History WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids / Comicbooks

* ''Disney/BigHero6'' is definitely for kids (albeit with a few mature, heartfelt moments). The comics upon which the Disney movie is based.....less so. The team was assembled in response to Hiroshima and Nagasaki's bombings, Hiro's parents were killed by a ''spirit made out of dead souls'', Honey Lemon is more voluptuous, Wasabi throws knives at his opponents, and Gogo has ties with the yakuza. And Baymax is made out of genetic material from Hiro's dead father. It's very clear Disney cleaned up most of this for the kids.

* ''ComicBook/TheComicBookStoryOfVideoGames'' looks appealing to kids because it's a comic book and about video games, both things kids love! Even kids' favorite video game characters show up as Easter eggs in the graphic novel. It's however meant for teenage audiences with content a children's history/video game book would lack, such as depictions of mature games and depressing historical events, a mention of pornography, partially-censored strong profanity, and bit of alcohol and drug usage.

** Even if you don't knowing 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]], ComicBook/{{Starfire}} being a very big case of MsFanservice, ComicBook/{{Raven}} being a child of rape, and plenty of violence. The characters are generally more angsty as well.

* Creator/ArtSpiegelman's comment about his comic book ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' provides the current main page quote. ''Maus'' features [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic animals]] as stand-ins for people (mice for Jews, cats for Germans, dogs for Americans, etc.). This does not mean it is kid-friendly. '''It's about the freaking Holocaust.''' It features drawings of ditches filled with emaciated, dead anthropomorphic mice being burned by cats with flamethrowers and gas masks. The parts that take place in modern day aren't too clean either. Those parts deal with many serious themes like continuing racism, death in your family, abuse, and greed. Not to mention Art says "shit" 3 times in Part 1.

* 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 deep, deep cynicism.

* ''ComicBook/TheComicBookStoryOfVideoGames'' looks appealing to kids because it's a comic book and about video games, both things kids love! Even kids' favorite video game characters show up as Easter eggs in the graphic novel. It's however meant for teenage audiences with content a children's history/video game book would lack, such as depictions of mature games, a mention of pornography, partially-censored strong profanity, and bit of alcohol and drug usage.

* ''ComicBook/TheComicBookStoryOfVideoGames'' looks appealing to kids because it's a comic book and about video games, both things kids love! Even kids' favorite video game characters show up as Easter eggs in the graphic novel. It's however meant for teenage audiences with content a children's history/video game book would lack, such as mentions of mature games, partially-censored strong profanity, and bit of alcohol and drug usage.

* ''ComicBook/WhenTheWindBlows'' is a sequel of sorts to the children's comic ''Gentlemen Jim'', starring a cheery elderly couple in a nice soft art-style... but this story revolves around two attempting to survive a nuclear apocalypse [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding and failing]]]]. Due to the art-style and lack of any overtly mature elements like profanity, sex, or gore generally associated with adult-oriented comics, many libraries mistakingly place the book in the children's literature section despite the incredibly grim subject matter.

* 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 ''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).

* ''This One Summer'' by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki is a ComingOfAgeStory about two preteen friends who spend their summer at a small town, which already sounds like an innocent preteens' tale. The graphic novel carries strong profanity, frequent sex talk, and dark themes of adolescence, such as a TeenPregnancy and [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]]. The fact that it ironically won a Caldecott Honor tricked many parents and kids into thinking that it's for kids.

* ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' looks just like ''ComicBook/TheBeano'', except that it is loaded to the brim with swearing and sexual humour. Not helping is that the Billy the Fish comics are actually tame, with the VHS of the animated series getting a U rating while the other animated adaptations got an 18 rating.

* The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a fund that takes on the cases of comic store owners who they believe are wrongfully sued and/or arrested for which comics they distribute. Its two most famous cases are the Gordon Lee case (where he distributed a copy of a comic with nude drawings of Picasso on Free Comic Book Day) and Jesus Castillo (who sold an adult comic book, clearly labeled adult, and featured in the adult section of the store, to an adult, who turned out to be an undercover cop and arrested him for two counts of obscenity.) An excerpt from a prosecutor's speech in the Castillo case that perfectly summarises this trope:

* 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 ''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 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).

