EVERYTHING BUT IMAGINARY #183: TO BE YOUNG AGAIN

[Blake Petit]

Last week DC Comics released its newest miniseries in the “Johnny DC” line, Krypto the Superdog. Longtime Superman fan that I am, this puts a great big smile on my face. Krypto has been around since the 1950s (if he’s not emblematic of DC’s Silver Age, I don’t know what is), but to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time he’s ever starred in his own comic book.

This isn’t the Krypto of the DC Universe, of course, this is the Krypto of the animated DCU. (Technically, I don’t know if it’s part of the Batman/Superman/Justice League Unlimited “Diniverse,” but it’s close enough for my tastes.) Unlike most of the other DC cartoons we’ve gotten in the last ten years, which were aimed primarily at teens and older fans, Krypto is clearly a cartoon for the younger set. And that’s just fine with me. He may not be teaching kids Spanish or anything, but I’d rather they watch a comic geek show than rot their brains with the Teletubbies.

Here’s the issue I’m having with Krypto, though: Johnny DC is an admirable attempt by DC Comics to put out titles for a younger audience. I’m not sure, however, that it goes quite far enough. Every comic book in the line is an adaptation of a television show. You have anthology books like Cartoon Network Block Party and Cartoon Network Action Pack. You have the comics based on classic cartoons like Looney Tunes and Scooby Doo. And of course, you have those comics based on cartoons based on comics – Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans Go! being the best examples. I would imagine there’s a comic in the works to coincide with the new Legion of Super-Heroes cartoon as well. (I just beg DC to call it Legion Adventures or Superman and the Legion or something – anything – except for Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 6.)

So while I applaud DC for putting out these comics, I think it’s time once again to ask – why don’t we get some new comics made for kids?

DC is full of classic properties that appeal to children: Stanley and His Monster, Dodo and Frog, Funny Stuff and, of course, my personal favorite, [NOTE: BLAKE PETIT’S THERAPIST HAS COUNSELED HIM TO PULL BACK FROM HIS FIXATION ON CAPTAIN CARROT AND HIS AMAZING ZOO CREW, AS WELL AS THE FREQUENT REFERENCES TO THE SAME IN THIS COLUMN. PLEASE DO NOT ENCOURAGE HIM.] All of them have been virtually dead for a very long time (although Stanley has enjoyed a brief renaissance thanks to Kevin Smith), even though there’s plenty of room to tell new stories with those characters.

Now I understand why DC focuses on those properties that have a television show to build them up. You’ve got exposure and a ready-made audience. This is a good thing. But does that mean there’s no room for original properties?

Here’s the main advantage in putting out your own title instead of adapting someone else’s: creative freedom. I don’t want to imply that it isn’t possible to write a great Looney Tunes comic or a wonderful story in Cartoon Network Action Pack. Heck, for a long time there Justice League Unlimited was a better comic book than the “real” JLA. But for all the stories you can tell in that framework, you’re still hamstrung in that you can’t make any real changes that would divorce the comic book from the TV show. You can’t easily add new cast members, kill anyone off or send them away, whip up major new villains… even changing a character’s look or costume is verboten, as they would then be off-model from the TV show.

DC’s newsstand penetration with kids’ comics is probably better than Marvel’s, thanks in large part to a smart deal with the newsstand kings at Archie Comics, but Marvel is taking their chances too. The Marvel Adventures line (featuring titles with Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, currently), are basically kids’ versions of their existing comics, set in their own continuity. But then you have other titles like Marc Sumerak’s series of Power Pack miniseries, the fourth of which will start soon. The original Power Pack was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid, and the new versions are no slouch either. While it no longer has the ongoing continuity or ties to the existing Marvel Universe the way the original did, Sumerak has found a neat little formula to disguise short morality tales as superhero adventures without getting boring or preachy.

Sumerak and Chris Eliopoulos’s semi-regular Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius comics are also a blast. Basically, they’ve crossed Calvin and Hobbes with the “Buttons and Mindy” sketches from Animaniacs, with a dash of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for flavor. In this series Franklin (son of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four) gets into wild predicaments, usually through the misuse of his father’s inventions, while his robotic babysitter tries to keep him out of too much trouble. I really enjoy this title, and Sumerak and Eliopoulos deserve a lot of credit for – if nothing else – writing the first stories in history where H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot is entertaining instead of obnoxious.

