Every Marvel character started in a book. Look down upon them all you like, but it still remains that comics and graphic novels got more children, particularly boys and children with LDs like Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia, engaged and free reading than you realise.
I actually think that 'book snobbery' isn't what people think it is.
Firstly, its absoluetely the case that books with characters who originally were in films have a place. Those books might be the only ones that kids will read and then be drawn into reading. The biggest book lovers often get that. Its actually people who are just snobs not bookish who have this attitude to 'mass market crap' books.
Secondly, graphic novels and comics are having a massive comeback atm. If you look on the Amazon / Supermarket deals some of these are being pushed to a mass market. They are also being encouraged by those 'book snobs' The Book Trust. I think Dog Man, Investigators, Bunny v Monkey, Narwhal and Jelly are just a few that fall into that group.
This is also getting a certain amount of recognition: 'A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You' is a comic style fact book that won The Blue Peter Book Award a couple of years ago.
Where the issue is, is that often the 'mass market crap books' simply don't have enough literary / imaginative value to expand a child's reading ability. Thats actually where the likes of Dog Man are doing well because there is a pathway in comics / graphic novels developing through to more difficult books which ARE suitable for children with particular learning difficulties and also appeal to broader age range due to their content. And thats where its relevant to say that kids need to be reading other stuff that 'low value content' in some of the movie spin off books which are, unfortunately, poorly written.
The trend is very firmly with comic books at the moment. If you go into any supermarket or book shop you'll find they are making up a huge share of the market. And educators are firmly behind it.
There's a couple of kids in my son's class who have been book refusers and their parents have been disparing of it. The breakthrough has been due to these less formal books.
Its still jump though, to more wordy texts, which they do need to do about age ten. I did reading with yr5 prior to covid and there were a fair number of kids who kept reading 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series even though they were more than capable of more because these books were 'safe' and easy. Unless they find the 'love' for books for good well written books that spark their imagination, they struggle more to make that jump.
I would argue that the market has come on a long way, even in these last four years since I did that, which should make a difference as this new generation of books find their way to school book shelves and that can only be a good thing. Hopefully it means more kids who've struggled will find 'more meaty' books that they want to put the effort into even if they find it more challenging.
Its the likes of The Book Trust and WBD which is helping to drive this. I do have my issues with some of the stuff they are pushing, but overall I think they are doing a good job.
Its the commercialism of WBD thats the problem. Not WBD itself.