* 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 ''Grimjack'', ''ComicBook/AmericanFlagg'', ''ComicBook/{{Elementals}}'', and ''ComicBook/TheDNAgents'' being only distributed in specialty shops for good reason. Later independent publishers such as Creator/DarkHorseComics 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).

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' has its share of DarkerAndEdgier content with the tackling of gang themes and the struggle of ghetto life, but was still family-friendly and enjoyed by all audiences. The comic book universe Static originated from, Creator/MilestoneComics, not so much. The gang themes are more overt, swearing is common (including both "f*ck" and "fa**ot"), political incorrectness is used to show how bad characters are (for example, Hotstreak in the original comics is a white supremacist), there's a great deal of political satire, and the overall comics are much more cynical than what the animated series would present.

* In 1985, United Feature Syndicate tabbed political cartoonist Jim Meddick to create a comic strip based on the ''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]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' has its shared of DarkerAndEdgier content with the tackling of gang themes and the struggle of ghetto life, but was still family-friendly and enjoyed by all audiences. The comic book universe Static originated from, Creator/MilestoneComics, not so much. The gang themes are more overt, swearing is common (including both "f*ck" and "fa**ot"), uses of political incorrectness is used to show how bad characters are (for example, Hotstreak in the original comics is a white supremacist), there's a great deal of political satire, and the overall comics are much more cynical than what the animated series would present.

* Creator/ArtSpiegelman's comment about his comic book ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' provides the current main page quote. ''Maus'' features [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic animals]] as stand-ins for people (mice for Jews, cats for Germans, dogs for Americans, etc.). This does not mean it is kid-friendly. '''It's about the Holocaust.''' It features drawings of ditches filled with emaciated, dead anthropomorphic mice being burned by cats with flamethrowers and gas masks. The parts that take place in modern day aren't too clean either. Those parts deal with many serious themes like continuing racism, death in your family, abuse, and greed. Not to mention Art says "shit" 3 times in Part 1.

* While ''Disney/BigHero6'' is definitely for kids (albeit with a few mature, heartfelt moments), the comics upon which the Disney movie is based are... not. The team was assembled in response to Hiroshima and Nagasaki's bombings, Hiro's parents were killed by a ''spirit made out of dead souls'', Honey Lemon is more voluptuous, Wasabi throws knives at his opponents, and Gogo has ties with the yakuza. And Baymax is made out of genetic material from Hiro's dead father. It's very clear Disney cleaned up most of this for the kids.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show is often dark but still suitable for small children. The [[ComicBook/TeenTitans original comic version]] is not. 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. The characters are generally more angsty as well.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' has its shared of DarkerAndEdgier content with the tackling of gang themes and the struggle of ghetto life, but was still family-friendly and enjoyed by all audiences. The comic book universe Static originated from, Creator/MilestoneComics, is ''not'' family-friendly in the slightest. The gang themes are more overt, swearing is common (including both "fuck" and "faggot"), uses of political incorrectness is used to show how bad characters are (for example, Hotstreak in the original comics is a white supremacist), there's a great deal of political satire, and the overall comics are much more cynical than what the animated series would present.

* ''This One Summer'' by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki is a ComingOfAgeStory about two preteen friends who spend their summer at a small town. The graphic novel carries strong profanity, frequent sex talk, and dark themes of adolescence, such as a TeenPregnancy and [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]]. The fact that it ironically won a Caldecott Honor tricked many parents and kids into thinking that it's clean and innocent.

