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Subject: Ramblings About Comics and Stuff #2: Do Today's Kids Even Like Comics? | Author | Messages | 
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
 | Posted: 7/8/2005 11:12:27 PM | Quick, describe a typical customer found in a comic shop.
A middle-aged guy getting his weekly X-Men fix? Or maybe a college student perusing the latest issue of Strangers in Paradise? Or a woman, perhaps, looking for a particular Vertigo title?
Any and all of the above, of course, in addition to a myriad of other possibilities. But one demographic that may not come to mind is that of a child or young teenager. Ironic, considering the comic book’s tired and lingering reputation as “children’s entertainment” by the world at large. Oh, there are kids who go to comic shops, but on any given Wednesday one’s more likely to find a crowd who’s known which end of the razor is up for quite awhile. And just why, exactly, have kids become a minority in this hobby? The possible reasons are many and have been discussed untold times before: comics have disappeared from the mass-market, they cost too much, parents don’t find many of them appropriate for youngsters, yadda yadda yadda. We assign blame to a lot of potential causes, but many of us fail to ask the fundamental question whose answer could make all of the above possibilities moot:
Do today’s kids even like comics?
Asking that question is like asking if the first settlers to our shores liked basketball. After all, many youngsters have never even seen a comic book. Their parents sometimes don’t even know that they’re still being published. The truth is, they don’t know if they like comics, because most haven’t been presented with the opportunity to judge. Perhaps, the question really is: if the pilgrims had the chance, would they have played hoops on the decks of the Mayflower? Or, would today’s younger generation enjoy comics, if they were given the opportunity to do so?
In my experience, the answer is yes.
Let me relay what that experience is. It’s nothing scientific, and it’s based only on observation. But, for what it’s worth, here it is: for the past several years, every Halloween, my wife and I have given trick-or-treaters a choice when they come to our door. They could have the usual snack-size Snickers, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, etc. etc., or, with their parents’ permission, they could instead have a comic book. The comics we’ve offered to date are from the Superman and Batman family of titles from the mid-nineties, so they’re among the most recognized and kid-friendly comics out there.
The results? About a third of the kids choose a comic. This isn’t a remarkable statistic by any means, but I didn’t really expect even that many kids to make that choice, so I was actually pleasantly surprised. What I found most surprising wasn’t the percentage, though; rather, it was the reactions among those who picked the comic. Most of them exhibited the same kind of awe and enthusiasm when leafing through the pages as many of us did when we paged through our first comics. It showed me something that, until then, I hadn’t realized: even in today’s dynamic Internet and Playstation age, these kids could still be wowed by the static thrills of four color adventures.
And I mean wowed, not just momentarily amused. One kid came back with his dad the next day, asking if he could buy some more comics, if I had any left. I gave him a couple more. The following Halloween, another kid claimed that my house was his first stop, because he was afraid I would run out of comics. That same year, another asked me where I found these “old” comics, because he couldn’t find a store anywhere that carried comics at all, new or old. I gave his father the location of the store I shop at.
The most enthused bunch seemed to be boys ages 10 to 16, or so. Not so different from the comic book reader demographic from generations past. Some of the younger boys chose comics, but seem a little more puzzled as to what it was they were getting. And most of the girls wanted nothing to do with a Superman or Batman comic. A couple of girls last year asked if I had any Archies, which I didn’t, but I plan on changing that this year, if I can score some issues cheaply enough.
I presume these kids and their families all live somewhere in my neighborhood, but I don’t personally know them. I wouldn’t even recognize a lot of them out of costume, as it were. So I honestly don’t know if any of them became permanent or even long-term comic aficionados just because of a few Halloween freebies. But it proved, to me at least, that there are kids out there today who can be just as awestruck as we forty- and fifty-somethings were at that age.
It’s a tougher climb, to be sure, to get kids to notice comics today. The fact that they’re literally ten times more expensive than when I started collecting is a problem. Even if turned on to comics, few kids can probably afford a stack of comics in one trip like us old-timers. Availability is a problem, if parents have to drive miles out of their way to find a store that carries them. And with publishers like Marvel printing to order while stores order conservatively, Mom better get Billy to the store on new comic day if he wants to be sure to get that new issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. And then there’s the aforementioned competition of high-tech entertainment that many of us never even dreamed of as a kid.
It’s a broken, inbred system that right now only supports only those who hopped on the last train before the industry stopped reaching out to newcomers and instead became content to entertain those already on board. If it’s fixed, so that comics will be widely available for the masses to discover, will the new readers come?
Again, my answer is yes.
They just need the chance.
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm |
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
| Posted: 7/8/2005 11:12:27 PM | Quick, describe a typical customer found in a comic shop.
