ALL AGES
One Mother's Tips for Kid-Friendly Comics

By Tracy (and Shelby & Sarah) Edmunds

August 3, 2004

SUPERHEROES ARE FOR KIDS

Comics were originally intended for kids, right? Not any more. When I take the girls into our local comic shop (COMICS TOONS AND TOYS in Tustin – you guys rock!) they are confronted by dozens and dozens of comic covers featuring blood, gore, sex, and, well, yuckiness. Now, this is great for me (being a huge LUCIFER fan), but not so good for the girls. Shelby loooooves Batman, but she’s much more of an Adam West and Bruce Timm fan than a Jim Lee fan. There are scads of BATMAN titles, not to mention to ROBIN, BATGIRL, CATWOMAN, BIRDS OF PREY, GOTHAM CENTRAL, and umpteen crossovers, but right now there’s only one batcomic she can actually read. What’s a parent to do? Fortunately, MARVEL and DC are addressing the problem with all-ages lines of some major superhero characters.

MARVEL AGE

In the last year or so (as far as I can figure) Marvel created the MARVEL AGE imprint for their younger readers. Unfortunately, their definition of “younger” goes from cradle to college. Just because it says MARVEL AGE, doesn’t mean your kids will get it or like it. Some of the books, in particular RUNAWAYS (teens fighting against their evil parents) and SPIDER-GIRL (who is supposed to be in high school but looks like a 45-year-old woman), are only appropriate for teens. There are a few, however, that the little ones can get into.

MARVEL AGE SPIDERMAN: The MARVEL AGE Spiderman series updates the old stories to appeal to today’s kids. (Did I just sound like my Grandma?) The covers say, “Great for New Readers!” which is obviously an attempt to cash in on the interest generated by the movies. For the most part, it works, but there are some problems. For example, why start with the Vulture in Issue #1 and skip Spidey’s origin? I suppose they’re assuming that readers have seen the movie and know all about the radioactive spider, Uncle Ben, and Aunt May. After Sarah read the first issue, I had to tell her the whole story – then we read it again.

Shelby prefers Mark Brooks’ Spiderman, who looks like Peter Parker (albeit a ripped Peter Parker) in a costume. Sarah likes Jonboy Meyers’ Spiderman, who she says looks “like an alien.” I suppose that makes sense, since Shelby cares more about the stories and the human interest side, while Sarah just loves butt-kicking and wise cracks. I have to say, however, that Spidey is usually at the bottom of the pile when we get home from the comic shop, and the latest issue still sits unread.

If your kids don’t know much about Spidey, I’d say show them a few of the old stories first. If they’re true believers and want some cool art and action, MARVEL AGE SPIDERMAN is right up their alley.

Shelby says: Spiderman is a smart aleck. He’s really Peter Parker, a high-school kid who takes pictures for the newspaper. He has to take pictures of himself! I like when he vacuumed up the Sandman and said, “Meet my sidekick, the amazing shop-vac!”

Sarah says: He’s funny and he’s always messin’ around and saying funny things. He’s smart and he got bit by a radio spider and he got web powers and he could climb walls and he turned into Spiderman because he wanted to fight bad guys.

MARVEL AGE FANTASTIC FOUR: Another re-do of old stories. This one, however, was a big hit at our house. The girls knew a little about Spidey, but the Fantastic Four were a huge new discovery. The first issue includes the origin story (as it should) and you should have seen Sarah’s eyes bulge out as each character’s power was revealed. Plus, there are two smart-alecks! Unfortunately, they keep switching artists. The girls liked the first two (Makoto Nakatsuka and Gurihuri), which were very manga-esque, but didn’t care for the next two (Joe Dodd and Alitha Martinez). They did enjoy all the stories, though, especially the relationships between the characters that you don’t get with solo heroes like Spidey.

Sarah says: I like the Thing ‘cause he always says, “It’s clobberin’ time!” That’s when he gets to fight the bad guys. I like to call him Rock Boy. Invisible Woman is very cool ‘cause she could go invisible. I like some of the drawings, too.

Shelby says: The first comic was about how they got their superpowers. Human Torch likes his powers and he’s another smart-aleck – a big one!

