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

By Tracy (and Shelby & Sarah) Edmunds

September 7, 2004

Some of the best comics for kids are spooky. Not in a Freddy and Jason sort of way, of course, but in a Munsters sort of way. Now, I have to admit up front to an affinity for the macabre; Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I have been known to listen to Bauhaus and wear black nail polish. My hair, however, is red instead of black and my only piercings are in my ears. I love Lugosi and Karloff, but couldn’t really stomach DAWN OF THE DEAD. I’m a wimpy goth – give me spooky cute over life-like (or is that death-like?) gore any day.

So, I searched out these not-so-scary comics for myself, but darn if many of them didn’t turn out to be great for the kiddos. I suppose it’s due to the sensitive nature of the true goth that most of these stories are also very touching. Read them yourself, then share them with the little ghouls in your life.

PATRICK THE WOLFBOY (BLIND WOLF STUDIOS): Patrick is a typical little boy, except that he “wolfs up” once in a while. The only word he knows is “RRARGH,” but his parents understand him. He chases his local squirrel, tortures the old lady next door (who he thinks is a witch), and interprets the world around him in his own little-boy way.

Patrick reminds everyone of some little boy they know – overly curious, a little troublesome, and cute as heck. FRANCO’s stories are giggle-inducing and sweet. The art is clean and fairly simple, which adds to the appeal. ART BALTAZAR is definitely good at cute.

Patrick appears in “Specials” -- there are several Halloween Specials, Specials for most major holidays, Father’s Day and Wedding Specials, Sci-Fi, Rock-n-Roll, and Superhero Specials (my favorites) , and even an After-School Special (rimshot – ba-dum-pum). Each Special is full of short vignettes instead of one long story, so it’s great for little kids (short-attention-span theater). There are a few faux-swears, like “fricken,” “sunsa-bishus,” and “#@*@!!” (when Patrick meets OZZIE OSBOURNE), but if your kids don’t know the real ones, they won’t get it. The cute quotient is very high here, from the way Art numbers the pages (ate-teen), to photos of family and friends on the back cover.

www.patrickthewolfboy.com, www.artbaltazar.com, www.blindwolfstudios.com

Shelby says: Patrick can turn into this wolf-lookin’ thing. He’s just a little cutie. He’s like a dog because he chases stuff, especially the squirrel. He doesn’t know anything which is like my little three-year-old cousin.

Sarah says: It’s funny because they have really, like, a costume contest and Patrick turns into the wolfboy and wins. And they go to the wax museum and Patrick looks for a string in the wax Frankenstein’s head. He always messes around and just says, “RRAHRG.” His parents understand him, but the neighbors don’t. The “Grim Repair” is Patrick’s friend and I like him ‘cause he’s cute.

LITTLE GLOOMY (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS): Little Gloomy is the only “normal” person living in a world of monsters. She’s constantly getting into trouble and her friends, Larry (a werewolf), Carl (a chthulhu), and Frank (can you guess?), are always helping her out. There’s a friendly mummy who owns a bar and speaks in hieroglyphics, an unfriendly witch named Evey who has evil robot kitties, Gloomy’s spurned mad scientist boyfriend, Simon, and Shelley, the supposed-to-be-bride of Frank, who didn’t turn out as planned.

The characters are absolutely adorable and the stories are fun. The grown-ups’ favorite has to be Carl Chthulhu, an interstellar demi-god, destined to destroy all existence, who suffers from self-esteem problems. He’s cute as the dickens, refers to himself in the third person, and loves ponies and daisies. When he returns Gloomy’s copy of “Happy Bunny Hollow,” he says, “It did not displease Carl. Particularly the chapter with the talking bunnies. In his gratitude, Carl has decided that when the time comes for the Eldritch Gods to consume all that lives, your death will be merciful and painless.” Carl’s blog is at www.littlegloomy.com – funny stuff!

If your little ones like spooky, this is good stuff. Invisible men, a trip to mummy land, and a mysterious curse – what’s not to like? There are some semi-scary zombies and a soul-stealing pumpkin-head guy, though, so these books probably aren’t for tiny tots who are prone to nightmares. My only complaint is that the end of issue 6 leaves you hanging, and there hasn’t been a new issue in forever. Eric? Landry? You out there? More Gloomy, please, guys!

