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The acclaimed artist of Marvel’s Oz adaptations thinks there are a lot more kids comics around than we think:

The most popular complaint seems to be that not enough comics are made for kids. I have to disagree with this thought. There may not be a ton of comics made SPECIFICALLY for kids, but I think that a good majority of comics are very close to kid friendly. In fact, I’ve been drawing comics for Marvel going on 10 years now and every single comic I’ve drawn can be read by most ages. Of the Spider-Man, Human Torch, Venom, New Warriors, X-Men, Runaways, Monster of Frankenstein, and Oz books, only one of those titles is aimed directly at kids. That’s 10 years worth of monthly comics that almost any kid could read, only one being called a “kid comic.”


BTW, people inside the biodome of the “comics industry” may think there are not very many comics for kids, but when you look at the output of places like Lerner Books, MacmIllan, Scholastic, Sterling, and so on, it is probably the fastest growing segment of comics.

1 COMMENT

  1. For those just tuning in, I’ll repeat myself: “Kids comics are the new manga.”

    Librarians (many of them 40-year-old professionals) know that kids who don’t/won’t read, will read a comic book.

    Librarians are searching for GNs to buy, and the publishers who know the kids market are publishing comics to meet that demand.

    Librarians also track circulation, and order more comics to meet the demand. Free comics…local library…tax dollars at work…

    Some comics publishers understand this. Boom! has a website for librarians, and great licensed titles. Oni and Ape and Archaia are publishing great stuff.
    What’s missing from DC and Marvel? Beginning reader titles. Reading levels printed on the comic. (Yay, Toon Books!) Marvel! Reprint Spidey Super Stories! DC! Relaunch Super Friends! Why wasn’t there a comic to tie-in with that Krypto cartoon?! Where’s the seal of approval to tell parents that a comic is safe and educational (like Spidey Super Stories used to have)? And no-brainer… why isn’t there a Sesame Street comicbook?!

    My eight-year-old niece wants a Wonder Woman costume from her cool uncle. (Too bad there’s no Johnny DC title for her to learn her mythology…will have to use the beginning reader books instead.)
    My nephew loves Spider-Man. My other two nieces love Magic Trixie.

    And then there are the comic strip collections…

    Need some suggestions? Google [Diamond Bookshelf]. Yeah, THAT Diamond. They love librarians!

  2. Why wasn’t there a comic to tie-in with that Krypto cartoon?!

    There was one, and my kids LOVED it. So of course it was only a six-issue mini. And I don’t think they ever collected it.

  3. The problem with DC is that it published a bunch of fun comics but never collected them into trades so libraries could get them. And now they’re killing most of the Johnny DC titles.

    And I have to disagree with Skottie Young, at least a little. I work in a preK-8th gr. school, and I MUST be careful about content issues, or I’ll get into trouble with the school administration and with the Diocese (Catholic school). So, many of the titles Mr. Young cited in his post are unsuitable for my school collection. However, I do agree with him that there are good comics for kids and they’re not all that hard to find, as long as you’re willing to look past Marvel and DC.