The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Dalarsco]

When I have kids some day I fully intend to read them old Silver Age comics, complete with funny voices.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

I think all-ages humor strip books are a classic part of the genre and many of the parents here seem to have kids who really enjoy them.

Where I do agree with you more is with the all-ages books that are basically like dumbed-down versions of already-dumbed down superhero comics.

One thing I fail to comprehend is folks who claim they have no earthly idea where to get their kids comics or where to start, when one can walk into pretty much any library and ask someone those very same questions for free, not to mention the chain bookstores or actual comic shops, or online resources. It just sounds like laziness to me, plain and simple, when the gov't subsidizes libraries full of overpaid but in most cases helpful staff who are there to make those sort of recommendations and it won't cost you anything.

Or--radical idea, I know--take your kids to the library and let them look through the all ages graphic lit and make their own damn choices where to start! It worked for decades!

The recommendations of library personnel aren't really helpful to me when I know more about comics than them. The problem is my oldest daughter is just learning how to read (she's 4) so they can't read the comics themselves (other than Owly) and I haven't really mastered the art of reading comics out loud. But what I would like to do is find some series to start collection "for them" so that as they get older they have comics they can read and can continue the collection on their own.

But regardless of how easy people think it is, there's a wide variety of all ages stuff and I'm not sure where to start. With a Marvel Adventures series that will be canceled or rebooted in six months? With BOOM! Kids licensed titles that appear to be aimed, as near as I can tell, at 30 year olds nostalgic for afternoon Disney cartoons? I just don't know. I'm thinking I might just start buying an extra copy of Amazing Spider-Man or some similar regular titles and keeping a box for them.

[sdsichero]

If I were you, I'd hand them the comic and tell them to tell you the story.

First thing I thought of. Maybe Jude should revoke his parent license.



I've love for kids to like Gon as much as I do.



(no words in that series of books)

[S.F. Jude Terror]

My kid was 3 and pointed out Booster Gold on the cover of a comic, thanks to JLU. It was a proud day for me.

I was just reading some comics for a column I'm writing and my 3-year-old was frantically pointing out Deadpool to me.

But I can't give my kids Deadpool!

[rdrsfn82]

Hmn maybe, maybe not. Though maybe the kid should decide if it is shit or not.

I never really thought about it before, but my gateway into comics may not have been the "normal" (eg. Marvel/DC) comics of the day... I think I actually started off reading more Harvey (Richie Rich, Casper, etc) and Archie. Those are kinda in the "all ages" vein. I did love my superheroes, but I didn't start heavily collecting them til later.

Of course kids of today may be different (and no two kids are exactly the same), but it may not be such a bad thing to have a start that is not a mature title, just to get them to love comics and reading.

All kids are different. I mean, I got into comics the way Punchy described, reading Kraven's Last Hunt, random issues of JLI or Batman, Claremont's X-Men, the Midnight Sons stuff, and things like that. That doesn't mean that's the only way to get into comics or that superheroes are the only way to introduce books to kids.

There's just way too many options to say that everyone should get into comics the same way. No one would say that about TV or movies or books. Sure, you need some early learning stuff when it comes to learning to read, but beyond that for kids to develop interests in anything it's going to be different from kid to kid, and comics are no different.

[sdsichero]

I recommend Pet Avengers to all ages.

[DonnaMoore]

Some good, some bad. Something about comics for kids, especially on a website with some many parents, is good. But the "dieing artform" stuff is utter bullshit. Dieing format? Probably, at least in a physical form. But collected edition sales, especially in book markets, are doing well, and webcomics are immensely popular. I can see the end of paper serialization, but sequential art isn't going anywhere.

Parts 2 & 3 will address most of the points in your post -- briefly collected editions are short sighted in terms of bringing in a new generation, mainly due to marketing issues surrounding them. But again, I'm jumping ahead. Everyone here has great points on the matter and it shows how elements are in place for getting comics loved by kids into their hands -- and how many challenges still exist -- all I can say is keep reading the future installments.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

First thing I thought of. Maybe Jude should revoke his parent license.



