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Tales of an eighth grade something

April 19th, 2008
Author JK Parkin

Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade

Supergirl joins the kid’s line?

Nice. Good show, DC.

 
17 Responses to “Tales of an eighth grade something”
  1. Jason M. Bryant Says:

    I really like that picture. It looks happy.

  2. Lex Says:

    I love what they’re doing with this DC Kids line. The old one with the TV tie-ins was okay, but I’ve always thought they could do so much more. It’s wonderful seeing them use their more kid-friendly characters in books designed just for them. I can’t wait to give my 6 year old cousin the Shazam! book. So far he’s enjoyed Tiny Titans. He might not be interested in Supergirl, but I have a couple young girl cousins that might be.

  3. Shaun Says:

    I’ll have to offer this to my daughter when it comes out… She might like it, depending how “young” the book skews.

    So far, the only comic that’s really stuck with her, aside from a few reasonably kid-friendly “adult” books (Superman For All Seasons, for instance) has been Marvel’s tween/teen-oriented Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

    I haven’t had the heart to tell her what’s become of Spidey and MJ in the grown-up books. :-(

  4. Daniel M. Says:

    Damn, that picture is bland.

  5. Skipper Pickle Says:

    This is very promising.

  6. Alex Scott Says:

    Looks like this is going alongside “Skrulls vs. Power Pack” in the category of all-ages comics that are destined to be more enjoyable than their regular-universe equivalent.

  7. greeneclipse Says:

    I like this Supergirl design a LOT better than the one in the DCU. This Kara looks and is dressed age-appropriate, unlike the super-jailbait of the mainstream books.

    The Johnny DC line really is getting more and more on the ball.

  8. Wonder Boy Says:

    Coming from a person who’s only ever been a fan of the Matrix/Linda/Earth Angel incarnation of Supergirl, I have to say…

    This actually looks like it might be fun.

  9. ElCoyote Says:

    I’m not sure what’s so wrong with the idea of a teenage Supergirl who dresses like a teenage girl but…

    On to this thing, many of the recent DC ‘kids’ books have seemed…infantile. Tiny Titans was just…bad. And that Justice League book wasn’t much better, kids older than 4 won’t read things that are written for 4 year olds.

    I’m not saying this will be as bad, but it doesn’t seem like DC gets it, the Marvel Adventures books seem much more in tune with what kids want, something that’s easy to pick up but not talking down to them. They’re even drawn like Marvel books, it’s not simplified and dumbed down.

  10. ElCoyote Says:

    Wait, I don’t want it to sound like I don’t like clean simple artwork, Mike Parobeck and Ty Templeton did wonderful things on the Batman TAS books, but the art on these books is an entirely different beast. It’s not just simple it’s…bland and the stories and writing is far less subtle.

  11. Sally Says:

    The focus on the kids market seems like fun, sure children need standards too so I agree there should be more work on the issue of improving the quality of the book.

  12. Shaun Says:

    ElCoyote, I agree with you. I’ll wait until this Supergirl thing comes out before I pass judgment on it, but yeah… Much of the DC offerings for kids lately do seem “infantile.” It’s one thing to gear offerings to kids, but there’s always a risk of talking down to kids and making things, well, too baby-ish for them. That’s a difficult thing to pin down, and I know that as my own daughter often outgrows things she really liked awfully quickly.

    What’s funny about this is that what you are saying here is EXACTLY the point I was a couple of weeks back when the Brave & Bold cartoon series was announced. The art looked “infantile” to me. Sure, it’s inspired by Dick Sprang (great name, BTW) but that harkens back to a really goofy period for Batman comics, and one that I think even a lot of kids wouldn’t take to these days. That, coupled with the initial news that it would focuse as much on comedy as action, had me crying fowl.

    People gave me crap for that, and then there was Mike BabyManley’s name-calling. I never said kids shouldn’t have a Batman of their own. I only meant, as Sally said here, that there needs to be standards for kids too. Going too far to try to be kid-friendly can (sometimes) dumb things down too much and today’s kids can see right through it if that’s the case.

    Later comments by another of the B&B creators had me feeling better about the direction of the show, so we’ll see. Actually, I probably won’t see it but I honestly hope it’s decent and that it clicks with the kids they’re trying to capture.

  13. Shaun Says:

    Not sure why I stuck an “e” on the end of “focus”… Sorry about that.

  14. JohnnyZito Says:

    Awesome sauce!

    How about an all ages Green Lantern Corps or Flash Family?

    These titles are recruitment pamphlets for future generations of comic devotees.

  15. Gail Says:

    Man, I LOVE Tiny Titans. I think it’s joyful and huge fun, and gorgeously drawn.

  16. Dierna Says:

    SW33T!!! Can’t wait for this!! Tiny Titans totally rox!

  17. jmb418 Says:

    Shaun & ElCoyote, I don’t think this art is particularly infantile. This style lively, evocative, and shows a great deal of character.

    If you do a Google on Walker and Jones, or check out Little Gloomy Adventures or Kid Gravity at your local comic shop, you’ll see that their work is nuanced, sophisticated, and can be enjoyed by adults as well as kids. It also appeals to a demographic that wouldn’t have much interest in Marvel Adventures, or mainstream superheros.

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