(click the pics to BIG the pics)
I think this is going to be a first, but I’m going to break the post about May’s MKE COMICBOOK meet-up into two parts. I’m looking at my notes from it, and dang – it would be a loooooong post if I did it all in one. So, buckle up, readers, and get ready for LOTS of comicbook recommendations for kid-friendly comics, and – in Part 2 – more kid-friendly comics and all sorts of web-comics!
As ever, THANK YOU to Anodyne Coffee for hosting us, and Don Leibold for putting together a fun trivia contest, and Lost World of Wonders for providing some prizes to that contest!
We started the night with a short discussion about “What IS ‘kid-friendly’ anyway, when it comes to comicbooks?” Dillon, a teen who recently did a project about Frederic Wertham and the Comics Code said, “Back then (the 1950s), because of the Comics Code, pretty much ALL comics were kid-friendly by nature.”
But since the fall of the Code, as Matt mentioned, “It was nice when we had more mature comics (i.e. Vertigo), but then it seemed to swing too much towards mature (leaving out the kids)…and now we’re trying to get more deliberately kid-friendly books on the shelves.”
Shawn had a good insight when he suggested that the best kid-friendly books shared a characteristic often seen in many Pixar films, “It’s best when the story can be read on two levels – the adult can enjoy one thing, the kid might enjoy something else.”
Luke followed Shawn’s statement by suggesting “The ultimate example of something that has “something for everyone” is “The Princess Bride.”
Ultimately, for a comicbook, movie, prose book to engage an audience – whether adults or kids – it boils down to what Amber said – “It just >has< to have good writing.”
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As we began to share our comicbook selections, what I’d hoped would happen did – people brought current comics that they thought were kid-friendly, but also brought examples of comics they were reading when they started reading comicbooks!
Don brought a few “classic” books – like his 1972 Richie Rich comicbook, which he particularly enjoyed for its “Hot Stuff” features. He also thought it was pretty funny, and maybe showed the open-mindedness of his parents, when he got them to buy him “Son of Satan” regularly! He also brought some “PSA comics”, titles that had some heavy-handed messages, like the Marvel book about avoiding alcohol and smoking, or the DC book about drug abuse. (incidentally one of the Marvel books featured a plot where mobsters were betting on an inner-city track meet, and a different book had Spidey breaking the 4th Wall while battling the Hobgoblin!)
For a modern book, Don mentioned Mouseguard – a comic blending Arthurian legend with small animals of the woods!
Shawn is more of a modern-reader, and had some great suggestions. He had three books by Doug TenNapel – a very talented writer/artist – who made Cardboard, Ghostopolis, and Bad Island. (One of the books Shawn brought was actually borrowed from his 8-y/o neighbor who he swaps comics with)
A book that appealed to new, young readers and nostalgic readers was “Meanwhile…” a sort of “choose your own adventure” comicbook.
Another book that’s been popular with young and old readers is “Rocket Raccoon and Groot” – a space adventure book that begins each issue with Rocket telling a story to a group of alien Boy Scouts…
Shawn’s final book was an update of the fun, late-80s concept – “X-babies”, wherein the Uncanny X-men all get reduced to child-versions of themselves!
Molly had some great books to share, too. She particularly likes “Princeless”, saying she’d recommend it for anyone, but “especially for little girls” because the books features a band of marauding princesses who fight the patriarchy.
She was also real fond of Marvel’s “Moon Girl and Devil-Dinosaur” because the young main character is a “genius and a science nerd” and the book often works with the topic of “fitting in… or not” and how to deal with that.
“Lumberjanes” is a book Molly has suggested before, saying “it’s like Girl Scouts – but Lumber Janes instead. And they fight mythical/magical creatures – here’s a scene where these velociraptors explode out of the outhouse…and in another issue the boy’s camp gets overrun by zombies.”
Final suggestion that was supported by a few other folks – “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.”
Part 2 will come soon, and will have more great kid-friendly comicbooks and a whole bunch of funny web-comic suggestions, too!