Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: 2000ad, beano, kev f sutherland

Kev F Sutherland Asks British Kids What Comics They Actually Read

Kev F Sutherland has a keen ear to the ground on the stuff kids like. And he has shared his most recent discoveries straiught from the classroom.

Published Wed, 23 Aug 2023 05:58:07 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Comments

Kev F Sutherland is one of my favourite people in comics. Broadcaster, host, stand-up comedian, performer, TV and stage producer, comic con organiser, comic book writer, artist and inker, he has worked on everything from Doctor Strange to The Beano to putting on the first Bristol Comic Cons, creating the stage show and TV show The Sitcom Trials, which featured both an early version of Miranda and, well something of mine as well. He is also the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre and one of the leading comic book classroom educators in the country, travelling the land teaching the joys of comic books to school classrooms. Kev F Sutherland is the renaissance man of comics, in out very midst, and we recently covered his fourth Shakespeare graphic novel adaptation, Richard The Third, in the style of Dav Pilkey's Dog Man and Captain Underpants.

As a result, he has a keen ear to the ground on the stuff kids like. Specifically, kids who want to make comic books. And he has shared his most recent discoveries, posted to Facebook. It starts with Bunny Vs Monkey, the Dog Man for Brits…

Comic fans might be interested to know what I'm finding kids to be enthusing about these days. I've just been doing a few weeks of summer classes, which have a higher proportion of comics enthusiasts, in comparison to my usual classes in schools. So, here's what seems to be hot and not:

Bunny Vs Monkey – Hot. A kid today was wearing the t shirt, lots of kids know them from the books. Way more than ever talked about The Phoenix (though one kid today, in Larne, was telling about this comic he gets as well as The Beano. "It's called The Poe-nicks" he said).

Dog Man – Hot. Followed by Cat Kid. Captain Underpants is a distant third.

Manga various – Hot. All the kids recognise Naruto. And 11+ kids will regularly ask me to draw someone I'm only vaguely familiar with. Today is was Deku from (checks notes) My Hero Academia.

Beano – Luke Warm. If they know it, they're fans. In inner-city schools, 75% of kids have never heard of it. In these summer schools, most recognise Minnie The Minx, and a couple have brought issues and annuals – with my work in, would you believe – to be signed.

Marvel – Luke Warm. Two years ago they were all over it. Now, the primary school kids seem almost unfamiliar with Marvel (Endgame was 5 years ago, which is pre-history to them, so Iron Man and Captain America have been dead as long as they can remember), and the teenagers have moved on since the movies stopped being any good. Everyone had, however, seen Guardians Of The Galaxy 3.

DC – Luke Warm. They are as likely to name a DC character as a Marvel one, when asked, but with no great fan enthusiasm.

Star Wars – Luke Warm. There are some leftover Baby Yoda t shirts around, and occasional kids want to know how to draw Darth Vader.

Stranger Things & Wednesday Addams – Cold. They have very quickly become last year's thing. They'll revive as fast, I'm sure.

Doctor Who – Cold. It's a rare child, always a geek, who has any interest in this particular franchise.

2000AD – Heat death of the universe. No child has ever mentioned 2000AD.