Comix/Graphic Novels for 9 year olds who aren't big readers?

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My son - who is not a big reader - just sat and read through the graphic novel version of Stormbreaker. Can anyone recommend anything else that he might enjoy?

― ned trifle, Thursday, 31 August 2006 08:40 (eighteen years ago) link

Batman - Dark Knight?

That's my graphic novels knowledge. Oh, apart from the "Prisoner" comic novel (Number 6, all that)

― M Grout (Mark Grout), Thursday, 31 August 2006 08:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Hentai. he'll love it.

― OTMBOT (OTMBOT), Thursday, 31 August 2006 11:27 (eighteen years ago) link

I see now why there was a I Love Comics. Please come back old-ilx.

― ned t, Thursday, 31 August 2006 12:36 (eighteen years ago) link

How about Albert Uderzo's Asterix books - try The Mansions of the Gods or Asterix the Legionary. Or even Herge's TinTin books, maybe?

― C J (C J), Thursday, 31 August 2006 12:45 (eighteen years ago) link

Spider/Torch - I'm With Stupid
Fantastic Four - Big In Japan (not sure if this is collected yet)
Bone

― much_aldo_about_nothing (much_aldo_about_nothing), Thursday, 31 August 2006 13:08 (eighteen years ago) link

I would definitely second the Asterix and Tintin recommendation.
I was a huge Asterix fan about that age.

― treefell (treefell), Thursday, 31 August 2006 13:24 (eighteen years ago) link

i worshiped elfquest at that age. although i haven't read them in 20 years, they're still memorably dignified, magical and exciting.

― jhoshea (jhoshea), Thursday, 31 August 2006 13:31 (eighteen years ago) link

asterix and tintin were sweet too.

― jhoshea (jhoshea), Thursday, 31 August 2006 13:31 (eighteen years ago) link

re elfquest - make sure to get the color version (so much better)

― jhoshea (jhoshea), Thursday, 31 August 2006 13:34 (eighteen years ago) link

Groo? Groo was the first comic I ever had, which I liked since I was a big Mad Magazine reader by then.

― kingfish in absentia (kingfish), Thursday, 31 August 2006 15:04 (eighteen years ago) link

Some of the Marvel Essentials that barely intersect with the main Marvel Universe continuity -- Howard the Duck, Werewolf by Night, Frankenstein.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 31 August 2006 15:08 (eighteen years ago) link

Thanks for all these, much appreciated.

― Ned Trifle, Friday, 1 September 2006 08:00 (eighteen years ago) link

BONE!!!!

― chaki (chaki), Friday, 1 September 2006 08:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Bone OTM

― k b, Saturday, 2 September 2006 00:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Another vote for Bone, unless he's the type of 9 year old that would feel condescended to for getting what may appear to be a funny animal book. You may want to read ahead, though - there are bits with Bone fawning after Thorn...these are largely innocent if I recall correctly, but you ought to know firsthand. And hell, it's a great comic anyway.

― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 2 September 2006 02:41 (eighteen years ago) link

There's a new Bob Burden Gumby comic!

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 3 September 2006 01:11 (eighteen years ago) link

CARL BARK'S SCROOGE STORIES

― chaki (chaki), Monday, 4 September 2006 04:31 (eighteen years ago) link

three months pass...

Rocketo!
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
Bone
Owly might be a little young for a 9-yr-old, but it's got NO WORDS AT ALL!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Sunday, 17 December 2006 15:26 (seventeen years ago) link

OWLY IS THE BEST COMIC MADE TODAY, AND PERFECT FOR A 6 YEAR OLD OR A 90 YEAR OLD, IF YOU DONT LOVE IT, YOU HAVE NO HEART

― FUCKTHISSHIT (JACKLOVE), Sunday, 17 December 2006 16:26 (seventeen years ago) link

Groo!!! wow, talk about a flashback.

― scott seward (121212), Sunday, 17 December 2006 16:33 (seventeen years ago) link

sad but true: i traveled to new haven once when i was a kid to have richard & wendi pini sign my copies of elfquest.

― scott seward (121212), Sunday, 17 December 2006 16:36 (seventeen years ago) link

My favourite comic at 9 was Tintin, no doubt. Both Tintin and and especially Asterix are great all-age reads in the sense that they are extremely enoyable for a kid, yet they have lots of stuff you only get once you re-read them as an adult.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 17 December 2006 17:03 (seventeen years ago) link

"yet they have lots of stuff you only get once you re-read them as an adult."

like tintin's collaboration with the Vichy government.

― scott seward (121212), Sunday, 17 December 2006 17:28 (seventeen years ago) link

All I was reding at that age were Archie comics (I still have a giant basket of them by the toilet–they're perfect bathroom reading) and Calvin and Hobbes/Far Side/Bloom County anthologies. The latter are all great and of the "get it more when you're older" bent. Plus I learned hecktons about '80s politics from Bloom County.

Frank is a pretty spectacular wordless comic too...I can't see anyone not liking it.

Also, old EC "Weird Tales" and sci-fi stuff are pretty damn great and exciting. Good segue into Bradbury & other awesome stuff.

― Abbott (Abbott), Sunday, 17 December 2006 18:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, who knows, the kid could get super into manga, a universe of its own that I've never cracked. But at tokyopop.com they'll send you a free quarterly w/story samples, how to draw info, interviews with writers, and lots of fun stuff for kids. And hey, it's free.