Sarah says: I like Carl because he’s supposed to kill people, but he likes bunnies and daisies and cute stuff. And I like Gloomy because she always likes to be alone like I do. It’s not too scary but it’s kind of scary ‘cause a boy scientist, Simon, is trying to take Gloomy’s mind and put it into Frank’s girlfriend that he made – she’s Shelly. Gloomy still had her mind, but Shelly is craaaaaazy (twirls fingers by ears). You will like it because it’s really funny and Carl’s really cute.

Shelby says: You’ll like it because it isn’t very scary. The girl has a necklace that’s like an eye but they didn’t tell us why yet. She’s “the girl with three eyes” and she keeps getting kidnapped and she has this wacky ex-boyfriend who’s an evil scientist. He makes a girlfriend for Frank and he tries to put Gloomy’s brain or whatever into Frank’s new girlfriend. Gloomy’s OK, but the girlfriend is really craaazy. She thinks she’s Gloomy and she said, “I was a grandfather clock – gong, gong, gong!”

GRUMPY OLD MONSTERS (IDW): No, I did not pick this because my editor works for IDW. I found this one all by my lonesome, and what a find it is.

Drac, Frank, the Invisible Man, the Mummy, the Wolfman, and all the other old-timers, now past their prime, are “living” at Rest In Peace, “a retirement care facility for mature monsters with special needs.” They’re falling apart – some of them literally – and have been forgotten by their once adoring public. Tiffany Frankenstein, granddaughter of the famous doc, arrives with bad news: Castle Frankenstein is about to be torn down by the evil Van Helsing Corporation to make way for luxury condos. Will the aging monsters overcome their own insecurities and the domineering Nurse Wrentch to help Tiffany take on Van Helsing?

Have I used the word cute yet? Okay, how about adorable? Anyone have a thesaurus? Nothing even remotely scary here – just wonderful characters and bright, snappy art. It’s actually touching to see these old ghouls overcoming their self-doubts (kinda like a G-rated BUBBA HO-TEP). The story is easy to follow, even if the little ones don’t know what luxury condominiums are, and it all resolves nicely at the end. Only a four issue series so far – everyone go out and buy all four so Ryall will be forced to order more!

Shelby says: I like GRUMPY OLD MONSTERS because they’re funny and Nurse Wrentch is all being mean to them and then at the end of the last comic she gets taken away so they’re all happy. I liked the little doggy that Wolfman found in the forest. I like when the nurse said the Creature from the Black Lagoon was floating in the water and the other nurse said, “He’s an amphibian, you idiot!” The Creature’s all “He gave me mouth to mouth! Can’t even take a nap around here!”

Sarah says: I like GRUMPY OLD MONSTERS because the Wolfman finds a puppy in the woods and the puppy bit the guy who wanted to knock down Castle Frankenstein. I like it when Dracula sometimes doesn’t know how to say words, like “I vill help” and “Vatch the birdie!” That cracks me up! I like Frankenstein and the Invisible Man, too. If I was invisible, I would like it because no one can see me when I’m naked.

SCARY GODMOTHER (SIRIUS): Hannah Marie, a cute-as-a-button little girl, is frightened by her older cousin, Jimmy, on Halloween. Who comes to the rescue? Why, her Scary Godmother, of course! She takes Hannah to the Fright Side to meet Mr. Pettibone, the skeleton in the closet, Harry the obnoxious werewolf, the royal vampire family, Max, Ruby and Orson, and Bug-A-Boo, the most loveable monster-under-the-bed you’ve ever seen. SCARY GODMOTHER has it all: tricks, treats (really, recipes and everything!), friendly monsters, touching friendships, high adventure, and lots of heart.

If I ever wanted to be somebody else, I’d want to be Jill Thompson. She’s this incredible woman with bright red curls and the most vivid imagination, not to mention supernatural artistic talent. She’s drawn for WONDER WOMAN, SWAMP THING, SANDMAN, and many others, and her manga AT DEATH’S DOOR is a new classic. It seems that her heart, however, is with the kids, for in SCARY GODMOTHER, Jill has created the most loveable cast of characters you’re likely to come across in a comic.

Last year, SCARY GODMOTHER was made into a computer animated feature. We picked up a copy from AMAZON Canada (it comes out here in September) and we have watched it at least 100 times. We sing along, call out our favorite lines, and generally dance around and act crazy. Instead of losing something in the translation from comic to animation, Jill’s characters really come to life. I’ve taken the animated voices with me – I hear them (and the theme music) very clearly when reading the books.

