A Matt Groening Production
Script/Layouts: Steve Vance
Finished Art: Bill Morrison
Co-Plot/Colors: Cindy Vance

If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably a fan of the Simpsons. After almost 20 years of cartooning, how could you not be? It’s smart, funny, and easily one of the all-time best cartoons ever to grace the small screen. As such, I was stoked when my friend, Reed loaned me the first edition of Radioactive Man.

The comic is about the origins of Radioactive Man; you know, like how he got his lightning bolt to stick out of his head, his secret love for Gloria Grand, and how Claude Kane III (Radioactive Man’s secret identity) got too close to a “mega-bomb”. The side story is about how comics that depict death, sex, crime, etc. are causing kids to become juvenile delinquents.

Let’s ponder this for a moment…I can’t say I grew up reading comics but I can say that I read things when I was young that were probably too mature for me at the time. Did these things warp my mind and cause me to replicate the scenes of violence/blood/rape that I was reading about? Ah, nope.

It’s like the old video-game argument that crime, destruction and gore will corrupt today’s youth if they play enough games within said graphic genre. I don’t really think this is true. Many parents and conservatives will staunchly argue about this though. You know, if kids witness too many violent acts via comics, video-games, movies, then it’s inevitable that the kids in question will grow up to commit crimes, right? Just good ole deductive reasoning…right?

WRONG! Anyone with a brain should be able to deduce what’s real and what’s not. For instance, Hard Boiled that I read last weekend was extremely graphic, and extremely inappropriate for kids under, I dunno, maybe 16. But in reality, even a 14 year old should be able to figure out that Hard Boiled is just a comic and that it’s not reality.

Now, comics of course mimic our reality, even if they’re farfetched. Every superhero has a basis (via his/her secret identity) in reality. I think it’s the job of parents to teach kids that even if they really wish they could crush bad-guys’ skulls in, that in reality, it’s not something they can really accomplish. It’s the job of parents to be like, “honey, I’m glad you’re gung-ho about wanting to mess up the filth of the world, but you’ve got to wait until you’re old enough to become a cop.” Too bad most parents don’t say this and end up leaving their children to be babysat by TV, videogames, even comics while mom and dad are off popping too many Vicodin. Too bad most parents don’t even know what kind of books/comics their kids are reading. Too bad.

I know it’s not easy to be a parent but honestly, I think if parents were more involved in their children’s lives, kids would understand the world a lot better. Why not read a comic WITH your kids, for pete sakes. Then you can talk about the crazy shit that’s within them and explain things rather than letting your kids figure it out on their own. I dunno, I guess there’s no real solution but…I just think that comics/movies/games/TV alone are not the real problem when it comes to kids imitating the things they read and see.