You never know how, when or where your kids will finally be interested in the things you love. When I first heard about DC Superhero Girls a few years back, I was super stoked because it looked like it would be perfectly up my daughter’s alley. Young women with cool powers all going to school together and fighting bad guys? What could be better?! Continue reading
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
As usual, I picked up Dance Class Volume 1: So, You Think You Can Hip-Hop?
And it was actually pretty successful because she wanted to check this book out as soon as she saw it in the stack when we got home. I knew nothing about the comic, but we dove right in and she seemed to have a good time with it. The book actually has a lot of ties to the world of comic strips in that each page is a self contained gag or story, though some elements carry throughout like the performance of Sleeping Beauty and the dreamy new hip hop dance teacher (was this an Angelina Ballerina story too?). Like with Tiny Titans, I wasn’t sure if she would get the format or the gags, but she seemed to have a really good time with it.
I must admit, I did find myself laughing at some of the jokes, which I wasn’t really expecting. I didn’t fully get into this book though because of a few characters and choices made in regards to them. First, there’s a young woman named Lucie who isn’t skinny as a rail (she looks like a normal kid, in other words) and she’s sometimes the butt of fat jokes. Many of those come from the mean girl character Carla. They’re far from the worst examples of either stereotype (as you can see in this panel), but I’m not super excited about presenting my kids with them, at least right now.
With that in mind, I planned on returning this book to the library and maybe not mentioning it again, but then I saw my daughter practicing her ballet movies with this book opened up to the page where they describe the different positions. I was blown away. So, I think I’ll maybe give these books a read-through ahead of time and note where some of the jokes I’m less comfortable with are so I can change or skip them when reading because she really seems to dig it right now.
I had big plans for doing a series of Halloween-related posts here on the blog leading up to my favorite holiday, but it just didn’t happen thanks to that whole parenting thing and work getting in the way. I did, however, do some all-ages, Halloween themed reading that is worth posting about thanks to some books I picked up at the library.
The Adventures Of Scarygirl by Nathan Jurevicius grabbed my attention just from the cover. I love cartoony art styles in comics and this book has it all over the place. The story itself follows the misadventures of the title character who makes friends with a sea monster and a somewhat magical rabbit. She wants to find out why she was dumped in the woods, remembering the face of a specific man, and heads towards his location. The adventure is fraught with betrayal, threats and other dangers that eventually make Scarygirl realize that this man might not be the source of enlightenment she hoped for.
Here’s the thing, though, this book is presented without dialogue. There are some sound effects in here and there are speech bubbles, but they’re filled with images of people and places or a handful of symbols. Even as a 32 year old adult who’s read comic books for a third of his life, I had some trouble following a few of the details, so I’m not sure if that will make it better or worse for a younger reader. I showed my 4-year-old some of the pictures and she dug the style, but she wasn’t too interested. When I read her other comics, I know she can get a bit lost as to which panel I’m reading from and she should be focusing on, so this one might not be the best choice. On the other hand, though, a lack of words might break down some barriers for kids, so I’d recommend checking this one out and presenting it to your kids. If they don’t get too freaked out by some of the pages, they might be all up for this one.
Speaking of the pages, dang this artwork is just gorgeous. While reading the book I found myself wishing I could play it like a video game. I must not have been the only one because it is also a video game that I now very much want to play. Has anyone played it?
I was also very quickly and easily drawn to Chris Schweizer’s The Creeps Volume 1 Night Of The Frankenfrogs. As I’ve mentioned more than once, I love the films of the 80s aimed at kids that put them in real danger like Monster Squad, The Goonies, Cloak & Dagger, E.T. and even The Gate. I got that vibe just from the cover of this book from Amulet Books and was not disappointed.
The Creeps centers around a quartet of outcasts each with a specific set of skills that helps them rid their town of supernatural and sci-fi threats. These kids try to save the world from frakenfrogs while avoiding the rest of their classmates who hate them and dealing with the bad guys behind the infestation.
Again, I showed this one to my daughter but she wasn’t ready to make the commitment to a graphic novel. Still, she seemed to like the look of the characters and was appropriately grossed out by the monsters. To my mind, this book feels like it would fit in with the first batch of original Nickelodeon cartoons from the 90s like Doug, Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats. If that sounds like it might be up your kids’ alley (or yours) then go ahead and give this one a shot!
