In the 1940s and 1950s, comics were appropriate for kids (ages 6+). In the late 1970s, stories and themes became more sexual and violent. According to Sheldon Reinhart, 35-year comic book aficionado and business executive interviewed for this article August 1, 2008, although kids have not been the main target of the comic book industry for over 30 years, there are comics appropriate for young readers.
Shifting Readership
Although for over 20 years the comic industry effectively regulated its content to ensure appropriateness for kids, the years prior to the 1970s saw other shifts that made the industry abandon this tradition to focus on a mature market instead.
It was becoming costly for newsstands to carry comics presented on large display stands but only cost the consumer cents to buy. So, vendors replaced comics with higher revenue magazines that cost $3.00 or more per issue and took up less space.
The industry was forced to sell to comic specialty stores and general readership dropped. Comic readers became a specialized older population. Comic producers began developing themes and artwork aimed at this group, its new main source of revenue.
Regaining Youngsters
In trying to re-capture a younger readership, comic industry giants, DC Comics and Marvel Comics, have created comic lines suitable for young readers (aged 6 and older).
For instance, DC Comics, the producers of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc., have a line called DC Kids that includes superheroes and other characters such as Scooby-Doo. These are written specifically for children with stories that are simple with themes and graphics that are neither violent nor sexual.
Also Marvel Comics, the producers of Spider-Man, X-Men, Daredevil, etc., have a line called Marvel Adventures aimed at children (also readers 6 and older). The themes are classic good versus evil and the artwork is action-oriented versus violent.
Advice for Parents
In directing young readers, Reinhart advises that parents seek out comics rated for all ages or stick to the two kid-specific lines, DC Kids or Marvel Adventures. The rest are too sophisticated, sexual, and violent for pre-teen children.
Reinhart also proposes concerned parents evaluate the comic books their kids choose to read. “Parents can review the comics themselves. They can easily flip through the graphic artwork and see if they think it’s appropriate for their kids,” suggests Reinhart.
Comic Book Virtues
Comics appropriate for kids can be purchased at comic book stores, large book stores, and other stores with a large periodicals section “like Walmart”, advises Reinhart.
The question that many parents may have on their mind, is why allow kids to read comic books at all? Perhaps the entire genre is inappropriate for children.
However, according to Reinhart, comic books have several virtues.
- They provide a bridge between what are often two mediums kids love, movies and reading because there is text and action-packed art.
- The stories and characters typically espouse pro-social values that kids can identify with and internalize such as helping others, being honest, taking responsibility, and generally doing the right thing (versus the wrong, anti-social actions of the villain).
- The stories capture the young child’s budding imagination with classic good versus evil tales and fabulous graphic art work, both of which can stimulate children’s pretend play, story-telling, and drawing through the copying and tracing of their heroes.
Although comics should not substitute for other reading material, they are, according to Reinhart, a wonderful medium to both occupy minds and stimulate creativity, a good way to enrich kids' lives with good fun and heroic values.
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