www.comicbookresources.com has an article up talking about the overwhelming success Boom! Studios is having with their recently released line of kids comics, featuring The Muppets and The Incredibles. I’ll let you read that article yourself because I don’t really want to rehash an article that they’ve already written. However, there is something in that article that I wanted to bring up because, in my opinion it is crucial to the future of the comic business.

I know that I’m the same guy who wrote 500 words about Dr. Manhattan’s dingy doo, and that I’m also the guy who mere days ago talked bitch slapping emo kids for daring to share the same air as me in a comic store; but I’d actually like to get serious here for a second. As a fan of comics, and somebody who knows a little bit about business, I’ve always thought that the biggest threat to comic as we know them today has been the readers. Not that the readers are a threat to the business, but that eventually when we all get super old, shrivel up, and die that there won’t be enough new readers to keep the industry afloat. Nobody loves comic stores more than I do, but every time I’m at one, when I see kids come in, I’m reminded of Jack Black in High Fidelity, and the way he treated customers in John Cusack’s record store. I can’t remember the exact line that the customer used, but the basic point was that the guys working at the record store thought that they were keepers of some sacred piece of musical snobbery that they couldn’t reveal to anybody who knew less than they did about music….which was everybody. And so, thought it was their duty to shit all over everybody who came into the store. And it might just be where I’m buying my comics, but I see allot of that and as somebody who wants to see that industry thrive, it scares the living shit out of me.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a kid walk into a comic store, interrupt an intense argument over who would win a fight between Aquaman and Namor, get treated like an asshole for…ghasp….wanting to buy something, and then have the person working there reluctantly get the kid his Pokemon Cards, all the while treating the poor runt as though he had asked the dude to wash a toilet with his tongue. The poor kid sheepishly makes his way to the door, knowing fully well that the second he goes through the exit door, all twelve of the people standing around are going to burst out in fits of laughter at how lame he is for buying Pokemon cards…which of course they do. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t laughed at a few Pokeknobs myself. But it’s wrong, it’s bad for comics, and we should all stop doing it if we want comics to survive.

Clearly Boom!’s new kids line is going to be a success, and not because of the Disney/Pixar IP’s that they are using to sell books. The intellectual properties don’t hurt, but the most important take away from this for me is pretty simple, but very important. Kids want to read comics. Not only that, we need them to read comics, because if they don’t, I think the day is going to come where there won’t be comics like the ones we know today. It’s all of our responsibilities to let these new readers into the circle. It’s the job of the entire community to make sure that the next generation of readers is there buying books.

With all the talk of how digital distribution, rising cover prices, and tighter retail margins, are going to change the landscape of the entire industry, I think we’re really overlooking one simple thing. Reading comics is both a social and a private activity, and we need to make sure we’re including everybody in that social side. As long as everybody takes care of that small detail of comics culture, I think everything is going to be ok. Neglect it, and act like a bunch of elitist assholes because we know more about continuity than some of the newer fans, and we risk what we love about the comic culture. Remember that being the most knowledgeable about comic books and geek culture isn’t like being heavyweight champ of the world, there’s room for more than one. So please share what you love about comics with some of the younger readers instead of holding it over them.