― Abbott (Abbott), Sunday, 17 December 2006 18:16 (seventeen years ago) link

this dude teaches kidz the value of a dollar:

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/c0/250px-Richierich-comic.jpg

― scott seward (121212), Sunday, 17 December 2006 18:20 (seventeen years ago) link

EC stories seconded. I tore through all of them I could find when I was 10-ish. Tales From The Crypt seems way more wacked out when your point of comparison is RL Stine.

― milo (milo), Sunday, 17 December 2006 18:27 (seventeen years ago) link

It took me awhile to figure out how Owly worked, but once I did, I liked it.

― Matilda Wormwood (Mary ), Sunday, 17 December 2006 18:29 (seventeen years ago) link

The old 50s Dan Dare stories are riproaring space adventures of the highest order (and gorgeously illustrated to boot), but unfortunately are only available in expensive hardback editions as far as I know.

― Chap (chap), Sunday, 17 December 2006 23:08 (seventeen years ago) link

CARL BARK'S SCROOGE STORIES

-- chaki (chaki.tim...), September 4th, 2006 5:31 AM. (chaki)

ALSO HIS GIZMO GEARLOOSE STORIES!

Lots of people are OTM on this thread. I have nothing new to contribute.

― ian (orion), Monday, 18 December 2006 05:16 (seventeen years ago) link

ahem ahem, GYRO Gearloose, plz.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Monday, 18 December 2006 14:34 (seventeen years ago) link

DARK KNIGHT? Dude, you're fired. "Yeah, give the eight-year-old a book where one of the villains BREAKS HIS OWN NECK. You can thank me later."

The recommendations by Huk & Aldo are OTM (&, yeah, sure, the Tintin / Barks folks are pretty close, too). I'd also recommend the continuity-heavy Marvel Essentials, esp. the first 3 volumes of Amazing Spider-Man & Fantastic Four. The only drawback - they're in black & white. (I'm actually thinking of buying my nephews this stuff, but I dunno if they'll cotton to non-colored superfun.)

― David RER (Frank Fiore), Monday, 18 December 2006 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

I've been thinking lately about cutting one of my Essentials vols. up, scanning pages and trying my hand at coloring in Photoshop.

― I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Monday, 18 December 2006 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

I think a 9-yr-old would be cool with continuity-heavy stuff as it's presented in Marvel Essentials. (I don't think there's been a Showcase Prez that's actually kid-friendly yet)(and by kid-friendly, I mean that a kid would actually NOT CONSTANTLY ROLL THEIR EYES AT and maybe even enjoy)(actually, a 9-12 yr old would probably like Showcase Presents Jonah Hex) In Essentials, the continuity is part of the package.

(I would like a massive grant to study the reactions of current kids to 60s/70s comic books please and thanks)

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 December 2006 18:11 (seventeen years ago) link

also, to a 9-yr-old, comics ain't necessarily "reading", yet it totally develops reading skillzors. So the fix is IN.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 December 2006 18:13 (seventeen years ago) link

Of course, one benefit of the early volumes of the Essentials is that there isn't much inter-universal continuity to wrangle with - everything's @ the ground floor level, there are only a handful of books that needed coordination, and all the references to outside stories are noted (annotated attentively by Supercilious Stan). Also, the SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES really are special, because they're not regular occurrences!

― David RER (Frank Fiore), Monday, 18 December 2006 18:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Huk otm - the fix IS in.
His reading levels (both the amount he'll read and the actual words) have gone up a load. He isn't exactly reading the most sophisticted stuff (for instance he currently has The Big Book of Bart by his bed) but he loved Bone and Tintin. He was reading Marvel 1602 in the bookshop today. Anyone read that? It looked pretty interesting.

Thanks to you all, it's been a great help.

― Ned T.Rifle (Ned T.Rifle), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:26 (seventeen years ago) link

1602 would've been a lot better w/out the lame TWEEST @ the end.

― David RER (Frank Fiore), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:34 (seventeen years ago) link

are there collected volumes of Groo...? that stuff is perfect for a 9yo. (Also really funny and well-drawn).

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:35 (seventeen years ago) link

I think some people have a lot of love for 1602. It's super wordy, from what I remember (and it's Gaiman, so probably, yeah), but if he's into it, he'll put in the work and not even realize it. Kids are so gullible.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link

I'll jump on the Carl Barks / Don Rosa bandwagon. The Disney duck family stuff is classic.

― mh (mike h.), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:38 (seventeen years ago) link

I've never seen any Barks stuff in the U.S., esp. anthologized. The only time I saw individual comics was at the Used & Broken Moldy Wares Shoppe, and then only 3 issues. Maybe this is just my neck of the woods tho. It's a shame, bcz I'd love to read them.

― Abbott (Abbott), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:45 (seventeen years ago) link

its not just you - that stuff is sorta hard to come by.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 18 December 2006 21:48 (seventeen years ago) link

For girls: Babymouse.

― Matilda Wormwood (Mary ), Monday, 18 December 2006 22:45 (seventeen years ago) link

I read Frank Miller's Daredevil reboot (The Man Without Fear) at the age of nine.

Never quite been the same.

― hoo got it for steen, vol. 2 (hoosteen), Monday, 18 December 2006 23:34 (seventeen years ago) link

another formerly aged-9 Tintin/Asterix fan
didn't really read comic book comics til age-12

― sexyDancer (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 19 December 2006 17:30 (seventeen years ago) link

My brother tore through those Illustrated Classics at that age. Lots of the longer books are abridged, but as a way to get more interested in reading it might be cool. If he liked 1602 you might be able to get him to read something else about that time period.

Peanutbutter & Jeremy is very sweet too.

― patita (patita), Tuesday, 19 December 2006 21:27 (seventeen years ago) link

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