Howdy. Just thought I would throw a couple of questions out there to the community and see if any other "parents on board" could help me out or share some suggestions.

My oldest (almost 6) has started to really get into the concept of the "hero" or "superhero" as well as just overall digging many of the characters that I have around the house (kaiju, speed racer, old spiderman and superman stuff). I'm frantically looking for a few gifts for her this holiday season and would love to introduce her to kid-friendly graphic novels (she is just starting to read a bit). I've seen some references to books like "Owly" etc. but none of them really embrace the concept of good vs bad or hero. Anyone have any ideas of some books that don't get too dark or intense for the little ones?

Thank you for any insight or suggestions you can offer.

Jeff Smiths "Shazam Vs. The Monster Society of Evil" is TOTALLY for kids AND a clear hero vs. evil story.

Also, I think, Marvel has a whole line of comics JUST for kids but printed in Manga style. Not the art so much (some of it is though) but rather smaller paperback style books of Hulk or Spidey and it's directed to kids.

Thanks! Just looked up Shazam Vs. The Monster Society of Evil and read a post about a dad reading this to his 7 year old girl and her totally digging it, def picking that one up.

Also by Jeff Smith, the Bone series. Another good choice would be The Courageous Princess series (maybe a little advanced for 6?)

The main characters are heroes w/out spandex & capes. The writing is good & 'gentle' enough for younger children.

my kids love the teen titan reprint collections....sort of mini comic size....but bone is great, they love that one too....the old batman animated was cool, i think some collections came out for him too...

on a side note......we also got them the storybooks for my neighbor totoro, and kiki's delivery service.....based on the movies of the same names.....great illustrations and stories....

The manga Gon is very cute and has no word bubbles. I can't remember if it even has sound effects, so they can enjoy it on their own. It's about a little orange dinosaur and his adventures.

Those two are my daughters favorite movies by far, I never knew they came in printed form as well, I actually ordered two of my daughters the little totoro music boxes as well. Very cute.

Thank you all for the great suggestions, this is awesome.

On a side note as well: I have noticed that by introducing them to my "monster doll" collection (yes they refer to my vinyl collection as daddy's "doll collection" *geez) it really has helped to deter the whole fear concept like the boogie man etc. anytime they see monsters now they just kind of giggle or go "COOL!" as opposed to shying away from them.

i love Gon. one story almost brought me to tears. shit is so good.

The original Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) is finally available in English editions. Check Amazon.

Yes, not just Astro Boy either. Much of the Osama Tezuka manga is now in English, though not all is kid friendly.

I would highly recommend the old Batman animated stuff that jojo was referring to. Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Rick Burchett, Ty Templeton and other comic notables worked on many of the stories and they are awesome! These are reprinted in a 4 to 5 graphic novels, I think most baring the title Batman Adventures or Gotham Adventures.

The Yellow Jar is a really sweet graphic novel that takes two legends from Japanese folklore and puts them in a comic format. It is a beautiful little book.

Been mentioned prior but Jeff Smith's Bone series is great and full of adventure. They started to make color editions and you can always try out the first one. THey are super kid friendly.

This series is wonderful because it can be enjoyed on many levels.