I think being precise in what you are saying is really important here. Blanket statements like "kids don't read comics" are flagrantly inaccurate. But I feel like I know what you are trying to say and you aren't exactly what I'd call *wrong.* Kids don't read comic books - meaning the floppy things. Meanwhile, stuff like Dogman and the Baby Sitters Club practically outsell the entire US comic book industry combined and are available at your nearest Target or Walmart. Printing has also gotten much better, easier and more accessible in the last couple decades. Why spend $5 on a 24 page floppy comic when you can get ten times the bang for twice the buck? And besides, every time I go into a dedicated, brick and mortar comic book shop I have strange experiences. The one closest to me has signs everywhere that say "we are not a library!" And actively discourages people from looking through comics they might otherwise purchase. This has always lent me the impression that the comic book community is not exactly warm and welcoming.
As for people not finding the magic in what you loved growing up, I can sympathize and I think it's the fault of DC, Marvel and frankly the state of venture capital. You'll never get the same return on investment in a comic book the way you will on a movie, let alone a videogame. Comic books have stagnated. And people like you who grew up with them and love them can sense this. It blows my mind that in a world where people are as divided down identity lines as they are today, that something like the X-Men isn't the most relevant series on the planet. How do you drop that ball!? Meanwhile, Super Mario turns 40 this year. (40 YEARS OLD!) He's like a fat rubber hose cartoon character and he's gonna sell trinkets and games until Nintendo has more money than some small countries. Comic books failed to reinvent themselves, but they are living on through other means.
I do not want to sound all doom and gloom though. There has been some really good stuff happen in recent history. I'm reminded of "The Last Ronin" being an excellent Turtles adventure. And if you haven't read "Copra," get on that! That's a proper DIY comic done the right way.
Kids are discovering comics on all kinds of social media places. There are the actual art sites like Deviantart, Webtoons, Tapas, and probably others, but I find comics in Instagram, YouTube and TikTok reels. They’re also on Tumblr and Substack. Kids are still finding comics, just not like you did.
I think it’s important to remember that kids are going to seek out free stuff especially if they can’t buy in person. They don’t want to borrow Mom’s credit card to read a comic so they’re going to read the free ones online. I grew up on those comics. They were fun and I got new installments regularly.
Another thing that made traditional comics inaccessible to readers is that they aren’t formatted for phones. I have tried borrowing traditional comics on Hoopla but I hate reading them because my phone screen is too small.
The indie comic creators use Patreon a lot. They put the comics up for free and a reader can pay for extra content and/or to read pages early. I see a lot of people doing this in the indie communities.
As an indie comic reader and creator, these kinds of discussions seem kind of weird to me. Kids read comics by the truckload over on webtoons, tapas, and deviantart. They create them by the truckloads. There's the annual comic contest sponsored by Clip Studio Paint over on Pixiv. I've been following a really good fancomic that just wrapped up that was a crossover of Sonic the Hedgehog and Ninja Turtles. My kids work their way through my old Sonic Archie comic collection every few weeks, and then turn around and chew through Daddy's Kamen America collection, as well as the collectors edition Earthworm Jim books. Kids still want comics. But modern comics aren't made for kids. (Seriously, I was listening to a review of that new Ultimate series or whatever it is, and it's all an ode to communism and evil. Nothing about it is aimed at kids, it's designed exclusively as twitterbait.) Comics aren't made for kids, marketed to kids, anything. They don't want to capture the young audience. But the very few times they throw the young audience a bone, it goes nuts. Do you know how hard it was to find the Batman/Fortnite crossover comic? It sold like *hotcakes*.
Valid point about attention spans. People's attention spans, back around 2001, were much better than they are today. Part of the reason why attention spans now are lacking is bc of the apps like tik tok with their "shorts". People today, especially millennials and zoomers, want it NOW! It has been proven that devices like smartphones and tablets, when used a lot by kids growing up, affects their brain development. Their neural pathways are reconfigured and that's not for the best. These "digital natives", a term invented I think by Warren Ellis, not only don't know a time before digital tech (e.g. payphones, VCRs, phone books) but will have problems later in life with thinking and comprehension.
As for Hush 2, smh, another sequel no one asked for or wanted much like the dreadful Matrix 4 and the god awful Bill and Ted Face The Music (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 3). DC wouldn't let Loeb/Lee create something new or are Loeb/Lee too lazy to create something new?
