Comic Books Not Just for Kids

By Connect2Mason Columnist Gregory Pelkofski

After seeing Watchmen (and loving it) I was drawn to the Internet Movie Database message boards to see what other viewers were saying about it. In one thread entitled “gratuitous nudity,” someone complained about Dr. Manhattan’s big blue dong, and the sex and lesbian scenes. In another thread, a lady said she took her four, five, and six year-old kids to see the movie, and complained to the theater when her kids were subjected to the sex and violence in it.

Why did she take her kids to see an R-rated movie? Perhaps because of the stereotype that anything superhero or comic book related is for kids. I can assure parents out there that Watchmen, as the ill-informed mom found out, is not for kids despite it being based on a superhero comic book.

Comic books are not just for kids anymore. Actually, it was around the time when Watchmen first came out in the mid-eighties when this change occurred. From the 40’s to the 70’s, comics were all stories of the hero beating up the bad guy and getting the girl. In the 80’s, comic books took a turn for the grim, gritty and graphic. Comics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns matured the genre forever. These were some of the first comics to show heroes in the “real world.”

This trend continued well into the 90’s with new publishers like Image Comics trying to capture that raw realism of 80’s comics. DC Comics continued this trend when they killed off Superman for a short time and broke Batman’s back, which left him out of commission while a new, more psychotic Batman patrolled and terrorized Gotham.

Marvel Comics, on the other hand, has become a part of the real world (a world of mature readers) only recently. Many of the books now contain political messages, like their Civil War mini-series in 2006—a war between the superheroes after Congress forced super humans to register their identities and work for the government. Marvel was protesting against the current War on Terrorism policies of the U.S. government like the Patriot Act, and more recently with their “Dark Reign” stories representing the dark times America has fallen on. These “real world” stories are not for kiddies.

These current comic books are meant for teenage and adult readership, which is a more lucrative audience. Parents should skim the material before picking up their kid a new comic. Just like movies and TV shows, comics have a rating system to show what is appropriate for kids, especially now that comics are allowing more violence, more cursing and more sex in the stories.

If parents don’t want their kids to see these things that are actually a part of everyday life, then they shouldn't let them see it and can’t complain when their kids do see it because the parents were too stupid or lazy to censor what their kid sees. So don’t bring your five year-old kids to Watchmen. And for the guy who complained about the blue dick, get over it. It’s just a penis, every guy has one. You’d think by the way he complained he never looked down while in the shower.