Marvel & DC's dismissal of young readers...

[keith71_98]

One of the things I was hoping for from DC's New 52 was that they may open the door wider to young readers. I have a 9 year old son who really wants to get into comics but unfortunately he can't because both major companies insist on jacking their books up with pointless content that adds nothing to the overall stories.

As older readers, many of us remember being able to grab any book and it be all age appropriate. It didn't mean it was watered down for young children. It just didn't throw in this "mature" content which was unfit for young kids. We all know, often times young comics readers become old comics readers but the publishers have completely shunned the young readers.

My son would love to have comics to read on a monthly basis. Right now all he has is Super Dinosaur (which has had it's share of delays) from Image. I just can't let him invest in the main titles. I hate having to tell him no when all he wants is to get into this medium that we love.

I know that both main publishers offer "kid's books" but they consist of watered down super hero stories, Spongebob, etc. He wants to read Batman, Green Lantern, X-Men, etc. It's so frustrating that all that's keeping him from reading is useless content.

As an example, EVERY New 52 title I read (and I read most of them) had some level of profanity in them. EVERY TITLE. As a father this is one of the biggest problems with comics today. No wonder sales are nowhere near what they once were.

[abysslord]

I think it's more of our society being different now. TV shows can say almost anything now, women are practically naked on regular cable, and on the internet you get bombarded with nudity and profanity everywhere thanks to spam.

I'm 33, my childhood was different than Beaver Cleaver's, and my son's will be different than mine. I realize that doesn't mean we should just let them do whatever, but I think most comics are still pretty tame compared to TV or movies.

And actually, the violence probably appeals to younger kids and makes them want to read more. I know as a kid I loved movies like Bloodsport or action films like Conan. I don't know what age is the cutoff though.

For a young kid I think Static Shock, Blue Beetle, Flash, and maybe even Aquaman would be okay. Batman and Superman were pretty kid friendly too.

[BobBretall]

My son would love to have comics to read on a monthly basis. Right now all he has is Super Dinosaur (which has had it's share of delays) from Image. I just can't let him invest in the main titles. I hate having to tell him no when all he wants is to get into this medium that we love.

While I agree with you that DC has really left kids younger than 13 or 14 in the dust with their "new 52", there are books out there besides Super Dinosaur.

I cannot recommend "Atomic Robo" highly enough as an all ages book.

Marvel also has some books that feel a bit less kid-ified than the DC Kids offerings, I'd recommend checking out these:

SPIDER-MAN #21
Written by PAUL TOBIN
Penciled by MATTEO LOLLI & ROB DISALVO
Cover by ALE GARZA
THE MUTANT MASTER OF MAGNETISM MAKES MAYHEM!
Peter Parker’s class wins the vacation of a life time in a free trip to Greece – but when MAGNETO attacks our Webbed Wonder has to swing into action in PANIC AT THE PARTHENON! PLUS! That king of disguises the Chameleon returns –how can Spidey catch a crook who can be ANYONE?!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

SUPER HEROES #21
Written by J.M. DEMATTEIS & JEN VAN METER
Penciled by WELLINTON ALVES & PEPE LARRAZ
Cover by Carlo Pagulayan
The Hulk joins the circus! But why? And only Captain America can save Dr. Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme! But how? Circus smashing and demon demolishing abound in these two super stories!

You're pretty safe with any of these written by Paul Tobin, he does a great job on all-ages stuff that is not too kiddie and not insulting to adults.

[BobBretall]

Batman and Superman were pretty kid friendly too.

I think having Lois Lane shacked up with that guy in her apartment was really unnecessary. At least they didn't show it explicitly, great restraint for the DC relaunch.

While it didn't appeal to me, I think Static Shock was probably most kid friendly, though we did have a bit of dismemberment, so maybe not. Blue Beetle had a genocidal scarab possessing a guy and killing the entire population of a planet, probably a bit intense for a 9 year old.

[keith71_98]

Batman did have a semi-grisly murder scene at the end. Plus Scott Snyder is one of my favorite writers today but we all know his material can get pretty creepy and violent. So it's hard to let my 9 year old get invested in it.

My main point is that mainstream books like Green Lantern and Aquaman are just fine except that both issues have a pretty decent amount of profanity. The frustration sets in when you see how unneeded and pointless it was. And then even if you get a decent #1 you just can't trust the publishers to put out a #2 that follows suit.

I'm teaching my son that just because this is the way things are today, there is still a standard of decency. I'm not judging anyone else's perspective. That's just the point of view I want my son to have.

[Paul Nolan]

Buy Gladstone School for World Conquerors and Reed Gunther from Image comics.

both good examples of ALL ages reads. Both Adults and kids will equally enjoy 'em.

[abysslord]

I just see kids as being able to know this is a comic book, just like when they watch Looney Tunes and the Coyote gets crushed every few seconds. Seeing a cartoon arm get cut off in Static Shock shouldn't be too bad.

I forgot about the thing in Batman, and you guys have a point with Synder being pretty horror-based so yeah, maybe not for really young kids.

But maybe I'm not good for this because I was reading Stephen King in 4-5th grade, however old that is. And watching movies like Fright Night and Lost Boys when they came out, which would have been when I was 8 or 9. I turned out okay though ... well, that is after I was cleared of all murder charges

[Danscomics]

I think there is a lot of subjectivity in what is and isn't appropriate for the children that is hard for the companies to judge. I mean just because you might not feel that the profanity in Green Lantern and Aquaman is appropriate for your 9 year old, doesn't mean I wouldn't feel differently.