DC Super Hero Girls is here and I’m already a big fan! The cross-platform initiative plans to take many of DC Entertainment’s popular female characters, re-envision them for a younger crowd and make them easily accessible to kids, specifically young girls. The general idea was announced in the past few months, but USA Today scored the first look at the roll out this afternoon. 
DCSHG will come to life in a variety of arenas. There’s a cartoon presented in webisode chunks (the first one is here) from WB Animation plus a line of toys from Mattel, comics from DC, books from Random House and a variety of other offerings that will presumably make themselves known through the official website.
As you can see in the aforementioned animation, the general conceit here is that all of these young heroes attend the same high school where they’re trained how to use their abilities for good. It sounds like a mix of Ultimate Spider-Man and Monster High or the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls movies. 
From checking out the character page of the official site, it looks like Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, Katana and Bumblebee will take center stage, but others like Catwoman, Cheetah, Hawkgirl, Star Sapphire, Beast Boy and Hal Jordan will also appear. Follow the link at the beginning of this paragraph to go through each of them, read through their bios and even click around to see their specific powers and abilities.
The characters will also make their way to toy aisles thanks to Mattel’s action dolls. USA Today got the first look at these. Above you can see the foot-tall versions of Wonder Woman and Supergirl alongside the 6-inch takes on Harley and Bumblebee!
As a lifelong fan of comic books — specifically the ones published by DC — I’m very excited about the track that DC and WB are taking with this concept. Ultimately, I wish we didn’t have to make such a big effort to create entertainment that doesn’t alienate girls from the world of super heroes, but this seems like a really solid move. My daughter already has a good deal of comic-related toys in her ever-growing collection, but the fact that more will be aimed specifically at her is aces in my book!
When I was a kid, there weren’t a lot of fun ways to show that you were a superhero fan. In the 80s and 90s, the heroes were somewhat well known, but nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are today. To give you an idea, it took over a year for me to find a shirt with a simple Superman symbol on it whereas today you have several options just at Target alone.
So, when I got an email from the fine folks over at Warner Bros. Consumer Products about a whole batch of superhero-themed back-to-school products for girls and boys I was equally excited and jealous. I would have LOVED a Superman lunchbox when I was a kid! But, I’m even more excited that my daughter will have her choice between Batman, Superman, Batgirl and Wonder Woman ones from Thermos when she goes back to school! Jinkies, there’s even a Scooby-Doo one. All five of these are well insulated and padded to keep lunches safe, while the superhero versions also come with a smaller zipper compartment along the bottom.
But, school’s about more than just lunch (apparently). To get all of those pesky books to school, you can use Fast Forward Inc.’s Supergirl or Batgirl Mini Backpacks or the Batman one which comes with a lunchkit.
Finally, dig these last few accessories. The Accutime Cape Watches featuring Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman will allow your kid to count down the minutes to recess all on their own. Meanwhile, the Batgirl Vaultz Locking Binder Pouches actually come with a combo lock to keep your phone, cash and other supplies from falling into the wrong hands and the Batman Vaultz Locking Pencil Box looks like it’ll keep your stuff secure while still looking like it came right out of the Batcave!
Real talk? I’m 32 and been out of school for about a decade, but I’ve got my eye on that Superman lunchbox, the Wonder Woman watch and the Batman box. Head on to your local school supply retailers or online to get while the getting is good.
The crazy-delayed 99th episode of The Pop Poppa Nap Cast is finally here, even though it was recorded nearly a month ago! Just push play to hear about surviving a sick house, going “down the Shore,” one crazy night and my first official comic book pitch!
The comic shop I mentioned visiting is called October Country. It’s in New Paltz and it’s rad.
This is what Lavallette, NJ looks like. It was pretty great, I’d definitely go back.
I mentioned looking up the Oni site for a review I wrote for a great comic called Mermin. Check that out here and my take on the next two books here.
I’m not sure when I’ll be back for the next episode, but I’ve got a few fun things planned to celebrate the hundredth episode! Stay tuned!
