Little Girls & Comics

Spydes

Hi all!

I'm relatively new to the forums, but excited to be here. I wanted to get some thoughts on something I've been mulling for a while now. My daughter is still an infant, so the concept of comics are still a bit above her head. However, as she grows I am very interested in sharing my love of the medium with her.

I don't think that many will disagree that fandom has historically been mired in a gender bias. However, over the past few years there appears to have been a paradigm shift whereby several women are becoming enchanted by the charm of graphic story telling. Certainly the publishers and creators have had a massive influence on this change. However, my query is more on the sociological side.

For you parents of little girls out there, when did you first introduce comics to your kids? Which comics did they seem to enjoy? What unique ideas did you try to help you form a bond over comics with your sweetheart(s)?

I am completely open to your thoughts/suggestions and hope you will find it an engaging topic of discussion for the forum. Let's get creative, people! :)

RickM

I introduced comics to my kids as soon as they could read. And guess what? My daughter, now 19, doesn't care for them (although she likes comic movies, especially anything with Hugh Jackman), and my son, 16, is crazy about comics. So for our family, the gender stereotype proved out. My daughter is quite the budding feminist, so it probably doesn't help that the typical trip to a comic shop is basically a parade of boobs and thongs; I still think the comic industry's portrayal of women largely remains juvenile and regressive.

Spydes

Ah, it's too bad that things didn't pan out long term with your daughter and comics, Rick. You make an excellent point about the way that women are often portrayed in the books and even treated in the shops. It is my sincere hope that these aspects are ever evolving but I am sure these approaches will take time to change. Good that your daughter can at least appreciate a good comic movie and that your son has taken to the hobby. In reality you would never want to force anything on your kids that they didn't have a natural interest in anyhow.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

nweathington

My daughter is nine now, but she's been exposed to comics literally all her life. She went to her first San Diego Comic-Con when she was two, and she's never missed a Heroes Con. She's read comics for as long as she's been reading, and her current favorites are Adventure Time, Princeless, Regular Show, Tiny Titans, and Bee and Puppycat. She really liked the first issue of Squirrel Girl too, so that may join the list. I think it helps that she also likes to draw.

mwhitt80

Bryan Deemer's oldest daughter loves DC Showcases. My little girl just had her 1st birthday so she's a little young. I'm only going to try to push so many daddy things on her, and I would like her to fish and play with legos more. If she decides to read comics I'll let her (in a supervised manner).

Spydes

@nweathington Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggested reading list. Those titles all seem like great ideas to get my daughter started. We already watch quite a few of those cartoons together, so the comics would be an easy transition. Great ideas!

@mwhitt80 I thought I recalled hearing about the DC Showcases during the podcast. Thanks for confirming that for me. I hear you on not pushing comics on our kids. I definitely would prefer to create an environment where they are simply available versus being pushy about it. You are so right about the need for supervision too.

Hex

YES! You have a fun ride ahead of you! This is a subject near and dear to my heart.

I have two daughters; currently ages 9 and 6. I have been reading comics with them ever since my eldest was age 3. Oddly enough we started with reading Marvel's Essential Super-Villian team-up, a weird choice I know, but it was mainly just because that is what I was reading at the time, and she wanted me to read it to her. She has had a soft spot for Doctor Doom ever since. My eldest daughter's favourite character is the Invisible Woman, and my younger daughter loves Captain America.

They LOVE comics, mainly super heroes, but Archie digests and My Little Pony too.
My 9 year old has been devouring Marvel Essentials for the past couple of years. This works out great because the stories are usually from the 70's and generally a little easier for a younger audience to digest. Essentials are great bang for the buck, and have plenty of issues wrapped up in one volume. That way if she is rough on the book, and it gets all dog eared, I won't mind. She also really enjoys the comic "encyclopaedias" and anything that has to do with stats and history of the characters (OHOTMU).

Obviously Superhero based cartoons are a hit and a good way to get them interested in the different characters. They just wrapped up watching "Young Justice" on Netflix and it is by far the favourite. Although the "Avenger's Earth's Mightiest Heroes" was also watched many many times. They have yet to watch any of the Marvel movies, I don't think they are ready just yet (although that time is coming soon). My 9 year old was dying to see Guardians of the Galaxy, but she is kind of sensitive and I think it would have been a little overwhelming for her.

I think the important aspect is that you share your love for comics with your daughter. Read with her before she can read herself, and talk about the artwork and what the stories are about. Why is the villain bad? Why is it important for the hero to help? Why is J Jonah Jameson always so mean to Spidey? For the longest time my girl thought Hulk was just angry because his hair was always messy! Your passion for Comics can't help but rub off on her and (hopefully) will grow into something that you can share for the rest of your lives.

Mine have turned into regular little Marvel Zombies.
...and we now have a pet bearded dragon they named Fin Fang Foom.

nweathington said:

My daughter is nine now, but she's been exposed to comics literally all her life. She went to her first San Diego Comic-Con when she was two, and she's never missed a Heroes Con. She's read comics for as long as she's been reading, and her current favorites are Adventure Time, Princeless, Regular Show, Tiny Titans, and Bee and Puppycat. She really liked the first issue of Squirrel Girl too, so that may join the list. I think it helps that she also likes to draw.

