Comics have always been for kids, although in recent years comics aimed at adults have gotten the most headlines. But thanks to DC Comics there are once again books friendly to even the youngest of readers.
In 2007, DC launched a new line of all-ages comics, bringing the stories of popular heroes such as Batman, Captain Marvel, the Teen Titans and others to young children. DC has no official age range for the books beyond saying they are aimed at young readers. The line has done well and now includes eight ongoing titles, with another, Supergirl's Cosmic Adventures of the 8th Grade, set to launch in the fall.
Mike Kunkel’s Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam was released in early July. The book focuses on Billy Batson as a child, and his experiences with the magical word “Shazam.” Kunkel, who already has received two Eisner Awards for his all-ages book Herobear and the Kid, says he has loved Captain Marvel since he was a child, and admits to being blown away when Editor Jann Jones approached him about the book last spring.
“I really want to play with that idea of what you would do as a kid with this gift. A lot of what I want to offer the fans is a connection to Billy Batson as a fun kid with a spontaneous outlook on the world,” said Kunkel. “I want people to think about What if you had been given this magic word?”
Most of the stories in the series will be self-contained, although some are longer. The first four issue story arch focuses on the return of Black Adam, whose alter ego is a bully named Theo who often sets his sights on Billy, who can transform himself using his magic word. Though Billy will face off against different villains, be they already existing enemies or characters Kunkel creates for the series, he won’t be resorting to superpowers or violence to defeat his foes.
“Certainly Captain Marvel can powerfully punch or knock around the evil-doers, but using his brain and his wits, and even kid-like view of the world, I also want Cap to find other ways to beat the bad guys,” said Kunkel.
Though not relying heavily on continuity, Kunkel begins with a re-cap of the origins of Bill and his sister Mary Marvel and includes a nod to the recent Jeff Smith Shazam! mini-series, carrying through some elements that he can explore in his own way throughout the series. Nothing overwhelming, as he wants the series to stand on its own and not get caught up in anything happening in the main universe, instead it will be a “fun home for Captain Marvel’s universe ‘o stories.”
“I’m trying to create an all-ages series here…for kids and the kids at heart,” he said. ‘For those that are looking for sweet, fun and innocent kid adventures and stories, I look forward to them finding the book.”
While Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, has just hit shelves, Tiny Titans has been running for almost a year strong; the first trade paperback collection comes out in January 2009
Tiny Titans creators Art Baltazar and Franco have been working together for years. Their all-ages series, Patrick the Wolf Boy has been collected into four volumes and they regularly attend conventions creating crayon sketches of superheroes for kids and sell them for a dollar. When the pair was initially approached by Jones regarding the Tiny Titans they were blown away.
“It was just fantastic how everything fell into place and it’s still hard to believe that it’s happened that way,” said Baltazar.
Described by Baltazar and Franco as being “like the Little Rascals,” the Tiny Titans are characters from the regular Teen Titans universe, only much younger. All characters in the Teen Titans universe are up for grabs (members of the Justice League even make cameos), and the series features the heroes dealing with outlandish situations in their schoolyard, classroom and the Titans treehouse. Though villains are present, the main focus of the series is teachers vs. students or students dealing with bullies and troublemakers as opposed to villains. The series features no violence and no fighting.
There is also no continuity. Each issue is a standalone story and though fans may recognize elements from previous stories, such as the robins that follow Robin, each issue can be picked up and read without prior knowledge of the other stories.
“In the next issue Trigon makes pancakes for Raven and the issue after that they get their report cards for school,” said Franco. “After that they go to space and after that all I’m going to say is there will lots of monkeys.”
The January trade will collect the first six issues. The duo is enthusiastically moving forward; Baltazar says they could write the book “forever.”
The fan response has also been tremendous, he says. Baltazar recalled that at the recent Wizard World Chicago the pair sat down to draw in the early morning and was unable to leave until later afternoon.
“It’s wives, it’s moms, it’s dads, it’s kids,” said Franco “That weekend we got a ton of drawings from kids who have read the book and are fans.”
Perhaps a large part of the success of these books can be attributed to DC’s strategy of taking their core superheroes and creating stand alone stories for children.
“I think DC’s doing what should have been happening all along,” said Baltazar. He recalled that as a child there were superhero comics for children that were usually funny or parodies of other superhero stories.
Both Franco and Kunkel shared similar sentiments." I think what is being created here is a brand new batch of fun, silly, charming, and heartfelt stories for kids of all ages," said Kunkel. "I would totally feel fine giving these to kids because they offer a variety of art styles and a variety of storytelling that can encourage kids to enjoy DC characters in a whole new way.”
