Alan OW Barnes

I just listened to Robert Kirkman’s statement about the state of the comic industry on Wordballoon, and I have some thoughts.

First, I agree that comics are in trouble, and that we are not bringing in new, young, readers. This is a problem in that the comics industry will die if this issue is not addressed.

However, I disagree with Kirkman’s thesis: Marvel and DC should make comics for kids, letting Image and Dark Horse produce the adult material.

I submit that he is mistaken as to the source of the problem. The reason kids aren’t reading comics is not because the titles weren’t meant for them. Kids aren’t reading comics because they can’t find them/there are other things that seem more interesting competing for their attention (though now that I have listened to the whole conversation I realized that John pointed this out).

I don’t recall which came first, but before the age of 8 I read 2 comics that made a huge impact on me, neither were ‘written for children. The first was an issue of the New Teen Titans (#16 by Wolfman and Perez) it was a relationship story where Robin broke up with Starfire, she found a new love interest and he was brutally murdered. The second was an issue of Frank Miller’s Daredevil where Daredevil lost his radar senses and he was facing certain doom at the hands of both Elecktra and Bullseye. I didn’t totally understand either comic, but I could feel there was more to these stories than the most recent Superman or Spiderman I’d read. To this day, these are the comics I remember from my childhood, the ones that didn’t talk down to me, but assumed that I could rise to the occasion and learn.

No, Mr. Kirkman, you are wrong. The reason kids don’t read comics is that #1) they cannot find the comics. When I was a kid the direct market existed, but I could still see comics at the grocery store or the drug store. In fact, when I was sick and my mother would take me home from school, we’d go to the drug store for medicine, and she’d buy me a handful of comics so I’d have something fun to read as I got better. I am not suggesting that comics go back to the grocery store or the news stand. I am suggesting that digital periodicals or some other delivery mechanism is appropriate. Kids need to see comics in the same place they get other fun entertainment. Again, I realize that Kirkman acknowledged this, but he seemed to think that Marvel’s current digital offerings were adequate. I think that digital comics need to be available through iTunes and Amazon…where people are used to purchasing entertainment media.

Second, video games, internet media, movies, and amazing array of older TV programming is all readily available for free or nearly free compared to comics (John, you are stealing all my best material here). I hope that the comics industry realizes this problem is a potential advantage. Borrow from these marketing techniques. I believe DC has begun with their ‘motion comics’ to do just this.

These are the problems, not that DC and Marvel aren’t telling good, interesting stories, but rather that the medium is dated and needs to find a new delivery system. Don’t tell the big two they need to talk down to kids. Tell them that print is dead.