Comics for Nephew

Buddies

Can anyone recommend some comics I can read to my Nephew, who will turn 4 this month, that his mother won't flip out over?

I showed him the new X-men animated cartoon maybe 6 months ago, and he is now getting into the X-Men and Spiderman. He might know who Superman, Batman and Green Lantern are but I cannot say for certain. He is also into Star Wars now, even dressed up like Darth Vader for Holloween(if he can't pretend to be Darth Vader he wants to be a STorm Trooper).

Im looking for some Comics that include some of these mainstream heroes/villains. It is okay if it has a little violence, but cannot have gore. I guess curse words don't matter since he can't read and I can skip/replace those words. Please recommend some books.

I plan on picking up Crisis on Infinite Earths to read while up there. I never read DC as a kid, and nowadays Marvel does not interest me at all so I'd like to catch up on DC(Thanks to the JLU cartoon for making me fall in love with Batman again). Would Crisis on Infinite Earths be okay for him to look at while I read it aloud?

TexiKen

These are the best for someone that age:

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man (best one, light hearted and made for kids)
Marvel Adventures: The Avengers (it has Spider-Man and Wolverine on the team)
X-Men: First Class (deals with the first 5 original X-Men)

Those three books should be available in trade paperback or digest format (Manga format).

Your local comic shop should be able to help you if you say you want those three books.

The books don't have violence beyond Batman TV show punching, and there's nothing really questionable in them, they're just good comics.

For future inquiries, we have a thread just for comic related questions if you need to follow up. We also have a thread for being new to comics and where to start reading _______.

Wildcat

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is younger-person orientated and is absolutely wonderful. Ditto Marvel Adventures Avengers.

Edit: damn youuuu Tex

Robos A Go Go

For someone that young, Tiny Titans might work really well. There's also Mini-Marvels.

Also, for non-superhero book, you might want to check out the Owly books. They have no dialogue at all and are very easy to understand, so he can enjoy them on his own.

Visskar

My just turned 6 daughter loves Tiny Titans. I'd recommend Owly as well. Also, you might check out the Gon graphic novels. Its about a little dinosaur interacting with modern animals. Its wordless but really detailed drawn.

durandal4532

Mini-Marvels and Marvel Adventures are both pretty awesome.

Buddies

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I can't wait to get off work and run over to the comic shop to peek at all these recommendations.

I have read the new to comics post, but I didn't see anything recommended for little kids specifically.

Bloods End

Since he enjoys Star Wars I would recommend the star wars adventure digests. Also along those lines, the Indiana Jones digests.

durandal4532

Actually, old comics are usually a good starting point for all-ages stuff, too. Like, the first hundred Fantastic Four and Spider-Man and such. I remember loving those when I was little.

Juan Dimensional

I'm going to have to second Durandal's comment.
Any super hero book Marvel or DC put out prior to the '80s is going to be kid-friendly and kid-approved.
And even a normal chain bookstore (Borders, Barnes & Noble) has a bunch of old comics in collected editions.
Marvel collects their really old stuff in "Essential" collections (Essential Spider-Man, Essential Thor, etc.). I'm not sure how DC does it. You get a pretty big bang for you buck with those collections, too.
Anyway, my point was: old comics - thumbs up!

Garlic Bread

Patrick the Wolf Boy, which is by the Tiny Titans dudes, is also a good pick.

BigDes

Bone

Robos A Go Go

At least until you get to the Lord of the Locusts and that dude the dragons fucked up. That's nightmare fuel for a 4 year old.

Giselleceballos

I would say Star Wars.

NAND NOR

Usagi Yojimbo is pretty kid friendly. There is plenty of action, but it's on the same level of the Star Wars movies (people get shot/cut, but there isn't any gore). At least this was the case when I still collected the monthlies ... I doubt it's changed though.

Buddies

Went to the Comic shop but Couldn't find "Mini Marvels" or Tiny Titans. I did see something that was similar, where all the marvel heroes were drawn like tiny kids, but it was not Mini Marvels or Tiny Titans. Was called something like "Super Hero Squad" at least it had "Squad" in it.

Gotta go back and look for Marvel Adventures: The Avengers because I forgot the name while I was there.


