Random House launches a weekly comic for children

Publisher David Fickling, through his Random House Imprint, will be launching The David Fickling Comic (The DFC). The comics will have 36 pages, no advertisements, printed in full color on recycled paper, and it’s aimed at children 8-10 years old, but will appeal to other ages as well.

Each issue will contain about seven different storylines written and illustrated by various authors and illustrators; as each strip ends, it will be replaced by new ones. The comic will arrive in UK children’s mailboxes starting Friday, May 30, and will also be mailed to worldwide subscribers (hurray!) if they’re willing to pay the postage.

I think this is a wonderful way to get children to read; it incorporates two things children love–comics, and receiving something in the mail just for them. What an appealing way to get children excited about reading! I would have *loved* to receive a comic in the mail every week as a child. I still would.

Publisher David Fickling says ““In my own experience, the link between reading a comic and reading a book is wonderful and exciting,” and I think he’s right about the link. Fickling sees the comic as a stepping stone for readers who might not naturally be pulled to books–and that makes a lot of sense to me.

If you’re interested in a subscription, or just want to read more, you can visit their site here. Right now there’s just a countdown counter on their site, and a form where you can sign up for a special code, but in 23 days (or possibly sooner), you should be able to purchase a subscription if you want to.

You can also read more about this here, which is where I heard about this.

February 15th, 2008