So as I’ve been patrolling the Comic Con, I happened to overhear a scene that really made me kind of sad. I saw a father, maybe in his late 30s, and his son walking into the Con.
…And the kid didn’t want to go in.
To make matters worse, the dad — wearing a Spider-Man button-down shirt — started really browbeating the kid, snatching away his Game Boy, telling him to pay attention. “Stop that! You need to follow me, we’re going to be late for the panel!”
For me, it was just really jarring. It’s not to say that I didn’t get my own share of discipline when I was with my folks (hi, Mom!), but what really got me was that the New York Comic Con — an event that is as exhilirating as it is exhausting — was a chore for this kid. It was endurance, not fun.
If you haven’t gone to a Con, believe me, it can be pretty overwhelming. I can only imagine what that feeling would be like if you’re three feet tall. And while the Con can have the best parts of comicdom — low-cost comics, people in costumes, previews of the Next Big Thing — it’s just a shame that this particular scene took place.
What makes it worse is I think I know the culprit: the dad’s own enthusiasm for the show. He wanted to see a panel, and was so wrapped up in his zeal that he didn’t give his kid a chance to get up to speed. Being a fan for as long as I’ve been, I can’t even remember not loving comics. (I indoctrinated my family from a very early age.) But I think sometimes people lose sight of that, whether it be kids or spouses, and rob a potential fan from falling in love with a great medium.
It’s always been my philosophy that everyone has a favorite comic — they just don’t know what it is yet. But if you taint the biggest comics event with haste and hostility, why would that next generation even give it a shot?
February 8th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I’m not sure it was just that either. Yes the parents attitude may have effected the kid’s desire to attend but I also see that the current decrease in attention spans have led to a large number of children who don’t read, have no desire to read and would rather play on an electronic device (gameboy). Personally I think it is a shame that the new generations are so into technology that they reject literary means of entertainment.
Yes the case can be argued that comic books aren’t really books and have lots of pictures – but with the rapidly declining print industry we have to look at the facts – the written word is sadly declining due to current generations lack of interest.
February 8th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I have the antidote: I took my 10yo kid and he loved it. We walked out exhausted and overwhelmed but he had a grand time. We went last year too and he called it one of the greatest days of his life. He got all sorts of Ben 10 Alien Force freebies.
Yesterday, I passed a boy and his mother and he also used the “best day” line.
So there’s hope.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Kids do read. I’m a school librarian, and I see how many books get checked out from my library, and I see all the middle school girls carrying various volumes of Twilight and talking about the books. They read. My son prefers comics, but I always made sure I had kid-friendly comics lying around the house for him to pick up and read. He also plays video games, sure, and he now likes to watch silly videos on YouTube (older brother clued him in on that), but he sets aside an hour a day to just sit and read. I have a cool kid. He’s 14, and he’s been doing this since he was 8. If I had the chance to go to a comic con with him, he’d willingly go with me. He would have really enjoyed meeting Art Baltazar and Franco (he’s been a fan for years).
BTW, lots of educators are starting to use comics in the classroom. The average superhero comic book issue has roughly 2,000 words. Imagine reading just one comic book a day for a year; you will have read 500,000 words! That’s the equivalent of 25 children’s or teens’ books. That’s a lot of words.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
We have a tiny con here in Atlanta that runs a few times a year. Calling it a con is probably a very generous term. It’s basically a group of local dealers in a crowded hotel conference room. They have a tiny artists’ alley and usually a name or two you’ll recognize signing. This last one had Raven (the wrestler). This con is usually my escape. It’s time for me to focus on comics and just the things that I want to do. I get some good deals, but mostly it’s an excuse to get out of the house and do something that I want to do. But my son (9) was having a rough day. Not enough sleep and an annoying little sister will do that. So I offered to take him along. He loved it. He didn’t get much, but he’s already ready to go back.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
here’s the rock’s message to kids: role: know it. mouth: shut it.
February 8th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Its hard when you are rushing around to keep a calm center but it’s best to remember when you are packing your con-bag the night before to bring a bit of zen… bringing your kid to the con may mean that you will miss some stuff but missing some stuff is a small price to pay for sharing the con with your kid.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I think the father here was a totall jack***. We can all get a little excited about panels, artists and video-game demos, etc., but that shouldn’t come at the expense of spending quality time with your kid.
I love comics, and I would want any kids I have to love comics too. But its just a hobby–like cars and baseball cards (two things I never cared about as a kid and that my dad didn’t force on me.)
The father at the Con should’ve either left the kid at home, or ask him what he wanted to do.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Was the kid playing the gameboy? If so, then the father had every right to be slightly irritated. Kids shouldn’t be playing games while walking in public.
I see the irritated looks on parents faces at grocery stores as their child drags behind; zombified by the glow of a DS.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I brought my son and let him do whatever he wanted. It was kids day so tere was plenty for him to do. Sure I would have liked to get some sketches but I was not going to wait in a long line when there was so much for him to choose from. I have over 90 sketches, I dont need more. What I needed was for my son to enjoy himself and he did.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I always have a laugh at those who sneer at video games in favor of books because it’s not like someone has to choose one over the other. The smartest people I know – people with PHDs from Princeton, Harvard, etc – play video games in between *writing* books.
The truth is comics no longer appeal to kids. Who can blame kids? As a kid, would you rather spend all your money on a few comics or buy a monthly subscription to Warcraft? Warcraft not only has the shared universe of Marvel or DC, but you get to interact with it on your own terms.
Kids love reading, but they’re not going to love the world of comics just because it’s what we loved as kids.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
As a mom of 2 young boys who is daily infecting her kids with her love of comics and superheroes, I’ll add my two cents.
Folks, we don’t know what went on during the day BEFORE this scene transpired. Sure, the dad may have been the one who initiated the con experience. But the kid may have also been begging him to go, and then changed his mind. Dad has the kid there, tickets paid for, and now the kid is being difficult.
I’ve had similar things happen to me. So have some sympathy for the dad, who may have just been trying to do something with the kid they both would enjoy and ended up dealing with a lot of BS.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Been there. It’s frustrating when your child is unable/unwilling to find the same level of joy in the same thing you did as a kid, but really it’s similar to my father expecting me to be thrilled with a red wagon as a young boy in the 70s. Times change. Although that father is certainly not helping by coming down on his kid; he should have tried to figure out what would help make the experience interesting for his boy instead of trying to force him to simply tag along.
I did manage to get my daughter interested in some comics as she was growing up. But when I took her to Wizard World a few years ago (LA/Long Beach), she was excited when meeting the creators of her favorite books but quickly got bored, found a quiet corner in a panel room and played her DS.