I am glad to see that many companies have begun to try and build a kids specific line to make up for the fact that many of their mainstream titles (like Batman) have become unsuitable for younger audiences. DC has it's whole Johnny DC line which contains Tiny Titans, All New Batman The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, and Scooby Doo to name a few. Marvel has it's Marvel Adventures line like Bob mentioned with Spider-Man and Super Heroes. Boom used to have a good line before Disney pulled a lot of the licenses, but they still have some in their Kaboom line.

In the end I think it is great that you are putting this much thought into what you will and will not let your son read, I have seen too many parents just let their kids read whatever (like the parent I saw letting their 8 year old buy PunisherMax).

[BobBretall]

Buy Gladstone School for World Conquerors and Reed Gunther from Image comics.

both good examples of ALL ages reads. Both Adults and kids will equally enjoy 'em.

Two more GREAT examples, I should have remembered these myself! Thanks, Paul!

Now you have 6 books you can share with your son:
Atomic Robo
Gladstone's School for World Conquerors
Reed Gunther
Spider-Man (by Paul Tobin)
Super Dinosaur
Super Heroes (Marvel all ages)

[BobBretall]

DC has it's whole Johnny DC line which contains Tiny Titans, All New Batman The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, and Scooby Doo to name a few. Marvel has it's Marvel Adventures line like Bob mentioned with Spider-Man and Super Heroes.

The DC books are too "kiddie" for my tastes. I don't think I'd have wanted these when I was 9/10 (I started on Lee/Romita Spider-Man when I was 8, I didn't want to read Scooby Doo.....) The cartoon adaptations are OK if the kid is into watching the cartoons.

Another thing you might consider (and this is what I did with my kids when they were 8 years old or so) and that is I got them the Marvel Essentials of the Spider-Man, Avengers, Thor, etc stuff from the 60s/70s that I was reading at that age.

Very age appropriate, it was "new to them" and they loved it.

[keith71_98]

I think the publishers know exactly what they are doing. That's why they have developed the Teen and Teen+ ratings. They aren't trying to make books that are age appropriate for everyone.

But I think my greater point is being missed. So much of the content added to give these books the Teen or Teen+ adds nothing to the stories. Again, remember the books that many of us grew up on? They didn't have loads of profanity, gory beheadings and dismemberments, and gratutious sexual content yet they were still solid books that weren't dumbed down just to be age appropriate.

I'm not saying every book needs to be this way. There are still tons of titles that can go the more "mature" route. But honestly, out of the 6 Batman books and 5 Green Lantern books not one could tone down the content just a tad to be more inclusive?

[spid]

I do not understand. If the comics you grew up with were good enough for you as a kid why not give those same comics to your kid in the form of a trade?

[GABE!]

Buy Gladstone School for World Conquerors and Reed Gunther from Image comics.

both good examples of ALL ages reads. Both Adults and kids will equally enjoy 'em.

Two more GREAT examples, I should have remembered these myself! Thanks, Paul!

Now you have 6 books you can share with your son:
Atomic Robo
Gladstone's School for World Conquerors
Reed Gunther
Spider-Man (by Paul Tobin)
Super Dinosaur
Super Heroes (Marvel all ages)

Plus Sonic, Sonic Universe, Sponge Bob, Chip N Dale, Mega Man, Darkwing Duck, Simpsons, Futurama, and Young Justice titles

[Gilgabob]

I think publishers have decided to target the teen audience and unfortunately that means that younger readers may have to start off in the "kid" lines of books that they offer until parents feel comfortable with their kids reading the main books.

I tend to agree that some of the content seems unnecessary but I think the publishers believe that the level of profanity, mature themes, and cheesecake these books are portraying are what a teen audience's would find interesting and "cool".

[HassanT]

When I here about the lack of all-ages comic books, I feel it is a bigger discussion than the small comic book industry. There is a lack of all-ages movies, TV shows, and books nowadays. And there are two reasons why I think that.

The first reason is because the demographics today are so diverse it is difficult to market a product for all demographics. Therefore you have to focus on a couple of demographics to sell your product. This is why Disney purchased Marvel. They were not strong with young male teenagers and thought this was one way to do. In regards to comics, what appeals to a child, will not appeal to a teenager. As adults we sometimes forget that teenagers do not what to be lump with children and therefore will not like a product that would be deemed to childlike. My oldest is ten and I already seen that with her. Even her friends are like that. Her male friends at school have already moved from Wii to Xbox. They don't want to play games for children.

The second reason is that what is considered all-ages today is different than it was when I was a kid. I know some people claim that comics were kid-friendly when they were kids, but if I had to look back at the early 80s when I started to read comics, I would disagree. DC's top selling book, New Teen Titans and Marvel's top selling book, Uncanny X-Men, had scenes that were not appropriate for a child. It was also with movies. I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at the age of 10. It had a lot of violence and gory scenes that in today's world would be considered PG-13. In fact, I think the first issue of Detective Comics was tamed compared to Radiers. I remember that the Bugs Bunny cartoons that were ok when I was a kid, were edited for Saturaday morning in the 90s because of the violence.

In today's world, majority of movies are PG-13. Even the last few Harry Potter movies have been PG-13, with the second to last movie having a scene of two people making out without any clothes.

With that in mind, I am not sure if you can really make an all-ages book that would be widely like by all ages. I am sure that it can happen by accident, but it is very difficult to do by design.

In the meantime, there are comics for kids and there are comics for teenagers/adults, just like the movies.