Kids and Comics
In his essay, “Kids’ Stuff” from the collection Maps and Legends, Michael Chabon notes that comics as an art form has gained credibility but lost readers:
Days when comics aimed were [sic] at kids: huge sales. Days when comics are aimed at adults: not so huge sales, and declining. (p. 90)
Children did not abandon comics; comics, in their drive to attain respect and artistic accomplishment, abandoned children. (p. 91)
Chabon offers a number of suggestions to rebuild the legacy of comics for kids. While the number of monthly comic books for kids, especially younger ones, is small, there are a few standouts, as well as other comics to be found for kids at the comic store. Until the selection of comics swings back in favor of the kids as Chabon would like, here are a few of our family favorites:
Bone by Jeff Smith
The Adventures of Polo and Polo: the Runaway book by Regis Faller
Chicken and Cat, and Robot Dreams, by Sarah Varon
Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons by Agnes Rosenthiel
Jack and the Box by Art Spiegelman
January 7th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Hi! I just wanted to let you know I gave your blog the Butterfly award! Hop on over to my blog to check it out.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I have never been a comic book reader, but recently turned to a handful of titles (mostly in an effort to keep up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8). I have to confess that on some level, I find it difficult to read a comic book. The form requires you to read in a different way, and to pay attention to the visuals — something that a novel does not demand. I think it’s been good for my reading to experiment with reading in a different vein, even though it’s been a little more demanding than I realized it would be.