Comic Book Gifts

Does your kid love comics?

I spoke to the local comic store owner and his wife (yes he had a wife!). Their answer was an emphatic yes.

"It's not a difficult conclusion to come to. Every day of the week kids are coming in looking for comics; and we're talking 5-year-olds and up, not high school kids. These kids are perhaps not ready to see the Punisher shoot a bad guy through the eye, or Captain America emerge from a pile of corpses, or Wolverine eviscerate the latest menace from the Savage Land. Nor, one would think, are these kids very interested in Peter Parker's marital status, or even Ultimate Peter Parker's dating status. A nine year old boy or girl is just not going to waste a lot of time pondering the finer points of interpersonal relations in the world of super-heroes. They want the Whiz! Bang! Pow! that sets comics apart from more sedentary literary media.

Now, don't get us wrong: Spider-Man is better than its been in years--maybe even since the days of John Romita Sr. and Gil Kane. We all love the plot twists, the new ideas, and the subtle homages of the current Spider-Man comics; both original and Ultimate versions. Not only that, but at a time when "cashing in" on the popular movie with a wave of cheap Spidey books would be easy, Marvel has stuck to their guns, keeping two of the best writers in comics on their two biggest Spider-Man books.

But all the same, kids aren't worried about creative teams. Kids don't care who Brian Bendis or J. Michael Straczynski or John Romita Jr. are--kids just want to enjoy reading a comic book. They want it to be exciting, and it's got to be, especially when the other options are ultra-violent video games, cartoons, and movies.

We've brought this up with Marvel editors before, both in person and through the Marvel/retailer conference call program, but have been told repeatedly that "Kids just don't buy comic books." At one time this might have been true, as comics got further and further into dark, grim stories intended for more mature readers during the 80's and 90's. Younger readers dwindled duriing this time: a time which coincided with the advent of more electronic media, like the aforementioned movies and video games. So it's difficult to blame the industry for marketing decisions based on this period's demographics.

At the same time, those days are gone now. Over the last several years, DC Comics, Marvel's chief competition in the comic book world, has enjoyed great success with its line of "animated" style comics, such as Batman Adventures and the new Justice League Adventures--not to mention their line of Cartoon Network books such as Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory. And how can we forget Archie Comics, which have sold consistently for sixty years, and have recently enjoyed a sort of renaissance, finding more new readers each week.

And the fastest growing genre in comics has got to be shojo: Japanese comics directly targeting young girls, with stories revolving around school and boys and romance and so forth. Over the last six months, we've probably quadrupled the amount of manga we've been carrying in the store, and at least eighty percent of that increase can be directly attributed to young girls coming into the store--brand new customers who come in and ask, "Do you have Marmalade Boy?" "Is the new Peach Girl out yet?" Not only are these kids buying comics, but they're paying ten bucks and up apiece for black and white comics!

The closest Marvel has come to a line of kid-friendly comic books is the Ultimate line, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers. Originally they were marketed as being suitable for all audiences, and perfect for new readers. Well, they're great for new readers, but in the cases of Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates, those new readers had better be of voting age. The Ultimates, beside being a top-notch book that has readers gasping for breath after each new issue, also features a very, um, demonstrative Hulk, as well as issues kids really want to delve into, such as spousal abuse and alcoholism. Ultimate X-Men had Jean Grey and Wolverine in bed together within 5 issues of the series' premiere. Ultimate Spider-Man, while hardly an adult book, still spends too much time on Peter Parker and Mary Jane's relationship to be all that fascinating to a 7-year old boy.

Where are Marvel's kids' comics? At a time when the Spider-Man movie is pushing droves of kids into the comic book stores, where is a title designed for them? That their parents can give them without worrying about any of life's lessons being learned too early? Comics to read, to get excited about, to roll up and stuff down their back pockets? Where is the book that you can put into a little boy or girl's hands and say, "You're gonna love this," and be totally confident of the truth in that statement?

Since the beginning of the new year, we here at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find have started keeping a record of all the kids who come into the store and want a comic book for them. Each time someone asks for a Spider-Man book, each time a six-year-old boy freaks out when he sees our giant Spider-Man statue battling Doctor Octopus across the store ceiling, we whip out the digital camera and snap their picture. Over the next few months, we'll continue to collect these pictures and display them here, in an effort to show Marvel Comics--and the other comic companies--just how many kids there are, just at this store, who are looking for a comic book for them. No swearing. No bullet-ridden bodies. No weddings or battles with substance abuse. Just a great comic book a kid can love. If most of the people reading comic books today started in the sixties and seventies, where will comics be in twenty years? In thirty? In order to make this industry as strong as it can be, we've got to get kids in the stores and keep them there, and the only way to do it, is to provide them with great, easy to understand, kid friendly books. Not stories that have been "dumbed down", but stories which revolve around the same speed, action, and excitement that made us all into comics readers in the first place.

In terms of plot, characterisation, and pacing, comics have certainly grown up a lot since Action Comics #1 hit stands in 1938--but what at that time was an industry targeted towards youth, has evolved into one aimed at the 18-55 market, and young people have been left out in the cold. The things about comics that made us all fall in love with comics as children--the sound effects, the action, the capes and masks--are endangered species now. Perhaps that formula can work again, and we can get kids--and keep kids--back in comic stores again."

Now its possible that you don't have a comic store near you but Marvel have created a great website selling all the things you could want from a comic store over the web. The official UK Marvel Store is the only place to find the full range of Marvel Comics merchandise featuring legendary characters like Spider-man, the Hulk, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, X-men and many more. They stock the full range of clothes, toys, books, artwork, collectibles, DVDs and computer games.

As comic books regain their popularity then comic related gifts make a great surprise for your children (even your grown up ones!). To browse what Marvel have to offer simply visit their official UK Store below.

Official Marvel Store

Good Gift Guide Recommendation : 4/5