Comic books are not what you remember from your days behind the magazine section at the old neighborhood pharmacy.  There is a wonderful thing out there called MANGA!  You're kids probably know more about it than you do.  But you really do need to have some idea of what it is, just as you know what movies and video games are appropriate for your kids.  Manga is the Japanese word for comic, and a variant on this is manhwa which is the Korean term,  but these are so much more than just a comic book.  The great stories and fantastic artwork that are done up as graphic novels are some of the best new literature out there!  Sometimes romantic, often heartwarming, many times exciting, often with a lesson to teach, sometimes with a thought about an exciting or bleak future...  but then there are those that you really need to be aware of, just because there's pictures of cute kids on the cover of the book don't be fooled into thinking these books aren't about sex.  

Let's discuss manga as a box of chocolate, with the many flavors and fillings that you can find there, and perhaps that will make it easier to understand.  

First, understand that while there is a rating system it is self-policing, that is, put together by the manga book publishers.  Kudos for them to make the effort to help parents, but unfortunately it really tends to titilate, and therefor attract, the younger teens.  These ratings are displayed on the back cover of most, actually almost all, manga that is currently published in English.  The rating for readers ages 7 and up is 'A' , that is, appropriate for all ages.  Y means appropriate for youths aged 10 and older.  T is for young teens aged 13 and up.  OT or YA is reserved for the 16 and older crowd.  And finally there are those manga rated as mature, and are really for those who are eligible to go to R rated movies, these are rated M or sometimes 18+ and, of course, this is the selection the younger kids really want to read.    

White Chocolate =  Almost all A, Y and T rated books are aimed at the youthful male population, but are just as good for girls, usually concentrating on action, adventure, comedy and fantasy storylines.  There is no sex in these books, the stories are usually value and comedy oriented, with a few sports titles and friendship stories.  Anyone can enjoy these books, and most new readers can find something helps to be interested in reading.  One of the great series in the A category is "Prince of Tennis".

Milk Chocolate = Rated Teen+ or 13+, these books are aimed at a middle school audience.  Most are stories that involve some kind of romantic intrigue, but seldom does anything progress further than first kisses.  These are written most often for girls (shojo) but there are some great boy's (shonen) titles out there.  WARNING:  Look out for long running series that start out as T+/13 and then turn into OT/16+ or even M as the ages of the principles in the story progress.  While this works out just fine when those books are being released over a two to three year period, once a publication cycle is complete and the full series are available it's likely that your 13-year-old is going to want to read them all in quick succession.  This may not be wise.

Milk Chocolate with Creme-filling = These books are written for Older Teens, Young Adults, 16+, and are definitely more sexual in content, often times reality based violent, and in some cases deeply philosophical.  Some of the very best of manga and manhwa falls into this age category.  These stories touch on many subjects that are sometimes taboo, i.e., homosexuality, abortion, religion, politics, incest.  There are also other areas that are delved into that are of value for a young adult, but no 11-year-old is prepared to deal with.  Altered realities and future wars are the settings and fields for some of the best of these manga, but can be very scary to a youngster who doesn't have the historical knowledge to know what is real and what is fiction.  Some of the greatest stories in this age group are "Evangelion", "Fullmetal Alchemist", and "Rurouni Kenshin."  But there are so many more!

Milk Chocolate with Carmel = Yoai, gay boy-on-boy love stories, and Yuri, lesbian love stories, are most often written for older teens.  BUT there are some that fall over the line into mature titles, and some that are even teen titles!  Just as you'd suspect there are sexual situations, and discussion of sexual situations, and well, sometimes actual sex in these books.  If this is not within your ethic as a family, then keep watch on what your teenager is reading!    

Dark Chocolate = Mature, sexually active persons populate these books and stories.  Most are very lovely romantic stories with well developed characters and women who love lusty romance novels tend to like this style of manga very much.  Not for young girls, though I think it's over sensitive of most of the publishers to rate these too hard.  These aren't really (movie rating system borrowing here) X rated...  more like R.

Dark Chocolate with Nuts = Mature, sexually deviant or rough titles do exist, these are the X rated books.  Most often these are written for young men.  These stories are usually populated by busty young women with tiny little brains...  and great big sexual appetites.  There is a market for these titles, or they wouldn't be published.  Not every book your son is hiding under his mattress has to be Playboy or Hustler.

Just plain NUTS = These titles are, thankfully, not published in English... or not that I've found anyway.  They are called Shota and Lolli.  Let's just call this sexually perverted little boy and little girl horror land.  No, you really do not want your healthy normal kid reading these books.   There is a very active fetish community that finds this stuff attractive.  Be aware of it's existance. 

OK, all of the best of manga/manhwa can be found on eBay.  There is a very active trading community among the fans of these graphic novels.  Once you read one of these books you'll be hooked.  And, as with chocolate, who can eat just one?   The prices on eBay are fantastic, most of the time.  Books that would cost you $10 or more in the bookstore will run you half that or less on eBay!  So, if you are interested in manga or manhwa, or have a child who is interested, you can feel a lot less monetary pinch by getting your collecting going the eBay way.