Strollerderby : comic book heroes

Superhero Comics for Kids: A Strollerderby Guide

editors — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Remember when comic books were just for kids? Yeah, we don't either, really. But looking at our dog-eared copies of Watchmen and Ghost World — not to mention those DVDs of the Spiderman and X-Men movies — we suspect that we may be the first generation of parents to have bigger comic collections than our children. Comics publishers, of course, want to have it both ways: DC just released the kiddie superhero series Tiny Titans, which you'll feel much better handing to a six-year-old than the latest issue of Batman. What other tiny superheros are lurking on the shelves of your local comic shop? To find out, we consulted comics expert and father-to-be Gabriel Mckee. Here's his round-up:

The Mini-Marvels

"Chris Giarusso's Calvin-and-Hobbes take on the Marvel Universe cleverly transfers the grandeur of epic superhero conflict into the microcosm of a third-grade classroom."

The Tiny Titans

"In the mid-'60s, DC cashed in on the success of the Justice League by introducting the Teen Titans, a superteam that gathered together kid sidekicks and adolescent doubles of their biggest heroes. Now they're doing one better with the Tiny Titans, an entire classroom full of superpowered students at Sidekick Elementary."

The X-Babies

"Everybody likes the X-Men, right? The certainly do in the television-centric alternate dimension ruled by arch-studio mogul Mojo. But anytime he kidnaps the X-Men to appear in his programs, they fight back and escape. The solution: create infantile clones of the whole team!"

The Little Endless

"The eight symbolic deities of Neil Gaiman's Sandman have existed since the beginning of time. When they tell stories about their earliest days, "when things were still taking shape," they conceptualize themselves as superdeformed goth kids-- the Little Endless."

The Mighty Skullboy Army

"Jacob Chabot's Skullboy is the head of an evil corporation with a plan to take over the world — if his teacher will let him leave the first-grade classroom, that is. It doesn't help that his army — a mischievous monkey and a wisecracking robot — would rather play videogames than conquer his foes."

Old Birth Control Dilemma Comic

Kelly Mills — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:43:00 GMT

"Darling, it's so awful feeling this way! I love you--and I want you, but I'm so afraid I'll get pregnant again I freeze when you just kiss me." Thus begins this excellent Planned Parenthood comic from 1956/1962, posted with care on Comics With Problems and found via Boing Boing, who are doing an awfully good job. Joan and Ken Harper have three kids, and while they are all hot for each other still, Joan doesn't wanna get knocked up AGAIN. The sexual tension leads to some burnt toast and a brawl, and then an industrial accident. A common tale, I know. I think the rural edition involves a combine.

While the doctor is patching Ken up, he mentions birth control. Ken is scared, but as the doc says, "The government wouldn't let birth control products be sold if they were harmful." Oh, the rosy innocence of the 50's. Anyhow, some bright nurses fix Joan right up, and the couple can love without fear once again. Shoot, I gave the ending away! Oh well, you should still check it out for yourself, because they just don't make public health message comics like they used to.

Comic Book Heroes Steal Preschool Hearts

Patti — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:26:00 GMT

I was minding my own business drinking coffee when my four and a half year old came running in, gasping for air.

"Mama, you got to come see this! Hurry fast!"

I followed her into the living room, and there on the television were four teenage boys rocking out and singing a song that was old when I was a kid. "They are so handsome", my daughter moaned, in pretty much the same way I was moaning about Depeche Mode when I was fourteen.

Folks, here are the young men who revved my baby girl's engine, the Comic Book Heroes, performing their version of "Flying Purple People Eater" from Noggin's Jack's Big Music Show. I guess I'm going to be locking my girls up a lot earlier than I thought.