A middle-aged guy getting his weekly X-Men fix? Or maybe a college student perusing the latest issue of Strangers in Paradise? Or a woman, perhaps, looking for a particular Vertigo title?
Any and all of the above, of course, in addition to a myriad of other possibilities. But one demographic that may not come to mind is that of a child or young teenager. Ironic, considering the comic book’s tired and lingering reputation as “children’s entertainment” by the world at large. Oh, there are kids who go to comic shops, but on any given Wednesday one’s more likely to find a crowd who’s known which end of the razor is up for quite awhile. And just why, exactly, have kids become a minority in this hobby? The possible reasons are many and have been discussed untold times before: comics have disappeared from the mass-market, they cost too much, parents don’t find many of them appropriate for youngsters, yadda yadda yadda. We assign blame to a lot of potential causes, but many of us fail to ask the fundamental question whose answer could make all of the above possibilities moot:
Do today’s kids even like comics?
Asking that question is like asking if the first settlers to our shores liked basketball. After all, many youngsters have never even seen a comic book. Their parents sometimes don’t even know that they’re still being published. The truth is, they don’t know if they like comics, because most haven’t been presented with the opportunity to judge. Perhaps, the question really is: if the pilgrims had the chance, would they have played hoops on the decks of the Mayflower? Or, would today’s younger generation enjoy comics, if they were given the opportunity to do so?
In my experience, the answer is yes.
Let me relay what that experience is. It’s nothing scientific, and it’s based only on observation. But, for what it’s worth, here it is: for the past several years, every Halloween, my wife and I have given trick-or-treaters a choice when they come to our door. They could have the usual snack-size Snickers, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, etc. etc., or, with their parents’ permission, they could instead have a comic book. The comics we’ve offered to date are from the Superman and Batman family of titles from the mid-nineties, so they’re among the most recognized and kid-friendly comics out there.
The results? About a third of the kids choose a comic. This isn’t a remarkable statistic by any means, but I didn’t really expect even that many kids to make that choice, so I was actually pleasantly surprised. What I found most surprising wasn’t the percentage, though; rather, it was the reactions among those who picked the comic. Most of them exhibited the same kind of awe and enthusiasm when leafing through the pages as many of us did when we paged through our first comics. It showed me something that, until then, I hadn’t realized: even in today’s dynamic Internet and Playstation age, these kids could still be wowed by the static thrills of four color adventures.
And I mean wowed, not just momentarily amused. One kid came back with his dad the next day, asking if he could buy some more comics, if I had any left. I gave him a couple more. The following Halloween, another kid claimed that my house was his first stop, because he was afraid I would run out of comics. That same year, another asked me where I found these “old” comics, because he couldn’t find a store anywhere that carried comics at all, new or old. I gave his father the location of the store I shop at.
The most enthused bunch seemed to be boys ages 10 to 16, or so. Not so different from the comic book reader demographic from generations past. Some of the younger boys chose comics, but seem a little more puzzled as to what it was they were getting. And most of the girls wanted nothing to do with a Superman or Batman comic. A couple of girls last year asked if I had any Archies, which I didn’t, but I plan on changing that this year, if I can score some issues cheaply enough.
I presume these kids and their families all live somewhere in my neighborhood, but I don’t personally know them. I wouldn’t even recognize a lot of them out of costume, as it were. So I honestly don’t know if any of them became permanent or even long-term comic aficionados just because of a few Halloween freebies. But it proved, to me at least, that there are kids out there today who can be just as awestruck as we forty- and fifty-somethings were at that age.
It’s a tougher climb, to be sure, to get kids to notice comics today. The fact that they’re literally ten times more expensive than when I started collecting is a problem. Even if turned on to comics, few kids can probably afford a stack of comics in one trip like us old-timers. Availability is a problem, if parents have to drive miles out of their way to find a store that carries them. And with publishers like Marvel printing to order while stores order conservatively, Mom better get Billy to the store on new comic day if he wants to be sure to get that new issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. And then there’s the aforementioned competition of high-tech entertainment that many of us never even dreamed of as a kid.
It’s a broken, inbred system that right now only supports only those who hopped on the last train before the industry stopped reaching out to newcomers and instead became content to entertain those already on board. If it’s fixed, so that comics will be widely available for the masses to discover, will the new readers come?
Again, my answer is yes.
They just need the chance.
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm | 
Michael Tierney
Posts: 874
| Posted: 7/8/2005 11:57:22 PM | Hey Jim,
I agree: kids today still love comics. Always have. I also agree that our industry has ignored cultivating that next generation of readers, concentrating primarily on preaching to the choir.
