The PopCult Bookshelf 

This week the PopCult Bookshelf takes a look at a great new comic book that’s appropriate for all ages. After depressing PopCult readers earlier this week with news of how kids are abandoning action figures the same way they did comic books, I felt that it would be good to remind you folks that there ARE still good comic books being published that kids will enjoy. This week we’re looking at one of the best comics for kids on the market, AW YEAH Comics!

You may remember a few months ago I plugged the Kickstarter campaign for this title. The campaign was successful, raising far more than its goal.

However, I miscalculated when the campaign would end, and wound up missing out on a subscription to to the book, so I’m playing catch-up with the first two issues, ordered directly from the AW YEAH Comics! Publishing website.

AW YEAH Comics! is the brainchild of Art Baltazar and Franco, award-winning cartoonists who have been producing quality kid-friendly comics for years, most recently Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures for DC Comics. I met Art a couple of years ago at MEGO meet and he’s as much fun in person as his comics are to read. This is great, old-school cartooning.

AW YEAH Comics! treats readers to the adventures of Action Cat and Adventure Bug, two superhero funny animals who, in their secret identities, work in a comic book store. In the first two issues our heroes do battle with Evil Cat and his giant monster pancake, and they also face off against Cell-Phone Guy, Ghost Bug and a growing roster of super-villains.

Action Cat and Adventure Bug operate out of Skokie, Illinois, where coincidentally, Baltazar and Franco are partners in a comic book store called, “AW YEAH Comics,” the same name as the store where “Cornelius” (Action Cat) and “Alowicious” (Adventure Bug) work.

Action Cat meets Adorable Cat

These are great, funny stories that can entertain kids without nauseating parents. The art style recalls the look of classic animation, with slick designs and thick lines. The bold look and bright colors are a refreshing respite from the over-rendered mush of most modern comic book art.

These are truly “family comics.” Both Baltazar’s and Franco’s kids inspire characters in the first two issues, and guest-writer, New York Times best-selling author, Brad Meltzer, collaborates with his four-year-old son, Theo, on his script for “The Best Fight Ever.”

If, like me, you missed out on the Kickstarter campaign, and you aren’t lucky enough to live near one of the comic book shops that carry AW YEAH Comics!, your best bet is to order them from the AW YEAH website. The postage may seem a bit steep, but it’s what the post office is charging nowadays. The guys threw in some freebies with my order, issues of Tiny Titans and Patrick The Wolf Boy, to take the sting out of the cost.

If you are a parent on the lookout for some great non-corporate, innocent, fun comic books for your kids, you can’t go wrong with AW YEAH Comics! These are the kind of fun comic books that could stick with a child for their entire life.