I think being precise in what you are saying is really important here. Blanket statements like "kids don't read comics" are flagrantly inaccurate. But I feel like I know what you are trying to say and you aren't exactly what I'd call *wrong.* Kids don't read comic books - meaning the floppy things. Meanwhile, stuff like Dogman and the Baby Sitters Club practically outsell the entire US comic book industry combined and are available at your nearest Target or Walmart. Printing has also gotten much better, easier and more accessible in the last couple decades. Why spend $5 on a 24 page floppy comic when you can get ten times the bang for twice the buck? And besides, every time I go into a dedicated, brick and mortar comic book shop I have strange experiences. The one closest to me has signs everywhere that say "we are not a library!" And actively discourages people from looking through comics they might otherwise purchase. This has always lent me the impression that the comic book community is not exactly warm and welcoming.
As for people not finding the magic in what you loved growing up, I can sympathize and I think it's the fault of DC, Marvel and frankly the state of venture capital. You'll never get the same return on investment in a comic book the way you will on a movie, let alone a videogame. Comic books have stagnated. And people like you who grew up with them and love them can sense this. It blows my mind that in a world where people are as divided down identity lines as they are today, that something like the X-Men isn't the most relevant series on the planet. How do you drop that ball!? Meanwhile, Super Mario turns 40 this year. (40 YEARS OLD!) He's like a fat rubber hose cartoon character and he's gonna sell trinkets and games until Nintendo has more money than some small countries. Comic books failed to reinvent themselves, but they are living on through other means.
I do not want to sound all doom and gloom though. There has been some really good stuff happen in recent history. I'm reminded of "The Last Ronin" being an excellent Turtles adventure. And if you haven't read "Copra," get on that! That's a proper DIY comic done the right way.
I’m so glad I picked up Kneel Before Zod.
Kids are discovering comics on all kinds of social media places. There are the actual art sites like Deviantart, Webtoons, Tapas, and probably others, but I find comics in Instagram, YouTube and TikTok reels. They’re also on Tumblr and Substack. Kids are still finding comics, just not like you did.
I think it’s important to remember that kids are going to seek out free stuff especially if they can’t buy in person. They don’t want to borrow Mom’s credit card to read a comic so they’re going to read the free ones online. I grew up on those comics. They were fun and I got new installments regularly.
Another thing that made traditional comics inaccessible to readers is that they aren’t formatted for phones. I have tried borrowing traditional comics on Hoopla but I hate reading them because my phone screen is too small.
The indie comic creators use Patreon a lot. They put the comics up for free and a reader can pay for extra content and/or to read pages early. I see a lot of people doing this in the indie communities.
As an indie comic reader and creator, these kinds of discussions seem kind of weird to me. Kids read comics by the truckload over on webtoons, tapas, and deviantart. They create them by the truckloads. There's the annual comic contest sponsored by Clip Studio Paint over on Pixiv. I've been following a really good fancomic that just wrapped up that was a crossover of Sonic the Hedgehog and Ninja Turtles. My kids work their way through my old Sonic Archie comic collection every few weeks, and then turn around and chew through Daddy's Kamen America collection, as well as the collectors edition Earthworm Jim books. Kids still want comics. But modern comics aren't made for kids. (Seriously, I was listening to a review of that new Ultimate series or whatever it is, and it's all an ode to communism and evil. Nothing about it is aimed at kids, it's designed exclusively as twitterbait.) Comics aren't made for kids, marketed to kids, anything. They don't want to capture the young audience. But the very few times they throw the young audience a bone, it goes nuts. Do you know how hard it was to find the Batman/Fortnite crossover comic? It sold like *hotcakes*.
Valid point about attention spans. People's attention spans, back around 2001, were much better than they are today. Part of the reason why attention spans now are lacking is bc of the apps like tik tok with their "shorts". People today, especially millennials and zoomers, want it NOW! It has been proven that devices like smartphones and tablets, when used a lot by kids growing up, affects their brain development. Their neural pathways are reconfigured and that's not for the best. These "digital natives", a term invented I think by Warren Ellis, not only don't know a time before digital tech (e.g. payphones, VCRs, phone books) but will have problems later in life with thinking and comprehension.
As for Hush 2, smh, another sequel no one asked for or wanted much like the dreadful Matrix 4 and the god awful Bill and Ted Face The Music (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 3). DC wouldn't let Loeb/Lee create something new or are Loeb/Lee too lazy to create something new?