Comics, Manga and Reading
Many years ago, I had someone tell me I’d never be published because ‘everything I read was crap’. Every time they saw me with a fantasy book, or with something happy and simple, they’d tell me that it wasn’t good enough, and that I should read something ‘better’.
I’ve never forgotten this. Twenty years and multiple published novels later, the echoes are still with me. So first, let me give them the double-middle-finger they deserve. And second, let me add: you can’t encourage anyone, no matter what their age, to read, if you don’t let them read something they’ll love. All you do is strip their joy away, and stop them reading completely.
Which brings us to comics.
In my working life, people frequently ask me, ‘How do I get little Bobbi reading?’ And in answer, the modern rise of kidkit comics has become a go-to recommendation. It’s easy to understand that, because screens are so much a part of our lives, kids may identify far more easily with a comic’s illustrative flow. Comics are accessible, conjuring their imaginations. They can give kids a gateway, a magical portal, not only to other realms and to their own imagination, but the joys of the printed page. The monstrous popularity of Bunny vs. Money, or Looshkin, or Mega Robo Bros, stands testimony to how much kids love this stuff, and how it can bring them into reading.
And the meteoric rise of manga is exactly the same. A recent article on IGN talked about how half of Netflix’s viewers are now Anime fans (meaning ever-more Anime, and around it goes). The conversion rate from Anime to Manga is colossal; kids love it, not only reading it, but its sheer collectability, its popularity, and how much they can share it with their mates.
How d’you get your kids reading? Just give them something they love.
I might do a longer newsletter on this, at some point, but for little ones, start with The Phoenix, Captain Underpants, or Cat Kid Comic Club. For older ones, Sisters, Lumberjanes (regular recommendation and a personal fave), or Wings of Fire. Plus there are loads of novel adaptations, everything from Erin Hunter’s Warriors to Artemis Fowl.
If manga’s more the thing, younger ones would like DragonBall, One Piece, or Chi’s Sweet Home; older ones are probably reading Demon Slayer already, but might also enjoy Naruto, or Blue Lock.
In short, let your kids decide. Guide them, of course, but remember that comics are reading, manga is reading, old genre books are reading, audiobooks are reading. So if your kid (or anyone else) wants to read the thing, just let them. Don’t get on your high horse about how they have to read ‘literature’, they have the read the things that <you> like. That may come, in its own time. Teach them joy, teach them to find wonder, and let them forge their own way.
Hell, maybe you could even share it with them.
Reading: Have just finished (with perfect timing) a run of old McCaffrey titles: the Crystal Singer series, which I loved in my teens/twenties. They do creak a bit, now, and while McCaffrey’s world-building is still stunning, I found them windy and very dry. I will say, though, that she was doing a) fantasy/SF romance and b) queer characters, all those years ago. And fucking bless her!
Watching: Predator Badlands, and what a flawlessly executed movie that was. Every plot-point, in its proper place, perfectly positioned and used. For every denotation of Chekov’s well-loved sidearm, we could see where it’d come from. Loved the critter, loved the nods to the previous movies and Aliens/Predator franchise, loved our pred having genuine depth and our legless (not like that), physically cripped female lead. Plus: power-loader. And who doesn’t love one of these?
Gaming: Thinned out a bit recently, as people have stuff to do, but very much looking forward to DragonCon at the end of the month. Haven’t been before, so am only going to vibe, and must be very, <very> careful to not spend all my Christmas monies!