These are both high-quality comics, but I still can’t help but feel even more could be done in the realm of comics for kids. It’s kind of funny. You usually think of independent comics as being the home of “edgy,” “mature” and “out of the mainstream” stories, but the truth is that many of the best comics for kids these days come from the independent publishers.

Let’s look at Jimmy Gownley’s Amelia Rules! Gownley’s comic is the story of a girl transplanted to a new town after her parents’ divorce, forced to try to make new friends and learn about a new town. Although the comic does often deal with such heady topics as divorce, depression and serious (even potentially fatal) childhood illnesses, Gownley understands how to talk about these topics in a way that will help children cope instead of confusing them, and even the darkest issues keep their wonderful, lighthearted tone and amazing characters.

John Gallagher’s Buzzboy, from Sky Dog Press, is another good book for the younger set. This is basically the story of a teen hero destined to become the greatest superhero in the world, even if he doesn’t understand how. In the current miniseries, Sidekicks Rule, Buzzboy has to team up with other sidekicks and one reformed villain to save the world when the A-team of heroes vanishes without a trace. The sidekick, as a concept, was originally introduced back in the 1940s to give kids a gateway character, ostensibly helping them relate to an older hero. This isn’t the first time (by any stretch of the imagination) that sidekicks have been put into the spotlight. It may, however, be one of the best such stories, and it’s certainly one of the best examples of comics for kids on the racks today.

It’s kind of ironic, friends – for years, we’ve had to fight public perception that comics are nothing but kiddie fare. Even as we’ve fought that PR battle, though, there have been less and less comics that are suitable for kids. These are both trends we’ve got to fight to change. And we need to be open to more ways to do it.

Favorite of the Week: September 20, 2006

Now here’s an unlikely pick for Blake’s favorite – not just a Marvel comic, but one predominantly featuring Wolverine? Well, sorta. Exiles #86 concludes a two-part storyline in which the Timebreakers – the cosmic insects whose mucking about with the timestream sent the Exiles on their universe-hopping mission in the first place – decide to replace the Exiles with a team of Wolverines pulled from dozens of different dimensions. This isn’t the best issue of Exiles, and honestly, it probably wasn’t even the best comic of the week from a technical standpoint, but darn it, it was a lot of fun, and there isn’t nearly enough fun in comics anymore.

Blake M. Petit is the author of the superhero comedy novel, Other People's Heroes, the suspense novel The Beginner and the weekly “Think About It” humor column at Think About It Central. His new comic, Evertime, is coming soon from Tightlip Entertainment. E-mail him at Blake@comixtreme.com and visit him on the web at Evertime Realms.

[Fanatix]

I think you might be over analyzing. Kids want what they know. Its incredibly more likely they will pick up a yu gi oh manga or a justice league comic book than dive into books about characters they've never heard of. And what could possibly be worse is that they pick up a typical issue of batman or x-men, their parents skim through it and ban comic books from their kids all together.

I guess I got lucky that I 1. got all my comic books second hand from my neighbor and 2. my parents never read them very closely or they could have seen the sexual innuendo and boobs that may have been a bit above my 8 or 9 year old head.

I started reading transformers comics when I was a kid because transformers were my favorite tv show and it was a great comic book. Even when the art was terrible I still read it. I didn't pick up other comic books about characters I didn't know until I was much older.

[Blake Petit]

I think you're underestimating kids. Sure, seeing characters they recognize will get their attention -- and I am by no means advocating doing away with books like Justice League Unlimited or Looney Tunes -- but if there are books out there of higher quality readily available, I do believe kids (once they begin reading) will gravitate towards them. And the better the books they read now are, the more likely they'll be to keep reading later.

[Jason Kanno]

Man, I remember my youth. Calvin and Hobbes in the paper, Tiny Toons, Biker Mice from Mars (yeah, I went there)... but I had a unique experience, growing up in Japan, so my Saturday cartoon experience meant I knew how Dragon Ball Z ended before it even came to America.

[B. Schatz]

I've always loved Amelia Rules!, especially as a child of divorce. So much fun to read, and never, ever heavy handed in its lessons.

(Also, I'm glad that he's re-released all three trades - you couldn't really get the first two...)

[Blake Petit]

I didn't know they'd been re-released -- that's good to know.

[Jason Kanno]

Motorcycle Mouse... man, I miss the third grade. Best year of my pre-pubescent youth.

