Comics may seem like an innocuous form of entertainment and only that; however, they have great potential as teaching and learning tools. While exploring a few of the comic-creation resources I found several different programs, each with its own degree of freedom and individuality involved in creating comic strips. The one I used is very simple and very "kiddie." It is called Make Belief Comics, it's very simple, and it doesn't allow you a whole lot of creative freedom, but it is easy to understand. One that is very customizable is called Bit Strips. This website actually features a lot of people who do their own annual comic strip, and they allow you to create your own as well. I explored a few others: The Hero Factory, The Marvel Superhero Squad , and Comic Brush (this website is actually not working at the moment).
One of the best ways to use your own comics in the classroom is to introduce material to kids that otherwise might seem boring or hard to grasp. By starting with something usually viewed as enjoyable and recreational, I think you'd have a better chance of making a deeper connection with your students.
Another great way to use preexisting comics would be to examine the social undertones and stereotypes exhibited in them. This would especially work with political cartoons in history/social studies classes. You could also apply this idea to regular comic strips from the newspaper; they can be a great window into society, especially when you compare comics from other decades to comic strips now.
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