Comics for Kids (Suggestions)

CageNarleigh

So I got a text from a girl this morning asking me if I could recommend a few things.

I've got my eldest daughter into superhero's and comic books and shes starting to read but thinks it's too hard so I thought if I got her comic books that may make her excited to read. But shes very sensitive and has a huge heart. what would you recommend? She also loves animals, nature, mysteries but I don't want a whore as the main character (trying to teach her self respect). Any Nancy Drew types or a traveling detective, animals, magic (like Harry Potter but not as dark and mature- shes six and has already had to see and live through what no kid should have to)

Right off the bat I shot off "Mouse Guard" (particularly because the animals/nature suggestion) and, in honor of Jamie D I thought to suggest Bone.

I'm trying to think of other stuff to recommend BUT I'm not a father so my exposure to kids comics is limited. What would YOU suggest in this situation?

My FAVORITE kids comic in recent years was 'Thor: The Mighty Avenger' but I'm not entirely certain that fits well with a 6 year old girl....

sandman

She could try looking up Princesless from Action Lab Entertainment. Also the comics based on cartoons should be good. If the girl likes superheroes then the Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble comics based on the cartoon come to mind. And of course there's Archie and Betty & Veronica.

Greg

Thor the Mighty Avenger might work. I gave the trade to my niece for her 6th birthday and she loved it.

You've got all the licensed stuff like Adveture Time, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Garfield, Peanuts, Simpsons, and so on.

The Aw Yeah! books from Art & Franco and I believe Tiny Titans is making a comeback soon.

nweathington

Things my 8-year-old daughter liked to read when she was 6:

Babymouse
Dragonbreath (a mix of prose text, illustrations, and comic book storytelling)
Adventure Time
Princeless
Tiny Titans
Garfield
Owly (no words, but could act as a gateway)

Greg

Oh and Jim Zub has a new disney book coming out, called Figment.

Hex

CageNarleigh said:

My FAVORITE kids comic in recent years was 'Thor: The Mighty Avenger' but I'm not entirely certain that fits well with a 6 year old girl....

I wouldn't worry about Thor not being for the ladies. If she likes superheroes, then Thor is a good bet.

I started reading Marvel Essentials with my daughter when she was 3. She was convinced the reason the Hulk was always so angry must have been because his hair was so messy.
Most of the Marvel Essentials are from the fun loving early 70s and many of the stories are "one-and-done" that don't spread beyond one or maybe two issues. My daughter sounds very similar to the girl described above (sensitive, loves animals, nature, and mysteries). She is now 8 and continues to blast through the essentials as fast as I get them. Her favourites are Spider-man and Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman is her hero). I would suggest those two, as she has read at least the first 5 volumes of each (+ many others such as Avengers, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Super villain team up, Marvel-two-in-one, Marvel team up, etc.)
I mentioned this on the forums before, that she went through a phase for about 3 or 4 months where she went around the house shaking her fist in the air and yelling "Paaaarkkkkker!" ala J. Jonah Jameson. Totally cracked me up every time.

I like the Essentials because you get good value for your cash, and there are plenty of stories in each volume to keep the kids engaged for a long time. The more modern Marvel Adventures digests are also pretty good for young readers (and the Spidey ones are lots of fun). I would also suggest Spider-girl.

Also... My girl is infatuated with a novel series called "Warriors", which is about a group of feral cats living the warriors code in the forest. It is probably a little advanced for someone starting to read, but something to keep in mind for the near future. I mention this series as they have an accompanying manga style comics series of books that feature the characters and the stories intertwine with the novels. pretty good stuff.

Every time I see my daughter with her nose buried in a Marvel Essentials, I get teary with pride. Mission Accomplished.

[Deleted User]

My daughter loved Archie, Hot Stuff, Little Lulu, Casper, etc. Archies can be found in all the places comics used to be found, like the supermarket. The Harvey characters and Lulu are reprinted in nice, affordable volumes from Dark Horse (I think) in color and black and white.

Lulu, in particular, is written incredibly well... Those stories never fail to make both of us laugh out loud.

Scooby Doo is always awesome, especially by Joe Staton.

jaydee74

I would suggest just about anything from Art and Franco. They do some great stuff.

Hex

Tonebone said:

My daughter loved Archie, Hot Stuff, Little Lulu, Casper, etc. Archies can be found in all the places comics used to be found, like the supermarket. The Harvey characters and Lulu are reprinted in nice, affordable volumes from Dark Horse (I think) in color and black and white.

Lulu, in particular, is written incredibly well... Those stories never fail to make both of us laugh out loud.

Scooby Doo is always awesome, especially by Joe Staton.

Nice. I usually pick up an Archie digest or two from the used bin for my kids on my weekly visit the the local comic shop. The Hot Stuff, Little Lulu, and Caspers are harder to come by, but if I see one, I'll snap it up. The Hot Stuff issues were always the favourite that me and my siblings fought over during the summer road trips as a kid.

LibraryBoy

Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley is just all kinds of excellent.

