# First Graphic Novel for a 10 year old
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 14, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028 "2012-12-14T15:00:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/1 "2012-12-14T15:00:59Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/2 "2012-12-14T15:16:35Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/3 "2012-12-14T18:55:36Z")
Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers
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### Author:  [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/4 "2012-12-14T19:09:38Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#):
>
> 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.
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?
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### Author:  [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/5 "2012-12-14T19:39:21Z")
If you want to look outside Marvel, I’d recommend the Crogan series of graphic novels from Oni.
[http://www.onipress.com/series/crogan](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.
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/6 "2012-12-14T20:10:25Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#):
>
> 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?
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’.)
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### Author:  [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/7 "2012-12-14T20:17:29Z")
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](http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Complete-Cartoon-Epic-Volume/dp/188896314X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355516033&sr=8-1&keywords=bone+graphic+novels)). Also the four (original) _Elfquest_ graphic novels that I’ve had since I was a teenager.
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### Author:  [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/8 "2012-12-14T20:17:44Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/9 "2012-12-14T20:51:21Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#):
>
> If you want to look outside Marvel, I’d recommend the Crogan series of graphic novels from Oni.
> [http://www.onipress.com/series/crogan](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.
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.
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### Author:  [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/10 "2012-12-14T20:57:09Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@FrigidLizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrigidLizard)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/11 "2012-12-14T22:34:25Z")
> [@robardin](#):
>
> 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](http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Complete-Cartoon-Epic-Volume/dp/188896314X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355516033&sr=8-1&keywords=bone+graphic+novels)). Also the four (original) _Elfquest_ graphic novels that I’ve had since I was a teenager.
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.
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### Author:  [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/12 "2012-12-17T18:40:11Z")
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
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### Author:  [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/13 "2012-12-17T18:44:20Z")
> [@robardin](#):
>
> 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](http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Complete-Cartoon-Epic-Volume/dp/188896314X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355516033&sr=8-1&keywords=bone+graphic+novels)).
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.
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### Author:  [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/14 "2012-12-17T18:46:02Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/15 "2012-12-18T01:41:09Z")
The _[Amulet](http://www.amazon.com/The-Stonekeeper-Amulet-Book-1/dp/0439846811/)_ series by Kazu Kibuishi is a great adventure read for that age range.
And if he wants something funny, then _[Squish](http://www.amazon.com/Squish-Amoeba-Jennifer-L-Holm/dp/0375843892/)_ or _[Babymouse](http://www.amazon.com/Babymouse-Queen-World-Jennifer-Holm/dp/0375832297/)_ are good. [cough]
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### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/16 "2012-12-18T02:12:41Z")
I think this would be perfect:
> **[Amazon.com: Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil: 9781401209742: Smith, Jeff,...](https://www.amazon.com/Shazam-Monster-Society-Jeff-Smith/dp/1401209742)**
>
> Amazon.com: Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil: 9781401209742: Smith, Jeff, Smith, Jeff: Books
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-graphic-novel-for-a-10-year-old/644028/17 "2012-12-18T02:16:07Z")
[Asterix the Gaul](http://io9.com/5966002/asterix-the-great-unsung-fantasy-hero)