That kid is never going to experience the pleasure I had at his age by reading comics. In fact, he's probably never going to experience the pleasure of reading, period, faced with that kind of parental attitude. My children, when I have some, will be encouraged to read. Comics, books, newspapers, whatever. Reading stimulates the imagination, and imagination helps us navigate the mysteries of life.
Stories are equipment for living.
I can't help wondering if that incident in Africa is going to have a major evolutionary effect. Maybe Planet of the Apes wasn't the fantasy of a French writer after all. I know one thing, though.