A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me what I read when I was nine, looking for ideas for her son.  And I said (among other things)…comic books.  I was a huge Marvel fan as a kid.  Spider-ManHulkROMMicronautsShogun Warriors,Ghost Rider, some Iron Man.  Easy access to comic books was a huge part of the reason I was an avid reader then and why I’m a writer today.

But Marvel doesn’t put out stories aimed at that demographic anymore.  I follow a bunch of their writers and publicity folks, and I was stunned when one person asked about current/recent Captain America comics suitable for a ten year-old and was publicly told there weren’t any.  Which  strikes me as sad on numerous levels, because it means a lot of these creators are taking something they loved when they were young and making it into something kids can’t enjoy.

And it makes me wonder… how many of these kids (if any) will grow up loving those characters?  At least, in this format?

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