Looking for comics for a 7 year-old

December 19, 2021 3:32 PM

I'd like to get my 7 year-old nephew some comics for Christmas, but I'm having trouble finding something good that's suitable for kids his age.

I know that he enjoyed reading Tintin with his Dad, but I don't think he's read any other comics. He loves Teen Titans Go! and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the Teen Titans and TMNT comics seem like they're aimed at older kids. I think he might like the Adventure Time comics but I don't know if he's into the show, and it's pretty old in kid years so I'm worried he might think it's uncool. He's also really into dinosaurs and he has pet rats. Any ideas?

posted by Chenko to Media & Arts (28 answers total)

We recently got some graphic novels in the Dragon Girls series (by Maddy Mara) for a child around your nephew’s age. They were a big hit!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:38 PM on December 19, 2021

Super hero direction:

Mine looooooved Tiny Titans. Silly and great and especially likely to be fun if he's already familiar with Teen Titans characters.

These Batman Brave and the Bold comics were also a hit with ours at that age, funny and lively and age appropriate without being condescending in any way. Any collection that's still in print is a fine place to start; they're not super sequential.

The Jeff Smith Shazam! graphic novel is also great.

The Ryan North Squirrel Girl comics are also great, popular with both kids and grownups. Start at the beginning with these.
posted by redfoxtail at 3:46 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Haven't personally read it, but I've heard great things about Bandette by Paul Tobin (vaguely reminiscent of TinTin, but about a girl acrobat art thief).
posted by theweasel at 3:50 PM on December 19, 2021

Zita the Space girl by Ben Hatke (on phone so no links)
Gum Girl
Squirrel Girl by Shannon Hale
posted by mutt.cyberspace at 4:21 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Mouse Guard is very good.
posted by Well I never at 4:41 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Classic Peanuts comics. My kids, now 7 and 10 will pick them up whenever they have a free minute and read them. A year and a half ago we weren't sure our younger kid could read but he would tell us phrases that he only could have gotten from the comics.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:59 PM on December 19, 2021 [3 favorites]

Yeah, if you're open to newspaper comic strip collections, collections of Calvin and Hobbes (classic) and Wallace the Brave (current) could fit the bill.
posted by dismas at 5:13 PM on December 19, 2021 [3 favorites]

Not super well known, which is a shame. Rutabaga the Adventure Chef was one of my kid's favorites (well, several years later he also enjoys them).
posted by furnace.heart at 5:22 PM on December 19, 2021

Hilda is lovely. Seconding Squirrel Girl and Calvin and Hobbes.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:00 PM on December 19, 2021

I also came here to recommend Zita the Spacegirl. Squirrel Girl was also a hit with my kids but they still love Zita.
posted by ElizaMain at 6:06 PM on December 19, 2021

Bone. You start with Bone. Zita is good too, but Bone is the beginning of it all.
posted by history is a weapon at 7:03 PM on December 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

These dinosaur comics are awesome! Fact based and lots of fun! The Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey is also good, but maybe too easy for him? Complicated themes and very interesting, though.
posted by Vatnesine at 7:27 PM on December 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

Bad Guys
Dog Man
Peanuts
Fox Trot
Calvin and Hobbes
Simpsons Comics (different from the show - more appropriate for this age)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid combos pictures/comics with stories
posted by Toddles at 9:30 PM on December 19, 2021

Also the Amulet series
posted by Toddles at 9:31 PM on December 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

My 8yo and 5yo are both obsessed with Science Comics and I'd say at least weekly one of them busts out some random science fact I didn't know and they're always, always from Science Comics rather than school.
posted by potrzebie at 10:12 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Seconding Bad Guys and also Real Pigeons Fight Crime. Big hits with my 7 yo.
posted by jojobobo at 11:17 PM on December 19, 2021

A seven year old who's into dinosaurs and rats, and likes Tintin, might love Tove Jansson's 'Moomins' books.
They're full of odd creatures, and an excellent sideroad into a charming world.
posted by mdrew at 11:45 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

I highly recommend the Dog Man series - it has a similar kind of mayhem and toilet humour as Teen Titans, and the same portrayals of characters just really liking each other's company. 7 years old is the ideal age for it. It's great as an introduction to comics a kid might read on their own as the language is simple yet hilarious and the pictures make it clear what is going on.
posted by Lluvia at 12:34 AM on December 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I can't believe no one has suggested the one and only Groo the Wanderer!
posted by parmanparman at 3:53 AM on December 20, 2021

The Amar Chitra Katha line of Indian comics is (unless the child is from the Indian diaspora) almost certainly something he does not have already, and will offer a little exposure to the myths, legends, and folktales of South Asia. Might be hard to order them online and get them in time for this Christmas but consider a pack for the next holiday.
posted by brainwane at 3:57 AM on December 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Also if you are interested in getting him a current series he can pick up monthly Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters is quite good. I think the first 5-6 issues are available in a collection. Then you can have him experience the joy/pain of waiting a whole month to find out what happens next.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:54 AM on December 20, 2021

My seven year old loves comics. Specifically:

DC Superhero girls. Very light and silly. The first 6 volumes are considerably better than the latest two.

Lumberjanes. Very fast paced, somewhat at the expense of a coherent storyline. Dinosaurs, magic, secret temples, and more all in a outdoors focused setting.

Avatar the last airbender. Like the show, these deal with grown up themes like responsibility, family, and even death but in a way that is accessible to kids. My daughter started reading them at age 6, along with watching the show.
posted by Maastrictian at 7:09 AM on December 20, 2021

Mark Crilley's Akiko is what you want.
posted by bile and syntax at 8:55 AM on December 20, 2021

My 7-year-old is deeply in love with the Wings of Fire graphic novels at the moment! They’re the first books she’s seemed literally unable to put down.
posted by centrifugal at 9:35 AM on December 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

My 7-year-old boy loves the Plants vs. Zombies graphic novels by Paul Tobin, as well as the Dog Man and Cat Kid series. Others he has enjoyed are Cardboard Kingdom, the Catstronauts series, and Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side collections.
posted by Jemstar at 9:38 AM on December 20, 2021

I can also recommend the Splatoon manga series.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:15 AM on December 20, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to go with Tiny Titans and Zita the Spacegirl.
posted by Chenko at 12:07 PM on December 20, 2021

coming in at the end to say that if he's a dinosaur enthusiast, he would probably go for Abby Howard's Dinosaur Empire.

It has a funny framing story but most of it is just stuff about dinosaurs, and there's a lot to look at and read so he can decide if he wants to learn about phylogenetic trees or just read about the protagonist's obsession with T. rex and love for cute mini proto-crocodilians. I thought it was going to be really dry but my kids (including my 7 year old) LOVED it. There are 2 others in the series, about the Paleozoic and the Mesozoic, respectively, which are also excellent.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 3:26 PM on December 20, 2021