tracing pages over at Color and Trace.
Comic Strip Templates With Characters & Speech Bubbles
You’ll find a 4-panel and 6-panel comic strip template below that includes characters and comic bubbles on each page. If they aren’t exactly what you’re looking for, you can customize them on Canva to move the figures and bubbles around!
If you’d prefer to let the kids choose, just print out the character & comic bubble pack and let them color, cut, and glue the figures where they want!
Tip: Print the comic characters from the 4 or 6-panel with characters download.
Who It’s For
- 2nd through 5th grade teachers running creative writing or sequencing units
- Homeschool parents who want a low-prep language arts activity
- Early writers who draw better than they spell
- Middle school teachers using storyboards to plan projects or book reports
- Parents looking for a screen-free activity that lasts longer than four minutes
How to Use It
- Pick your panel count based on how much stamina your kid has that day.
- Print the pages you need. One per student, or a few if they’re on a roll.
- Have them fill in the title bar first. Naming the story makes them commit to one.
- Use the Beginning, Middle, and End boxes to plan before drawing if you’re doing this as a writing lesson.
- Print the bonus character page separately so kids can color, cut, and glue the extras in.
Teacher Tip: Print a class set of the 6-panel layout and keep it in your early finisher bin. It buys you fifteen quiet minutes and nobody has to ask what to do next. 🙌
For a longer project, staple a few pages together with a lined paper with a cute border cover and let them build a full comic book. My students used to trade them. There’s more like this in my literacy printables.
Download the 3-Panel Comic Strip Template
Three panels is where I start with my youngest. It’s short enough that finishing feels possible, which matters a lot when you’re six and deeply committed to abandoning things. Beginning, middle, end maps onto three boxes without anyone having to explain it.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 different 3-panel layout variations
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page for writing under each panel
- Name, date, and rounded title bar on every page
- Plain panels, no characters (grab the character page separately below)
Download the 4-Panel Comic Strip Template
Four boxes is the sweet spot for 2nd and 3rd grade. Enough room for a setup and a punchline, not so much that the last panel turns into a giant scribble at 2:40pm. This one goes in my early finisher bin every year.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 layout variations, including an even 2×2 grid and asymmetric hero-panel designs
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page with ruled writing space under each panel
- Name, date, and title fields throughout
- Plain panels, no characters
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Download the 4-Panel Comic Strip Template with Characters
This is the version I hand to kids who stare at a blank page. The speech bubbles are already drawn in, so there’s something to fill rather than something to start. The little mascots hanging off the panel borders get colored in every single time. 🦸
What’s in this PDF:
- 7 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 6 different 4-panel layouts (two even 2×2 grids, four tall-and-short arrangements)
- A superhero mascot on 5 of the 6 layout pages
- Printed speech bubbles, thought clouds, and halftone action bursts
- A bonus character and speech bubble page at the end
- Name, date, and title fields on every layout page
Download the 5-Panel Comic Strip Template
Five panels feels lopsided in the best way. Most of the layouts pair a big establishing panel with smaller frames, which quietly teaches kids that not every moment in a story deserves the same amount of space.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 asymmetric 5-panel layout variations
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page for writing beneath each panel
- Name, date, and rounded title bar on every page
- Plain panels, no characters
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Download the 6-Panel Comic Strip Template
Six panels is the one I’d grab if I could only keep one. It works for a full short story, a book report retelling, or a science sequence, and the even 2×3 grid photocopies clean every time.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 layout variations, including a clean 2×3 grid and split hero-panel designs
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page with ruled space under each frame
- Name, date, and title fields throughout
- Plain panels, no characters
Download the 6-Panel Comic Strip Template with Characters
The decorated version of my favorite layout. The panel arrangements get more interesting than the plain set, including a wide banner panel that kids inevitably use for the dramatic reveal. Comes with the full character page at the back.
What’s in this PDF:
- 7 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 6 different 6-panel layouts (even 2×3 grids, tall-and-wide splits, and a banner-panel design)
- A superhero mascot on 5 of the 6 layout pages
- Printed speech bubbles, thought clouds, and halftone bursts
- A bonus character and speech bubble page at the end
- Name, date, and title fields on every layout page
Download the 7-Panel Comic Strip Template
Seven is an odd number of panels and that’s exactly why it works. The layouts break into uneven rows, so kids have to decide which beat gets the big frame. Good middle-grade thinking without it feeling like a lesson.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 layout variations with mixed row structures
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page for writing under each panel
- Name, date, and title fields on every page
- Plain panels, no characters
See More In:
Download the 8-Panel Comic Strip Template
Eight panels means smaller boxes, which is actually the point. Kids who’ve outgrown giant frames start drawing tighter and thinking about what fits. I use this one for chapter summaries.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 layout variations, including a 2×4 grid and three-column mixed designs
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page with ruled writing space
- Name, date, and title fields throughout
- Plain panels, no characters
Download the 9-Panel Comic Strip Template
The 3×3 is a genuine comics format and older kids notice. It’s also my go-to for sequencing a longer text, because nine boxes forces them to pick nine actual events instead of three vague ones.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 layout variations, including a full 3×3 grid and asymmetric brick arrangements
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page for writing beneath each frame
- Name, date, and title fields on every page
- Plain panels, no characters
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Download the 10-Panel Comic Strip Template
Ten panels is a commitment. My oldest fills these front and back and then asks for another one, which is either wonderful or a stalling tactic (the jury is still out). Best for 4th grade and up.
What’s in this PDF:
- 6 pages, US Letter, black-and-white line art
- 4 dense 10-panel layout variations
- A Beginning/Middle/End planning page
- A caption-line page with ruled space under each panel
- Name, date, and title fields throughout
- Plain panels, no characters
Grab Your Free Comic Strip Templates
All nine PDFs are free to download and print as many times as you need. 🎉
Start with the 6-panel set if you’re not sure where to begin, then come browse the rest of the education printables while your kids are busy drawing.
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