31 Days of Comics: Day 29 – A Great Comic For Kids

ROB'S NOTE: May has become the go-to month of the Comic’s Industry (even though National Superhero Day is late April, but whatever… Congress… pshaw).  It is when Marvel drops their big movie of the year.  May also sees the annual Free Comic Book Day celebration take place on the first Saturday of the Month, so I hope you all got to check that out.  May also has 31 days of the month so what better way to celebrate the wonderful world of sequential art with the 31 Days of Comics?

Seth Hahne, who runs the blog GoodOkBad, has put together the 31 Days of Comics challenge.  A daily challenge in which you are given a category and you have to fill it with a comic that you think fits it the best.  You’re all on the internet, I shouldn’t have to explain it to you.  For the rest of the month I will be taking this challenge.  It is my hope it encourages others to make and share their own lists either in the comments here or on their own websites.  The sharing not only might turn comic fans on to works they have yet to sample but maybe catch the eye of a few non-comic fans and highlight the diversity of the form. 

Our prompt for Day 28 “A Great Comic for Kids”

Teen Titans Go!

Written by J. Torres and Adam Beechen

Pencils by Various Artists

Where do I start?

My writing style to the contrary I am not actually a kid.  I haven’t been a kid for a while.  In fact I’m so much not a kid that I am actually allowed to teach other people’s kids and receive money for it.  I am generally not the type of person who should answer this question. 

I thought about using a comic from when I was a kid, figuring it would still be good to this day.  Then I realize when I was 10 I read a Spider-Man comic where, on-panel, one of the lead characters was mowed down by a shotgun blast.  While in X-Men one of the lead characters became evil and ate a sun which destroyed an entire planet.

I now know why I am the way I am.

I figured the next best thing would be to ask a kid.  I went down to the park at a playground and was prepared to ask a random child about what their favorite comic book was.  Luckily I thought twice about that and had watched enough Law and Order:SVU to realize this was a bad idea.

I was stuck.  I seriously wasn’t sure what to do.  I went home and asked my 8 year old son, Chris, if he knew any kids who read comics.  He put down his issue of Spider-Man: Web Warriors and sighed loudly.

(Yes, I’m stupid).

So here is the interview I conducted with my son about what a great comic for kids is.

Rob: Ok, so what’s your favorite comic book?

Chris: Um… Teen Titans Go.

Rob: Why is it your favorite comic book?

Chris: Because I like it when they, like, fight the villains.

Rob: Who is your favorite character?

Chris: Um…. My favorite character is Cyborg

Rob: And why is he your favorite character?

Chris: Cuz of all of his... like… robotic things.  Like his… he can actually turn himself into an oven.

Rob: He can turn himself into an oven?!?!?

Chris: Well no, he has a built in oven inside him.  He wanted to cook a turkey with it.  He ended up not doing it.  Instead they cooked it in a real oven.

Rob: Ok, so what villains do they fight?

Chris: Umm… I’m only going to tell you some of them I do know. I think there’s like… Mr. Cold? Ummm… uh… the H.I.V.E.  But I forgot what villains they have on that team.

Rob: Who is your second favorite character?

Chris: Robin cuz um…. The weapons he uses are pretty cool.  Like he has a bird-a-rang.

Rob: A bird-a-rang?

Chris: Yeah.  It’s instead of a bat-a-rang … it’s a bird-a-rang. He also has a pole that he whacks enemies with I guess

Rob: Which character is your least favorite?

Chris: (Long pause) Starfire.

Rob: You know that’s mommy’s favorite character right?

Chris: (laughing) I know

(Mom laughing in the background)

Rob: Is it because you like mommy the least?

Chris: No…it’s just because I love her less than I love you.. all.

(mood getting kind of uncomfortable so I try to save him)

Rob: You love… Starfire less than the others you mean?

Chris: No… I … ummm… I mean yes

Rob: Ok, we won’t go further with that part.  What is it about Starfire that you like the least?

Chris: Her fingers.  They are weird looking.

Rob: Why are they… wait are we still talking about Starfire (my wife has weird fingers so….)? Why are they weird looking?

Chris: When she makes like a this (holds his hand up for a hi-five) instead of five she has four.  And they are like… pokey looking. It’s pretty weird.

Rob: Does she at least have cool powers?

Chris: Yes…. She has ENERGY BLASTS and that’s all.  Oh and she can fly.

Rob: Which is your favorite story so far?  Do you remember?

Chris: Ummm… when they had the sleep over.  Well all the girls did.

Rob: So you like sleepovers with all girls?

Chris: No.  I just liked it. It was funny.  They tried to play a game.  A bunch of games.  They played Candy Crush… well the candy looked exactly like Candy Crush.  And something like… Money Rush Hour.  And Bubble Bots.

Rob: What did the boys do while he girls were having their sleepover?

Chris: They went bowling at a bowling alley.  I think Cyborg won.  He always got a lot of strikes.  All of them.  He would do his aiming and after he shot it he would say “boo-yah.”  And defeated all the pins in one shot, but it actually destroyed a bit of the bowling alley.

Rob: Ok.  One last question.  Do you learn anything from reading Teen Titans?

Chris: Ayyyy…. Ummmmm…. No.

Chris Godinez is 8 years old and is the closest thing I have to an expert on Kid’s Comics.  He reads Teen Titans Go!, Tiny Titans, Skylanders, Doodle Jump, and Angry Birds.  Requests for interviews can be forwarded to his publicist.