According to Boing Boing, a DC Executive stated that they don’t publish all ages comics but rather “You think this is gonna be for kids? Stop, stop. We don’t publish comics for kids. We Publish Comics for 45-year Olds.” This was told to Comic book Artist Paul Pope when he pitched an All Ages Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth. The exec went on to tell Pope, ” If you want to do comics for kids, you can do Scooby-Doo.”
In my opinion, this is a big problem with both DC and Marvel. They used to have great comics that were appropriate for kids but also told intriguing stories that adults could enjoy. They branched out in the 80s and created more books that were meant only for adults. These books used to be placed away from kids in comic stores. Now, it is hard to find comics from the big two that are appropriate for young teens.
You can make a lot of money by selling comics only to adults. But what happens when this generation of readers get older? Who will come up and replace those that die or move on from the comic industry? You have to lay down a foundation for them when they are young.
Some people believe that the Entertainment side will bring in new readers. That may for true right now. Comic Book movies are extremely hot and popular. But this will probably not always be true.
In short, the heads of DC and Marvel need to pull their heads out of their butts and think about the future. Creating comics with their main stars, which are appropriate for kids, can save their business in the future. They may not sell tons of these comics right now but it could pay in huge dividends later.