[Blade X]

I would like to see both Marvel and DC return to makeing all of their ongoing interconected MU and DCU comics both suitable for and appealing to kids and people of all ages.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by Blade X

I would like to see both Marvel and DC return to makeing all of their ongoing interconected MU and DCU comics both suitable for and appealing to kids and people of all ages.

I don't know that I'd go that far. I think there's room for books with a slightly mature slant in the DCU and MU proper. Runaways, for example. That book deals with some heady themes in a way that I don't think would be appropriate for your average 8 or 9 year old. But I don't think the book should be changed in the slightest. I just think there should be more of a selection for the kids.

[Blade X]

Originally Posted by Blake Petit

I don't know that I'd go that far. I think there's room for books with a slightly mature slant in the DCU and MU proper. Runaways, for example. That book deals with some heady themes in a way that I don't think would be appropriate for your average 8 or 9 year old. But I don't think the book should be changed in the slightest. I just think there should be more of a selection for the kids.

When I say I want to see Marvel and DC making all of their MU and DCU both suitable for and appealng to kids/all ages, I'm not saying that those books should be either "dumbed down" to the readers or shy away from any and all mature ubject matter. What I am saying is that I want the Big 2's mainstream superhero xomics (the MU and DCU only) be action packed,have lots of characterization,be intelignt and not talk down to the readers,and ocasionally deal with mature subject matter in a tasteful and subtle manner. I don't want to see cuss words like ***,*******, *****,godd**n,or even stronger language in ANY mainstrem MU or DCU ongoing title. I don't want to see graphic violence or strong sexual inuendos like we have been seeing in books like INFINITE CRISIS,52,and OUTSIDERS.

Here is a list of some past code approved comics that delt with some mature subject matter, but still remained action packed were both suitable for and appealing to people of all ages (meaning they could be read by kids,teens,and adults).

Fabian Nieceza's NEW WARRIORS run
the pre-Quesada THUNDERBOLTS
PAD's HULK run
Byrne's FF run
Claremont's X-MEN run
Larry Hama's G.I. JOE runs
Morrison's JLA run
Roger Stern's AVENGERS run
Buziek's pre-Quesada AVENGERS run
the original MICRONAUTS series
NEW TEEN TITANS
the NOMAD series
Priest's BLACK PANTHER run
NTH MAN
ROM
Steve Gerber's MAN-THING and HOWARD THE DUCK
Doug Moench's MASTER OF KUNG-FU
Howard Mackie's GHOST RIDER (2nd series)
SPIDER-GIRL

[JX141]

Originally Posted by Fanatix

I think you might be over analyzing. Kids want what they know. Its incredibly more likely they will pick up a yu gi oh manga or a justice league comic book than dive into books about characters they've never heard of. And what could possibly be worse is that they pick up a typical issue of batman or x-men, their parents skim through it and ban comic books from their kids all together.

I gotta agree with this somewhat, most kids are going to gravitate towards what they know, to think otherwise is to OVERestimate them.
In today's world when the advertising is so pervasive and entrenched in the all the forms media that's basically force fed to them, to see a child go against the grain is going to be the exception, granted a good one. Fortunately today there are many more outlets they can choose from if they looking for more quality so they definitely have it better in that regard. Seems a double-edged sword.

[Blake Petit]

Originally Posted by JX141

I gotta agree with this somewhat, most kids are going to gravitate towards what they know, to think otherwise is to OVERestimate them.
In today's world when the advertising is so pervasive and entrenched in the all the forms media that's basically force fed to them, to see a child go against the grain is going to be the exception, granted a good one. Fortunately today there are many more outlets they can choose from if they looking for more quality so they definitely have it better in that regard. Seems a double-edged sword.

It may be the exception, but I've gotta tell you kids who show an interest in anything literary these days are the exception to begin with. It's a problem that goes much farther than comics, one that has to be addressed and changed. But in the meantime, we still should give kids the best product we can.

[Jason Kanno]

I read an article recently (I think it might have been in the Washington Post) where an education scholar asked high school seniors, primarily 4.0 students, a bunch of questions about literature, particularly stuff they should know to just graduate, and most failed miserably. And nearly all named Dan Brown as their favorite writer. This makes me really sad. Is our country so backwards that even our "best and brightest" are educated more by pop culture than the schools they attend? I mean, Dan Brown is fine and all (he's no Michael Chabon), but whatever happened to kids favoring Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, or Toni Morrison (though her books drive me crazy)?

[Blake Petit]

You've got to be careful of what the so-called "experts" claim, but this is an instance where I don't doubt they're right...