When did comic books start to get aimed at adults?

[lotryay]

I'm wanting to start reading comic books and I was wondering, when did comic books start to get aimed at adults?

[Bilbo Baggins]

I would like to know why you say they are aimed at adults and which comic book are you planning on reading?

[Aanchir]

I'm wanting to start reading comic books and I was wondering, when did comic books start to get aimed at adults?

There have been adult-oriented comics for many decades, including of course sleazy pornographic comics, but as for ones with high-quality writing, I'm not totally sure. The media at least tends to credit comics like Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in the mid-80s for moving comics that were mature in terms of complexity (rather than just kid-inappropriate content) into the mainstream.

If you want some recommendations of adult-oriented comic books, I thoroughly encourage you to check out Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. It's a heavily mythic story that draws from existing DC comics characters both familiar and obscure, classical mythologies and religious traditions, diverse eras of human history, and of course Gaiman's own brilliant imagination. The individual comics vary greatly in tone but together tell an overarching narrative around the main character, Dream of the Endless, and his strange family. One advantage of the series is that you don't need to have any specific background knowledge to enjoy it, and yet the diverse references in it will provide a lot of new insights if you should choose to re-read any of the stories with annotations (this site is a good one for that).

Watchmen which I mentioned above is also a good story, and likewise doesn't need any background knowledge to be explored. It's also a lot easier to read in full than The Sandman since it's collected in only one volume rather than ten. But personally I got a lot more out of The Sandman than out of Watchmen.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Aanchir

[Sam892]

I think it was about the 70's that comic books started to become more adult themed. By the 80's lots of comics had abandoned the comics code. The 80's certainly introduced more violent anti heroes that will kill without hesitation like Wolverine. Lots of comics had pushed the limits in the past with the odd story arc about drugs and whatnot but it was rare.

[into the blue]

If I had to pick one comic book (which is more difficult than you think) then it would have to be Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 which pushed social issues to the fore.

[def]

Since their birth, there have always been comics aimed at adults, in America, Europe and Japan (and elsewhere I guess). In America, the birth of the Comics Code in the 50's (check the wiki page on Frederick Wertham for the pathetic story).

In the 70's and 80's, more 'mature' writing appeared, but a lot of it was just sexy and violent.

Video games and multi-media, plus soaring paper prices are largely to blame for it now though (comics in America cost $4 on average for a 10 minute read... not for kids). The Gen X-ers were the last generation of kids to read lots of comics. Twenty years ago, the average reader was 15, and now they are in their 30's. So the stories and art have gotten a lot more sophisticated to go with that. Most books aimed at younger readers fail.

Hopefully, the success of some comic characters in movies, plus the ability to buy and read them on tablets, will get kids back into them more. We'll see

[Bilbo Baggins]

Twenty years ago, the average reader was 15, and now they are in their 30's.

That is really surprising, where did you get that from, any source you could post?

[def]

That is really surprising, where did you get that from, any source you could post?

Well, that's kind of anecdotal, but it has to do with my own experience: the word of a friend of mine running a shop in Toronto, lots of similar statements I've heard on comic podcasts (such as, "How do we get kids to start reading comics?" "Kids don't come to the comic shop."), the desparate need to perpetually restart series to attract new readers(New 52, Marvel NOW), and just the logic of it. The price is what really kills comics these days, and it's a reason some publishers look to Japan and magazines like "Jump" to figure out a healthy business model. Comics are like cigarettes. You have to get them started young. When I was a kid (1980), every convenience store/grocery store/drug store had a comic rack, and those disappeared as comics got more "mature" and collector oriented, leaving only comic shops. Now, you pretty much have to go to a comic shop to find comics, and most parents wouldn't take their kid to one unless directly asked to, and maybe not even then. So, for over twenty years, kids haven't been exposed to them like they used to. (Trade paperbacks at Barnes and Noble don't count, because they are out of a kids casual price range).

When I was a kid, I could get comics at the corner store up the road from my grandma's house (population: 200) and get them for 35 cents each, the cost of a pop. Now they cost three to four times that, relatively speaking, and you likely have to drive to find a shop, and if you're in a rural area, you're out of luck.