MARY JANE: Pointedly aimed at teen girls, the first two issues of MARY JANE are all about MJ wanting Spidey to be her date to the homecoming dance. Yes, I heard you groan. Spidey doesn’t even show in the second issue. If you have a teen (or wishes-she-was-a-teen) girl, she may like this.

Shelby says: I think it’s only for older kids because it’s about love, but I kinda like love.

(I’m sooo in trouble.)

DC Comics

BATMAN ADVENTURES: This is the kid-friendly Batman, but how kid-friendly is it? Well, the plot lines have gotten very complicated and Shelby is constantly asking me to explain what’s going on. Penguin is the new mayor of Gotham; Batman is undercover as the gangster, Matches Malone; Joker wants to marry Harley and then kill her for her inheritance –- “Mommy, what’s an inheritance?” “Nothing you need to worry about, sweetie. You won’t be getting one.” You get the picture. We’ve had discussions about gangland vendettas, crooked politics, and why a woman would take a bullet for the man she loves. What happened to the Detective analyzing clues and swingin’ in on the bad guy? Pow, bam, kaboom, anyone?

Shelby says: I like it because Bruce Wayne is cute and the bad guys are hilarious. Sometimes I don’t understand what’s going on, like why they’re doing stuff, so I ask my mom to read it to me and explain it to me.

Now the good news: To go with the new THE BATMAN animated series (September), DC will begin THE BATMAN STRIKES! comic, which goes back to Batman’s third year in Gotham. I spoke to the writer and he said that each issue will be stand-alone and will usually feature one baddie vs. the Bat. Sounds promising…

JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES: This is more like it. Each issue is a stand-alone story with plenty of good-guy superhero action and lots of strange alien villains. The trade paperback, which includes 7 stories from early in the series, is a good place to start. The animated series is excellent as well.

Sarah says: I like the Flash because he’s funny. They have good stories and good art, too. I liked “Wolf’s Clothing” because they were having lots of bad guys in different groups like there’s a Batman bad-guy group and a Flash group and stuff.

Shelby says: I like the show because it’s got great music and it’s similar to the comic. I like Flash because he’s a smart-aleck and he can run faster than anyone and that’s cool. I like Superman because he doesn’t want to kill anyone and I like Wonder Woman because she has this rope that makes people tell the truth when she puts it on you. And I like Batman, of course, because he’s a really good crime fighter and he’s from Earth. Green Lantern is from Earth but he can save everyone with his ring. Hawkgirl is from a different planet and she can whack villains with her whacky-thing with the pointies on it.

The second season of the show will be called JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED and will expand the League substantially. Basically, the creators took every DC character they could get their hands on and put them all in the new Watchtower. The girls really enjoyed the clip, featuring Green Arrow, that they showed at Comic-con. I just hope they don’t change the music. The comic will bear the same title and hopefully will continue the excellent quality of the first run.

TEEN TITANS, GO!: An excellent animated show and an excellent comic. Definitely made for kids, but adults love it as well. Plenty of not-too-violent action, mega-doses of silliness, and straightforward plot lines. The manga-influenced art is wonderful. Truth, justice, pizza, and lots of funny bodily noises.

Shelby says: They’re funny, especially when they have manga faces, like when they laugh. Robin is the leader and he used to be with Batman, but Batman probably fired him so Robin started his own group. At least that’s what I think. (Poor child is already caught up in continuity!) Beast Boy is a vegetarian and he is hilarious and he can turn into any animal and he doesn’t even blink about it. Raven is very, very, very, very mellow. She’s always not happy.

Sarah says: It’s cool because they are all funny. They have trouble in different comics. Blackfire is Starfire’s sister and she is mean and she always cheats.

Shelby: You like her ‘cause you cheat, too.

Sarah: I do not! (small scuffle; parental intervention) I like Cyborg and Beast Boy and they’re always like, “Boo-yah! Let’s go eat food!” Raven is really bored all the time. She doesn’t know how to have fun. Starfire is really sweet and nice and she always loves Robin.
Shelby: Yeah, she’s all over him!