A side note to SANDMAN fans: Jill’s sold-out children’s book, THE LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK, is being released in hardcover in September – yay! A wonderful way to share the Endless with your kids – without scaring the poop out of them.

www.comicbookpros.com/thompson

Shelby says: I like SCARY GODMOTHER because all the monsters are funny and not so scary. It’s fairy taley and Scary Godmother is half a witch and half a fairy godmother. Bug-A-Boo is a monster with lots of eyes and he goes under kids beds and scares ‘em, but it’s just his job. Harry the werewolf loves to eat and he wears pajamas with sheeps on them. He’s such a jerk! Skully is a skeleton who goes in all the closets and keeps everybody’s secrets. The vampire family doesn’t really eat people, they eat blood pizza – no garlic ‘cause they’re allergic! There’s a mom and a dad who are the King and Queen of the Night and they have a son named Orson. Orson is friends with Hannah, a little human girl. They are friends and they try to save each other all the time. Scary Godmother is nice and she tries to help everybody.

Sarah says: I like Harry and Bug-A-Boo. They are funny and Harry loves to eat all the time and Bug-A-Boo’s just really funny and nice. I like it when Jill Thompson makes up funny words like “Daily Boogle” and “gross-ery store.” I liked it when Scary Godmother and Harry were in the pumpkin patch with Hannah and they were making treats. They made a soybean butter and pickle sandwich and it made Harry’s mouth stick together. Scary Godmother likes pickles.

THE GHOULY BOYS (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS): A zombie story for kids? You bet! When the son of a gypsy fortune teller dies, she uses her skills to keep her son’s soul from departing. But, “with every gift comes a price” and unfortunately, the mother must pay the ultimate price to save her son. Poor Zombie Boy is sent to an orphanage filled with bratty kids and run by a nasty old woman, but here he meets his new best friend, Fat Bat. Fat Bat is, of course, completely adorable, and his backstory is pretty funny, with lots of comic references. The conclusion is satisfying and sweet – a zombie story with a happy ending.

I picked this up in the comic shop because I loved the cover art, but it’s what’s inside that blew me away. Christopher has written a classic tale in the tradition of Dr. Seuss and the Brothers Grimm that is funny and touching and wonderful. What I love most is the sensitivity Christopher brings to both the story and the art. The little boy falls out of a tree and dies in the first chapter, and I was concerned that the kids would be a little freaked out. Christopher handles it so beautifully that there were no tears and no bad dreams – they just wanted to know what happened next. This is a story kids (and grown ups) will love, not only for the wonderful art and elegantly simple story, but because it evokes such honest emotions about love, loneliness, and friendship.

The previews of issues 2 and 3 look great as well. Issue 2 introduces Puppy, a werewolf with a reverse curse – werewolf by day and little boy by night. Issue 3 brings out Sammy Hain Boogey III, son of the infamous Boogeyman. My only complaint is that it’s taking so long to get the next issue. I understand that great art takes time, but we loved the first book so much, we are getting impatient for the next!

An extra treat: The first issue of GHOULY BOYS opens with a Seussian rhyme that just begs to read out loud. Listen to Christopher read it at www.invinciblestudios.com/comics.html -- click on “Extended Deluxe Quicktime Trailer.”

Sarah says: I like it when they told about the Fat Bat and showed him getting born and he was fatter than his dad and mom. And I liked it when he was acting like Batman. I like the Zombie Boy because he’s really cute. It’s not scary but it’s really cute.

Shelby says: Ghouly Boys is rhyming and I like that. It’s about a zombie boy who was first a real boy and he fell out of a tree and his mom made him still alive and then she had to go away. When he went to the orphanage, a bat came and none of the kids liked both of them. And a lady and a man took them home. It was cute and it made me feel you can have a friend and even though you think you’re ugly some people will like you.

Have you and your little ones read any good comics lately? Send in their reviews! (Just hit the “email the author” link.) I’d like to do a column featuring reviews of all ages comics from kids of all ages. And feel free to include a photo – kids love to see themselves in print. If you know of any other great comics for kids, please email me – we’re always on the lookout for good stuff!

NEXT TIME: Graphic novels and sequential art for kids; the LITTLE VAMPIRE and LITTLE LIT books, GOT YOUR NOSE, EMILY AND THE INTERGALACTIC LEMONADE STAND, and the genius of MASASHI TANAKA’s GON.

E-MAIL AUTHOR