I’ve written numerous times about how fiction heroes can be a positive influence on us, especially as children, and why children need superheroes. Well, here’s another example. Time Magazine’s website posted an excerpt from a foreword for a collection of Spider-Man stories. Writer Jason Reynolds discusses how his brother Allen benefited from Peter Parker’s life through the comics. This is why we need more superhero stories for kids, and why comics needs to get over their self-loathing and take their place alongside every other storytelling form out there in the world. These weren’t even made for kids but they were accessible to them. Today’s writers seem to want to shove kids media in a corner so they can be more “mature” but kids are the reason superheroes are still around.
That goes for you YA writers who use superhero characters in non-superhero stories. Give kids superheroes!