The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Punchy]

A lot of people around his age, in that 12-25 range, have this same problem and shit all over things aimed at kids as being silly and childish because they want to show how mature they are. I'm not saying Punchy is doing that, but it wouldn't shock me.

Comics already have a problem with being perceived as childish, I just think we should try and combat that, rather than worry about hypothetical children.

[rdrsfn82]

Comics already have a problem with being perceived as childish, I just think we should try and combat that, rather than worry about hypothetical children.

The hypothetical child that lives in my house loves the Marvel Adventures books and the DC books based on the various kids' cartoons, along with other all ages books.

And there's no difference from having comics aimed at kids and others aimed at adults and having movies aimed at kids and others aimed at adults. Convincing people that comics are a medium with a wide variety of things aimed at different ages is more important than getting rid of things aimed at kids.

[False Prophet]

Comics already have a problem with being perceived as childish, I just think we should try and combat that, rather than worry about hypothetical children.

No, I think the comic industry is mocked for its childish attempts to take itself too seriously. There's a constant cartoonish attempt at superrealism in (superhero) comics. It's like we clench our asses when we notice the outside public looking at us.

[Zero]

The idea that any medium would want to ignore a potential demographic as large and vague as 'children', never mind a medium that traditionally thrived on said demographic is laughable. Stop arguing with Punchy, it's not worth it.

[Stalzer2002]

You know, the very first comic I read was about four soldiers who go on a mission to an Eastern European type country to rescue a journalist. Well, the mission goes bad. Two of the soldiers are badly wounded, the journalist is killed and the group's leader orders the fourth soldier to leave them behind and report back to their commanding officer. The scene ends with that guy hiding in a sewer as his buddies' blood drips down through a grate and onto his face. Subsequent issues reveal that they survived and were sent to a gulag, where they were beaten and starved. The story arc ends with the group escaping and their leader shooting the gulag's commander in the head with a sniper rifle.

This particular comic was not a Vertigo book or a Garth Ennis book. It was an issue of Larry Hama's GI Joe. Was this story as graphic as some stories today? No. But it sure wasn't G-rated either. Even back then, with the Comics Code, comics pushed the envelope more than other mediums. You never would have seen anything remotely like that on the GI Joe cartoon.

That envelope has been pushed very far in the last twenty years. There are things in PG 13 movies today that would have gotten a R rating twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, a show like 24 would never have gotten on network TV, not in a world where NYPD Blue and Murphy Brown were controversial. Twenty years ago, you couldn't wear a Simpsons T-shirt in school and it was being condemned by politicians. Today, it is lauded by the Vatican. There was no video game like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty twenty years ago.

The fact of the matter is that violence and darkness are FAR more appealing to kids than most adults are willing to admit. I don't know, maybe I'm just younger than most of you, but I was a kid when things like Howard Mackie's Ghost Rider and Mortal Kombat came out. The former featured a hero who transformed into a flaming skeleton biker by having his skin melt off (and quite graphicly depicted by Saltares and Texiera too). The later allowed the player to do things like rip off his opponent's head. Both were incredibly popular with kids my age precisely because of the level of darkness and violence. Now maybe most of you aren't in the right age group for that, but surely you must have done something like sneak into an R Rated movie, right?

Punchy's right about today's all ages comics, most of them are pussified. That's because unlike the all ages comics of twenty years ago, they're not geared towards kids. They're geared towards their parents. If we really want to instill a lifelong love of comics into kids, we need to forget about what is appropriate in the eyes of their parents, and figure out what it is that kids want.

[sdsichero]

All comics would go over the head of a 4 year old! You can't read when you're 4.

That explains a lot about you.

[Punchy]

The idea that any medium would want to ignore a potential demographic as large and vague as 'children', never mind a medium that traditionally thrived on said demographic is laughable. Stop arguing with Punchy, it's not worth it.

They also happen to be a demographic that doesn't have money, so why worry?

Comics have changed, it's not the 40s anymore, we need to move on from trying to appeal to kids.

[habitual]

They also happen to be a demographic that doesn't have money, so why worry?

Comics have changed, it's not the 40s anymore, we need to move on from trying to appeal to kids.

Their parents do, your argument is pretty much nonsensical.

Hab

[sdsichero]

Their parents do, your argument is pretty much nonsensical.

Hab

Someone has to fill his void he has in his haart from Twigg.

[fieldy snuts]

food for thought column. very good read.

the images of those popular superheroes are indeed pervasive in a kid's growing up but how big is the range suitable for a little kid? the attempt by the industry to adapt and move on from the big crashed by marketing to the adult portion of their customer base dropped the ball on kids for a few years.

[mrorangesoda]

Couple of thoughts, after being too lazy to read past the first page- Punchy, you're crazy. Comics need as wide an audience as possible. Not every comic needs to be all ages, but the art form as a whole gets stronger the more eyes that are on it.
I'm also confused by the difficulty expressed in the article for finding material for kids- I feel like there's a pretty constant stream of recommendations coming out of the news stand. Maybe this will serve as a good collected resource.

[Punchy]

Couple of thoughts, after being too lazy to read past the first page- Punchy, you're crazy. Comics need as wide an audience as possible. Not every comic needs to be all ages, but the art form as a whole gets stronger the more eyes that are on it.
I'm also confused by the difficulty expressed in the article for finding material for kids- I feel like there's a pretty constant stream of recommendations coming out of the news stand. Maybe this will serve as a good collected resource.

I'm not saying that comics don't need a wider audience, just that the widening should not be aimed at kids, but at adults, I think it's more important to get more adults reading comics and remove the social stigma they still somewhat carry, than to write half-assed adaptations of cartoons or watered-down superhero comics.

I have no interest in children's comics anymore, I don't see why so many other posters are. The excitement over Super-Dinosaur or whatever the hell it's called, was sad.

[habitual]

I'm not saying that comics don't need a wider audience, just that the widening should not be aimed at kids, but at adults, I think it's more important to get more adults reading comics and remove the social stigma they still somewhat carry, than to write half-assed adaptations of cartoons or watered-down superhero comics.

I have no interest in children's comics anymore, I don't see why so many other posters are. The excitement over Super-Dinosaur or whatever the hell it's called, was sad.

You're right, you just don't understand. You will when you're older.

Hab

[Royal Nonesuch]

All comics would go over the head of a 4 year old! You can't read when you're 4.

What the hell age did you learn to read?!

[Zero]

Punchy's right, kids can't read. That's why there are no regular books for kids either.