Comments on: Kids Love Comics Day: a report

By: Harold Buchholz

Harold Buchholz — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:42:28 +0000

Thanks for the report on Kids Love Comics Day. It was a great time for us and for the kids!

We created Kids Love Comics to provide an advocacy group specifically designed to promote the popularity of comics with children and those comics’ benefits to children.

Stephan, we had heard many experts in the collectible comics industry for years stating that children were no longer interested in comics. But actually, kids’ favorite reading material has been comics for years, at least according to the ongoing Simmons Kids Study that interviews children ages 6 to 11. We just forgot them along the way when as an artistic and business field we began exploring comics for older audiences. Kids didn’t leave comics, comics left them.

The collector’s market has as a rule never been about children. I think a lot of people created comics and sold them through the collector’s market hoping to reach children. They just weren’t going where most kids actually shopped. And often the books were created not just for kids but with that adult market in mind as well, which meant that they weren’t purely comics for kids. Because these comics often didn’t sell well, the creative community started to believe children didn’t really like comics any more, which couldn’t be further from the truth!

We called this new organization Kids Love Comics because that’s a message that parents, educators, publishers, librarians and the comics community will benefit from hearing and repeating. They are the ones who will be the gateway for children into quality comics literature. It’s such a great medium and for kids in particular it’s one with great power and resonance. We saw that enthusiasm at the Kids Love Comics event.

I’m very excited about how the creative community is moving toward making more and more things with kids in mind. I look forward to a genuine children’s comics renaissance in North America over the next decade.

By: stephan (explosive lobster) maich

stephan (explosive lobster) maich — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:45:39 +0000

but rilly, i luv comix

By: stephan (explosive lobster) maich

stephan (explosive lobster) maich — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:44:58 +0000

is it cool that you’d call it KIDS LOVE COMICS before you even found out if they did? how many kids out of how many others actually DID love them? would you even know about the ones that dont? how do those factor into your titulars?

By: Sebastian Piccione

Sebastian Piccione — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:27:08 +0000

As a Middle School Language Arts teacher who uses comics in the classroom I love the idea of this program and would relish any information or materials I could share with my kids to promote this. my 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are currently producing a comic of their own, to raise money for their school newspaper and arts and literary magazine, and they have learned more about plot, characters, setting, and sequential order from this “fun” project than they have all year! Kid friendly comics are a powerful learning tool!

By: Kat Kan

Kat Kan — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:43:05 +0000

Kids’ comics is a major, growing concern in libraries - Booklist, the review journal for the American Library Association, began including reviews of graphic novels for younger readers (I write them). Brodart, the book distributor for whom I consult as graphic novel selector, started its Kid Safe lists several years ago. Children’s librarians are always asking me for good kids’ comics. I’ve met Jimmy, John, Jane, Rich, and others who do wonderful books for children and all ages. I hope to see more events like this happen all over the country. You go, guys!

By: sideshow bob

sideshow bob — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:38:54 +0000

For those in Canada, another good all ages book is Brilliant Boy, available in TPB. Not sure if the company is still around though

By: mario boon

mario boon — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:20:16 +0000

I too want to hope my book (Texas Strangers) will become part of this group!

Lately kids comics are the only comics on the market which are FUN to read.

By: Scott Christian Sava

Scott Christian Sava — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:09:41 +0000

This is a great idea!

Congrats to all involved and I look forward to being a part of it one day soon.

Great job!

By: John Gallagher

John Gallagher — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:24:41 +0000

This was such a cool event to be a part of– hundreds of kids, not there because they were dragged to the a con by their dad, but kids that are really excited about comics, art, and storytelling.

A previous comment to a Newsarama article about KLC warned not to “preach to the choir” of old fans — believe me, this was a first for so many people there, young and old.

And it was interesting that only a few knew what Free Comic Book day was– this was heavilly promoted at the event, along with pushing bookstores and libraries as a resource for GN’s and comics. But most importantly, we talked about the magic combination of words and pictures that is comics.

Thanks from me, Jim, Harold, Jane & Todd, to everyone who came by!

By: Philip A Moore

Philip A Moore — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 03:38:10 +0000

I was there it was lot of fun I got alot out af all the lessons on writing and art I think I english teach would love to have student went to this show

I did not see the buzz exibit because jimmy was having a dull lesson with a cartoonist from Nicolodine

I found my self doing a drawing tip by the artist of Apiphy Cat Who also gave lesson s on brain storming and mind maping it was fun

I hope they do this next year as always it was fun to see Jimmy he is as ginuine as cartoonists get and they don’t come much nicer

great news he says we will finally get the next issue of Amilia it is now at the printer and should be for sale in 3 weeks it had extra artist so it was slower then he would have liked .

good day