DC Comics And Walmart To Publish ‘My First Comic’ #1 For 6 to 9 Year Olds

DC Comics have once again teamed up with Walmart to publish and distribute comics through their vast network of stores across America. Well, 500 to be exact. But that’s still a large number, I think you’ll agree. And this time they’re aiming at younger readers (aged 6 – 9) with My First Comic. A 48 page two-in-one “flipbook” comic featuring popular DC Comics characters in a mix of comic book strips and activity pages. Kind of like a gateway drug into the DCU in an attempt to get youngsters hooked and loyal to DC Comics early, or as Nancy Spears (VP – Revenue) puts it:

“My First Comic is a great way to extend popular DC characters to a new audience that’s just learning to read, providing a gateway into other age-appropriate DC content, like our middle grade graphic novels. DC’s partnership with Walmart has been instrumental in presenting our characters and stories to a mass-market audience, and now parents who are reading our Walmart four-pack bundled comics and 100-page Giants can share the DC Super Hero experience with their children.”

Furthermore, it would seem that My First Comic will feature stories previously published in DC’s Batman Adventures series.

Plus, we get a Space Jam: A New Legacy tie-in in the first issue too, featuring LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and more. So, not only a gateway drug, but a great advertisement for a Warner Bros. film too! Now that’s some super slick synergy!

“On the flip side, Derek Fridolfs, Robert Pope, Scott McRae, and Silvana Brys pit Bugs Bunny against Marvin the Martian (with a little help from Space Jam: A New Legacy’s Al G. Rhythm) in “Spaced Out,” followed by a preview of the Space Jam: A New Legacy original graphic novel, available now at Walmart, as well as at participating comic book retailers, book stores, and digital platforms.”

So, to sum up, My First Comic #1 is a comic made up primarily of reprints, some easily designed activities and a protracted advert for Space Jam: A New Legacy posing as a comic book. Or am I being too cynical?

My First Comic #1 is out Wednesday 3rd August.