Comic Books for Children — Here in the Bonny Glen

October 24, 2006 @ 12:52 pm | Filed under: Books,Comic Books

This blog really IS about children’s books, you know. Sometimes.

People who know that my hubby writes and edits comic books for a living often ask me for recommendations for young kids. Most comic books today are written for adults, and they are emphatically NOT for children. You want to be veeerrry careful about turning your little ones loose with most of the superhero stuff that’s out there nowadays.

Back when Scott was writing Gotham Adventures (a Batman monthly aimed at children), I could point inquirers in that direction with a clear conscience. His comics were age-appropriate and fun, and darn well written, I might add, and I’m not just saying that because I adore the man. But he stopped writing that title long ago. He occasionally writes Scooby Doo now (among other things) and that has been a huge hit with our kids, of course. Funny funny stuff.

The day before the movers pulled the truck into our Virginia driveway to load my hundreds of boxes, another box arrived in the mail. From Scott. A little one, but still: I admit I sputtered a bit at the thought of having ONE MORE BOX to deal with. I should have known better. Shame on me. The box contained: chocolate (bless that man!) and a fat trade paperback which, upon inspection, turned out to be a reprinted collection of Batman material originally published in the 60s and 70s.

60s and 70s, see, which is to say: back when comic books were still being written for kids. The Batman book is part of a series called Showcase Presents, and there are around a dozen more titles now, I believe. They’re black-and-white reproductions, not full color, but that hasn’t seemed to matter to my gang. They were so crazy about the Batman one (it was passed from child to child in the car and was the most popular reading material on our long, long drive) that he brought home a few more the other night, and OH MY GOODNESS. You want to know how I’m chipping away at the unpacking and still have a minute to write a quick post? It’s these books. (No kidding, right in the middle of THIS VERY PARAGRAPH Rose came to me in tears because Jane had just finished the pick-o’-the-bunch, Teen Titans, and had the nerve to give it to Beanie instead of Rose who was waiting impatiently for her turn.)

I consider these books perfect reading material for the topsy-turvy days we’ve had this past month: light, fun, absorbing, did I mention fun? When they aren’t reading, Rose and Beanie are LIVING the books; they are superheroines named Aquagirl and Flash Girl, and they have informed me that I’m Wonder Woman, which: bwah ha ha, but thanks!

I haven’t vetted all the titles in the series yet, but some others that Scott gave the gang are The Elongated Man, Superman, and Justice League of America.

By the way, Rose and Beanie seem to have solved their problem by reading side by side.

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Leonie says:

My boys have alwys enjoyed comic books – the Archie ones have been favourites, here, too.

Yesterday, my 10 year old was re-reading Garfield comics in the car – and sharing bits with the rest of us.
Posted on October 24th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Melissa Wiley says:

Leonie, I totally agree that collections of comic *strips* like Garfield or Peanuts can make great reading for kids. We are huge Charlie Brown fans around here! Because the strips are published first in newspapers, I think the content tends to be much tamer than what is considered mainstream for monthly superhero comic books nowadays.
Posted on October 24th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
Tabatha says:

My kids love Calvin and Hobbes books too.
Posted on October 25th, 2006 at 4:12 am
Mary Beth P says:

My boys are really into superheroes these days, too. Whenever they have a question, I tell them, “Ask Uncle Darren!”
Posted on October 25th, 2006 at 4:21 am
Marybeth says:

“Their Dad is the coolest”!!!!This is the common agreement here in Chicago about Scott from my boys ages 41 and 6! We are all about Superheroes. I had to Google about how Flash and GreenLantern got their powers on Christmas morning.
Posted on October 26th, 2006 at 9:59 am
Jen L. says:

3 things:
1) Thanks for the info on these comic-book books. They look great!
2) I highly recommend the “Picture Bible” which is in comic book form. The kids’ devour it http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Bible-Iva-Hoth/dp/0781430550/sr=1-1/qid=1162011300/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9756465-0456064?ie=UTF8&s=books (don’t know how to link, sorry) and

3) I just had to tell you what beautiful weaving appears in the background here!
Posted on October 27th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
The Zero Boss says:

“my hubby writes and edits comic books for a living”

Wow. And I love to brag about my film critic wife’s job. I think i finally found someone who trumps that.
Posted on October 28th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
Caught Reading This Week — Here in the Bonny Glen says:

[...] Legion of Super Heroes (Showcase Presents) Your Big Backyard (magazine) Rowan and Ice Creepers Rowan and the Travelers Rowan and the Zeebak [...]
Posted on March 20th, 2009 at 11:59 am

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“Exploration,” says John Stilgoe, author of Outside Lies Magic, “is a liberal art, because it is an art that liberates, that frees, that opens away from narrowness. And it is fun.”

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(from a post called Way Leads on to Way)

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Every day is complicated, messy, and full of friction. And every day has glorious or cozy moments worth celebrating. I seldom bother to chronicle the friction and the mess because writing time is fleeting and precious—and childhood even more so. I’d rather capture the small joys that I might forget—or take for granted—if I don’t take time to set them down in words.

(Excerpt from this post about Real Life, quoted here because I don't want anyone to be under the impression that things are always perfect around here! Heaven knows we are anything but. Perfect, frictionless, orderly? Nope. Happy? Most of the time!)