Comic Books Again

Not long ago I wrote about how hard it is to find kid-appropriate comic books these days. Zack Smith agrees.

In a much-publicized keynote address at the 2004 Eisner Awards, Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon argued that in the quest to achieve respect as an adult medium, comic books had abandoned children.

Well, yeah.

Marvel and DC have become so oriented toward teen and adult readers that material construed as acceptable for 8-12-year-olds is set in an outside universe, usually labeled as 'Adventures'. There's some excellent work being done here, but it's not going to find an audience with the readers of the mainstream books.

My hubby was the original editor of the Adventures line. He pretty much created the genre, though he would say he was one of several people involved. During his time as editor of Batman Adventures, books he edited won something like five Eisners and two Harvey Awards—those are the biggie awards in comics. When I was packing for our move, I found a box of award plaques hidden away in the darkest corner of the basement. He also wrote a three-year run of Gotham Adventures, which are some of my children's favorite things to read. Funny, funny stuff, and great art.

Smith continues:

Let us also be thankful for the fact that there are once again Disney books being published in the US (and that poor Don Rosa can finally read his stories in his native tongue), that John Stanley's LITTLE LULU is back in print after all these decades, and that there are still collections of TINTIN and ASTERIX in print. But it's worth noting that those books are either major licenses, or they're reprints of 50-year-old material.

What if someone wants to create something new for kids?

The independent market is already pretty treacherous on that score.

The latest issue of POLLY AND THE PIRATES, a superb all-ages comic by Ted Naifeh, sold 2,400 copies, according to Diamond sales figures. Issue #2 of Marvel's CIVIL WAR, by comparison, sold 240,000 copies. Without speaking to CIVIL WAR's quality, it's clearly not a comic for kids. Someone going into a comic shop is 100 times more likely to find a copy of that than POLLY AND THE PIRATES.

Not only that. Today's comic shops are NOT places you want to take little kids. Ohhh, no.

But there is a strong market in bookstores for all-ages material. Manga is the obvious example, but there are others. JM DeMatteis and Mike Ploog's excellent ABADAZAD was rescued from the implosion of its publisher, CrossGen, and recently revived as a series of illustrated books from Disney/Hyperion. These volumes combine heavily illustrated text with sequences of the original comic and - one can assume - new comic book material as time goes on. Mark Crilley's AKIKO has enjoyed a second life as a series of illustrated novels. TRAVELS OF THELONIUS, a new hardcover by Susan Schade and Jon Buller, takes a route similar to ABADAZAD by combining comic book sequences with passages of text. This may very well be the new route for children's comics - comics as books.

I hadn't heard of Thelonius yet, but I'll have to get my hands on a copy. I love Jon Buller's illustrations. I first encountered his work in the pages of Aliens for Breakfast and its sequels, which were written by Stephanie Spinner, my boss at Random House back in the day.

Backing up to TINTIN for a minute, an amusing interjection: while I'm sitting here typing this, Beanie is drawing with crayons at the table behind me. A minute ago I congratulated her on using her pencil grip instead of the fist grip she prefers. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I forgot to show you my NEW grip! It's my cigarette grip!"

"Your what?"

"My cigarette grip. See?" She demonstrated, holding the crayon lightly between two fingertips in a perfect forties-starlet ciggie pose.

"Um, where did you learn that one?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"From Tintin!" chirped Miss Bean.

First the Pillsbury Doughboy, now Tintin. Is there no one left I can trust? Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, you stay away from my precious children!

But back to Zack Smith (and this is the exciting part):

This [publishing comics in book form] isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it doesn't auger well for those who might try doing a serialised monthly or bimonthly comic for children outside of Marvel or DC.

There are exceptions to every rule. One in this case is MOUSE GUARD, a small press series by David Petersen reminiscent of the REDWALL series of children's books. It's received excellent reviews and plenty of media attention, and often sells out at shops that carry it. But it's still under a lot of people's radars, and it's still too early to call it a breakout hit.

Have any of you heard of this? Mouse Guard? I hadn't, and I am psyched to know it's out there. I'll try to rustle up some copies for a review. Peeking at the covers, I can see I love the art already. If these are good, my young Redwall fans will be ecstatic. Stay tuned...

Smith closes with a question: "Why is it important for kids to read comics?" He presents some possible answers—that comics are a great medium and ought to be available for all ages, that comics can hook kids on reading, that there are incredibly talented writers and artists in the field and it would be good to share that creative genius the youngest readers. But I find the question itself intriguing. Of course it begs another question—"IS it important for kids to read comics?" What do you think? Are comic books an integral part of (Western) childhood? Do they teach something or inspire in a way that other types of books don't?

Comments

Maybe you could fill the need by allowing your kids to self-publish a comic.

http://www.lulu.com/comics

Other homeschoolers could pitch in and you'd have a children's comic anthology.

[Christine M]

The Baby Mouse series by Jennifer Holm is a great kids graphic novel - lots of fun - my kids both love them.

We, luckily, are not starved for comic books here - we 'borrowed' a large box of old comics from my mom's house. We have Archie, Little Dot, Dennis the Menace, Richie Rich, Casper the Friendly Ghost - all kinds of great stuff.

I think that comics are a fun part of reading for children - my children both love to read - but they don't even know how much reading they are doing as they wade through the comic box! - too bad it's so hard to get new comics of this caliber.

[Stephanie]

Ooh! So where do I go to get comics nowadays? Mouse Guard would be so up my son's alley I think. Any suggestions (I am actually in Virginia (northern) your old stomping grounds...)

Do libraries carry a lot of these? I know they have Tin Tin and what not. I have to admit that I have been a little nervous branching into manga (although I know that my son would love it) mainly because I do not know enough to know what would be appropriate for a 10 yo boy...

I would love any suggestions of where I could start!

[Melissa Wiley]

Stephanie (and hi! I know you well from the Va Eclectic list--have enjoyed your posts for years), Scott is editing a lot of manga these days. I'll see if he can weigh in with suggestions.

[Ann C.]

Lissa, I think we live in some sort of parallel universe...My Kevin (7) discovered Mouse Guard a few months ago at our very child-friendly local comic shop. The series is beautifully illustrated, very well-priced (at just 3.50 each) and David Petersen is a peach of a guy. When K. sent him a gushing fan email, David immediately sent a very sweet reply.

[Natalia]

Lissa,
I loved comic books as a kid. I remember the excitement when the comic book man came to my mother's drugstore every week. I think my kids will love to read more comic books. They have read Tin Tin, Asterix and some comic strip books like Calvin and Hobbes and Baby Blues are also big hit here. The thing is that nobody sells regular comic books around here (besides the Archie ones the check out at the grocery store). Also I don't have a guide to know what to get them and in what order. Do you know of any guide to comic books?
Thanks,
Natalia

I read a few pages of this tonight:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440418627

It doesn't seem totally out of reach for a 7-9 year old. Is anyone familiar with Akiko or Smoo?

My husband read Akiko to my daughter when she was maybe 7-9 years old. They read all the Akikos together.

[Lissa]

Jane and Rose have read all the Akiko books. They really enjoyed them and asked for them over and over at the library.

[Michelle]

An excellent post. I've got two boys who love comics, though they're just starting to get into them. I'm always looking for good reading material for them.

[Karen E.]

I can't get past the vision of Miss Bean and the Cigarette .... :-)