Note: Read first issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I feel kind of bad for not giving a shit about the heroes from the other universes in this first issue.

Slagmire

I haven't read it yet, but isn't the Mouse Guard supposed to be a fairly easy read for youngsters?

DouglasDanger

I've heard good things about a book called Hero Bear. I have a few trades of Usagi Yojimbo somewhere, and can attest to their kid friendliness.

Munch

Hero Bear and the Kid, by Mike Kunkel, is indeed awesome. He also did the first arc of Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, which I really enjoyed. Speaking of Shazam, Jeff Smith (Bone) did a few issues about Captain Marvel that's collected in a nice TPB.

Also, try G-Man by Chris Giarusso, of Mighty Marvels fame. It's his creator-owned work, and is enjoyable for both young and old comic fans. And really, pretty much any of the DC Adventures books, which were continuations of the animated properties, are suitable for kids. There are volumes for Superman, Batman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman Beyond. Personally, I think the JLU ones were the best of the bunch. Likewise, the Marvel Adventures books are, as others have pointed out, fantastic; currently there are series available for Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, The Avengers, Power Pack, and there's a new series titled Marvel Adventures Superheroes which is kind of a team-up book starring various characters.

All these books are the kind that won't talk down to kids, which I think is really important.

Buddies

Man, I loved the JL & JLU Cartoon, definately going to have to pick some of those up(for myself, keke).

Off work in 15 minutes, and off to the comic shop again!

Calamity Jane

hrmmm

That Incredibles comic by Mark Waid?

Desktop Hippie

Power Pack are always worth a look. They're usually four part adventure stories that are funny, cute and perfect for kids.

Desktop Hippie

Munch wrote: »

All these books are the kind that won't talk down to kids, which I think is really important.

Absolutely! Also, unless you plan to buy the kid comics every week, he'll just be getting something every now and then. I know as a kid I used to get the occasional comic that was bought for me and that I read over and over. Any of the books Munch mentioned would easily stand up to that, and are likely to become firm favourites.

FeathersMcGraw

While you will never hear me complaining about the quality of either the art or writing for Herobear and the Kid, I have some questions in my mind about whether any more of it will ever see the light of day -- and the storyline published to date has a lot of open ends. By all means, get it, but be prepared for not having an answer if the little one demands more.

A series which has moved towards novelizations -- but the graphic novels are wholly worth seeking out if you can find them -- is Mark Crilley's Akiko. They are beautifully drawn, imaginative, and have a lot of good moral lessons (and I know that phrase has a lot of connotations associated with the far conservative right, but that's not what I mean here, and the book is emphatically not preachy) and are really just fun.

Along the lines of Owly is Christian Slade's Korgi, which is also done entirely wordlessly, but strikes more of an epic fantasy feel. The artwork is gorgeously-lined pencil shading and reminds me of the old David McCaulay illustrated books I used to read as a kid. Unfortunately, it's also on a slow schedule like Mike Kunkel's stuff, but Slade is putting books out at a rate of about one a year.

I also recently picked up The Stuff of Legends, which looks great, but might be a little intense for a four year old, given that, in the opening issue, a young boy is kidnapped by monsterless tentacles (meaning you never see what they're attached to) and dragged through the darkness of his closet door, and a rescue is mounted by his secret guardians, his toy collection. My first impression reading it: if Fables did a story arc where the plot was Monsters, Inc. meets Toy Story.

I have not read much outside of some Free Comic Day material, but Jimmy Gownley's Amelia Rules! is probably worth a look. Another unseen recommendation would be James Kochalka's Johnny Boo.

Other recommendations:

James Robinson and Paul Smith's Leave It to Chance
Phil Foglio's Girl Genius
Pretty much anything by Doug TenNapel

ManonvonSuperock

Buddies wrote: »

Man, I loved the JL & JLU Cartoon, definately going to have to pick some of those up(for myself, keke).

who is Keke?

Wildcat

'Kekeke'.

Robos A Go Go

ManonvonSuperock wrote: »

Buddies wrote: »

Man, I loved the JL & JLU Cartoon, definately going to have to pick some of those up(for myself, keke).

who is Keke?

That's just how Japanese people laugh.