For more of me check out UnitedMonkee.com, Comic Book Resources, Geek.com and @PoppaDietsch on Twitter.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
After being drawn to the first volume of Joey Weister’s Mermin from Oni Press, I was already excited bout the next two books. As it happened, I was able to score Mermin Book 2: The Big Catch
The Big Catch picks up immediately afterwards with Mermin’s underwater pal Benni and fellow grade schooler Penny joining up with Mermin’s group of friends. While they deal with bullies and other usual school stuff, there’s also a pair of self appointed paranormal investigators trying to prove that our boy is an alien. This all comes together at the end as Mermin faces off against one of the agents in a homemade mech suit before ending in a cliffhanger revealing that he needs to return home!
Which, of course, leads right into the third book which finds Mermin bringing his pals underwater to Mer where tensions with neighboring Atlantis are taut as a fishing line. While there, the kids learn more and more about Mermin, his family and the deal with his brother. Without giving too much away, this one ends on an even bigger cliffhanger that takes Mermin’s friend Pete away to Atlantis!
Even without such an Empire Strikes Back-esque ending, I’d be hooked on this series because I love the kids — from Pete’s nervousness to Penny’s amazing courage — and am fully intrigued when it comes to the hows and whys of Mermin’s self-imposed exile on the surface. Weiser’s cartooning and storytelling chops continue to impress and stay incredibly consistent throughout all three books lending a continuity between all three volumes that makes it feel like one whole thing. The third book also allows Weiser to expand the visual look of the book which sounds like it will continue into the next, which hits in September.
In the red flag department, these next two volumes are pretty consistent with the first. There’s a bully kid named Randy who is a total jerk, the talked-about death of a particular character (who I think will pop up eventually) and more fisticuffs, but not anything more than you might see on an average Cartoon Network adventure series. Speaking of which, I’d love to see a Mermin cartoon if anyone’s paying attention. There’s a mountain of goodness to be mined here for a multi-season series.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
I’ve had my eye on Scott Chantler’s Three Thieves Book One: Tower of Treasure
Opening the book, I was treated to a tight cartooning style that reminds me of older newspaper strip artists but with a precise modern viewpoint. The clean coloring and composition of the book make it a big, bright, fun adventure on the whole even though there are several dark moments for our heroine and her pals to survive.
Speaking of the heroine, her name is Dessa Redd and she’s an acrobat in a traveling circus along with her friends and coworkers Topper and Fisk. She has a mysterious past that involves a kidnapped younger brother that catches up with her during a performance that goes awry. Blamed by the circus folk for ruining their latest meal ticket, she decides to go along with Topper’s plan to rob the nearby treasure tower to make up for her earlier mistake. Given her acrobatic skills, she has relative ease making her way through the traps set up by the mysterious Greyfalcon, but the heist does not go off without a hitch and our heroes have to figure out a way to avoid capital punishment.
I’m personally not a fan of faux-medieval fantasy stories, but this one sticks more to the real world adventure (traps, escapes, treasure) than the mythical which I appreciate. It’s kind of a mix of the aforementioned Indiana Jones vibe and something like Princess Bride. The fantasy motifs allow for more interesting-looking characters like Topper and Fisk, but don’t take away from the reality of the situation which is pretty serious for the titular Three Thieves.
That’s also the biggest red flag of the book for parents. The main characters are threatened with hunger and death at various points and the Queen is an all around awful human being, but I would put this on the same level of your average Disney movie. Actually, while reading this book I kept thinking that it would make an awesome movie. I try not to get too far into that headspace when reading comics, because it’s not the point, but a live action version of this would be AMAZING, especially given the prominence of the young female character. I’d be stoked to take my daughter to see Tower Of Treasure on the big screen.
Anyway, Chantler’s world feels so lived in and interesting that I just want more of it, which is good because I’ve got the second and third books sitting here waiting to be read! If you want to check out more about Three Thieves, head over to the official website where you can actually read pages from the story to see if it’s up your and your kids’ alley.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
Every week or so, I head to the library with my daughter. She likes to start the visit by playing the kiddie games on the computers, which works out great for me because it’s right near the kids’ graphic novel section. I’m always looking for new books to check out and Joey Weiser’s Mermin Book One: Out Of Water
This graphic novel from Oni is rated A for everyone according to their internal system and follows the adventures of Mermin, a merperson from Mer who appears on the beach one day and winds up going home with a kid as a thank you for saving his life. That in and of itself sounds like the set-up of a great 80s movie, but there’s also a mystery because Mermin doesn’t want to go anywhere near the water. Hmm, what could that be about?