There are only three titles that immediately spring to mind in the last ten years that have had a strong impact on creating new readers out of kids:
Pokemon around 1999. For that one year, Pokemon comics were the number one selling comics. Sure, that fad has gone, but many of those kids are still reading.
Transformers was the next kid friendly Indpendent comic that went to No. 1 in sales during a year. Right now it's in hiatus, and the fans are clamoring.
Sonic continues to boom along. It's one of my top selling Independent comics. Kids found it on the newracks in grocery stores. The stores stopped selling comics, and the kids found me.
I'm sure there are others that are creating new readers, but it's a shame that I can only think of three that have had a visible impact on my customer base. And it's a shame that none came from the 'big two.'
One thing that I disagree with you on: Kids today have got more money than you can imagine! Their budgets are the kind we only dreamed of when we were kids. There's big cash to be made in that market... for many years to come. Mark my words!
Why else would the tobacco industry target them to the point of government intervention? Fortunately, reading comics is a positive, brain candy, type of experience that will have mainly beneficial reprecussions. Reading is good. And reading comics is fun! (ie:
Comics are good fun!
Michael Tierney
www.thewildstars.com |
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
| Posted: 7/9/2005 1:07:45 PM | Hi Michael,
If kids really do have that kind of money to spend, then it's an even bigger shame that comic publishers aren't going after it. Actually, it's idiocy. If tobacco companies recognize that there's an untapped (and for them, illegal) market out there, then I'm astonished at any company that doesn't try to tap into it.
Heh. I never thought I'd be in the position of asking any company to try to take our children's money!
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm |
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
| Posted: 7/9/2005 1:07:45 PM | Hi Michael,
If kids really do have that kind of money to spend, then it's an even bigger shame that comic publishers aren't going after it. Actually, it's idiocy. If tobacco companies recognize that there's an untapped (and for them, illegal) market out there, then I'm astonished at any company that doesn't try to tap into it.
Heh. I never thought I'd be in the position of asking any company to try to take our children's money!
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm |
Michael Tierney
Posts: 874
| Posted: 7/9/2005 7:56:02 PM | I hear you, Jim.
I, too, am astonished that more attention isn't paid to the youth market. I know from my own customer base that most people read their first comic before they're a teenager... usually before the age of 8.
While I would never suggest abandoning the existing mature market, I am stunned that the industry so blithely walked away from the youth market.
Marvel and DC seem determined to win the teenage market, but I've got bad news for them: If a kid wasn't reading comics before he was a teenager, he ain't going to be reading them after he is.
Plus... all the evidence I've personally seen shows that even when kids do read comics in their pre-teen years, they still drop out of comics for their teen years. Things like sports, cars and girls (not necessarily in that order) suddenly dominate all their entertainment choices. I also went through that same pattern.
I know that I'm not seeing many teenagers in my stores these days. But fortunately, I am seeing more kids. Publishers seem to be finally starting to recognized that market again, and giving me a little more to sell. But I could use a LOT more product than is currently being made. Hopefully, before the Yu Gi Oh fad (which replaced the Pokemon fad) completely wears off. Give them so many choices they can't make up their mind. Leep them coming back!
Of course, my market could be unique. I'm speaking strictly for myself.
Michael Tierney
www.thewildstars.com | sternber
Posts: 150
| Posted: 7/10/2005 4:30:03 PM | I can only speak from my own experiences and observations, but...
For one thing, it helps if kids feel welcome in a comic book store. I take my 8-year-old daughter with me often to my local comic store, and we both have a friendship with the staff there. We will go and spend hours talking comics and related topics, just horsing around, and having a good time, but I wonder how comfortable she'd feel if we didn't have this relationship.
Another thing I've noted is that most of the younger people in a store are there for one main reason: to play Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh. I've never seen younger kids come regularly for comics (but then again, I'm not there as often or as long as staff members are, either). Could there be some way to tap into this group? They're in the store week in and week out, but have zero (displayed) interest in comics.
Regarding my daughter, she likes comics, but isn't that interested in buying them. I buy her some Teen Titans Go regularly, I got her the recent DC Looney Tunes digest, and I get her the appropriate Free Comic Book Day titles, as well as her own comic box, to help teach her to keep them nice. The problem is, she's just not that interested in reading as a leisure activity, even though she sees me do it constantly. She's more interested in her GameBoy or watching NickToons. If I knew how to get her more interested in reading, I'd do it. Of course, she could only buy one comic for the 9 I used to be able to buy for the same money, and I think that has a lot to do with it.
Maybe the best thing to do is just ASK the kids what they'd like?
