Star Wars is THE property of choice for my six-year-old these days. So when he saw this strip in the Sunday KC Star yesterday he stared at it for a good half-hour and then cut it out and brought it up to his room.
When he came back down, we read the whole comics section (though part of FBOFW had been excised by the Foxtrot cut) together and we had some bonding moments as I tried to explain the gentle nuance of Brenda Starr. He was polite and said "yes" when I asked him if he understood, but I could tell he was humoring me.
So as self-serving as this all may sound, I'd like newspaper management across the globe to take my anecdotal evidence and apply it to their business -- my son and I had a multi-generational incredibly positive family experience with their product.
I know it's hard in this economic climate but in the this humble commentator's opinion comics must be USED by the paper for its benefit, not viewed as something to be dealt with or as an expense. It's advertising, it's investment in long-term readership, it's promotion ... if you can't see the benefit of all that ... well then, maybe it is too late.
But heck, they hooked one six-year-old yesterday, who says they can't get the rest of them?
-JG
Right on, brudder. Very well said.
Posted by: Dave Coates | January 19, 2009 at 10:19 AM