Kids Read Comics!

My mother once told me she was asked by her friends and relatives why she let her children read comic books. Mom just quickly told them that at least her kids could and were reading. I also know Mom, on occasion, did enjoy a good Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four herself.

The days of comics being almost exclusively targeted at children are over. In the 1950's, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories had a monthly circulation of over three million copies (this number may be a bit padded). In 1960 the top selling comics, of all comic sold - even superheros, in America were Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge, 1,040,543 avg. monthly paid circulation, and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 1,004,901 avg. paid monthly circulation (figures from The Comics Chronicles.) If you were to count how many of the same copies were passed around to be read by others, the total numbers of readers would be much higher than the circulation numbers. It was no wonder that publishers aimed for a young audience.

I'm a fan of anything that is trying to get kids interested in comics and the comics media.