* Creator/ArtSpiegelman's comment about his comic book ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' provides the current main page quote. ''Maus'' features [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic animals]] as stand-ins for people (mice for Jews, cats for Germans, dogs for Americans, etc.). This does not mean it is kid-friendly. '''It's about the Holocaust.''' It features drawings of ditches filled with emaciated, dead anthropomorphic mice being burned by cats with flamethrowers and gas masks. The parts that take place in modern day aren't too clean either. Those parts deal with many serious themes like continuing racism, death in your family, abuse, and greed.

* ''This One Summer'' by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki is a ComingOfAgeStory about two preteen friends who spend their summer at a small town. The graphic novel carries strong profanity, frequent sex talk, and dark themes of adolescence, such as a TeenPregnancy and [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]]. The fact that it ironically won a Caldecott Honor tricked many parents and kids into thinking that it's for preteens.

* ''ComicBook/AlbedoErmaFelnaEDF'', ''big time'': Due of the cuddly design of many characters, especially in later issues due to the author's ArtEvolution, one could think this is another kiddie comic with cute animals, until those "[[SarcasmMode cute animals]]" start [[DarkerAndEdgier blowing each others' brains out almost every issue]]. So far it depicts murder, war crimes, sexism, partial nudity, gore, profanity, socio-political problems, racism, implied homophobia (albeit of the innocent type, mind you), propaganda, mass genocide and enough MindScrew that could give friggin' ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' a run for its money, despite predating it for a ''decade''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show is often dark but still suitable for small children. The [[ComicBook/TeenTitans original comic version]] is not. It has a sexual relationship between [[MayDecemberRomance Deathstroke and a sixteen year old Terra]], ComicBook/{{Starfire}} being MsFanservice, ComicBook/{{Raven}} being a child of rape, and plenty of violence. The characters are generally more angsty as well.

* Those who have seen Wendy Pini's ''Comicbook/ElfQuest'' comics (themselves not totally kid-friendly in spite of careful scenery censoring in certain scenes) need to take warning that one of her later works, a sci-fi retelling of Poe's Masque of the Red Death, is definitely '''not''' for kids, containing as it does fairly explicit homosexuality and very graphic death via a disease which causes uncontrollable bleeding and breakdown of all body cells.

* ''ComicBook/{{Gear}}'' featured artwork (by Creator/DougTenNapel of ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' fame) that honestly looked like a throwback to [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts Disney cartoons form the 1920s and 30s]]. In said comic, the characters fight in giant mecha and many die very gruesome, tear-inducing deaths. [[spoiler:Only one of the 4 main characters makes it out alive.]] The fact that it was adapted into a show that [[WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}} clearly]] '''[[WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}} was]]''' [[WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}} for kids only added to the confusion (and made said confusion that much more justifiable).]]

* Film/TheExtraordinaryAdventuresOfAdeleBlancSec was a very successful PG-rated blockbuster in its native France. Given that its 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, seen 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 many anime is on this list, [[UpToEleven this speaks volumes]].

* Creator/ArtSpiegelman's comment about his comic book ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' provides the current page quote. ''Maus'' features [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic animals]] as stand-ins for people (mice for Jews, cats for Germans, dogs for Americans, etc.). This does not mean it is kid-friendly. '''It's about the Holocaust.''' It features drawings of ditches filled with emaciated, dead anthropomorphic mice being burned by cats with flamethrowers and gas masks. The parts that take place in modern day aren't too clean either. Those parts deal with many serious themes like continuing racism, death in your family, abuse, and greed.

* While ''Disney/BigHero6'' is definitely for kids (albeit with a few mature, heartfelt moments), the comics upon which the Disney movie is based are... not. The team was assembled in response to Hiroshima and Nagasaki's bombings, Hiro's parents were killed by a ''spirit made out of dead souls'' ,Honey Lemon is more voluptuous, Wasabi throws knives at his opponents, and Gogo has ties with the yakuza. And Baymax is made out of genetic material from Hiro's dead father. It's very clear Disney cleaned up most of this for the kids.

