As another Halloween comes and goes, my Facebook feed has been inundated with photos by proud parents of their adorable kids all dressed up in their costumes. And it struck me this year how very many of them were dressed up like comic book superheroes.

Batman. Wolverine. Spider-Man. Captain America. Wonder Woman. The big league heroes from DC and Marvel were well represented, and even allowing for geek-parent influence in costume choice, it does this geek-parent’s heart good to see so many kids who love these characters.

It really got me thinking about the fact that most of these kids don’t actually know and love the characters from reading comics, but rather from their appearances in other areas of entertainment such as movies, tv shows, video games and toys. Not that there is anything wrong with those things, inherently. I like them too. But to me there is something sad about a kid who loves Spider-Man or Batman or Wolverine — so much that he wants to dress like him on the one night he can dress like anything – not getting to actually read about this character they love, in the medium that gave him life.

What it seems like to me, to be honest, is a missed opportunity.

How many parents don’t jump at the chance to get their kids reading more, when their new favorite movie is based on a book? For any of their faults as books or films, the Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia movies, for example, have all directed kids right to their source material and encouraged them to read. That resulted, happily, in many, many kids learning to love reading.

So why do we usually try to satisfy our kids’ desire for more Spider-Man or Batman by getting them toys, games, or DVDs, rather than comics?

Comics are a much maligned medium, and if you know their history you know they have been pretty much since their inception.

These days, the whole industry is struggling, supported mostly by selling their ideas to Hollywood. Even beyond the “death of print media”  – which has, depending on who you ask, either already happened or is happening now — comics as an industry has had it tough for a long time. Sales are way down. Costs are up. Brick-and-mortar comic book stores usually have to rely on sale of non-comic merchandise to make ends meet. In the minds of many people, comics are still considered cheap, shallow, disposable entertainment that will rot your brain. They’re still thought of as being “for kids,” yet parents are often reticent about their kids reading them.

But the truth is, the kinds of comics available today are as wide in genre, target-audience, and quality as the contents of any library or book store. Some people seem to feel like comics, due to their very form, are a waste of time for kids to read because they’ll just look at the pictures instead of reading the words. BAH! Hogwash, I say. Ask anyone who is a comic fan and they will probably be glad to share with you how comics played a role in instilling a love of reading in them at a young age. I know it did for me. And recent studies have shown what every comic fan knows: that comics are as legitimate a material for teaching kids to read as picture books, or any children’s book with illustrations for that matter.

It used to be that most superhero comics were made mainly with kids in mind, but the average reader is almost 30-years old now, so it is no longer the case. The industry now aims most of its comics to older teens and adults, and even the titles about the most well-known, mainstream characters can be way too violent for a young kid. But there are fantastic, age-appropriate books out there if you take the time to look, featuring the major Marvel and DC heroes and a whole range of other kid-friendly characters.

I could probably rant on and on about this, so let me get to my point before I lose you:

If your kid dressed up like a comic book superhero for Halloween, don’t let the opportunity pass you by to get him or her reading about that hero. Especially if your kid is struggling or not interested in reading!

Go find a local comic shop and talk to the proprietor about what titles they have that are age-appropriate for your child. Or look into the ever-growing world of digital comics, so your kids can read on your tablet or computer. Find something you think your kid will enjoy.

You just may end up instilling a love of reading (and don’t even get me started on what reading comics did for making me a better artist) that will last a lifetime.

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