I just picked up Squirrel Girl a couple of days ago too. I know my girls are going to love it!

compsolut

I was in the same boat. My daughter is now 1, and I too want to share my love of comics with her. The first step for me was to buy to Batman board books. She has Batman Shapes, Batman is Brave and a few other titles. They aren't comics, but exposure to the characters can't hurt :smile:

As for reading, we obviously aren't quite there yet, but I have been picking up the new run of Oddly Normal as it comes out, thinking that it might be a title she can grow into. I also have some older DC essentials, and anything by Art and Franko kids seem to love.

Spydes

@Hex‌ Thanks so much for such an enthusiastic reply! Hearing how you've turned your girls into comic enthusiasts really gives me hope that I can do the same. ^:)^

I have heard suggestions on the My Little Pony books from several people, so I may need to look into those. She actually has a plush MLP toy, so there may already be some familiarity with the characters.

Also, definitely a great idea to use the Essentials line to introduce heroes. I have a few of Essential volumes for The Incredible Hulk and can see the upsides in sharing this type of content with young fans. (e.g. great stories, books themselves are cheap, pretty tame subject matter, etc.)

Really appreciate you sharing your experiences as a dad!

@compsolut You are definitely right in the same boat with me, bud.

I like the idea about the board books and will check that out. I do have a few Golden Books that were commissioned by Marvel ("The Incredible Hulk" and 3-part book with stories about Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Avengers) which I can highly recommend for story time.

Stashing the Oddly Normal run is also smart. We watch a few cartoons from time to time (e.g. Teen Titans Go, The Amazing World of Gumball, etc.) so I am thinking some of those titles may be a good idea for me to grab. Anything that she can recognize and relate to I'm thinking will make a nice jumping off point. Plus, even though our girls can't read quite yet for themselves, there's certainly nothing wrong with reading these books to them. I have no issues with re-reading a well-written book multiple times (especially if it helps my daughter get into comics with daddy! ;) ).

Anyhow, good luck as a comic dad and I hope we can share our experiences often since our girls are so close in age. Take care!

grannygeekness

I may be in a unique position here--I not only am a parent who introduced her (now grown) daughters to comics, I am also a daughter who started reading comics in part because of my comic book loving father. When it came to comics, my parents were definitely a mixed religion family. My father taught himself to read on Batman and my mother wasn't allowed to have them as a kid because they weren't educational. So my maternal grandparents (yes, the same ones that didn't let my mom read comics as a kid) were the first to buy me comics. Once my sister and I started reading comics, though, my dad made sure we read Batman. I remember watching the TV show with him on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and building a model of Batman with him. I think my dad might even still have the model. I also remember Dad getting me the digest sized reprints of Batman's Golden Age adventures. So Batman's the bond between myself and my dad as far as comics are concerned. With my kids, I started reading comics to them probably when they were about 2 or 3, starting with Sugar and Spike, then the Power Pack, the Marvel Star line.....when they got older and able to read for themselves, I let them read pretty much any book in my collection that was age appropriate. My younger daughter told me years later how much she appreciated that. Eventually, the oldest became a casual comic book reader while the youngest inherited my love of comics and built her own collection.Right now, I'm helping to introduce my granddaughters to comics! (ummmm...Princeless, Molly Danger, anything by Art and Franko, off the top of my head.)

TheImmortalIronFist

RickM said:

I introduced comics to my kids as soon as they could read. And guess what? My daughter, now 19, doesn't care for them (although she likes comic movies, especially anything with Hugh Jackman), and my son, 16, is crazy about comics. So for our family, the gender stereotype proved out. My daughter is quite the budding feminist, so it probably doesn't help that the typical trip to a comic shop is basically a parade of boobs and thongs; I still think the comic industry's portrayal of women largely remains juvenile and regressive.

I totally agree with the industry's portrayal of women being largely juvenile. The thing I hate is that a lot of these women are truly great characters, but their costumes in some cases really ruins the character for a lot of readers. A great example of this is Angela. I didn't even pick up these comics, because her outfit is that atrocious, but my friend convinced me to borrow his issues, and they are honestly really good. She's an awesome character that currently has a really awesome on going, why can't they just put some clothes on her?

JaxUr

My 9 year old niece just loves the Spongebob and Scooby Doo comics that are currently being published. You should also consider Little Lulu & Archie Comics too.

Other good options are the "Little Lit" books & "A Toon Treasury of Children's Comics" books that Art Spiegleman produced a few years back.

hauberk

My 15-year old is now asking to raid my collection. The MCU and the DCAU have been a gateway drugs for her. I'm skeptical that she'll be much of a buyer of comics, but she'll happily read what is made available to her.

My 11-year old seems to be happy, at this point, with Lego (super heroes!)and Nerf guns (whole family battles across multiple floors).

