Garfield 8520

EDIT: Wow! Thanks for all the great feedback! Please keep the suggestions coming. Thanks again!
I've noticed the "What comics are good for my kid/nephew/niece" question pop up quite a few times here. As a dad to two little boys (7 and 3), this is an issue that's near and dear to my heart. Unfortunately a lot of the current titles featuring mainstream characters can be questionable for younger readers in terms of violence, language, innuendo, etc. Comics don't automatically equal kid-friendly and so it’s not always easy to find stuff that keeps them in mind. That said, there’s a universe of fun, enjoyable, exciting and entertaining options out there for kids to discover and enjoy! This guide is intended to highlight some of them.
What follows is a formatted list of titles and recommendations originally sourced from this thread. Please feel free to add more suggestions below and remember that it helps if you can explain why you’re recommending that title. :-)
As with anything, your mileage may vary. Every kid is different, so it’s up to you as the responsible adult to determine what’s appropriate for your kid. These are informed suggestions, but preview these for yourself if you can. Comixology links are provided wherever possible so that you can see a few pages, but when it comes to picking these up, you can also always try your local bookstore, Amazon, or best of all, visit your local library!
Also please note that “All-Ages” here doesn’t mean disposable kiddie-fare. These are great titles that truly have something to offer for everyone.

MARVEL

All-Ages
"Share Your Universe" is/was a Marvel campaign specifically aimed at parents who wanted to find stories with mainstream Marvel characters that were appropriate for younger readers. For the most part, these are titles that you can feel comfortable handing off to a child to read on their own.

• Marvel's Share Your Universe - a parent's reaction
  
• Here are a bunch of free Marvel Share Your Universe titles from Comixology - preview them to see if work for you and your kid
  

Also...

• Ultimate Spider-Man Infinite This one-off title is a fun silly adventure and specifically designed for digital (also free).
  
• The Masterworks You absolutely cannot go wrong with the original classics. Avengers, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Thor, X-Men...these are timeless adventures to share and enjoy with your younger reader (you might want to run through them first on your own; your call of course).
  
• Silver Surfer by Dan Slott and Mike Allred is colorful, creative (!), fun and highly entertaining. Very much inspired by the spirit and charm of Doctor Who; a rare new mainstream title that’s truly appropriate for all ages.
  
• Thor: The Mighty Avenger was an all ages book that just didn't find an audience. It's out in trades, is a distillation of what makes Thor, Thor, and it's super charming and fun. It's also gorgeously drawn by Chris Samnee.
  
• Marvel Adventures digests: See the Share Your Universe section at Comixology to get a sense of them.
  
• The Oz Series by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower with charming art by Skottie Young. Six books: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; The Marvelous Land of Oz; Ozma of Oz; Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz; Road to Oz; The Emerald City of Oz
  

Ages 6 and up

• Matt Fraction’s Fantastic Four and FF. These titles intersect at the beginning and end, but otherwise run parallel and are self-contained. Fantastic Four has the Richards family taking a vacation (of sorts) through time and space, although Reed Richards is keeping a secret as to the real reason for the trip. Meanwhile, FF follows the misadventures of Ant-Man and the children of the Future Foundation. With playful art by Mike Allred and a bigger cast of younger characters, FF is generally sillier, quirky, offbeat, and unpredictable (the general consensus was that it was the stronger of the two titles). Overall FF is a kid-friendly and more engaging series, but note that there are very rare moments that may give you pause (e.g., Doctor Doom striking a child). Both series play off of each other, but were also written so that it’s not required to read both in order to follow what’s going on.

Ages 10 and up

• Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson is a highly acclaimed series that focuses on Kamala Khan, a teenager from New Jersey who discovers that she has shapeshifting powers. Taking inspiration from her hero Captain Marvel, she adopts a secret identity and decides to become a force for good. Marvel rates this series as "T", which they define as "Appropriate for most readers, but parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children."

DC

All-Ages

• Superman Family Adventures Created by Art Baltazar and Franco, this is a very special book that is absolutely perfect for young readers new to comics. Bright, funny, and extremely entertaining. Adults will love it too, promise. :-)
  
• Tiny Titans also by Art Baltazar and Franco and another guaranteed hit.
  
• Batman '66 is a charming and highly enjoyable comic version of the original Adam West series. Great fun to read out loud and like the show, it's completely appropriate for all ages.
  
• Li'l Gotham by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs is fantastic lighthearted book overall with beautiful watercolor style art.
  
• Jeff Smith's Shazam vs the Monster Society of Evil is smart, fun, and very accessible. This ComicVine writeup has more info.
  

Ages 10 and up

• Supergirl:Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade ; DC/Comixology recommends this for ages 9 and up - as with everything, your mileage may vary.