GOTHAM GIRLS: This 5-issue run is one of my favorite DC kids’ titles. Batgirl, Ivy, Harley, Catwoman, and Detective Renee Montoya at play in Gotham – girl power, baby! A fairly straightforward storyline, lots of hand-to-hand combat, no shots fired, and totally fun characters. There are also some excellent animated stories at www.gothamgirls.com and www.dckids.com. “Baby Boom” (on the DC kids site – look for the drawing of Elvis) ends with a classic dig at our fearless leader, Mr. Smith. Definitely worth checking out!

Shelby says: They just talk about the boys, they don’t show them very often. They’re always trying to get this vial, but we don’t know what it does.

Sarah: What’s a vial?

Shelby: The little tube thingy. Ivy wants it so she can help plants grow. I like all the characters ‘cause they’re cool.

Sarah: My favorite is Harley because she’s funny and she’s a smart-aleck like Flash and Spiderman.

THE POWERPUFF GIRLS: Now, considering all the X-chromosomes in this house, you’d think the P.P.GIRLS would be big with us. Surprisingly, though, the girls prefer some of the more “grown up” superheroes like the Batclan and the Justice League. Sarah seems to like Bubbles and the gang more than Shelby, but they both like Mojo Jojo (mostly because it’s so fun to say).

Sarah says: I like it because Bubbles is always funny. She always doesn’t understand stuff. I liked “BRIDE OF MOJO JOJO.” Her name was Zsa Zsa Jojo –when you just start learning the name, it’s hard to say.

PLASTIC MAN: Kyle Baker is awesome. When the girls met him at the Con, he told them how his five-year-old daughter made him change the ending to the first Plas series because she loves Agent Morgan and couldn’t let daddy get rid of her. He definitely writes for the kids, and he takes full advantage of the physical humor that only Plas can pull off. Granted, the storyline takes some odd turns, but the kids don’t seem to care. They just like it when Plastic Man’s butt melts.

Sarah says: He’s funny and he can turn into anything in the world. In one of the comics he was wearing a yellow maid’s dress, he was cleaning the dishes and his head was vacuuming the floor, all at the same time. I love it when he went through the air conditioner holes and when his butt got melted. (See?) Kyle Baker told me that he writes it for his little daughter, a five-year old, and she tells him what to do. I like that.

Shelby says: In the latest one he found out about his son and they played rock, paper, scissors with their whole bodies!

JOHNNY DC: DC recently announced the return of Johnny DC, their kids’ comics mascot. This character will appear on the cover of all of DC’s kid’s comics, so when we go into the comic shop, the girls can just look for Johnny. Hopefully, this will make it easier for parents who are not comic geeks to tell which books are okay for their little ones, though with titles like SCOOBY DOO and THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, it should be pretty obvious.

Johnny DC will appear first on these titles:
BATMAN STRIKES #1 JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 TEEN TITANS GO! #11
POWERPUFF GIRLS #54 CARTOON CARTOONS BLOCK PARTY #1 LOONEY TUNES #118 SCOOBY-DOO #88

A note about reading levels: None of these comics are “easy readers.” Here is some sample vocabulary from the latest issues:
POWERPUFF GIRLS #52: reign, gorgeous, indestructible, scientific, hooligan
JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #33: talisman, suburbs, penitentiary, sorcery, sequel
BATMAN ADVENTURES #16: floozy, inheritance, assassin, civil servant, bayou, botanist
MARVEL AGE FANTASTIC FOUR #4: amnesiac, element, declaration, enormous, indigestion
MARVEL AGE SPIDERMAN #7: lecture, scientific, abstract conceptual scenarios, plague, malleable, gelatinous, polymers, commotion, Asimov Directives, ocular-impeding adhesive

So, don’t expect your little ones to be able to read these on their own. Even good readers may need some clarification on terms and plot points. But, hey, what better parent-child bonding activity than reading comics together?

NEXT TIME: Some of the best kids comics: GUS BEEZER, PATRICK THE WOLFBOY, BONE, Astonish Comics’ THE DREAMLAND CHRONICLES, HEROBEAR AND THE KID, THE LAB, and AWESOME MAN, and the sad tale of ABADAZAD.

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