I finally got my shy nephew to pick up a comic at the local shop.

He's 10 and always just looked at the action figures, but last Saturday I pointed out a Miles Morales Spider-Man book. He read the first three pages right there in the aisle and said, 'This is way better than the movie.' How do you find the right book to hook someone new?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyw991mo ago

Nice, you've unlocked the secret level of cool aunt/uncle. The trick is to find the comic version of a movie they already like, then watch them realize the book is always better. Miles is a perfect pick because the art pops and the story moves fast. Honestly, half the battle is just getting them to open the cover without feeling like it's homework.

felix1471mo ago

You know, finleyw99, the real win is when they start hunting down the artist's other work on their own. Saw it happen with my cousin after he read Miles. He went from "comics are for little kids" to digging through back issues of Ultimate Spider-Man for months.

reesemoore1mo ago

My nephew was the same way with the first Avengers movie. He watched it a dozen times but wouldn't touch a comic. I got him the Infinity Gauntlet trade paperback and just left it on the coffee table. Three days later he was asking me who the guy with the helmet and the gem on his forehead was. That's the magic finleyw99 is talking about. You're not giving them a book, you're giving them a key to a bigger world they already love. Seeing them connect those dots on their own is the whole point.