Classic EBI #31: Hey Kids! Comi-- kids? Kids?
EVERYTHING BUT IMAGINARY 10/08/03 -- Hey Kids! Comi -- Kids? Uh, kids?
Hey, kids! Comi -- kids? Uh, kids?
We’ve painted ourselves into a weird sort of corner in the comic book field. With the public at large, we have difficulty gaining the respect we deserve because comic books are widely regarded as a kids’ medium. However, if you walk into any comic book store and ask the owner what some of his big problems are these days, nine times out of ten he will recommend Trident to patients who chew gum.
No, wait, that’s dentists. The comic store owner will tell you that his problem is that there aren’t enough kids reading comics these days. If you see a kid in a comic shop, it’s more likely that he’s purchasing a pack of Poke-yoh cards than the latest Powerpuff Girls.
I’m not proposing, however, that companies launch a slew of comic books targeted specifically at children. I think that would be a huge mistake. What we need are genuine “all ages” comics, the sort of thing that both kids and adults can enjoy. There are a few such titles out there, but even those seem to carry around a scarlet “K” branding them as a title for kids.
Just last week I was purchasing the latest issue of Jeff Smith’s masterpiece Bone, an all-ages comic book if ever there was one. As the manager of the store was ringing up my purchase, though, his eyes fell upon the visage of the lovely Thorn Harvestar, heroine of the series, on the cover of the book, and pointed out that the image seemed to draw attention to some of her more... feminine attributes.
Okay, what he actually did was, in the middle of the store that somebody entrusts him and pays him perfectly good dollars to run, point at the cover and began chanting at the top of his lungs, “Nipples in a kids’ comic! Nipples in a kids’ comic!” in some sort of pagan Bacchanalia.
And yes, I know I exaggerate things in this column from time to time, but I can produce witnesses on this one.
The manager’s dirty mind aside, it really bothered me that he dismissed Bone as a just a “kids’ comic” so easily. I love Bone, and I’d have no problem letting a child read it as well. It’s a title for anyone who loves high fantasy and adventure.
A title does not have to be dumb and full of fart jokes to qualify for children, nor does it have to be sappy and maudlin with an Afterschool Special vibe to it. Comics are like movies -- way too often a movie for kids falls into one of those two categories, but I can think of two recent examples that genuinely were all-ages entertainment: Holes, an excellent adventure/mystery that worked a message into the plot without beating you over the head, and School of Rock, which was zany and fun without resorting to too many lowbrow gags that could turn off the grown-ups. I enjoyed both of these movies a lot more than I thought I would. Comics can be that way too.
I think about the comics I really enjoyed as a kid, the really good ones, and most of them have that dual kid/grown-up, all-ages feel to them. Power Pack, during the Louise Simonson/June Brigman/Jon Bogdanove years was wonderful. Archie comics were admittedly more kid-centric, but often produced a chuckle out of my parents when I’d show them to them. My all-time favorite all ages title is a funny animal/superhero hybrid from the 80s, DC’s Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew. (That’s right, I’m invoking the Carrot again. If you don’t like it, get your own column.) Roy Thomas. Scott Shaw! More fun than you could shake an irradiated root-vegetable at.
What do kids have today? Well, there are still some comic books out there for them -- the Cartoon Network line at DC, the still-popular Archie titles, but what can kids and parents read together? That’s a little tougher.
I’m again going to champion stuff like Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories from Gemstone. Not all of them, mind you, a lot of the Disney stories are still geared at younger audiences, but the good stuff by Carl Barks, Don Rosa, William Van Horn and a few others can entertain anyone. Kids will love the stories, adults will be surprised at what they find. When I showed the cover of WDC&S #635 to Comixtreme’s own Craig Reade, his reaction was, “Wow, the Three Caballeros? I love that movie.”
I doubt he went out and picked up the comic, but I think I’m wearing him down.
There are also comics based on the other great pantheon of cartoon characters, the Looney Tunes, but despite a lifetime of publication that equals Disney’s, the Warner Bros comics have never been as good, even though the Warner Bros cartoons are far better than Disney. It’s the style of comedy, I think, that holds them back. Bugs Bunny’s brand of zany, slapstick humor doesn’t translate as well to the page. Ironically, the really great Disney comics are the ones that don’t even try to emulate the style of the animated shorts but instead use those characters to tell far-flung adventure tales that can keep all ages of reader on the edge of their seat.
Then, of course, there are the superhero titles, so many of which you just can’t give to a kid anymore. I have no problem with mature reader books, folks, I don’t think I’ve made any secret of my admiration of Fables. I don’t even mind mature reader superhero titles like Supreme Power, but I think there should be a line somewhere. When I was a kid, Avengers was one of my favorite “mainstream” titles. It still is. But just this week we got the news that Avengers #71 is going to carry a mature readers stamp because of a racy scene involving Yellowjacket and the Wasp.
I’ve got enough confidence in Geoff Johns as a writer that I’m sure the story will be well done, but what about that 10-year-old who’s just getting into comic books, who thought the recent “Red Zone” storyline was really good and who wants to get the next issue of Avengers, but will be told the comic shop can’t sell it to him because of three offending pages? Will he turn his $2.25 over to another comic, or will he stuff his hands in his pocket and go back home, miffed at the store, miffed at Marvel Comics and miffed at the people who made it?
The kids need something, guys. I don’t think anyone will deny that. I’d just like to see more things out there that kids and adults can have together.
FAVORITE OF THE WEEK: October 1, 2003
Somewhat ironically, my pick for the best comic last week was Avengers #70, the conclusion to the “Red Zone” story arc. I admit, there were times where this story started to bother me, making me afraid that it was going to drift into the kind of “America is Evil” storytelling that’s way too popular these days, but Geoff Johns pulled it off with a conclusion that made his point but was still intelligent and respectful. I’m going to be really disappointed when he leaves the title in a few months.
Blake M. Petit is the author of the superhero comedy novel, Other People's Heroes, the suspense novel The Beginner and the novel-in-progress ”Summer Love” at Evertime Realms. He’s also the co-host, with good buddy Chase Bouzigard and Not-On-the-Internet Mike Bellamy, of the 2 in 1 Showcase Podcasts. E-mail him at Blake@comixtreme.com and visit him on the web at Evertime Realms. Read past columns at the Everything But Imaginary Archive Page.