MARVEL’S superhero films have become some of the biggest blockbusters of the last few years.

As icons of pop culture, the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America are giants and yet their comic book roots are often forgotten.

That is what Kev F. Sutherland discovered when he started doing his comic art masterclasses.

And yet it is those movies, that often overshadow the comics, that have made his classes more popular than ever.

Kev told Weekend: “It’s an interesting balance that’s been struck because, in a way, comics are bigger than they ever were while also managing to sell fewer copies than they ever did.”

The artist and writer, whose career spans 30 years, will be doing his first masterclasses in Warrington at the Museum and Art Gallery on Friday, August 31 – and the sessions are free.

He added: “You do root out a lot of hidden talent. The kids are great and when I started doing the class the revelation for me was the fact that most kids don’t read comics.

“So I scatter a whole load of comics on the table and they are all so excited. It’s all kind of: ‘Have you ever seen anything like this?’ I basically wake kids up to comics and then I show them how easy it is to do it themselves.”

Kev will be doing two sessions which last around two and a half hours each.

In that time the group will produce a comic to take home which features a strip by everyone in the class.

Kev got his foot in the door of the comics industry working on a short-lived publication called Oink.

He sent his material off to the editors of Oink and 2000AD every week until finally Oink wrote back.

The comic ended its run after just 18 months but attracted a wealth of talented contributors such as former The Fall member and future BBC Radio 1 radio host Marc ‘Lard’ Riley and satirist Charlie Brooker.

Kev said: “The thing that happened next was lots of Viz lookalike comics so those of us with a comedic bent started working for those.

“Those lasted a couple of years and I got to do an awful lot of writing and drawing for things like Gas and Brain Damage and then I got to edit one called UT.”

Then Kev got to live a childhood dream by writing and drawing for Marvel Comics. He worked on beloved series like Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider among many others. So he is very aware of the sense of wonder that Marvel evokes in his classes.

He added: “I started reading Marvel comics when I was five so a few years ago when I got to work for Marvel that was like a dream come true.

“What’s made a really big difference is that the kids are familiar with the characters now.

“That’s mostly from the films but they’re also used to the comic images because they’ll have them on bags and shirts and pillowcases.

“So they’ll kind of know classic drawings of Thor and Captain America from my childhood because they are very popular images. And of course showing how easy it is to draw those and then how easy it is to put them into comic strips is very good for them.

“It joins the dots between things they recognise and things they’re able to do. I quite often get parents who come to my classes too.

“Lots of people come who are my age and used to read comics as kids and they’re now trying to get their kids excited by them.”

Kev is also a regular contributor to The Beano, which recently celebrated its 80th birthday making it one of the longest-running comics in the world.

He said: “I’ve had the chance to work on the legends. I’ve worked on Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger and you get to add to the legacy. That’s marvellous. I’m most proud of the stuff I’ve done for The Beano. The long-running characters have become so popular. Through the heyday of The Beano and through all of the past 80 years there have been constant efforts to create new characters.

“Sometimes they stick but it’s hard to think of anything in recent years that has.

“Bananaman is coming up to 40 years old. That’s half as old as the Beano and we think of that as new in comics land.”

But Kev managed to launch one of his own characters through The Beano called Hot Rod Cow.

“He actually started in the background of The Beano,” added the 56-year-old.

“He appeared in these comics that Plug was reading in the Bash Street Kids and then I spun him off into his own character.”

So Kev encourages that sort of ingenuity in the classes at well.

At each session the students come up with a theme and title for the comic. Previous entries include The Ghost of Theresa May and Air Force Guinea Pig.

Kev said: "In normal school lessons it’s hard to give kids the opportunity to just make up nonsense and when they do they make up the most amazing things.

"And of course if they come up with funny things and make the whole room laugh that’s quite a revelation for kids because, by and large, if you do that in the classroom you’ll get told off for it!"

Kev F. Sutherland's comic masterclasses take place between 10am and 12.30pm and 1.30pm and 4pm on Friday, August 31. The sessions, suitable for those aged seven and older, are free but booking is essential. Call 442345.