I’m trying to think of a graphic novel that will make a good Christmas present for a 10-11 year old (10 now, nearly 11). He’s a big fan of all the Avengers movies, so I’m thinking something Marvel would be good, but he’s probably a bit too old for Marvel Adventures and the like.
Any suggestions?
Doesn’t sound to be too old for the Marvel Adventures line (which is defunct as of this past May), honestly.
MA are kid-friendly, but they’re not childish. They’re a bit sillier than the main universe stuff, sometimes, but they’re generally on par with TV aimed at an audience your kid’s age. Too old for the successor to the line, possibly (I don’t read either of the books in the current kids’ line), but not for Marvel Adventures, which are rather like the comics of the 60s and 70s in general tone.
Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers
OK, thought they were aimed at a younger age range than that. Do you have any specific recommendations, or are they all fairly good quality?
If you want to look outside Marvel, I’d recommend the Crogan series of graphic novels from Oni.
http://www.onipress.com/series/crogan
Follows members of one family through different decades and centuries in a sort of “thrilling” adventure story mold.
You probably couldn’t go wrong with some classic Avengers collections. They did tend to be wordier but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
They’re all pretty good. MA Iron Man, MA Hulk, and MA Avengers and some of the random MA trades, which collect MA Super Heroes, and random smaller series, and often feature the Avengers or characters from the Avengers (Iron Man and Thor, mostly, but Hulk and Black Widow show up, too), would probably be most interesting to your kid, if he liked the Avengers movies.
The various Power Pack minis (officially Marvel Age, despite coming out after Marvel Adventures replaced that) are pretty good, too, but they may be a bit ‘cute’ for him, if he’s a typical boy-of-that-age. (They’re not aimed at a younger audience, again, but…‘cute’.)
These aren’t Marvel or DC graphic novels set in their comic book storyline universes, but my kids were 8-10 years old and really enjoyed the Bone graphic novels (now available in a single paperback omnibus). Also the four (original) Elfquest graphic novels that I’ve had since I was a teenager.
Your kid may consider them too young for him, but the Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge run and the Bone series are both some of the finest storytelling ever done in comics.
Superman is a pretty great character that is typically fine for kids.
Crogan is VERY good. My 12-year-old girl loves them.
I could also suggest, if the kid likes a bit of fantasy, the first Elfquest book. It’s about a group of elves, who, when humans burn down their forest, search for a new home. Beautifully drawn and well-written, too.
How about Tintin? Especially if he liked the recent movie. The movie itself was based on three titles so you could start off with those. They are different enough from the movie that they will seem fresh too.
Came here as well to recommend Bone, but have some reservations about recommending Elfquest to a ten-year-old. As Jonathan Chance suggests, the first book is probably fine, content-wise, for that age group and is a self-contained story. The second through third books start a new storyline and grow increasingly violent and sexual as it goes. Personally, I would be fine giving it to a ten year old, that was the age when I read them myself, but the OP should definitely give them a look-through to determine appropriateness for their own child.
Secondly, I’ve been very disappointed with the quality of the of the Elfquest novels published subsequent to the first editions; they seem to be poorly-bound (pages fall out) and the coloring seems sloppy and cheap compared to the marvelous colors done originally by the artist herself.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will go with the MA avengers stuff for now, as I know he’ll like them, and I want to draw him in to the world of comics. I may well revisit this thread for future birthdays and Christmasses though
Came here to recommend this. My 9-year-old has read through the omnibus a couple of times, and several of the boys in her class like it as well.
Came here to recommend this. My 9-year-old has read through the omnibus a couple of times, and several of the boys in her class like it as well.
Edited, after reading previous post, to add:
Never mind.
The Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi is a great adventure read for that age range.
And if he wants something funny, then Squish or Babymouse are good. [cough]
I think this would be perfect: