Comic Book Email Interview
I was recently interviewed via email about comic books, superheroes and how kids should fall into the comic book world. Here's the interview: What age groups should comics be directed toward? Why? Well there are comics books for a whole range of ages, I don't think the whole medium should be regulated to a particular age group, it's for the artist/writer to decide what age direction their story will tailor to. Who do you think the most popular superhero is and why? From a sort of "pop-culture" type view it's a toss-up between Superman and Batman. They have a instant brand recognizablity (is that a word?) with a majority of folks. Personally I'm going to lean on Batman a bit more because of the most recent movie dedicated to the character. Television superheroes, who are they, what do they represent? What about comic book superheroes? They're the same people, it's just television superheroes usually have some sort of backing like advertising or occasionally a secret agenda for those kids (Transformers and He-man the TV shows were about selling kids toys....with a some sort of story as a cherry on top). Timing on television: are cartoons of superheroes on when kids watch TV? Is this smart marketing or just harmful for developing minds? It's a bit of both, a majority of superhero cartoons exist to tell some sort of morality play, as simple as don't steal/lie all the way to the destruction of our planet. In the same vein cartoons are used daily to push some sort of product whether it's a new toy or sugar candy down kids throats. Is that how it's always going to be? Of course. Should something be done about it? Probably not. Do they have a moral story to them? Some do, some don't. Can comic books display a lesson that all people should learn growing up? Same as the last question, I've read comics that can serve as a lesson plan for people, others....not so much. Are cartoons to violent for kids in today's society? How so? I don't think so, I'm very much the type of person who believes that shielding your kids from the violence the world has isn't all that healthy. Of course that might change when I have some kids. Does our society promote violence? Support this answer please. American society loves violence. Do comic books compare to regular reading? Why or why not? I think comics are in the same world as regular reading, just a bit better. Your getting art and literature in one sit down. Reading is known as an outlet that allows children to grow and become intelligent, imaginative people do you agree or disagree? Please elaborate. I know reading helped me to become intelligent and imaginative! If kids aren't well read they aren't going to learn about the past, thus they are doomed to repeat it. What do you think of Stan Lee the most famous author of Marvel comics? Executive producer of the Spider-Man movies I think he's an excellent "pusher" of the Marvel books that he helped create, I don't really know if he's done a whole lot to get regular folks reading comics other than Marvel/DC books though. Should the old cartoons and comic book characters be made into movies? What about the ratings? Yes they should. The ratings are very tough to define. Characters like "The Phantom" have a campiness that don't really translate well to today's audience, on top of that certain pulp/action characters used to be more violent than some R-rated movies of our time. It's up for the movie producers to decide. How did comic books affect you growing up? Probably Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan, it showed me that comics can be so much more than capes and villians with funny costumes. Who is your favorite superhero and why is that? I'm going to have to go with Elijah Snow from "Planetary", he's older than most, well traveled and has a touch of "codger" in him to make him really likeable. Who is your least favorite superhero and why? I'm actually not a big fan of Superman, he's a bit "sugary" for me. Do you have children? How many? How old? No none yet. Do/did you promote comic book reading with your children? If I did have children I most certainly would. What about cartoons of superheroes, what is acceptable for your children/child to watch? Why is this? Well me be a non-parent I say now that I would allow them to watch just about anything, my current belief is that sheltering kids from this world is the worst thing to do. Any final thoughts? Comic Books = Art & Literature.
