I have a traditional view of comic books. Comic books are for kids. And are a good way to get them to read. I read comic books when I was a kid and I grew out of them. I have expressed this opinion on numerous occasions and I get dirty looks from adult readers of comic books. Then they ask me what I read? I’d say DC comics. And they would say “Oh, well that explains everything.” I get the same response from Christians who ask me what I was raised as when I tell them I’m no longer a Christian. I’d say I was raised Catholic and they would invariably respond “Oh, well that explains everything.” Other than annoying me it explains nothing and all it does is reinforce my opinion of both groups.
I’ll save my comments about religion for another blog entry, so back to comics. I lived to read the Sunday comics in the newspaper. I’d read them everyday in the newspaper. I’d get newspapers from my grandmother and aunt who had comics that weren’t in our local newspaper. I watched Saturday morning cartoons when they were only on Saturday. I still watch animated cartoons. My current favorites are SpongeBob and Angry Beavers.
So why don’t I still read comic books then? I outgrew them. I think that response is what annoys the adult comic book fans. I have an exception rule. There are certain genres and kinds of foods I don’t like, but I’ll make an exception if they are really good. I have read a few X-Men compilations. I’ll watch a horror film if it’s really good. I’ll eat chocolate cake or ham if it’s really good as well as Tex Mex. Yeah, I’m a snob when it comes to certain things. I’ll watch mysteries and westerns but not read them. I’ll read the ocasional mystery. I’ll even watch comic books that were turned into movies.
There are just some things I won’t invest too much effort or time in. I don’t expect comic book fans to like other genres or medias. So it bothers me when they say I haven’t read the right comic. That may be true, but I’m not interested. So what prompted me to write this blog entry?
I read an article on the Christian Science Monitor website about graphic novels. Graphic novels are book length comic books. And how it was getting tweens to read more. Tweens are pre-teen children 8-12. And you know what, that is the perfect demographic for comic books. That’s when I read them. It was about the sixth grade when I discovered book science fiction and started my transition to the books.
It’s not about what to read or what format to read. It’s about reading. It’s getting kids to read. So there.
Tweens curl up with graphic novels.