Tips & Tricks for Reading Comics With Your Kids // Raising the Next Generation

Ok, so, you wanna get your boy or girl into comics and reading. That’s a great thing, and it’s easier than ever to do these days with digital collecting being popular and easy, as well as collections being incredibly easy to get. However, it’s hard to recommend just jumping right in with the current comics found on the digital comic rack.

Well, admittedly, that’s how most of us got into comics. I won’t lie, there’s an awesome sort of magic to just grabbing an issue and jumping in without context. I still remember this cover blowing my young mind:

“Wait, I know Spider-Man. He doesn’t fight Sentinels. Why is he fighting Sentinels? What’s an Onslaught? That’s a cool costume, but why’d he change it? Heroes Reborn?! What’s that? This is this month’s MUST READ COMIC! I have to have it!”

And since this was smack in the middle of the Clone Saga, I also got confused as to why Spider-Man was Peter’s… brother? Clone? Someone named Ben. I thought he looked cool, but had no clue what was going on. From there, my interest spiraled and I was hooked, digging up back issues for years until I was able to read the whole thing during my pirating college days.

Hoo boy, that was a mistake. But that’s a story for another day.

Anyhow, the reason this article exists is that I’ve started reading with my own kid, a 6 year old boy named Henry. He absolutely loves to read, but all of the books he’s been into have included pictures, or have been some kind of kid’s comic. When my wife and I tried reading plain text books, keeping his attention was remarkably difficult. He’s an antsy kid on the best of days, and he would roll around his bed and ignore us.

So I got the bright idea to use digital comic collections instead. I still had that college piracy stash, and a bunch of Comixology purchases. We’ve been reading for about a month now, and I wanted to share my experiences, and maybe pass along what I’ve been through.

1) Get a hero or series in mind.

I feel this is the most important. I approached my son with the options of Superman or Batman, with a book in mind for each. My choices were Superman Smashes the Klan and The Untold Legend of Batman.

Both comics are fantastic three-issue stories that are remarkably self-contained. Neither one is considered to be part of the main timeline by DC currently, but they’re glorious comics that are some of the best of their respective eras. These are far from the only choices out there, but they walk this great line of not treating the audience like idiots and being friendly to those who are new to the characters.

I genuinely will never forget when we read Superman Smashes the Klan and got to the reveal where Superman is an alien (spoilers, I guess?), and it literally blew my kid’s mind. He had literally never encountered a show that had brought it up, and Henry was utterly amazed.

2. Know your audience

This seems stupid, but it’s important. This is more than paying attention to what heroes your kid likes, too. Their attention span, overall knowledge, and the kind of stories they tend to like is also important. Henry knows dad loves Superman, and I knew he loved Batman, which is why I offered those two characters at first.

After those books, I wanted to see if one of my favorites would be up his alley: Atomic Robo. I started with the Hates Doctor Dinosaur free comic, which was nice and short. Atomic Robo is one of the most clever and entertaining comics I’ve come across in the last 20 years, and nothing short of a labor of love from Brian Cleavinger and his cohorts. I had, however, forgotten the biggest flaw in reading to a 6 year old:

The dialogue is crammed full of big words beyond my kid’s reading level. My Henry is smart, but that was a little much. I abbreviated on the fly and got a lot of laughs from Doctor Dinosaur being a completely crazy comedy villain, but we have not gone back to Atomic Robo. Probably not for a few more years.

I’ve also had a lot of luck with silver age content from both Marvel and DC, which is when comics were aimed at an age group just above my son’s age. That’s a personal preference thing as well, but Henry has been absorbed into these stories, making guesses as to what’s going to happen next and his mind exploding when he saw Namor and Doom team-up in the pages of Fantastic Four.

3. Be prepared to make a lot of silly voices.

This depends on the person reading, but it is almost integral to how I read. With so many characters who can seem alike in older comics, a funny voice can help your kid follow along easier. I’m extremely limited in my range, so a lot of minor characters just get the “goofy wobbly voice” for their one dialogue line. A lot of old-school villains also get the “high nasal sneer” as well, which is shorthand for the kid just in case.

To be honest, I always choose the hero of the book to have my normal voice, if possible. For one, they’re gonna be in every issue. They’ll tend to have the most dialogue, for two. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the kid identify my voice with a heroic character, though that might be a little parental manipulation.

