{"id":1025,"date":"2009-05-26T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2009-05-26T09:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2009-05-24T23:48:09","modified_gmt":"2009-05-25T03:48:09","slug":"kids-read-comics-june-12-13-in-chelsea-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/26\/kids-read-comics-june-12-13-in-chelsea-michigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids Read Comics! June 12-13 in Chelsea, Michigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kids Read Comics! A very true statement, however, not as many kids are reading comics today as were when we grew up.\u00a0 Ask yourself, do you encourage kids in your life (your children, nephews, nieces, friend’s kids, neighbors, etc) to read comics?\u00a0 If the answer is no, then you may want to start thinking about it.<\/p>\n

Comics grew up with us, which has kept us collecting.\u00a0 However, many of the publishers have left kids comics behind in order to chase our disposable income.\u00a0 This always bothered me when I worked in a comic book store.\u00a0 It was rare for little kids to come in and shop.\u00a0 When they did, there really weren’t many comics for them to choose from besides the Archie books.\u00a0 Thankfully in recent years several publishers have made an effort to bring the fun of comics back to children.\u00a0 DC and Marvel both have lines of books targeted at kids again, along with lots of other publishers.<\/p>\n

There is a really cool event in June that focuses on bring the love of comics to kids.\u00a0 KIDS READ COMICS! is being held in Chelsea, Michigan (near Detroit and Ann Arbor) on June 12 & 13.\u00a0 This sounds like a truly fantastic and worthwhile event.\u00a0 Here is the description from their website, www.kidsreadcomics.org<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Kids love comics. Kids want comics. Kids read <\/strong>comics.<\/p>\n

Comics have held a huge appeal for kids and teens since the first Sunday funnies were introduced over a hundred years ago, and they still do today. From kid adventurers to superheroes to cartoon animals, and from humor to westerns to fantasy and more, comics have presented a wide range of stories to capture the imagination.<\/p>\n

But changing times (and lots of social, economic and technological factors we won’t go into here) have led to a smaller American comic book industry that tends to focus on an older audience. Comics have grown up, which is great! But that doesn’t have to mean that young readers get left behind. Kids still love comics and want to read them. The key is to get the right comics in their hands.<\/p>\n

That was the thinking that prompted a librarian, a cartoonist, a comic book writer and a comic shop owner to put together the Midwest’s first comic book convention for kids and teens, and to found KidsReadComics.org. We want to bring comics back to the kids who love them. And we believe that most kids will love them once they get hold of the kind of comics that were once a staple of every kid’s life. Updated for the twenty-first century, of course!<\/p>\n

There are huge, untapped possibilities for comics, and we’re here to help make those possibilities real. Our first step is the Kids Read Comics Convention, a totally free event with the goal of spreading the joy and excitement of comics (and manga and anime and cartoons) through:<\/p>\n