There’s a great discussion going on at the Comics Should be Good blog at Comic Book Resources about whether comics for kids should blatantly look like comics for kids. Last week, Greg Hatcher wrote about how the comics that really engaged him as a child were the ones that were just a little bit too advanced for him—the ones that didn’t make him feel like he was “sitting at the kids’ table,” as he put it. At the end, he asked readers which comic tipped them over into fandom, and whether it made them feel like they were at the kids’ table. Lots of interesting answers follow in the comments section.

This week he continues the conversation with a critique of Mike Kunkel’s Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam. And one of his chief issues with it is that it belongs at the kids’ table. That’s fine if it’s marketed to younger kids, but there’s the rub:

The problem is that this is a comic that is really best for very little kids, ones that are just starting to read. Four or five-year-olds. It’s ideally something a parent reads to a child, or with a child; that way, sure, it might very well be a gateway to reading for some kids. (At least if the text was pruned back to the point where it didn’t intimidate the hell out of them with its sheer mass.)

But where are those kids going to see this? Is it advertised anywhere OUTSIDE of comics and the comics press? How can it be an option if it’s invisible?

This points up the biggest downside to the demise of the spinner rack. His other criticism is that the format doesn’t match the audience; this would be better as a book than as a periodical comic. Hatcher has some advice for publishers who would like to actually sell comics to children; as he seems to spend a lot of time with kids, it would behoove publishers to listen.

Incidentally, all of this sort of stems from Joe Rice’s review of Billy Batson. Be sure you’re sitting down when you read it, as it’s followed by 108 comments, but it’s an interesting debate.

Related: Here’s Mike Kunkel’s blog! It looks like Billy Batson has gotten some good reviews as well.

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »