How do you hide something from a Millennial?

Put it in a book

Yeah, I know: harsh generalization. But I bet the statistics would back it up. I would also bet there’s a strong correlation (if not causation) between recreational reading and independent/critical thinking.

When Did the Slide Begin?

Some sources suggest America’s decline in literacy began in the 1920s. I consider it more likely that significant decline can be traced to 1947, when television began to proliferate in middle class homes across America. But whatever.

What we do know is that  the popularity of comic books exploded in 1938 and lasted into the 1950s (the superhero craze lasted from 1938 until about 1945). Comic books have never been as popular as they were during the Golden Age. And the comic-reading demographic during that time was mostly boys. A lot of teenagers read them, some old enough to serve in uniform overseas, but the scale tipped significantly to pre-teen boys. Specifically, these were late-cohort GI Generation, Silent Generation, and early-cohort Boomers.

Changing of the Guard

Many from the latter generation would continue reading comics into adulthood. Some from that generation would take over the industry, and shift their sights to an audience of their own peers, turning their backs on the following generations.

Fast-forward to today. With some exceptions, the Millennials and Homelanders* are functionally illiterate and incapable of independent/critical thought. Lots of factors have converged to handicap them this way. One factor is there have effectively no comic books that excited them as boys and led them to a transition to “more serious” prose books.

I listened to one of Chuck Dixon’s podcasts recently, He mentioned that Manga has attracted the young audience that comics lost over the course of the Pozzed Age.**

What Manga Proves

If Manga can win back that young demographic, then why couldn’t American comics, too? After all, American comics are the original gangsta that first won that audience, anyway.

Here is a windmill worth tipping at. I have begun some research, starting with Demon Slayer, which a librarian says is one of the more popular titles with teenagers. So far as drawing and writing style, it is more refined than most of the Golden Age comics. But I don’t see the story quality as an improvement. I’m sure there is better Manga out there (and hopefully I’ll find some), but take note, my fellow creators: we can do better than this stuff!

We don’t have the equivalent of Anime to market comics to kids, but we should think of something. The Boomers will begin dying off, soon, and American comics will die with them as a medium, unless we crack the code for finding a young audience.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

 

* I use Generational Theory, as codified by William Strauss & Neil Howe, not the MPAI terms like “Gen Y,” “Gen Z,” “Zoomers,” etc.

** IMO this age began in the 1990s and is still in effect, at least when it comes to mainstream entertainment. Some of us are hard at work trying to usher in an Iron Age…history will determine if we’re successful.