Comic Creators Having Kids = More Kid-Centric Comics

Although comic books aimed at kids are nothing new, in the past few months the number and strength of kid-centric books have been going through a growth spurt. From Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard’s Super Dinosaur to Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s TAKIO and beyond, it seems some of the biggest creators of today are spending time writing for the next generation of comics fans.

And there’s a not-so-secret reason why. Their kids are making them do it.

Well, maybe not “making them,” but they’re definitely inspiring them, assisting them, and acting as a potential audience for these books. All four of the creators mentioned above, as well as others, have stated repeatedly in interviews that their own focus on child-oriented material came about because of their own kids. Super Dinosaur co-creator Jason Howard explained once that in a way, his son created the initial concept.

“My oldest son Jake was 5 or so at the time, we were just hanging out and he was telling me things to draw. One of the things he asked for was a T-Rex with a helmet. As I was drawing it he told me to give it gloves and a cape like Batman. When I asked him what to call it he said “Super Dinosaur,” stated Super Dinosaur artist Jason Howard in a Newsarama.com interview. “It made me laugh, but it might not have ever turned into anything except later that day I was talking to Robert. We were discussing Astounding Wolf-Man stuff but we occasionally share stories about what crazy things our kids are up to and I mentioned Super Dinosaur to him. It seemed to spark something and he immediately said, "forget the cape, he has big robot arms that are controlled by his tiny T-Rex arms". I thought this was brilliant, and had a bunch of other ideas and we excitedly talked about all the cool stuff we could do with this. At the time we were in the middle of Astounding Wolf-Man, but as I had free time here and there I did some character designs and even a couple finished pieces. We quickly decided that this was a comic that we had to do someday.”

For Bendis & Oeming’s Icon title TAKIO, it was an idea they’d been batting around for years but it wasn’t until an informal brainstorming session with them and one of Brian’s children that it really started to heat up, according to a CBR article.

"Mike [Oeming] and I have been cooking this one for a while. The story was created here at the house, and shockingly, my daughter chipped in with two ideas that were so on the spot amazing that everyone in the room kind of stopped and looked at her," Bendis said. "It's funny – my house is here in Portland and there are tons of comic people at the house all the time from all walks of life. At dinners we'll somehow get into storytelling, characters and this or that. Sometimes it looks like your kids are just sitting there and not paying attention, but then Olivia sat up and asked, 'What about this?' We all looked at each other and went, 'Oh my God. No one has ever thought about that before. That's going to be the surprise reveal of the book.' When Mike heard what she said, he turned to me and said, 'I'll draw that.'"

Factor that into the super-group Man of Action’s recent forays into kids cartoons with Ben10 and Generator Rex, Skottie Young’s recent work being inspired by his son, and Conan artist Mike Hawthorne’s webcomic series Raising Crazy based on his son and you’ve got a legitimate trend. I look forward to seeing more kid-comics by other comic creator parents, from the one-two powerhouse duo of Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue Deconnick to the renowned dark writer Jason Aaron.

I wonder if Grant Morrison has any kids?