Anyone else finding comic books crowding out novels?

[Meforthree]

Is anyone else (whisper it) driven slightly mad by the popularity of comic books like Bunny vs Monkey and Dogman?

I’m not totally against them at all (honestly, I’m not, they helped get my kids INTO reading) and the quality is often very good, BUT I do now feel like they’re just everywhere and kind of distracting away from longer, harder but potentially very satisfying longer reads like novels… kind of like the fast food of books? My DS (11) will quite frequently reach for a comic book out of ease instead of a novel…

I mean, I get it, I sometimes feel the same - if I’m tired I’ll reach for an easy to read thriller - but I just feel like comic books are so ubiquitous now they’re kind of just too available and distracting, especially for young minds still developing their reading stamina and interests… Today, in a book shop I watched my DS pick up a novel he thought looked good, then put it down when he noticed the comics shelf next to it!

Anyone else? Any tips on how to steer them more towards novels (without necessarily killing off their love or comics 🙂?)

I noticed this recently; the bookshop I was in had 50% 'normal' books and 50% comic books and their associated 'merch' 🤷

It doesn't bode well, does it!

Has he read any graphic novels that are adaptions of other books?
Many of the traditional classics have graphic novel versions and more modern books have been adapted too (like the Alex Rider series for example).
This can be a good way of crossing over from one genre to the another.

@SaraHoliday what do you mean by "doesn't bode well" ?

The 50/50 split of books to comics/merch.

have you tried Skandar series?
or Goblins serirs by Philip reeves?

But what's wrong with 50% being comics/graphic novels?

Sorry should add my DS does actually like reading, so not looking for reading recommendations! It snore just that given the choice he’ll often reach for a comic, in part I think because, as I say, it’s so much EASIER in the moment. Like a takeaway, even if you actually like good food and cooking..,

But perhaps if you buy him a graphic novel that's based on a classic - buy the original at the same time and suggest to read both versions.
(If there's a film/TV version too that can make it fun to then compare all the different adaptions)

I find Bunny vs Monkey completely nonsensical too. There are other comics that I don’t mind so much (Pablo and Splash for example still seems to have a decent plot) but BvM is just trash

I have worked in children’s literature for 20 years, and no, I don’t feel this way at all. It’s a trend, they are popular, the way people read and absorb information is also changing. That’s the way of the world, and it’s normal. You don’t have to like it, but you either move with it or accept it, or end up permanently disgruntled.

I’m a writer, so very familiar with the industry and I know how popular they are, but I’m not sure that’s only a positive thing (although it certainly has some positives, like getting a kid into reading). I think you can have an opinion and be nervous about the status quo without becoming permanently disgruntled!

Don’t see the issue. Reading’s just one of many hobbies people can have. It’s not intrinsically better to read a novel rather than a comic (or even, shock horror, not to read for pleasure at all but to have other interests).

Can you? I’m not so sure.

I also never said they were only a positive thing. I said reading and the way we absorb information has evolved. And it will keep on evolving. I’m sure our reading habits 20 years ago would have been thrashed by the previous generations too.

Provided kids are reading I honestly couldn’t care less what the content is. I’m an English Lit lecturer trying to keep the discipline alive which is an uphill battle. Booktok has been great but it’s lots of pop fiction I personally didn’t enjoy even remotely. Keeping Gen Z’s attention span can be difficult. Comic books are great for this reason, they’re engaging and shorter than classic novels.

When I was small the 'saturday comics' were a huge thing. We were so excited for them week after week.But I don't remember any sense in which they competed for our attention when it came to other sorts of reading.

I think that the more reading you do, the more your appetite for it increases, so the comics may have actually helped with forming other reading interests.

In any case, aren't today's comic novels legit, respectable literary creations in their own right? Of course loads of them are trashy - but then loads of conventional books are trashy too.

They're graphic novels, not "comic books", that's so dismissive. They're still stories, just in a different format. Let your kid read what he wants.