The appeal of Moon Girl?

[nightw1ng]

Anyone here read Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur? Every now and then I'll check out the series, and every time I'm confused. What about her is appealing to her fanbase? I'm assuming her target audience skews younger and does well enough in non-traditional formats that allows her series to continue.

Personally, I find her extremely off-putting. She's highly condescending towards every single person around her (parents, teachers, classmates, and superheroes) and constantly bragging about how she's the smartest person on the planet. She's very close-minded towards the ideas and opinions of others, and she thinks she's always in the right, even when she's making constant mistakes in her experiments or the battlefield. It seems like she lacks empathy and hasn't really matured at all in the three and a half years since her debut. Am I missing something? Because honestly, I'd say she's basically a step away from being a non-menacing, grade school version of Dr. Doom.

[Chris0013]

I don't read it...but I think it is about Devil. He is a classic character...and who would not want a pet T-Rex to deal with those neighbors that annoy you.

[Mike_Murdock]

I like the stories because they tend to have heart. The relationship between her and Devil Dinosaur is a lot of fun and reminds me of a lot of books I read when I was a kid. But I also have to put myself in the shoes of a younger reader because I'm not the target audience.

She's a very flawed character and if you're looking for a character without flaws, it's not her. In some ways, it reminds me of very early Spider-Man stories where Peter Parker was a constant dick to everyone. But the point is how she learns from her brashness and saves the day.

[Tofali]

She is the Sheldon Cooper of Marvel Comic but the good thing about her is she is brave and she likes animals. She may lack emotional intelligence but considering her age it's understandable.

[Snoop Dogg]

Those things are exactly what make her appealing because it's the polar opposite of what you'd expect the character to be.

[CaptCleghorn]

I like the stories because they tend to have heart. The relationship between her and Devil Dinosaur is a lot of fun and reminds me of a lot of books I read when I was a kid. But I also have to put myself in the shoes of a younger reader because I'm not the target audience.

She's a very flawed character and if you're looking for a character without flaws, it's not her. In some ways, it reminds me of very early Spider-Man stories where Peter Parker was a constant dick to everyone. But the point is how she learns from her brashness and saves the day.

Exactly. Kids (and we older folks as well) appreciate not perfect characters. Lunella's struggles to do the right thing and to learn what that right thing is is the point of the story. Also, lessons may be learned by seeing why someone may act like a total a-hole and we can either learn to relate to them or find reasons to overcome a poor impression caused by unsocial behavior.

And how different is Lunella saying how smart she is any different than Logan constantly saying he's the best there is at what he does?

[ARkadelphia]

Anyone here read Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur? Every now and then I'll check out the series, and every time I'm confused. What about her is appealing to her fanbase? I'm assuming her target audience skews younger and does well enough in non-traditional formats that allows her series to continue.

Personally, I find her extremely off-putting. She's highly condescending towards every single person around her (parents, teachers, classmates, and superheroes) and constantly bragging about how she's the smartest person on the planet. She's very close-minded towards the ideas and opinions of others, and she thinks she's always in the right, even when she's making constant mistakes in her experiments or the battlefield. It seems like she lacks empathy and hasn't really matured at all in the three and a half years since her debut. Am I missing something? Because honestly, I'd say she's basically a step away from being a non-menacing, grade school version of Dr. Doom.

And people LOVE dr doom

I’ve never read her book with DD but read the last issue of secret warriors vol 2 for a very likeable moon girl.

[Inversed]

Exactly. Kids (and we older folks as well) appreciate not perfect characters. Lunella's struggles to do the right thing and to learn what that right thing is is the point of the story. Also, lessons may be learned by seeing why someone may act like a total a-hole and we can either learn to relate to them or find reasons to overcome a poor impression caused by unsocial behavior.

And how different is Lunella saying how smart she is any different than Logan constantly saying he's the best there is at what he does?

Also, I wouldn't say she's directly condescending towards others, when the whole point is that everyone else condescends or underestimates her because of her age and size. It's about her trying to prove herself, and its fun that she gets to be a bit cocky when she gains a semblance of success, which she doesn't get so easily, she's always fighting to earn it.

[CaptCleghorn]

Also, I wouldn't say she's directly condescending towards others, when the whole point is that everyone else condescends or underestimates her because of her age and size. It's about her trying to prove herself, and its fun that she gets to be a bit cocky when she gains a semblance of success, which she doesn't get so easily, she's always fighting to earn it.

What was that?

its fun

Bingo.

[Inversed]

What was that?

Bingo.

Yeah basically, the book is just really fun and simple in all of the right ways. I don't follow the book month to month, but its perfect when going through in trade.

[Ascended]

Ive only read a couple issues but my son pulls the title and loves it.

From what Ive seen, it's got a lot of the kind of straight forward storytelling, imagination, and emotional honesty that made early Marvel so popular.

It isnt written with my demographic (angry, cranky old bastards) in mind, but instead is actually a comic written and designed for my pre-teen son, and his options are pretty limited at the LCS.

And really, its a super smart kid who can invent and build whatever she wants and who has a giant dinosaur for a best friend. The appeal is pretty easy to see I think, even if the book isn't really aimed at the (adult) direct market customers.

[Snoop Dogg]

lunella, zoe, eduardo, devil, and the robots could carry a seinfeld-type show with no super-hijinks involved

the mark of a good cast

[Seren]

I like the stories because they tend to have heart. The relationship between her and Devil Dinosaur is a lot of fun and reminds me of a lot of books I read when I was a kid. But I also have to put myself in the shoes of a younger reader because I'm not the target audience.

She's a very flawed character and if you're looking for a character without flaws, it's not her. In some ways, it reminds me of very early Spider-Man stories where Peter Parker was a constant dick to everyone. But the point is how she learns from her brashness and saves the day.

Exactly. Plus it's just good fun.

[Sutekh]

She's not for me.

But that's okay. As Tilda Swanton's Ancient One said in the Dr. Strange movie. "Not everything is. Not everything has to be."

I'm cool with there being some Marvel books that aren't specifically targeting my wallet, specifically.

Unlike, say, Gwenpool or Squirrel Girl, she doesn't turn the story into farce and whimsy when she appears (or force everyone around her to act out of character), nor, like Glob Herman or Quentin Quire, is she particularly prone to popping up in books I want to read (nor does her presence 'ruin' the books she does appear in, for me, like the 2017 Secret Warriors book, which I read for Kamala and Karnak and Magik and Inferno, and kind of tolerated the presences of Moon Girl and Quake).

[lucius121]

We’re definitely not the target audience, but if you think Moon Girl is annoying you should check out Peppa Pig.