I've love for kids to like Gon as much as I do.



(no words in that series of books)

Only the oldest one is at the age where she can start to do that.

[sdsichero]

I was just reading some comics for a column I'm writing and my 3-year-old was frantically pointing out Deadpool to me.

But I can't give my kids Deadpool!

Give them this...



Maybe they'll never want to read him again.

[Victorian Squid]

The recommendations of library personnel aren't really helpful to me when I know more about comics than them. The problem is my oldest daughter is just learning how to read (she's 4) so they can't read the comics themselves (other than Owly) and I haven't really mastered the art of reading comics out loud. But what I would like to do is find some series to start collection "for them" so that as they get older they have comics they can read and can continue the collection on their own.

But regardless of how easy people think it is, there's a wide variety of all ages stuff and I'm not sure where to start. With a Marvel Adventures series that will be canceled or rebooted in six months? With BOOM! Kids licensed titles that appear to be aimed, as near as I can tell, at 30 year olds nostalgic for afternoon Disney cartoons? I just don't know. I'm thinking I might just start buying an extra copy of Amazing Spider-Man or some similar regular titles and keeping a box for them.

You should get the reprints of the classic Spidey books like Marvel Tales did, or later reprints, the ones with the classic Gwen Stacy stories and the Green Goblin. When I did the comics sales last summer the kids immediately took to those. Like I posted then, I was really impressed with the kids' choices and taste in comics just from letting them dig through them and make their own choices. Especially the kid who bought out my Astro City Dark Ages books. The adults mostly bought crappy comics.

[sdsichero]

All kids are different. I mean, I got into comics the way Punchy described, reading Kraven's Last Hunt, random issues of JLI or Batman, Claremont's X-Men, the Midnight Sons stuff, and things like that. That doesn't mean that's the only way to get into comics or that superheroes are the only way to introduce books to kids.

There's just way too many options to say that everyone should get into comics the same way. No one would say that about TV or movies or books. Sure, you need some early learning stuff when it comes to learning to read, but beyond that for kids to develop interests in anything it's going to be different from kid to kid, and comics are no different.

Yes, that is what I was saying.

[rdrsfn82]

I was just reading some comics for a column I'm writing and my 3-year-old was frantically pointing out Deadpool to me.

But I can't give my kids Deadpool!

I didn't give her the comic, she just pointed it out on one I was reading.

And I wouldn't mind my kid having a Deadpool comic. She picked up a Wolverine issue where he stops a robbery at a mall on Christmas Eve by a group dressed as Santa and his elves and ends up with his guts ripped out when she was 4 and I let her read it.

Then again, that's not the best idea for all kids.

[sdsichero]

Only the oldest one is at the age where she can start to do that.

1. That being the case, why are you worried about Owly not having words?
2. Describe it to the young ones.

[DonnaMoore]

All kids are different. I mean, I got into comics the way Punchy described, reading Kraven's Last Hunt, random issues of JLI or Batman, Claremont's X-Men, the Midnight Sons stuff, and things like that. That doesn't mean that's the only way to get into comics or that superheroes are the only way to introduce books to kids.

There's just way too many options to say that everyone should get into comics the same way. No one would say that about TV or movies or books. Sure, you need some early learning stuff when it comes to learning to read, but beyond that for kids to develop interests in anything it's going to be different from kid to kid, and comics are no different.

Normal comics "of the day" were a far different breed than what we have now. My daughter loves Chris Claremont's original run on Excalibur and New Mutants to the point she may have read them more than I did at this point. They are challenging, but they do not ooze the "adult" content of mainstream titles. Sorry but today's Uncanny X-Men is far too sexualized to go into my 8 year-old daughter's hands. Between rampant oversexualization and the increasingly graphic depictions of violence the current titles are something she's just not ready for.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

1. That being the case, why are you worried about Owly not having words?
2. Describe it to the young ones.

"Look, Owly is walking to the forest. He's still walking. Still walking. He looks sad." It sounds much stupider read out loud.