I also recommend keeping a glass of water handy, because holy hell: I regret the voice I chose for Ben Grimm and the Blob. It’s a perfect voice, rough and tumbly that sounds perfect when I shout out “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” But oooooh man, does it run my throat raw for a few minutes by the time I’m done.

But it gets my kid amped up, and he loves the voice. He’s started trying to imitate it, and I can occasionally hear him jumping around on his bed with a death-metal roar going “I’M BEN GRIIIIIIM.” There’s honestly nothing better than hearing the impact you’ve had on your kid.

4. Digital may be the way to go.

This is entirely up to taste, I won’t lie. Floppy issues, magazines, trade paperbacks, collections, omnibii, Essentials, Showcases, Epic Collections… it’s all up to what you want to use. Digital is the easiest for me to use with my kid, since he wants to read with us both laying down in his bed. Of course, not all comics are available digitally, and it’s hard to recommend picking up a copy of Action Comics #1 to read with your kid.

Services like Comixology also allow for a guided view with comic releases, which zooms the comic in on a panel-by-panel basis. This keeps the kid from getting spoiled by future panels, or distracted by another splash of action a few panels away. The constant motion of the panels also helps keep Henry’s attention, but this could also depend on the child.

And for those comics I’ve pirated that I still have? I can still zoom in reasonably enough.

Having read my kid the first few issues of Fantastic Four shared between digital, black and white Essentials reprints, and the Best of Fantastic Four Volume 1 omnibus I have, it’s easily the best in my situation to use digital. Again, it’s all about presentation and personal taste. For example, a big omnibus or tome can easily imprint the reverence for the comic you’re reading from scale alone. Same with pulling out a floppy comic from a longbox and plastic sleeve for showing how much you care about a comic.

5. Be prepared to answer questions

Depending on the material you’ve chosen, these can be simple or remarkably hard. Henry asked a lot of uncomfortable questions during Superman Smashes the Klan about racism, and I really felt guilty about essentially exposing my son to some of the worst of humanity. All of these real-world hateful insults, the KKK, and the idea of hating someone for the color of their skin or where they were born. And here I was, telling my kid this existed. However, he was able to comprehend it reasonably well. He admitted his discomfort with the villains, but genuinely wanted to read more because the story had captivated him. I have a habit of asking if he liked the story when it was done, and he gave the story a 10/10, but the “parts that made me uncomfortable” got a 0. Which was the racism and angry people, and that made me a little proud.

Of course, a lot of times the questions will be easier. Could Ben Grimm beat the Hulk? Why was the Hulk grey and now he’s green? 

And then there’s the time Henry asked if Ben Grimm had a rock penis.

I literally could not keep a straight face for more than a few seconds. It’s ok to laugh, really. But I did have to give an answer. Yes, while we will never see it, he probably does have a rock penis. Which sent my son into a giggle fest.

6. You may need to censor or change lines of dialogue

Obviously, you don’t need to. However, I’ve been going through silver age Marvel comics with him thanks to the recent insane ComiXology sale on Marvel Masterpiece collections, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, and even The Incredible Hulk. Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four aren’t that bad, though how Sue Storm is treated as a character isn’t fantastic. I’m still not sure how I’m going to handle the “Abraham Lincoln’s mother” defense of Sue Storm being written as useless. But X-Men?

Cyclops’ eyes get about 35 different names for their power. Jean’s powers fluctuate based on the whims and forgetful mind of Stan Lee after writing almost all the other comics for Marvel that month. Beast is a dumb clod until issue 3. It’s nothing major, but I took time to explain that Jean Grey’s training was all about control rather than power. I personally have been adjusting all “power beams” to optic blast when I read.

And then there’s the time Professor X, who is at least 35 years old, professes his love to a 15 year old. Ugh.

It’s not as bad with The Fantastic Four. Ben’s an ass, but my kid gets why he’s an ass. I won’t change that, because it’s one of the best comic character arcs ever. I can’t wait until we get to the 70s where we have the Ever Lovin’ Idol of Millions.

And that’s all the advice that is coming to my mind. I’m not the best dad on the planet, and I’m far from perfect. If you can think of advice, drop some in the comments of whatever social medial website you found us on! For those of you who are amped up from these anecdotes and weird little notes on what can happen in life, don’t worry! We have a special article right here to give you some help with finding comics that could work great for your kid.