TOP SHELF

All-Ages

• Owly by Andy Runton is a gentle and thoughtful series about a young owl and his friends. There is no dialogue; the really cute stories are told entirely through pictures. Great for all ages and helps get kids used to reading comics in the panel format.
  
• Korgi is another Top Shelf title in the same vein. Created by former Disney animator Christian Slade, this beautifully illustrated series follows Ivy and her dog Sprout in their adventures in Korgi Hollow. Well-crafted stories with no dialogue, appropriate for all ages.
  
• Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell is a funny award-winning graphic novel about a supposedly terrifying monster who somehow isn’t living up to the neighboring town’s expectations.
  
• You can preview Owly, Korgi, and other fun Top Shelf titles like Johnny Boo and Okie-Dokie Donuts with their Free Comic Book Day issues available here.
  

Other Publishers

All-Ages

• Archie and his friends in Riverdale offer great stories suitable for all ages! That said, there are a few titles meant for older readers. Life With Archie ends with a shocking murder (!) and Afterlife With Archie is full-on zombie horror definitely not suitable for kids (although older readers will love it).
  
• Aw Yeah Comics! is by the same creative team that brought you Superman Family Adventures and Tiny Titans. Equally charming and funny.
  
• Captain Ultimate is digital series by Monkeybrain that's a sweet and totally age-appropriate read about a superhero and his biggest fan. 99 cents per issue, can't go wrong!
  

Ages 6-up

• Bone An incredible blend of humor, action, fantasy, adventure, and heart. I wouldn't suggest this for a five year old (it gets intense and quite dark in places, but your mileage may vary), but put it on their list to start in another year or two. Jeff Smith’s epic series is a huge hit with kids, a permanent fixture at Scholastic book fairs, the perennial favorite in many "best of" graphic novel lists, and all for good reason. Our library has the collected editions and my older son and I have been having a blast working our way through them. First issue free on Comixology.
  
• Atomic Robo by Brian Clevinger is a fantastic and highly entertaining book about the action-science adventures of Nikola Tesla's automated intelligence machine. It's a great comedy super hero series that promises "No angst, no cheese cake, no reboots, and no filler;" Which basically means it's a fun book that is easy to pick up. That said, note that there can be some occasional language (e.g., "damn", "ass", and the phrase "robot pornography" - referenced, but not shown!) and plenty of cartoony violence (no more than you'd see in kids' cartoons). Each story arc is pretty much self contained so you can jump in with whatever story interests you. There are eight (!) free issues to check out to see if it works for you and your kids.
  
• Edison Rex is another Monkeybrain 99 cent series about a Lex Luthor-style criminal who decides to be a good guy. There's some very mild innuendo in one issue (kids won't get it) and the words "damn" and "hard-ass" show up in one or two issues, but otherwise it's an interesting story. My 7 year old is very intrigued by the concept and the plot twists as characters aren't all what they may seem to be. Lots of parallels to familiar mainstream characters.
  
• Reed Gunther was a great but short lived Image title about a cowboy who rode a bear. 1st issue free at Comixology.
  
• Mouse Guard has great characters, a good story, and is very visually appealing too. From the author’s website, Mouse Guard is a true all-ages book. There are just as many children fans of the series as there are adult fans. For sake of labeling, the publisher has classified it as “8 and up”, though there are fans of Mouse Guard younger than that. While Mouse Guard deals with serious ideas of loyalty, danger, love, and death, David doesn’t do gore-for-gore’s sake illustration, and focuses more on the weight of those events rather than the spectacle of them. Some vocabulary may be over the heads of younger readers, but none of it is inappropriate for them and David likes to think children will rise to the occasion of being challenged and either learn new words and meanings through context or by asking an adult for help.
  
• Lumberjanes is a new series that’s quickly winning over readers. Described as, “Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp...defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons...what’s not to love?!”
  

Ages 10 and up

• Battling Boy by Paul Pope is perfect for kids around 10 and up.
  
• Tintin. Classic adventure!
  

Comics Adapted From Other Media

Television
If you’re okay with your kids watching these shows, these licensed comics by Boom Studios and IDW are surefire bets. These aren’t adaptations, but new stories in the style of the original series.

• Fraggle Rock
• Adventure Time
• Regular Show
• Steven Universe
• Samurai Jack
• The Powerpuff Girls
• My Little Pony

And DC is doing Scooby Doo Team Up.
Classic strips
You grew up with these characters, now Boom Studios features them in all new stories created in the original style:

• Peanuts
• Garfield

Also…

• The Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics of Carl Barks and Don Rosa are the sort of stuff you'll love as a kid, maybe put aside when you go through that period where you think you're too "cool" for stories about talking ducks, then come back to and love just as much. They aren't just fun stories, but very well crafted comics. Fantagraphics has been putting out fancy library editions, but starting in October they will start collecting them in slimmer paperbacks as well. Free Comic Book Day issue here!