Star Wars.

I loved it. Every week, I waited for the Sunday Comics, a four page newspaper insert filled with cartoon strips of Ziggy, Marmaduke, Heathcliff, Snoopy and yes, Star Wars. This comic book bible for 8 year olds is what I hungered for. My reading addiction for the Sunday Comics led to Comic books which then became Encyclopedia Brown books.

Review
Due to my first love of comic books, this month, I recommend the initial series of The Runaways volume 1 by Brian K.Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. It is about a group of children who meet once year for their parents’ charity meeting. Bored, they spy on them and stumble across the grown–ups' true identities. They are super villains (sorcerers, mad scientists, aliens, time travelers, mutants, and gang members) in a secret evil organization called, “The Pride.” The kids promise to bring down their parents and make them pay for their crimes.

This wild and original story had me hooked from this first discovery. I gobbled up this tale in one day. Young readers can relate to these funny and flawed teen characters as they try to discover the truth about their identities and lies their parents have told them for years. The dialogue is great with some classic one-liners. A worthy comic for a future alongside Spiderman and Batman.

Try it and see what happens. Comics aren’t the only source of good stories, but they might be a first step to get you (or a kid) to fall in love with reading.