Find a webcomic (especially in the sprite community) that’s kid-friendly/all ages, much less kid targeted, is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s even harder than finding it on the shelves. Even the magazine rack at the grocery store has comics that used to be kid friendly, but if you’ve picked up a mainstream Marvel or DC comic, chances are they weren’t something you’d let your kid read. (The only one I’ve seen at the local Stop and Shop is one of the Cartoon Network series, since The Batman Strikes was canceled. They do, however, have Archie comics, and those are fine.)
Most webcomics, however, seem to cater to older audiences, probably because so many are “edgy” comedies created by college kids, but I may stereotyping. I know I’ve never seen an all ages/family friendly sprite comic, even the ones that aren’t video game/anime parodies. (Most sprite comics tend to be the former, often ripping off Bob And George: The Comic Strip. This may be due partly to the fact that they’re made using video game sprites, and making them into new characters, much less using original backgrounds, are a lot of work. I’m hoping that, if the format survives, the end of “BnG” means expanded ideas.) That means if you have a young child who enjoys comic strips or comic books, finding them online is possible, but you have to filter through a lot of stuff.
Luckily, I’m here to help. I know some of my 20 readers have to have kids of their own. (In fact, since some of my relatives have found their way here, I’m sure of it. If they’re still reading beyond “oh, look what Troy made/wastes time doing”.) So here are some good places to not only find kid-friendly webcomics, but possibly order a hard copy version so they can enjoy reading comics under the covers with a flashlight, just like you did.
Kids Love Comics is a site devoted to the “Kids Love Comics” project. From their own site:
We believe there is tremendous untapped potential for kids’ comics in North America, but the supply of comics to children has been hampered by a lack of parental and educator awareness, changing distribution trends, and a shift in recent years of creative and financial resources toward older audiences in the comic book community.
The time is right to formally reintroduce kids’ comics to mainstream America. Through Kids Love Comics, people with a specific interest in children’s comic books will be sharing the value and potential of age-appropriate comics with parents, educators, creators, the media, and the business community all across North America.
KLC is a group of comics creators who prefer to target the youth, since (A) the industry will die without an influx of new readers and (B) they shouldn’t have to miss out on the storytelling style that only comics can provide. Also, comics are a good way to get kids to start reading if they can’t get into a “normal” book without pictures. While there are no comics to read on the site itself, it does link to numerous comics targeting kids and those of us who think “Mature” comics aren’t all that mature. The Kids Love Comics site is a good way to find out about comics that the local comic store normally wouldn’t carry and order them for your kid.
Kidjutsu is a site I brought up during “Catching Up Week”. Unlike the first site, this one does have comics that you can read online, as well as order through their store (although there aren’t a lot of those at this time). The site is ad-supported so it’s free to read online, and there are quite a few choices in numerous genres and age groups. (Not enough classic style superheroes if you ask me, but you didn’t.) From a brief browse, I didn’t see anything that parents would find objectionable, so you could let them surf and read all they want. Provided they shouldn’t be playing outside or cleaning their rooms or something. (Sorry, kids. Had to say it. It’s a grown-up thing. :)).
Sugary Serials is an anthology created by Jerzy Drodz, with numerous contributors hand selected by Jerzy himself (who also contributes). There is a theme to the comics presented, based on Saturday Morning and syndicated cartoons (a slowly dieing art since local stations want to show more infomercials and Jerry Springer episodes–JERKS!) and each comic plays to that theme. (And some would make good cartoons.) For older types, there’s also a weekly podcast interviewing contributors or discussing the kinds of cartoons that inspired the site. They even have their own theme song.
You can read each series separately, or anthology style. The comics are also available in the latter style, so you can have a physical comic. Granted they’re a bit expensive, but as independent publishers they have to make a profit somehow, and they’re rather worth it. The physical comics include a games section and other features not found in the online comics. Plus it’s an anthology with more than one comic per issue. But check out the site and judge for yourselves.
Make Like a Tree is Jerzy’s other project, alongside Sara Turner. It’s where Silver and the Periodic Elements, the first comic to be reviewed in my Saturday Night Showcase, comes from. There are a number of other good comics the team has done, separately and together. His biggest claim to fame comes from The Front, but there are a lot of other good choices. I mostly know Jerzy (not personally) from the “Art and Story” podcasts he does with his other partner, Mark Rudolph, so that’s why I’m pushing his stuff a bit more. 🙂
ChrisGComics.com: While I’m shilling for people, check out Chris Giarrusso’s official web site. He’s written all-ages series for Marvel, and now has his own character, G-Man, coming soon from Image Comics. (Wait, a kid-friendly title? From Image Comics? Am I in a parallel universe or something?) He even has some cartoons based on G-Man and his cast.
Wowio is a website that isn’t specifically a kids site, so you may want to monitor what they’re reading here. However, it does contain a lot of kids comic and regular books that you can read online or download in PDF format for a fee. (Although some books have sponsors and can be downloaded for free, which used to be how the site operated until recently.) You may even find something for yourself. It does require an account, but you can keep a library of all your favorite comics and maintain your bookmarks so you can come back to it later. All content either falls into public domain or recoups the creators.
The Dreamland Chronicles is a site I’ve mentioned before and have a link to under “Favorite Web Comics”. Created by Scott Christian Salva, the series follows a college kid named Alex who travels to another world when he sleeps. In this fantasy world he and his friends try to bring Dreamland out of the control of sinister forces, while his friends in the waking world try to figure out if he’s going mad or really visiting Dreamland. It’s a beautiful comic and I wish IDW was still publishing it offline. I highly recommend it.
Catena Comics is more towards the “all ages” variety. It’s a comedy strip in comic book format that tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic cats living at Catena Manor, along with their canine neighbor and other friends. It’s a lot of fun.
Finally, I’d be remiss to ignore DC and Marvel’s kid comics, promoting the “Johnny DC” and “Marvel Adventures” line, the only kid-friendly comics they produce. (And if you ask me, better than most of their mainline titles, especially in Marvel’s case.) Marvel’s site links to the online comics that are kid-friendly as well as offering games and videos. DC’s site is rather lame in comparison, with only four comics as I type this. They have a separate site that acts as a hub for DC and Warner Brothers related cartoons, many of which are scattered on other themed sites, which is annoying. Archie Comics has a comic site as well, but not a whole lot of online comics.
There are others if you can find them. When the time avails I would love to have a links section on this site that has all sorts of sites like this. If you know of any others that have kid/family friendly/all ages comics and video that may be hidden away (some of the more popular video sites like Hulu and Joost usually have some old kids shows, but no original material and a lot of older-targeted cartoons so you have to hunt for stuff.), feel free to post them in the comments section or hit the Contact page with the subject “more kid-friendly webcomics” (or “video”) and maybe I’ll do a follow-up post in the future if I don’t get that links section running.
BW Media Spotlight 