* ''ComicBook/TheMask''. While the comic book was not for children, and neither was [[Film/TheMask the movie]] based on it, [[WesternAnimation/TheMask the cartoon series]] based on ''that'' , as well as the infamous ''Film/SonOfTheMask'' movie, clearly was. This caused Dark Horse to [[http://web.archive.org/web/20071013194758/http://sequart.com/articles/?article=602 turn the comics more family-friendly]].

** Originally, when Nickelodeon decided this man [[WhatAnIdiot should be put in charge of a children's program]], they wanted him to adapt his comic ''Comicbook/{{Squee}}'' into a cartoon. He refused, on account of the fact that, despite having a [[DeliberatelyCuteChild cute six-year-old protagonist]], the comic was about a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood involving AbusiveParents, AnalProbing, and ''TheAntichrist''.

** 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. Apparently, certain things about Catwoman that have always existed (the fact that she was directly modeled after Jean Harlow, the Music/{{Madonna}} of her day, or that she carries a ''whip'') do not enter into the equation.

* Similar to the above, ''Wonder Woman '77'', a recent 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.

* Somehow, the first six issues of Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' were excerpted in issues of ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures''. Needless to say, it suffered some {{Bowdleri|se}}zation (including two whole scenes getting cut out and all mentions of "God" and "beer" being changed to "Gosh" and "soda"). Most bookstores carry it, especially the colorized version, in the children's section instead of the Graphic Novels/Comics area. The fact that it was published by Scholastic doesn't help either.

* 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''.

* ''ComicBook/TheSavageDragon'' comic was not at all appropriate for children, but there was once a kid-friendly cartoon series based off of it (just like the aforementioned ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'').

* [[FrancoBelgianComics French series]] [[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Légendaires]] could almost be considered as a trap on this side: the story involves a fantasy world where everyone has been turned into a kid following a magical accident, and follows the heroes trying to get a cure. The first book actually has a very kid-friendly tone with a large amount of humor, and the second, while slightly more violent, is still arguably suitable for kids, as death scenes are not shown and are [[DeathIsCheap proven to be temporary]]. As a result, you can believe so far that you're dealing with a kids series... [[MoodWhiplash then come books 3 and 4]], which involve HeroicSacrifice, ThePlague, and even [[{{Squick}} one of the protagonists mistakenly being infatuated with his teammate's mother due to him not seeing the age difference since they both look like kids anyway]]. Books 5 and 6 have [[{{Yandere}} a villain who killed his own wife after she cheated on him]]. Books 7 and 8 involved FantasticRacism and slavery, as well as scene of EvilSorcerer Skroa slaughtering a group of slavers and impaling a Jaguarian kid on his claws. The Anathos Cycle delivers us a slaughter scene that could have figured in ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', where the ''protagonists'' are mercilessly crushed by BiggerBad GodOfEvil Anathos (he takes [[DemonicPossession possession]] of TheHero, {{impale|dWithExtremePrejudice}}s the MagicalGirl on his sword, burns the ActionGirl's {{eye|Scream}}s, ''cuts TheBigGuy's [[AnArmAndALeg arm off]]'', and scarred TheLancer [[ScarsAreForever everywhere on his body]]), attempted genocide of humanity and a mildly implied after-sex scene. And if that wasn't enough, books 13 and 14 shows us the decayed body of one of the protagonists before displaying IncestSubtext between the villain and one of the heroine. The fact the author keeps a {{chibi}} look for his character all along only makes it more disturbing.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show is often dark but still suitable for small children. The [[ComicBook/TeenTitans original comic version]] is not. It has a sexual relationship between [[MayDecemberRomance Deathstroke and a sixteen year old Terra]], Starfire being MsFanservice, Raven being a child of rape, and plenty of violence. The characters are generally more angsty as well.

* Anything Archie's has to be family friendly, right? Nevermind that the main comics have been risque in their own right, the recent spinoff series' like ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' and ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'' are at minimum PG-13 and rather graphic horror series. Even the [[ComicBook/ArchieComics2015 2015 reboot]] is a little HotterAndSexier than the original comics.