Walk into any comic book store, and you’re just as likely to find adults as children. That’s because nowadays, the folks producing all the wonderful work on the stands know that both age groups are interested in the stories they have to tell. Marvel’s MAX line, for instance, is aimed towards adults tired of mainstream censorship, allowing for gratuitous violence and foul language. DC’s upcoming Zoom and Ink imprints, on the other hand, are hand-tailored for younger audiences.
But there are plenty of comics out there that adults and kids alike can easily enjoy — comics that straddle the line between simple and complex, between entertaining and engaging. Without any further ado, here are five comics that will satisfy children and adults.
Marvel’s Star Wars
The Star Wars universe presents endless storytelling opportunities, from the hope-infused A New Hope to the dire straits of The Empire Strikes Back. Marvel has released several different Star Wars comics to accommodate all the possibilities, but none embrace the spirit of adventure quite like Jason Aaron and John Cassaday have been able to with their series simply titled Star Wars.
The comic picks up after the destruction of the Death Star, revealing what Luke, Han, Leia and the gang were up to between movies. Full of action and intrigue, Aaron does a wonderful job of capturing each character’s unique voice, and Cassaday renders it all in an exciting, cinematic style.
The expanded stories of beloved characters are lure enough for kids and adults, but the fact that they’re so well done makes it even more of a draw for both parties. It’s like having a Star Wars movie in the palm of your hand: a space opera for all ages.
Adventures of Superman
As readers demanded more nuanced storylines from comics, it became harder for the nearly invincible Superman to deliver. Where to draw the line between excitement and complexity? Adventures of Superman circumvents this problem in a clever way.
Written and drawn by various industry talents, the series presents a grab-bag of stories starring the Big Blue Boy Scout, and it’s that grab-bag quality that allows the stories to succeed where others haven’t. If you want Supes fighting a giant robot sent by Lex Luthor, you’ve got it. If you want a more introspective piece chronicling a day in the life of the hero, there’s that, too.
No matter what specific issues it focuses on, they all embody the essence of the legendary hero and respect his legacy. Depending on what part of that legacy appeals to you most, there’s almost certainly an issue for you, young or old.
Bone
You know those stories that you get completely lost in? The ones that keep you up all night because of the absorbing worlds, the characters that make you laugh and cry, and the boundlessness of imagination within? Bone is that and so much more.
Creator Jeff Smith wrote and drew all 55 issues over the course of 13 years, a testament to hard work — and it shows. Often compared with The Lord of the Rings in scope, the adventures of the Bone brothers are as heartfelt as they are hilarious, as epic as they are intimate, and as fun as they are thought-provoking.
If you’re an adult, Bone will make you feel like a kid again. If you’re a kid, Bone will light your creative spark like nothing else. Either way, you’ll be in as much awe as Fone Bone (the protagonist) ever was.
Spider-Man: Blue
A more controversial choice for this list, Spider-Man: Blue is quite possibly the best entry in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale‘s “color” series (which also includes Hulk: Gray, Daredevil: Yellow, and Captain America: White). But why the controversy?
Spider-Man has always been the everyman hero — someone with normal problems, but abnormal powers. This miniseries covers two main issues: love and death. While often considered “adult” themes, they are things that we all have to deal with at some point in our lives. And with Spidey, there’s always levity to balance tragedy.
What also makes Spider-Man: Blue an all-ages read is that it’s a retelling of classic Spider-Man stories — namely, those centering around Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s first true love. As fun as early Spider-Man comics are, it can be rough trudging through the campy writing style, so this modern take almost acts as a history lesson for kids and a journey down memory lane for adults.
Calvin and Hobbes
Though the titular characters are named after long-dead philosophers, writer-artist Bill Watterson makes darn sure that time spent with the boy (Calvin) and his imaginary friend/stuffed animal tiger (Hobbes) is full of life, bursting at the seams with whimsy and wit. Yet true to the spirit of philosophy, this comic strip will get you thinking as frequently as it will rupture your spleen with laughter. Watterson maintains the balance expertly.
What Calvin and Hobbes does best is show what it’s like to be a kid: the relationships you have with adults at a young age, cramming as much in as possible before bedtime (and then finding ways to stay up past that), and of course, imagination without limits. That makes it easy for just about anyone to relate to, either out of longing nostalgia for youth or experiences you’re having as someone around Calvin’s age.
Choices, Choices
At the end of the day, no one’s going to stop a kid from buying The Walking Dead or an adult from purchasing a Big Nate collection. There’s a world of comics out there just waiting to be explored, whether you’re 9 or 99. But comics like those listed here are the kind that will generate the most discussion between age groups, the kind that will connect them where others will not, the kind that will mean the most to all generations of comic book readers.
