10 Harsh Truths You Don't Want To Admit About Comic Books‏

9. ...But Barely Any Are For Kids Any More

Which, sadly, means that comics are actually not all that suitable for kids any more. Now, we're not saying that superhero comics should inherently be aimed solely at children, just as they shouldn't be aimed solely at adults or sexually maladjusted high school students. In an ideal world, there would be comics that suited each of those distinct demographics. Ladies and gentleman, we do not live in that ideal world (which is designated Earth-392 in Marvel, and doesn't exist in the DC Multiverse as far as we can tell. It's all just variations of Nazis ruling the planet). Marvel have had all-ages titles from time to time, including the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man title that was widely praised as a cheerful, fun alternative to the main Spider books of the time. That got cancelled. DC, meanwhile, have squandered the goodwill and built-in audience built up by their hit Teen Titans and Young Justice cartoons by making the comic book equivalent totally unsuitable and unrecognisable to young readers, with T&A and violence in the place of the fun, colourful adventures kids saw on screen. Again, we're not saying that Teen Titans should necessarily be just like the cartoons. But it would be nice if there was something that you could give a five-year-old to read, something you wouldn't be embarrassed by if a young niece stumbled across it whilst rifling through your back issues. Something that's light without being shallow, exciting without being totally ultraviolent, with believable female characters. But they don't exist any more, tough though that is to admit. Hey, Adventure Time's good, at least!