Do cartoons provide a better gateway for kids to comic book concepts?

I

I am a Bad Man

New member
Let's face it, kids don't read comic books any more, except for Japanese comics.

So I was wondering, do you think cartoons provide a better gateway for kids into the DC or Marvel, then comics? A cartoon doesn't have some of the problems a comic would, that prevent kids from reading it, ex: content parents may find unsuitable, 40 years of continuity, etc.

Plus a cartoon when done well can improve upon concepts found in a comic, like what BTAS did with Mr. Freeze.
 
As an adult, I know I definitely prefer the cartoons to the comics, due to a lot of reasons: ease of access, usually a stricter continuity without 60 years of backstory that may or may not be relevant depending on how the writer is feeling today, or retcons, or overall editorial and writer mandates that completely ruin the series. There's also usually no cheap gimmick, like 'death' and continuity spanning crossovers to boost sales.

Yes, it also allows for them to improve on things form the comic. Not many things from the 40s and 50s can really hold up to today's standards, especially storytelling. Gimmicky, one trick characters from the 50s might be improved in the cartoon (such as the villains in Batman: The Animated series and Iron Man: Armored Adventures)
 
I'd like to think so. I mean, the DC shows helped bring in more comic readers as did X-Men: TAS, Spider-Man: TAS. But the DC shows showcased the diverse characters the DCU had to offer on a weekly basis and had more exposure than the Marvel shows. That's why there are still kids that know and recognize the Teen Titans over, say, Runaways.

Though to be fair, the live-action Marvel movies introduced potential readers to those characters.
 
You can't really find comic book stores anymore, and it's easier to find them at book stores, but kids would rather watch TV or use the Internet than read.
 
I think the DC animation adaptations have been better than their comic books. Marvel has been a mixed bag though (although I think the recent X-Men cartoons like Evolution/Wolverine have been pretty good).

Personally, I think comic books is a dead artform in America. There was a small opening with the popularity of the Marvel movies like Spider-Man a few years back when fans thought comic books would finally be popularized to a mass wide audience in America... didn't happen. Most of the audience only went to see the movies, they didn't exactly rush into their nearest comic book store/Barnes & Nobles to purchase the next issue of Spider-Man #151 or whatever.

Comic books will always remain a small niche medium in America. In fact, the lucrative part of comic books for comic book creators is if your comic book becomes popular enough, it can be optioned into movies/TV shows/cartoons/collectible figures. Which is why too many comic book writers nowadays write their comic books like they have a Hollywood adaptation in mind, with Hollywood-esque dialogue or pop-cultural references.

The one thing I like about Japanese manga creators is they write with their medium in mind. That might annoy non-fans, but at least they're keeping their medium pure, unlike American comic books. Japanese manga creators don't write with the idea that there'll eventually be a big-budget movie adaptation of their works. I mean, Dragonball creator never thought there would be a big-budget Hollywood adaptation of his work, and good thing he didn't cause Hollywood anime adaptations have been huge stinkers.
 
Don't they just write them with an animated adaption in mind instead?

But yes, a lot of comics tend to be written that way these days, along with the whole 'stretch things out for 5 issues so we can fit it into a TPB to sell' angle in recent years.
 
sad but true. The closest comic store to me is about 45 miles from where i live. So I only make it over there about twice a month, wich stinks considering my book store doesn't carry nearly as many titles.

BOT: Yes yes it does. I think the recent rise in Comic based movies is also a good thing, anything to bring in more readers!:flapjack:
 
I believe that reason to be true to a degree, but the main factor is that comic can only be found in specialty shops (Hastings an exception), nowadays which provides a couple of problems:

1. People who are selfconscious refuse to enter a comic store with the geek stigma attached to them.

2. A majority of comic stores are out of the way too much for potential new readers to consider traveling to.

Now I'm not insisting or implying that comics will ever become the top form of entertainment, but if some effort was made to put them into places where the average folks go to (libraries and bookstores are a step in the direction), then they would at least be a much more mainstream form of entertainment than they are now.
 
I hope not.

Shutting one's self off from something just because of what country it happens to come from is a pretty elitist way of thinking, if you don't mind my saying so. Every nation produces its' fair share of diamonds and duds.
 
