Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Free Comic Book Day this Saturday

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Free comic book dayI have mentioned in previous posts that I have been a life long comic book fan.  My cousin introduced them to me when I was in 3rd grade or so and it blossomed into I cherish.  It taught me to love reading and worked my imagination to it’s fullest.

Every year, the comic book industry puts on a special event called Free Comic Book Day.  Most comic stores participate.  This one time every year the comic stores can purchase a specific selection of comic books for very cheap (pennies on the dollar) as long as they give them away for free on free comic book day.  Comic stores typically have events surrounding the day with other giveaways going away and comic creators showing up to sign books and meet their fans.   This year, Free Comic Book Day is this coming Saturday (May 7, 2011).

How to find stores participating in Free Comic Book Day

It’s a great event for families looking for something cheap and different.   If you aren’t sure where the closest comic book store is, use the Comic Book Store Locator Service to see if there is one near you that is participating in this event.  If you can find a store close by, take the kids, have some fun, introduce them to the wonderful, creative world of comic books for Free!

You can read more about it at FreeComicBookDay.com

Do you read comic books? Have you gone to a Free Comic Book Day event in the past?

Review of Owly Volume 1 by Andy Runton

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Owly Volume 1As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have loved and enjoyed comic books for most of my life. Most people that have never been truly exposed to the medium lump them all into one category, childish superhero fantasy.  While I am a big fan of superhero comics and find most modern superhero comics to be anything but childish, the point of this review is to show you that the medium of comics can and does tell a wide variety of stories.

Comics, in the simplest terms, are stories told with both writing and art.  They cover a huge variety of genres and are aimed at an equally wide number of audiences and age groups.   Owly is an independent comic book that is both written and drawn by Andy Runton.  There is very little text in Owly.  Mr. Runton uses expressive imagery to tell very emotional and heart warming stories.

Who is Owly?

Owly vol 1 is the first comic book I bought for my children.  Harrison was 3 and Sean was 1.  Both were too young for it but they have grown into it since.  Owly is not in the typical comic book format, it is shaped more like a standard book and much thicker than a comic.  The first volume includes two stories: The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer.  Owly is an adorable owl who knows what it means to be human.  He is a reflection of the sweet and innocent child in all of us.  In the first story, Owly is lonely and in search of a friend.  He is misunderstood by the other animals around him but he perseveres and in the end he learns the meaning of friendship.  In the second story, Owly needs to learn how to let go but he also learns that goodbyes aren’t always forever.  Both stories teach a valuable life lesson to children.

As I mentioned previously, there is very little writing in Owly, it’s done almost entirely in black and white pictures but that is the beauty of it.  The art is so expressive that it’s easy to take your child through the story and talk about what is going on in the panels.  The book also allows your little one to express himself through the images, to create his own dialogue and explain to you what is going on.  It let’s them use their imagination to tell a story that matches up with the images in front of them.  My wife had a hard time with this book at first.  The first part of the first story is heart wrenching, poor little Owly just wants to be friends but is rejected at every turn in the beginning.  The art is so expressive it nearly brought her to tears the first time.

If you can’t already tell, I highly recommend Owly.  I reviewed vol 1 simply because it’s a good starting point but there are 5 volumes that I know of.  Owly is published by Top Shelf comics and may be available via your local comic book store.  If you can’t find it locally, Amazon has it at a great price.  Check it out for yourself at Owly Vol 1.

A Fun and Economical Way to Get Kids Interested in Reading: Comic Books

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Batman Brave and Bold 21Yes, I am indeed a comic book geek but I am a proud geek at that.  As a parent, I think we all hope that our children will come to enjoy the same things that we enjoy.  To have a son or daughter you can share your hobby with is a fantasy most parents have, whether that hobby is sports, a favorite team, movies, music or in my case, comic books.  I grew up with comic books, they have fueled my passion for reading and have kept my imagination active.

Instilling a Love of Reading

We try very hard to instill a love of reading into our children.  Every night when we put them to bed, we read them 1 – 2 books each and we encourage them to spend time with their books on their own.  They are always getting new books on their birthdays and Christmas, from friends and relatives whose children have outgrown their books, from the library and from Goodwill when we can spare a couple of bucks.  They love it and I hope it continues.

One of the things I started incorporating into their reading just this week is comic books. Comics can be a bit edgy and most are no longer written for kids, they are written for adults. The content of comics, and even Japanese manga series like onee-chan wa game o suruto hito ga kawaru onee-chan, is typically too mature for young kids. However, there are a few publishers that make comic books specifically for children. DC Comics puts out a few featuring their stable of heroes as does BOOM (who bought the rights to make Disney comic books). Both are putting out quality books every month for younger audiences.
Both of my kids know who Batman is and both like him so for our first month I got them Batman Brave and the Bold from DC Comics.  So far, they have requested that comic as one of their nightly books every night this week.  It’s been really nice to see their excitement and interest.  They are still a little young for it but they love it nonetheless.

Comic Books Can Be Educational

I believe comic books can be an educational experience for children and an economical choice for parents.  On average, comics cost $2.99 each.  That is actually a bit steep when you are an adult and you are getting 20 – 30 titles each month.  As adult collectors, we buy them, read them and then generally stick them in a back with a backer board and save them as part of our collection.  Children get significantly more use out of them.  They aren’t concerned with saving them forever now are they worried about keeping them in good condition.  Even though they can’t read them yet, they pour through them and look at the pictures, they come up with their own stories and they exercise their imagination.  It gives them exposure to a new art form that they may not have ever experienced before.  It helps them develop their imagination and most important of all, it is a fun activity for Daddy to share with his boys.

If you don’t have a comic book shop near you, there are plenty of online comic book stores. When I was buying comic books for myself every month I used to use Discount Comic Book Service, now I just go and get 1 or 2 titles per month at my local comic book store.

What are your thoughts on using comic books as a reading tool?