I will expose my daughter to comics, but it'll pretty much just be trade paperbacks. I'm not rich enough to collect both LEGO and comics.

I think American comics won't get out of their rut as long as they demand full color work, and heavy stock paper, which make comics ill-suited to the mass market.

A quick Google search of "Average age comic book reader":

Link

It's annecdotal too, but you have 56% above 30, and 37% between 18 and 29, with less than 6% below 18.

If you find anything to contradict this, let me know. I'd love to see things be better.

On a related note, in Toronto is what is possibly the first ever comic book shop for kids, Little Island Comics. If you live in Toronto, and want to get your kids/nieces/nephews hooked, take them there, or get them gift certificates. There's nothing a parent wouldn't like there

http://www.littleislandcomics.com/

[Bilbo Baggins]

I didnt realize that the comic book situation was that bad in the U. S. Here in Mexico the translated version of AvX for example are US$ 1.25 and are sold in a lot of places.

[Sam892]

I didnt realize that the comic book situation was that bad in the U. S. Here in Mexico the translated version of AvX for example are US$ 1.25 and are sold in a lot of places.

Here where I live in the UK there's just a very small comic store and that's it. Unlike the other stores I've been to in London, my local store doesn't sell many collectibles or LEGO. I think that's part of the problem here which is unless your ordering comics over the Internet, there's nowhere in a lot of places to purchase them. I'm hoping now that people can download them on to IPhones and IPads that sales will pick up. I personally don't like getting digital copies I prefer a physical thing that I can hold.

[Bilbo Baggins]

I'm hoping now that people can download them on to IPhones and IPads that sales will pick up. I personally don't like getting digital copies I prefer a physical thing that I can hold.

Me too, I just like having the comic books phisically, it is more exciting

[purpleparadox]

I personally don't like getting digital copies I prefer a physical thing that I can hold.

I like physical copies better too...but I tend to go for digital more often. When I buy comics digitally it's so much easier to find them and so much cheaper, too.

[Spider-Man]

Is it really cheaper? I always thought it was around the same price, and for the little bit of extra cash I would rather have the physical comic! Plus you never know which comics will be worth a whole lot of money in 30 or 40 years

[SpiderSpaceman]

Almost on topic, "kids don't come to the store/comics aren't kid-appropriate," here's a gem from some old catholic catechism, about avoiding the "near occasions of sin: bad companions"

The 80's certainly introduced more violent anti heroes that will kill without hesitation like Wolverine.

This is what a favorite of mine, DC's Lobo, celebrates the absurdity of. Off the back of the collection "Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich":

Warning: This book not recommended for geeks, wimps, dweebs, weenies and those with a delicate constitution.

Lobo is basically a living, killing, chuck norris joke.

I believe the ninja turtles also began as a satire of dark, grim comics.

[def]

I believe the ninja turtles also began as a satire of dark, grim comics.

They were a parody of Frank Miller's Wolverine and Daredevil work, to the point that their origin is tied up with Daredevil, and the endless ninja horde they fight are called the Foot, while Wolverine fought the Hand

[Aanchir]

Me too, I just like having the comic books phisically, it is more exciting

I prefer physical graphic novels in a lot of cases, but not physical comic books. The main comic books I've had in physical form are the bonus comics that came in LEGO magazines for so many years (mainly the BIONICLE comics, plus a few others), and some of the earliest ones have not weathered the test of time very well. When it comes to something I actually plan to read over and over again, I like to have something that feels substantial, and currently e-editions don't feel much safer to me in that regard than single-issue comics. It's easy to misplace a digital file, after all.

Of course, I felt the same way about music for quite a while, preferring CDs to digital music, and while I still have never bought music online (preferring to at least own a hard copy if I should have difficulty moving around my digital music), I do almost all of my "listening" on an iPod. If only there were an easy way to transfer hard-copy books and comics to a space-efficient digital form like you can transfer music on CD onto a computer.

[Bilbo Baggins]

If only there were an easy way to transfer hard-copy books and comics to a space-efficient digital form like you can transfer music on CD onto a computer.

Actually now a days many comics include Digital copies