Just adding fuel to the fire,
Adam Sternberg
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Michael Tierney
Posts: 874
| Posted: 7/16/2005 10:36:36 PM | Hey Y'All,
Did my annual talk at the University of Arkansas' Summer Laurette For (gifted and talented) Youth, ages kindegarten to age 12, again this week.
As usual, my class was on a first come first served basis. The University schedules around 300 kids between five speakers. They used to give me 100 of the kids, but this year they scaled it down to 80 (Hey... if you were still a kid, would YOU want free comics, or to listen to talks about floral arrangements or some such). As always, I hear a lot of stories about disappointed kids who previously didn't register in time. One kid just got in this year for the first time, after 4 or 5 attempts. I admire the kid for being in the gifted and talented program so many years running! He had lots of questions... which made my job easier.
When I first started this (I can only guess how long I've been doing it... early Nineties was when I started), it was mostly the boys who attended. That changed with Manga, and again this year the crowd was 50/50 boys and girls. I talked to them for a half hour, and then for the last fifteen minutes gave them all a chance to pick out 5 free comics each from the selection I brought (a tip of the hat goes to Diamond's Comics for Causes, who donated 100 FCBD Donald Duck comics!).
Those kids hit that comics table like pirhannas in a feeding frenzy! Even more frenzied were the kids in the last group that got to pick. They were panicked that 'all the good ones will be gone', despite my assurances than I brought plenty extra.
And once again, as happens every year, I've already seen parents in the stores, buying more comics for the same kids I'd just introduced to comics.
Put a comic in a kid's hands, and not only will he or she read it like a thirsty man with a drink of water, they'll want more...
But what's much more rewarding for me is the way so many children come up to me after the class, and thank me for the comics. It's always gratifying to be a hero in a smiling child's eyes!
Michael Tierney
www.thewildstars.com |
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
| Posted: 7/17/2005 4:13:56 AM | Hi Michael,
The reaction you describe among the students is EXACTLY the kind of thing I'm talking about. It's always great getting a reminder that kids will, in fact, at least have a look at comics if presented with the chance. And it's always nice to be the one who presents them. I get a lot of satisfaction from introducing a youngster to comics, even if their interest isn't necessarily strong enough to stay with them permanently. Stories like that serve as a reminder that there is still hope, if only publishers, distributors, and potential outlets would help make it happen.
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm |
Jim Johnson
Posts: 461
| Posted: 7/17/2005 4:13:56 AM | Hi Michael,
The reaction you describe among the students is EXACTLY the kind of thing I'm talking about. It's always great getting a reminder that kids will, in fact, at least have a look at comics if presented with the chance. And it's always nice to be the one who presents them. I get a lot of satisfaction from introducing a youngster to comics, even if their interest isn't necessarily strong enough to stay with them permanently. Stories like that serve as a reminder that there is still hope, if only publishers, distributors, and potential outlets would help make it happen.
- JJ
"You can live your life in a thousand ways,
But it all comes down to that single day
When you realize what you regret,
Which you can't reclaim but you can't forget."
www.facebook.com/QuiGonJimm
www.twitter.com/QuiGonJimm |
Michael Tierney
Posts: 874
| Posted: 7/17/2005 1:31:19 PM | Hey Jim,
Yeah, the support by publishers for outreaches like mine seems to be fading, if the quantities available through Comics for Causes is any indication.
The last few years, Diamond has donated a flat 100 copies to my annual talk. Don't get me wrong, it's very much apreciated and a big help not having to provide all the comics myself. But recently it's always been only a single title from a (naturally) single publisher. It didn't used to be that way.
A few years ago, the selection of comics available through Comics for Causes was incredible. Even Marvel and DC used to contribute, as well as many of the second tier publishers. It was a good opportunity to see kid's tastes by the choices they'd make when presented with a wide selection.
I did one talk when X-Men was the new hit movie, and number 1 at the box office. But the kids didn't take any X-Men from the stacks. They'd grab Hulk or Captain America, or Knight on Broadway before they'd grab X-Men. But those X-Men comics didn't go to waste. I always take a few hundred extra books to be distributed to the other students who don't get to attend.
The University assisteant who was hauling the wagon of free X-Men comics across the campus would get mobbed by first one horde of kids, and then another, and then another. It was quite a sight.
It's been years now since the Big Two provided any stock to the Causes. The last few years it's been only either Gemstone or Archie.
The good news is that Free Comic Book Day gives me an opportunity to stock up of reasonably priced inventory for my talks, and also for Halloween! So there are still opportunities out there for picking up diverse promotional material from publishers. But just not as much support as maybe there should be.
If anything, a good opportunity of doing surveys of kid's tastes is being missed. You'd think publishers would be scambling to have retailers like myself out there promoting their line?
Michael Tierney
www.thewildstars.com |
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