The Four Color Media Monitor

The UK Guardian reports comics for children in the UK have seen a rise in sales:

The best route to learning to love words in print could well be pictures. This, at least, is the hope of the publishing industry this spring, as it welcomes news that sales of children’s comics and graphic novels have reached an all-time peak of almost £20m in Britain.

While publishers and editors are celebrating this boom for its own sake, the popularity of these titles is also being hailed as a good omen for novels, ahead of the London Book Fair at Olympia this week. “Over the last decade we’ve seen a significant rise in sales of graphic novels for both the adult and children’s markets,” said Philip Stone, media analyst at NielsenIQ BookData, as he revealed details of the latest trends, hits and flops this weekend.

“Superhero books have been a reliably big feature, probably boosted by all the screen superhero movies. A lot of manga series are doing very well again, and this may also be linked to screen versions. What we really need now is some deep-dive research into the impact of graphic and comic fiction as a gateway for young people into reading. We certainly suspect it’s true.”

Comics may be seeing more audience at this point in the UK, but to say the movies are literally driving readership is still missing the boat, as noted before. This news isn't entirely great, though, if the following says something:

The appetite for books in graphic form comes after the National Literacy Trust confirmed the decline in children’s general reading habits last November. It found that just one in three children and young people aged eight to 18 enjoyed reading in their free time, with enjoyment levels decreasing by 8.8 percentage points in the past year.

Undaunted, Smart will attend the book fair as its first “creative” in residence this week, a sign of his industry status. He is convinced children are beguiled by books that avoid making them feel they are doing something overtly educational.

“A good story well told is worth its weight in gold, and comics are no exception,” said Smart. “We’re seeing that now, especially with younger readers and reluctant readers, who are all drawn in by the bright visuals and funny characters, before becoming carried along by the stories, and then forming lifelong bonds with these books. Something quite magical is happening at the moment. It’s really exciting to see.”

Of course a good story is vital, but if general reading habits are declining, that's not a good sign, is it? Nor does it sound good if children shun educational value. So while it's great if comicdom is building up in Britain, general book reading should still be re-encouraged, because if it isn't, who knows if comics will continue to retain any kind of audience in the future? I'm sure there's food for thought there.

Labels: conventions, Europe and Asia, msm propaganda, sales