Children's comics are
comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
intended primarily for
children
A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
.
Contents
Unlike
adult comics, children's comics generally don't contain material that could be considered thematically
inappropriate for children, including vulgarity, morally questionable actions, disturbing imagery, and
sexually explicit material.
In some places, this can be enforced through legal or industry bodies, such as the
Comics Code Authority in the second half of the 20th century in the United States.
Charles Hatfield claims that one of the common characteristics of children's comics is "
cuteness".
Traditionally, comics were often intended for children, and are still often considered less "serious" than books, but this perception, and their target audience, has been gradually shifting, leading to the growing popularity of the
adult comics.
Audience
The focus on children makes them part of the
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
, and distinguishes them from general audience comics, known as
adult comics.
In between those two, the term ''young adult comics'' (also ''
adolescent
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...
comics
'') is sometimes used.
Those terms are somewhat arbitrary, with
Roger Sabin defining children's comics as those for readers aged 16 or less, and within that group distinguishing ''
nursery comics'' for those aged 8 or below, and ''adolescent comics'' for the group of 12-16 years old).
Some comics have also been described as "
all ages" (ex. ''
Little Lit'').
By country
United States
Among the most popular children's comics in the United States are Disney's comics such as ''
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
'' and ''
Donald Duck'', which have also been widely translated around the world.
Poland
In Poland, classic children's comics include titles such as ''
Pan Kleks'', ''
Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek'' and
''Kajko i Kokosz'' .
References
Comics genres
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