US vs European 1980s Kids Comic Upbringing Meme

THIS IS WHAT KIDS IN THE US WERE RAISED ON / THIS IS WHAT EUROPEAN KIDS WERE RAISED ON / PTAF!

This two-panel comparison meme contrasts the popular comic media that children were exposed to in the 1980s in the US versus Europe. The left panel, captioned 'THIS IS WHAT KIDS IN THE US WERE RAISED ON', features a large group shot of dozens of iconic American superhero characters from 1980s Marvel and DC comic series, including X-Men, Avengers, and other associated heroic figures. The right panel, captioned 'THIS IS WHAT EUROPEAN KIDS WERE RAISED ON', shows a panel from the popular Franco-Belgian Spirou et Fantasio comic series, depicting the notoriously aggressive recurring character Madame Irma punching a man so hard he flies across the room, accompanied by the onomatopoeia 'PTAF!' for the impact sound. The humor comes from highlighting the stark cultural difference in mainstream children's comic content between the two regions during the 1980s: US comics focused heavily on superhero action, while popular European comics leaned more toward absurdist, slapstick comedy and everyday character stories.

This meme was first shared on the Reddit r/Meme subreddit under the original title 'Comics 80''. It is a collage work created by combining two pre-existing 1980s comic art assets: the left panel is a widely circulated official 1980s Marvel Comics group illustration of their core superhero roster, while the right panel is an excerpt from the long-running Belgian Spirou comic franchise, which was massively popular with children across Europe throughout the 1980s and remains a staple of European comic culture.