Comic Book Resources

Maybe it was an issue of Peter Porker.

I’m not pro-censorship nor a prude, but I wouldn’t want “Ultimate Spider Man” (which is what seems to be pictured in the original news item) in my son’s elementary school, either. Buy them the digests of Marvel Adventures instead.

was Spidey ever in Giant-Size Man-Thing? that might be it.

Reading the article, it looks like the issue is Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2, #39, following Mary Jane to a bikini photo shoot. Not sexually explicit (no nudity) , but about as racy as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

I’m going to side with the mom on this one and suggest that the school remove it. Lots of age-appropriate comics out there to replace it with.

That town needs Judd Winnick to move in and show them that comics aren’t the “devil’s work” but only after engaging in a game of chicken on tractors, then heading over the border to Iowa for bootleg trade paperbacks and finally organizing a comics convention which will show the town leaders the error of their ways.

And all to a catchy 80′s soundtrack.

Good thing they didn’t have that issue of Avengers where a tiny Hank crawled out from between Jan’s legs soaking wet.

Other than maybe Spider-girl, I wouldn’t let any mainstream comic into an elementary school. But then…that’s part of the problem isn’t it?

Reminds me of an old issues of Amazing (circe 299-300ish) in which MJ offers herself up to Peter in lingerie in a simulated web-bondage pose. God bless Todd McFarlane.

“but [sexuality]‘s not something I allow them to learn,”

This is the scariest sentence.

Kids should learn about sex from hobos, drifters, and motor-heads, not in the home.

RE: JAAP!:

“but [sexuality]’s not something I allow them to learn,”

This is the scariest sentence.

So, what… you’d teach your SIX YEAR OLD pole dancing?
Six is a little young to introduce someone to adult sexuality or sensuality on any level.

I think it’s sad that almost (if not all) mainstream super-hero comics aren’t suitable for anyone under 12 or 13.

I’m going to side with the mom on this one as well. This is something that should have been vetted by the school librarian. Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is somewhere around issue 50, right? I know Marvel publishes full-size, library bound collections of those; not get them?

I think things like that and Hank crawling out of Jan’s legs is something that Marvel needs to take into consideration depending on whether they’d ever like to have commercially and economically successful (+ ten times more viable) products to offer to the main stream. Of course it’s great to have more mature stories with cover ratings in order for some writers and artists to explore their creativity and have something darker to offer to adults who want that as well. But there’s a reason why movies like Watchmen fail and why movies produced by Pixar and Dreamworks Animation do insanely well. The big two should venture more into that kind of business model and grow out of producing pulp material with the occasional stroke of brilliance.

* sorry, I meant “grow out of” as in ‘grow out of the habit of…’

I’ve had parents complain about “inappropriate sexual content” in Spider-Man comics while working in a comic shop. The specific book being complained about at that time was a reprint of early Ditko Spider-Man. So, you know, it could have been anything that prompted this complaint.

@ Ike: Spider-Girl (which is being cancelled, BTW) is the only appropriate mainstream comic for kids? I guess it depends on what you define as “mainstream.” Marvel Adventures stuff, and some of DC’s stuff for kids (are they still doing the Johnny DC line?) would all seem to fit, since those are books that are made specfically for kids.

I call them mainstream since they are familiar Marvel and DC characters. Most of the issues of X-Men First Class and Wolverine First Class might be OK too… At least the one’s I’ve read. Wolvie isn’t disembowling anyone in the one’s I’ve read. They collect those various First Class stories in magazine form for school book fairs too (I’ve bought ‘em for my daughter, who enjoys them), so I think those are fine. Then there’s Bone of course. It’s a Scholastic publication, so I’d call that mainstream too.

I guess it depends on the range of ages/grade levels at the school. Some of the mainstream books might be fine for older kids (I’m thinking 6th grade, not 6 years old). But you probably need to watch who you’re giving them to. Maybe keep the comics OK for the older kids behind the main desk or something?

Of course, I was amused a few weeks ago to see Eisner’s “Contract With God” collection mixed in with the other comic TPBs/GNs at my local library. They throw all those together next to the Young Adult section. So you’ll get Bone and other benign stuff along with Eisner, Sandman, Y: The Last Man, etc. I’m just waiting for a parent to get their knickers in a twist over this some day.

@ Wesley:

> RE: JAAP!:

>> “but [sexuality]’s not something I allow them to learn,”

>> This is the scariest sentence.

> So, what… you’d teach your SIX YEAR OLD pole dancing?
> Six is a little young to introduce someone to adult sexuality or sensuality on any level.

You’ll have to go back and show me where his/her original post suggested THAT. Sheesh…

Teaching a child to respect his/her body (and what is and is not appropriate towards others) in an appropriate way at a young age is fine. And healthy. Discussing what a child sees on TV or in advertising (it’s hard to avoid these days) is a tricky matter, but also essential.

> I think it’s sad that almost (if not all) mainstream super-hero comics aren’t suitable for anyone under 12 or > 13.

So… They ALL should be? I mean, if you buy and enjoy superhero comics are you suggesting that they all should be written at the level of young, under 10 child? Sorry, but I can safely say that I, and probably a lot of other adult comics fans, wouldn’t be here on this blog (or reading comics still) if it weren’t for more “adult” fare. By your reasoning, we wouldn’t have tales like Watchmen (I’m calling it “mainstream “since it was published by DC, now a movie, and it’s been topping sales charts for the last year), The Dark Knight Returns, Kraven’s Last Hunt, and All Star Superman (to name just a few), or movies like Batman Begins and The Dark Knight? Maybe that’s OK with you, but for a lot of us (just look at the coin TDK made) that would suck.

No, there’s room for both comics for grown-ups (or at least kids in their teens) AND the younger set alike. The problem is that DC and Marvel (and other publishers) aren’t really doing enough to reach, and then serve, younger readers. Nor are a lot of LCS for that matter. Stuff like the new Boom! newsstand distrbution deal are a step in the right direction. Hopefully DC and Marvel will make similar deals.

I have to agree with Jaap! on this one. That is the scariest sentence in the whole thing.

Are there comics that are not appropriate for 6 year olds? Absolutely. But refusing to teach your children about it is going to do more damage than a comic book ever will.

Complaining about sexual content in a Steve Ditko comic? Is it me or does that seem pretty much inconceivable?

RE: Shaun

I was a little riled up when I read the original post, I admit. This is something that sticks in my craw. Of course children need to be taught about sexuality. But I know a LOT of five and six-year-olds. Other than understanding what makes mommy and daddy different, they’re really not ready for the kind of stuff we’re talking about here. But really, if you look at any Spider-Man run in the past 10 years or so (I’ll take out individual issues, because we want kids to read a series, not just one or two issues here and there), are there any runs of Spider-Man that are even understandable by a six-year-old, much less appropriate for them.

And, yes, obviously not all superhero comics have to be geared towards kids. But shouldn’t most of the ones from DC Marvel be? I’m a big proponent of ‘Dance with the one that brung ya,’ and DC and Marvel comics universes were built on stories that were entertaining for kids? I think that the mainstream super-hero lines should be directed at 9-12 year olds and enjoyed by adults, with another line geared specifically for adults, instead of the other way around.

And, yeah, I know that there have always been comics geared for adults, like the old EC horror comics or crime comics from any company, and that’s fine. I’m talking about your most popular superhero comics that were originated for children, and somehow became geared towards adults in the past 30 years.