I don't mind; I'm an elitist kind of guy. I have a pretty irrational neurosis problem, I admit.

I also feel that American superhero comics are silly, in a bad way, so that's another reason.
 
Kids can like American stuff, kids like twilight, I don't like it, but kids do, I so no I don't think that's the problem .

Besides kids like everything about super heroes except comics, because of the continuity, its not the concepts that turn kids off, its the continuity.



And people could say that about manga or anime, what's your point? Silliness in the eye of the beholder, there is no way to measure it and considering the box office numbers of Iron Man or Dark knight, I don't think most Americans think super heroes are silly.

From a concept stand point there is nothing, especially in the mind of the general public, that makes manga more serious then comic books, so being elitist about that is pointless, because to most people in North America its liking one silly thing over another.



True, but a movie has advantages and disadvantages. A movie is good for telling a big epic story in 2 hours, but of you want something more off beat or some slower character development, you need a more serial format, like a cartoon.



I considering I like comic book movies and I don't mind Hollywood dialogue, I don't see why I or anyone should be bothered by that. As only as the product is good, I don't care if its intended to be a movie or not.

Really now people write books with intentions of making them movies, but who cares if that doesn't affect the quality of the books.
 
I am very offended by some of the things I've read in this thread but I'll try to be strong and move past it.

I believe that cartoons are a good way for kids to learn about superheroes for reasons that were already stated. I myself learned about most if my favorite via cartoons and when I tried to go by the comics, things got a little complicated.
 
Well here's the thing sometimes continuity can be alright, Fifty two had a fair of continuity I liked it, it helped the story in certain places, though I still wouldn't let a kid read that. The problem is when something that is evokes continuity porn: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ContinuityPorn

Something like Countdown is a good example of continuity porn, where the main series ties into a bunch of mini series, it just comes off as an excuse to grab your cash.

Also a cartoon can have a way more simple introduction for a character, Mr. Sinister's introduction in the comic was a convoluted mess, in the recent introduction of Sinister is in the recent X-Men cartoon was far more simple and better. Also some characters have better track records in animation then in the comics, in the comcis Apocalypse has become a joke, in animation he is a very impressive villain.

Plus in comics they can confuse dark story telling with good story telling, like when they turned Dr. light into a rapist. I don't want to see a rapist in a JLA comic. I prefer the goofy Dr. Light from the Teen Titans cartoon.
 
While I respect your openion prgdn, i disagree, its true there was a time when US comics could be considered rathere silly but if you pick up a Marvel or DC title nowadays there a lot more serious & contain more 3-dimensional characters then there silver & golden age counterparts, I suggest runaways to any hardcore manga fan who's yet to give US comics a chance its not a buncha hero's in tights but a bunch of teenage kids trying to do the best they can to be hero's to make up for the sins of there parents (Who were in a evil cult) & of course deal with the troubles of everyday life & the akwardness of being a teen. (They also fght aliens, villians, demons, etc ) its a really good series.

& the new Exiles series that started this year is manga-esque

then theres the upcoming Spin angles comic wich is being done manga style.

& Deadpool is a great series for those who love comedy & Violence. (YAY VIOLENCE!!!!):evil:
 
I'm an odd case. I prefer watching animation adaptations of comics instead of reading them, yet I do the opposite for manga, mostly because manga doesn't have a long continuity that ties with other storylines and the anime stretches the chapter to lengths that are sometimes unbearable to sit through.
But to answer the thread question, no. If movie adaptations don't increase comic sales, neither would the tv shows. Plus comic book companies, particularly Marvel, acknowledge this, since they make more money off of toys and movies then they do on the comics.
 
I meant introducing kids to the character concepts, not the comic books themselves, because the comics do almost everything to discourage new readers.
 
Same here. Much of my knowledge of superhero comics is from the TV and movie adaptations combined with me doing research on the internet just to find out what's been changed. While I'm an avid reader, I admit I don't actively read superhero comics because there's so much continuity to keep straight; unless you've been following every single issue non-stop from #1, you're liable to be confused. Same deal with manga.
 
Back
Top