Chuck_Melville

I'm always a little puzzled whenever people offer up cartoon books or Archies whenever they're asked what's good for an eight-yr old. When I was eight, I was hunting down and devouring all of the DC superhero books I could find... as well as the science-fiction and weird mystery titles. (Marvel wasn't around yet.) Sure, I read the cartoon books, too -- I read any and all comics. But it was the mainstream superheroes I was looking for.

Of course, most of today's superhero books may be too dark or too intense, or just too complicated for today's eight year olds... or else they're oversimplified and cartooned for what folks think an eight year old would read. Is there no middle ground anymore?

nweathington

Chuck_Melville said:

I'm always a little puzzled whenever people offer up cartoon books or Archies whenever they're asked what's good for an eight-yr old. When I was eight, I was hunting down and devouring all of the DC superhero books I could find... as well as the science-fiction and weird mystery titles. (Marvel wasn't around yet.) Sure, I read the cartoon books, too -- I read any and all comics. But it was the mainstream superheroes I was looking for.

Of course, most of today's superhero books may be too dark or too intense, or just too complicated for today's eight year olds... or else they're oversimplified and cartooned for what folks think an eight year old would read. Is there no middle ground anymore?

It's not so much that there's no middle ground, and certainly not that they're too complicated, but more that—at least with my kids—they don't find the current stuff all that interesting. My son is more interested in picking up ’70s Flash comics and ’80s Booster Gold comics. His favorite current series are Manifest Destiny and Manhattan Projects—which aren't remotely superhero-y. My daughter likes superheroes, but she prefers the other stuff I mentioned. She had a subscription to Spider-Man Adventures, the kids' book, and she would read those when they came in and put them away, but she'll read the Adventure Time collections over and over and over again. Y’know, because they're fun.

Chuck_Melville

I was actually wondering more about the adult's inclination to offer Hot Stuff or Adventure Time to an 8 yr old instead of Justice League or The Avengers. Is there an expectation that the former is more appropriate for kids that age, or that they think the kids will be more likely to enjoy them over the latter choice? (My own parents had banned all comics when I was a kid until I was 12 -- which never really prevented me from finding and reading them anyway.)

kiwijase

Groo is a whole bunch of fun. Castle Waiting is very well done. As a kid I loved the Tintin and Asterix books. Calvin and Hobbes is awesome too.

nweathington

Chuck_Melville said:

I was actually wondering more about the adult's inclination to offer Hot Stuff or Adventure Time to an 8 yr old instead of Justice League or The Avengers. Is there an expectation that the former is more appropriate for kids that age, or that they think the kids will be more likely to enjoy them over the latter choice? (My own parents had banned all comics when I was a kid until I was 12 -- which never really prevented me from finding and reading them anyway.)

It’s an interesting question. Going only from my personal experience, it’s that they will be more likely to enjoy the fun/funny stuff than they will the grim superhero books, but I'm sure there’s a lot of that expectation on the adults’ part as well.

MacGillicutty

Well, they do put ratings on the books. Teen is 12 and up right? That might be okay for an 8 year old too but with a writer like Hickman (for example), the writing might be a bit complex for a 6 to 8 year old.

[Deleted User]

Hex said:

Tonebone said:

My daughter loved Archie, Hot Stuff, Little Lulu, Casper, etc. Archies can be found in all the places comics used to be found, like the supermarket. The Harvey characters and Lulu are reprinted in nice, affordable volumes from Dark Horse (I think) in color and black and white.

Lulu, in particular, is written incredibly well... Those stories never fail to make both of us laugh out loud.

Scooby Doo is always awesome, especially by Joe Staton.

Nice. I usually pick up an Archie digest or two from the used bin for my kids on my weekly visit the the local comic shop. The Hot Stuff, Little Lulu, and Caspers are harder to come by, but if I see one, I'll snap it up. The Hot Stuff issues were always the favourite that me and my siblings fought over during the summer road trips as a kid.

Yeah, you can still get the Harvey stuff in TPB from IN STOCK TRADES, I think... but the Richie Rich volume is hundreds of dollars on Ebay, for some reason...

[Deleted User]

Chuck_Melville said:

I was actually wondering more about the adult's inclination to offer Hot Stuff or Adventure Time to an 8 yr old instead of Justice League or The Avengers. Is there an expectation that the former is more appropriate for kids that age, or that they think the kids will be more likely to enjoy them over the latter choice? (My own parents had banned all comics when I was a kid until I was 12 -- which never really prevented me from finding and reading them anyway.)

Marvel and DC have, in the past, publlished "adventures" versions of JLA and Avengers... the stuff being currently printed, particularly on the DC end, is NOT suitable for kids, in my opinion.

[Deleted User]

kiwijase said:

Groo is a whole bunch of fun. Castle Waiting is very well done. As a kid I loved the Tintin and Asterix books. Calvin and Hobbes is awesome too.

Castle Waiting is indeed fun, but be warned that it deals with spousal abuse, and other such heavy ideas.

Chuck_Melville

As it turns out, Peter David more-or-less answered my question a decade ago (and was recently reprinted on his blog) while talking about the first publications of the Ultimate Marvel line.

peterdavid.net/2014/05/09/ultimate-marvel-and-redefining-comics-for-adults/

It doesn't quite answer my question, but does offer a perspective on it.