Spydes

@grannygeekness Thank you so much for sharing how comics have impacted several generations of your family. I really enjoyed your stories and can only hope to someday have comic related memories that will rival yours. Be well and remember to cherish that fantastic family of yours! :)

Spydes

@JaxUr All great recommendations! I actually had forgotten that there was a Scooby Doo comic. I loved the cartoons as a kid, so this would be an excellent choice for something that we could both enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to offer a few suggestions.

Spydes

@hauberk I did have aspirations of sharing comics with my daughter, but it's tough to lament the notion of building super hero lairs out of Legos and engaging in full fledged family battles with Nerf guns! :smile: Thanks for reminding me that it's really all about spending time with family in whichever way you can. Take care and stay frosty during those Nerf battles!

compsolut

And on cue Previews for this month shows a nice new line of DC Superhero board books :) I have My First Batman, My First Wonder Woman, and Girl Power Super Heroes on order for my little one. I am sure she will figuratively and literally sink her teeth into them :)

Spydes

@compsolut Wow! Thanks for the heads up on the board books. That sounds absolutely perfect for my daughter to enjoy. Something tells me that DC will make a few shillings from my direction too. These kids are so lucky to grow up in a time when being nerdy is "cool". =D>

jaydee74

My daughter is 3 and a half. I've brought different things to her in the hopes to get her into comics. She has a book about Wonder Woman that she really enjoys. She has a Sesame Street comic book that I read to her. I also read trades of Tiny Titans, Superman Family and Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 7th Grade that she seems to love. She also has superhero toys and clothes that she wears and likes. Because she likes jewelry, she really likes my various Green Lantern rings. I brought her to Free Comic Book Day one year and she loved looking at all of the stuff.

Hex

jaydee74 said:

I brought her to Free Comic Book Day one year and she loved looking at all of the stuff.

My girls also enjoy a trip to the Comic Shop. Visual overload!
I'm thinking my 9 year old might be ready for an afternoon at Fan Expo this upcoming April.

jaydee74

Toys really seem to work. One of her favorites is this:

She also likes her Fisher Price Wonder Woman car and Batgirl car. Also I play with her and pretend she is Supergirl flying around the house or Wonder Woman and we'll pretend she's in her Invisible Jet. I usually sing the Wonder Woman song or hum the Superman theme. She loves that stuff and it gets her interested in these things.

chrisl

My nine year old daughter loved the first issue of Abigail and the Snowman from Boom Studios.

kgforce

From ages 8-11, our daughter LOVED LOVED LOVED the Little Lulu collections from Dark Horse. And our son liked them, too, at that age.

Spydes

@jaydee74 Thanks for the tips. That photo of the Wonder Woman toy is completely awesome! I am going to have to search out some of these toys because I never see things like this available at the local Toys R Us, but the internet is a big, big place. And, you let me know about these toys just in time for her birthday! We both thank you for the suggestions! =D>

jaydee74

@Spydes I got the Wonder Woman toy at KMart. You might want to try someplace like that or Wal-Mart. They might have something similar like what I posted at Toys R Us.

[Deleted User]

kgforce said:

From ages 8-11, our daughter LOVED LOVED LOVED the Little Lulu collections from Dark Horse. And our son liked them, too, at that age.

They are hands-down some of the funniest material ever put to paper! They hold up really well, even after all these years.

i_am_scifi

While I don't have a kid, I do have a good friend of mine that has a daughter. Over the years, I've helped her appreciation of comics by giving her a bunch of my old Spider-Girl comics, as well as a few of the digests. She also read just about all of my Avatar: The Last Airbender comics, as she is a huge fan of the show.

Skottie Young's Oz books are also an excellent read, and she loved it.As she's gotten older, I got her Jamal Igle's Molly Danger, and most recently the newest version Ms. Marvel. Kamala is fun for girls, boys, guys and gals alike.

Hex

i_am_scifi said:

Ms. Marvel. Kamala is fun for girls, boys, guys and gals alike.

good recommendations. I'm thinking my daughter(s) will also enjoy the "new" Ms. Marvel.

jaydee74

I'll third Ms. Marvel. Kamala Khan is a hero for all ages in the Marvel Universe. It's a great book.

Hex

Just added to my daughter's Marvel Essential obsession with the purchase of X-Men vol. 2. So much Byrne greatness. And Claremont too, before his word count ballooned out of control. Seeing over 20 issues collected together like that really hits home how epic their run was on the X-Men at the time. No wonder it was such a blockbuster for Marvel. Just know that Kitty is going to be her new favourite.
Bonus - great Canadian pride with the first appearance of Alpha Flight!

Hex

As predicted, Marvel Essential X-Men vol. 2 went over big. Daughter #1 has burned through over half already, just completing the Dark Phoenix story arc. Blew her mind ("Dark Phoenix is super creepy"). Daughter #2 is about 5 issues into the book, and begging for story time every free moment I have, although she "wishes the pictures were coloured in".