History WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids / Comicbooks

* ''ComicBook/MouseGuard'' by David Petersen. Similar to ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'', but with mice (and not in Edo Japan). Includes complex themes about survival and UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, as well as mice (and other creatures) dying very violently.
** [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-mouse-guard-movie-is-officially-dead-but-this-demo-1835875907 Possibly that is the reason why his movie was canceled..]]

* Similar to the above, ''ComicBook/WonderWoman77'', a comic tie-in to the old [[Series/WonderWoman live-action series]], has had several instances of profanity and shown a woman with bruises received from her abusive husband; the kid-friendly show would ''never'' have depicted something like that.

* Swedish comic strips ''ComicBook/ArneAnka'' and ''ComicBook/{{Rocky}}'' are filled to the brim with funny animals. They're also filled with alcohol consumption, sex and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking deep, deep cynicism]].
** Even if you don't know anything about contemporary Swedish comics[[note]]These are two of the most famous comics in Sweden (at least the last 20 years or so). Rocky strips have been in daily newspapers and Arne Anke even got a stage adaption in the 90's, starring one of Sweden's most popular comedians.[[/note]], Arne Anka is drinking a beer on almost EVERY single cover while Rocky alternates between fairly harmless to featuring alcohol, naked breasts and at least one where he actually has sex.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show is often dark but still suitable for small children. The opposite of the latter can be said for [[ComicBook/TeenTitans original comic version]]. It has a sexual relationship between [[MayDecemberRomance Deathstroke and a sixteen year old Terra]], [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]] being a very big case of MsFanservice, [[Characters/TeenTitansNewTeenTitans Raven]] being a child of rape, and plenty of violence. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The characters are generally more angsty as well]].

* The original ''Comicbook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'' comics were definitely ''not'' child-friendly, being loaded with incredibly over-the-top violence and gore to parody [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the increasingly dark comics of the time]]. The problem, of course, is that [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the cartoon]] based on them ''was'' for children, and thus clueless parents could easily find themselves picking up an issue of the comic for a kid who was really into the Turtles...

* Frankly, danged near ''any'' mainstream SuperHero comic produced during the DarkerAndEdgier [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age that ran from about 1988-1996.]] Even today, the only Marvel and DC comics even ''remotely'' meant for kids these days are the Adventures and Johnny DC lines. It's gotten to the point that pasting "HEY, KIDS! COMICS!" over hyped up and massively nasty pages has become a wide-ranging Internet meme.

* Nearly all of the off-[[UsefulNotes/ComicsCode Code]] independent imprints dating from the late 1970s onward (such as First Comics, Comico, or Eclipse Comics) were well ahead of the mainstream publishers in being DarkerAndEdgier, with titles such as ''ComicBook/{{Grimjack}}'', ''ComicBook/TheBadger'', ''ComicBook/AmericanFlagg'', ''ComicBook/{{Elementals}}'', and ''ComicBook/TheDNAgents'' being only distributed in specialty shops for good reason. Later independent publishers such as Creator/DarkHorseComics and Creator/ImageComics continued this trend for a time, but as the popularity of comic book shops in the late 1980s and early 1990s grew, it led to these more and more often getting into the hands of underage patrons (and/or unwary parents looking for something to bring home to their kids), they tended to back off from this somewhat (the fact that the [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]] was already underway in mainstream comics also tended to undercut the uniqueness of such titles).

* ''ComicBook/{{WE 3}}'', by Creator/GrantMorrison, is about three talking animals trying to find their way home; the covers feature "missing pets" notices written in childlike style. Kids'll love it, right? Sure! Except for the scenes featuring the cybernetic animal soldiers literally ''tearing apart the soldiers meant to come kill them'', the part where [[spoiler: the rabbit ''explodes while hurling itself at a car'']], and all sorts of graphic violence in between. Oh, and it's being adapted into a movie directed by the guy who made ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''. Prepare for some traumatized children... As if the Creator/{{Vertigo|Comics}} label wasn't a warning already...

* ''ComicBook/MouseGuard'' by David Peterson. Similar to ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'', but with mice (and not in Edo Japan). Includes complex themes about survival and UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, as well as mice (and other creatures) dying very violently.

** In an interview in Amazing Heroes #119, writer Max Allan Collins said that, in reference to a Creator/FrankMiller written story which had ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} as a former prostitute, he found that inappropriate--the equivalent of doing Literature/PeterPan and having them face [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything historically accurate pirates]]. Collins felt that Catwoman was derived from children’s entertainment, appearing in a series that had turned into a much more overtly juvenile version of ComicBook/TheShadow (Catwoman debuted soon after the début of the KidSidekick with shaved legs, short shorts and elf shoes) and therefore people should keep that in mind when handling her.

* Played with in an issue of ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'': a woman receives a book of fairy tales from a recently deceased relative's estate, and decides to read one to her young daughter. She soon realizes that these are ''old school'' fairy tales involving cannibalism, mutilation, vampirism, and murder. Oh, also: the fairy tales are alive. Then when the Justice League get trapped in those same stories, Franchise/TheFlash asks, since [[DisneyFication they're in a fairytale]], [[YouJustHadToSayIt how bad could it be?]] Franchise/GreenLantern then reminds him that he is an artist who had to study these stories and knew very well that they weren't so nice. Moments later, they are almost eaten by the witch from ''Literature/HanselAndGretel''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show is often dark but still suitable for small children. The opposite of the latter can be said for [[ComicBook/TeenTitans original comic version]]. It has a sexual relationship between [[MayDecemberRomance Deathstroke and a sixteen year old Terra]], ComicBook/{{Starfire}} being a very big case of MsFanservice, ComicBook/{{Raven}} being a child of rape, and plenty of violence. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking The characters are generally more angsty as well]].
* Film/TheExtraordinaryAdventuresOfAdeleBlancSec was a very successful PG-rated blockbuster in its native France. Given that it's kid-friendly one would expect its source material, which is the comic book of the same name, to be kid-friendly as well. It is rather the opposite, seeing as in the comic book she has a neighbor that kills cats for fun, a sect worshiping a satanic abomination and multiple realistically drawn murders. It can probably best be described as the kind of thing Creator/HayaoMiyazaki (the actual creator is only known under the pseunonym ''Tardi'') would come up with if he would for some reason make an anime with the intent of getting it [[BannedInChina banned in its native Japan]]. Considering how much anime is on this list, this speaks volumes.

* ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' has some cute bunnies, two funny-looking Charlie Brown-like midgets wearing fezzes, and an art style that wouldn't be too out of place for a simplistic innocent series. However, the series is known to convey topics that children wouldn't understand fully yet like sex, work, and death not to mention some of the strips have the characters say some cuss words too with the word "hell" being a notable red flag. By the way, this is also made by the same guy who made certain adult cartoons you should have known of by now for crying out loud and is much more suggestive than any of Matt Groening's other works.

* ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' has some cute bunnies, two funny-looking Charlie Brown-like midgets wearing fezzes, and an art style that wouldn't be too out of place for a simplistic innocent series. However, the series is known to convey topics that children wouldn't understand fully yet like sex, work, and death not to mention some of the strips have the characters say some cuss words too with the word "hell" being a notable red flag. By the way, this is also made by the same guy who made certain adult cartoons you should have known of by now for crying out loud, and is much more risqu&eacute than any of Matt Groening's other works.

* ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' has some cute bunnies, two funny-looking Charlie Brown-like midgets wearing fezzes, and an art style that wouldn't be too out of place for a simplistic innocent series. However, the series is known to convey topics that children wouldn't understand fully yet like sex, work, and death not to mention some of the strips have the characters say some cuss words too with the word "hell" being a notable red flag. By the way, this is also made by the same guy who made certain adult cartoons you should have known of by now for crying out loud, and is much more risque than any of Matt Groening's other works.

-->'''Lincoln Peirce:''' Even though the strip has come to be thought of as a kids’ strip, I’ve never thought of it that way.

* Woe betide anyone who thinks that Franchise/{{Batman}}'s rogues gallery consists of only the colorful, largely {{Harmless Villain}}s they saw on TV, along with the odd mobster or two. Many of the dozens of minor Bat-Villains from the comics (like Cornelius Stirk, Mr. Zsasz, and Jane Doe) haven't made it into the cartoons for a reason. Hell, even the ones that ''have'' been shown on television generally have at least one or two "absolutely under no conditions show to little kids" scenes in the comics. Exhibit A: [[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_small/11134/111349560/6406438-rco011_1462030449_crop.jpg victims of the Joker's Laughing Toxin when they've gotten a BIT too ripe.]]

* In 1985, United Feature Syndicate tabbed political cartoonist Jim Meddick to create a comic strip based on the ''WesternAnimation/RobotmanAndFriends'' [[MerchandiseDriven line of toys]] (and [[TastesLikeDiabetes short-lived cartoon]]). Meddick took the original characters and settings for the original strips... and quickly abandoned them, turning the strip into an absurdist humor strip with decidedly not-kid-friendly storylines and dialog. Angry letters to editors followed. After about two decades, Meddick--at the request of UFS--[[LongBusTrip wrote Robotman out of the strip permanently]] (he left Earth to be with his robot alien girlfriend) and rechristened the strip ''[[ComicStrip/RobotmanAndMonty Monty]]''.

* ''ComicBook/{{Kaijumax}}'' has a colourful, bubbly cartoon-like art-style, and is based on the [[{{Kaiju}} giant monster genre]], which strongly appeals to children, and has many characters and story elements inspired by kid-friendly franchises like ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/PuffTheMagicDragon'', but the series is meant for adults. There's heavy themes like PTSD, prostitution, drug abuse, police brutality, racial profiling, prison rape, gang violence, extreme gore at times, and lots of profanity, both real and made-up. Eventually, the creator was forced to put a "for mature readers only" warning label on the covers to keep kids from accidentally reading them.

* Film/TheExtraordinaryAdventuresOfAdeleBlancSec was a very successful PG-rated blockbuster in its native France. Given that it's kid-friendly one would expect its source material, which is the comic book of the same name, to be kid-friendly as well. It is rather the opposite, seeing as in the comic book she has a neighbor that kills cats for fun, a sect worshiping a satanic abomination and multiple realistically drawn murders. It can probably best be described as the kind of thing Creator/HayaoMiyazaki (the actual creator is only known under the pseunonym ''Tardi'') would come up with if he would for some reason make an anime with the intent of getting it [[BannedInChina banned in its native Japan]]. Considering how much anime is on this list, [[UpToEleven this speaks volumes]].

** In an interview in Amazing Heroes #119, writer Max Allan Collins said that, in reference to a Creator/FrankMiller written story which had ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} as a former prostitute, he found that inappropriate--the equivalent of doing Literature/PeterPan and having them face [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything historically accurate pirates]]. Collins felt that Catwoman was derived from children’s entertainment, appearing in a series that had turned into a much more overtly juvenile version of Radio/TheShadow (Catwoman debuted soon after the début of the KidSidekick with shaved legs, short shorts and elf shoes) and therefore people should keep that in mind when handling her.