In the few short months that this website has been in existence, I have watched and commented on how the comic book industry has dramatically shifted to an adult audience.
My first article on the subject was titled, “Superheroes are ruining America’s youth!” It looks at Dr. Sharon Lamb’s book on how the media portrays male stereotypes.
Next, I wrote about “why the world needs a Supergirl” and the importance of female role-models within comics.
Finally, last month, I discussed why “comics aren’t for kids (but they should be)” which took a quote from Brian Clevinger.
Now, Brian Clevinger’s all-ages Captain America comic is the latest victim in the war for a larger audience.
In addition to Marvel’s line of all-ages books being discontinued, DC Comics has dropped the Comics Code of Approval that has been in place since 1954. DC will now be implementing their own rating system to the covers of their comics in order for readers to determine if a comic book is age appropriate. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of DC’s books have been rated unsuitable for children under 12.
While I’ve discussed the issue of comics being for kids before, I’m beginning to feel a little doubt. Looking at the November 2010 sales figures from Comichron shows the highest selling book that could even remotely be considered for “kids” would be Superboy #1 sitting at number 33 on the sales chart with 39,701 issues sold. There are certainly issues above Superboy that could be considered appropriate for all ages (Flash, and . . . um . . . maybe some of the Avengers books?) but it’s clear that Superboy is the first one that could be argued to be for a larger audience and I’m really stretching to include Superboy for all ages. From there, the next closest to age-appropriate would be Batgirl #15 at the 67th spot with 25,857 issues sold.
It’s at this point, that I’m just unsure about comics being able to be salvaged for an all-ages audience. As much as I want to promote comics to kids under 12, I just don’t think the product is out there. The Johnny DC line of comics is at least trying, but considering that Marvel is pulling out of publishing for kids, I would guess that DC isn’t too far behind.
Looking at the data, one could argue that it isn’t necessary for DC or Marvel to publish comics aimed specifically at kids. After all, Marvel’s Thor: the Mighty Avenger was on November’s Diamond list at 186 with 8,420 issues sold and DC’s Tiny Titans was at 197 with 7,713 issues sold. Kids comics don’t particularly sell very well, but furthermore, we aren’t sure of the audience that is actually reading these issues. It could be that they are just being consumed by the same audience of 16 to 35 year olds that read all of the other comics out there. The data just isn’t there.
The fight has just about gone out of me at this point. Maybe in the war for Saving Comics, I’m just going to have to give up kids comics. Maybe I just need to throw in the towel because that’s what Marvel seems to have done.
Furthermore, kids comics weren’t the reason I got into reading comics in the first place. I started reading comic books because I read Green Lantern and JLA which weren’t specifically aimed at younger kids. From my own personal experience, I never really cared about comics aimed at the under 12 demographic because I wanted to read grown up comics. From a marketing perspective, however, its necessary to provide products that will appeal across demographics so reign in as many dollars as they can.
Jeez, I don’t even know anymore. I’m just frustrated and sad.
Several years ago, I would have been indifferent to this article as a member of the adult comic audience. However, since moving in with my girlfriend and her 6-year old son over a year ago, I have been a lot more conscious of the pop culture I absorb and what is and is not alright for me to share with him.
Atticus (the 6-year old) loves Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and sometimes, the Hulk. He plays the Super Hero Squad game and Lego Batman on his DS and he can name heroes and the villains that they regularly fight. Shannon rightly blames me. Recently, he watched Batman: Under the Red Hood, which Shannon and I were a little concerned would be too violent for him, and a barely-dressed Kara Zor-El in the recent Superman/Batman release. He asked why Batman was intially distrustful of Kara, and he asked where Darkseid’s powers came from. His first grade teacher taught him about Abraham Lincoln, and Atticus knows that he was shot, and we don’t turn the news off just because he’s in the room. The news is more frightening and explicit than dudes in technicolor costumes hitting each other. He’s fine.
I think parents are largely overlooking the ratings on the front of most comic books that the big two turn out (does anyone know if other comic companies do?), which are as helpful judging content as the movie rating system. Perhaps these aren’t prominent enough, or because a lot of comic characters aren’t specific to “family friendly” books, parents are judging the titles by their own exposure to the characters in other, more mature titles, or in movies.
I use those ratings in determining what is appropriate or not to show him, and if I think that material is still crossing a line despite the rating, I ask Shannon if it’s cool for me to show something to Atticus first. What this boils down to is: a) communication between parents and between parents and child before exposing him to something that the parents might be uncomfortable with, and b) trusting your child to know the difference between fantasy and reality.
Cody is correct that the industry is becoming more adult oriented, but kids are going to continue to be drawn to comics and superheroes. The reason is because adults have the money, and they aren’t going to “waste” money on a medium for their children that they themselves have no interest in; this is why no one cried when pogs disappeared off the face of the earth, and why Marvel Beanz are in the clearance aisle of Wal-Marts across the land. There’s no way to change this fact.
Communication and trust, and perhaps voicing these concerns directly to the companies, are the most effective means of keeping kids involved in comics.
Gee, thanks for the friday feel good article Cody. Cheer up man!
Don’t think of it as losing a battle in a war, its a tactical repositioning. If children under 12 aren’t reading comics than save comics first and focus on spreading them to young kids later. I don’t read comics regularly but I first started becoming fully aware of them when I was thirteen or fourteen. They made for a cool right of passage from childish materials to teenage (adult) ones. Comics had violence and mature themes but weren’t so complex that I couldn’t struggle through them. I had a few from the dollar store I owned and I’d reread them sometimes, considering their plots from new angles and straining my brain to understand the characters.
It was a mental game, something to make the mind stretch before reaching out to grasp grown concepts.