After nearly two decades of steady growth, comics and graphic novels still rule the middle grade market. Over the same span of time, nationwide literacy rates and children’s time spent reading for entertainment have shown declines. What if there was a way to bridge these trends? Cartoonist and author Josh Smeaton and HarperAlley editor Josh Sippie are doing just that with the launch of Hullabaloo, a monthly, 32-page comic magazine for kids ages 8–13, which aims to deliver “comics that kids can’t wait to read, the fun kind of reading that turns kids into lifelong readers without them even noticing.” The debut issue is slated for January, and Sippie and Smeaton have begun a Kickstarter campaign to fund their effort.
“Josh and I both had the same idea around the same time,” Sippie said of how the project was born. The two Joshes were connected by Janna Morishima, a literary agent specializing in graphic novels who represents Smeaton, and who, with her friend Sippie, is a co-founder of the Save Middle Grade publishing and bookselling industry support group. “Whenever I would start talking to Janna about the idea, she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you should talk to ‘other Josh’ about this.’ ”
Once they made contact, Sippie and Smeaton immediately discovered lots of common ground. “One of the big bonding moments that Josh and I had was remembering the kinds of print comics we loved and had easy access to when we were kids. He grew up with spinner racks of comic books at the local grocery store, and the only thing I read as a kid were the funnies in the Sunday paper,” Sippie recalled. “We’re trying to bring that sort of spontaneity of finding a good story back to these kids who don’t have those same resources.”
They also soon discovered they were both fans of The Phoenix, a weekly comic magazine for kids in the U.K. “It’s done wonders over there and even became a book imprint,” Sippie said. “We don’t really have that equivalent over here. And given the fact that the only thing that consistently sells well here in middle grade is comics and graphic novels, Josh and I both had this idea of, well, if all kids are going for is graphic novels, let’s give them more stuff. Let’s help them find new things.”
To that end, Sippie and Smeaton decided to target parents, who are typically the purchasers of middle graders’ reading material, with the idea of a digital—and eventually print—magazine subscription. “We thought, let’s just get this right to their doorstep, give kids a whole batch of fresh cartoons and comics, and let them explore new stories that way,” Sippie said. From there, the thought is that kids will decide what they like, and seek out more of it.
Sippie and Smeaton then scrolled through their respective address books and assembled an impressive roster of comic and animation talent to draft original, mostly episodic, stories. Among those whose work appears in Hullabaloo’s debut issue are Smeaton (who has also designed Hullabaloo), Emmanuel Guerrero (Cactus Kid graphic novel series; Volcano Boys comic); Rachel Dukes and Michael Sweater (The Wizerd series), and Dashawn Mahone (Craig of the Creek animated series; Sir Duncan vs. Dragon comic). Going forward, the lineup of creators will rotate, and Hullabaloo will also accept submissions—from new and established creators—for consideration.
“We had such a positive response from the creators we reached out to, because there aren’t really a lot of short comic outlets for kids, and by many, I mean, I honestly can’t think of any,” Sippie said. “It’s a multi-faceted approach,” he said of the Hullabaloo framework. “We’re hitting the kid readership, we’re giving creators a playground to try out new stories and to have fun with it, and we’re hopefully lifting up the publishers a bit by helping them get more eyes on their midlist stuff.”
The bottom line? “Hullabaloo is entirely devoted to fun,” he said. “Enjoyable adventure comics that are what kids want, especially the kids who aren’t used to reading.” Sippie will be walking the aisles of New York Comic Con this weekend, his backpack filled with print samples of Hullabaloo’s first issue, hoping to generate interest in the venture. “We’ve heard so many people say, ‘Yes, there is a gap in the market for this.’ It’s just letting people know it’s there. So that’s what we’re trying to do now. There’s so much here to be excited about.”