Well, I won’t spoil the mystery, but I thought Weiser strung it out at a nice clip while also putting Mermin and his pals through some of the usual trials and tribulations that come with school and kids not always being open to newcomers. There are plenty of solid lessons to be found in this book about acceptance, understanding, empathy, exploration and friendship without being hamfisted about them.
So let’s get into red flag territory. There is a degree of violence and destruction in this comic. A trio of Mermin’s fellows from Mer show up to bring him home and a battle that threatens his human friends in various ways ensues. While the situation remains serious (both to the story and in tone), it’s kept fairly cartoony. Basically, if you’re kid watches shows like Adventure Time, you’ll probably be okay with them checking out this book.
Speaking of the cartoony artwork, I love Weiser’s style. The figures are simple, but emotive and easy to love. When I had this book from the library my daughter wasn’t interested in reading comics (which has thankfully changed after a trip to the comic shop last weekend but I did show her the cover and a few pages. She seemed instantly drawn to Mermin and his friends. The cartoon-like nature of the characters makes it easy for kids who are used to those kinds of images from TV and storybooks to be drawn into a story even in a different format.
Overall, I give Mermin Book One a big thumbs up and recommend you give it a try. I’m going to see if my four-year-old’s interest in comics continues and will get this one back from the library to see how she likes it. Meanwhile, I’m going to move on to the next two books in the series and see where it goes from here!
Finally, finally, finally! March is DONE.
Still very slowly working my way through these. Here’s the latest batch. More will go up…later.
I don’t usually do this, but here are a few links related to these posts. My action figure review went up on CBR and focused on three of the latest Greg Capullo Batman figures from DC Collectibles.
Here‘s my review of The Giant Mechanical Man which I really enjoyed. I also eventually finished that run on Amazing Spider-Man. It’s one of my favorites and I wrote about it on my pop culture blog.
You can read my Geek.com posts on my author page. That’s been a really fun gig!
Another batch of Photo Diary posts ready for mass consumption!
Still in catch-up mode, but I’m hoping to knock these out this week (hoping). Just click on the first one in this wacky mosaic and read on through the first six days of March.
The Pop Poppa Nap Cast Episode 96 covers my new job writing for Geek.com, my better mood thanks to the weather and how I hope that leads to better times with my kids this summer!
If you’re in the Orange County area and like comics, do yourself a favor and check out October Country in New Paltz.
I wrote about fried-egg-coverd BLTs in this post, which you should absolutely check out. Fried eggs also played into Feed Me Phoebe’s excellent Mexican Sweet Potato Hash with Black Beans and Spinach and Smitten Kitchen’s fantastic Spaghetti Pangrattato with Crispy Eggs.
Finally, the two StaceyMakesCents posts I mentioned about Cincinnati Chili and magnesium lotion can be found here and here. Also, feast your eyes on this rad-looking dog.
For more of me check out UnitedMonkee.com, Comic Book Resources, Geek.com and @PoppaDietsch on Twitter.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
Jordan Crane is a comic creator whose work I’ve been hearing about from my more indie comic-oriented friends for YEARS, but The Clouds Above
I’m happy to say that, The Clouds Above (published by Fantagraphics in 2005) is a great story that can be enjoyed by readers of all (or rather most) ages. The 224 page, 6×6-inch book follows the adventures of a boy named Simon and his talking cat Jack as they discover a secret staircase to the clouds on top of Simon’s school. While ascending, they talk to birds, teach a sentient cloud to fly, fight storm clouds and eventually find their way back to school.
I appreciate that Crane keeps the material light and kid-friendly without shying away too much from emotional scenes. There’s a part of the story where their cloud friend turns himself into rain, but saves Simon and Jack so they don’t smash into the ground. There’s a sad beat there, but then the cloud says he’s happier than he’s every been now that the birds are enjoying the puddles he has become. I thought this was a particularly beautiful scene that probably has a teaching moment buried inside that I’ll figure out upon further reflection.
As far as red flags go, there is talk of death (“We’re gonna die!”) and a teacher beating Simon with a phone book, but not much is made of it and she’s ultimately made to look a fool which is important because she’s one of the few violent characters in the book. The others are birds, but birds are always jerks, so that stands to reason. Essentially, if your kids like Adventure Time, I think they’ll enjoy this book as both feature a boy and his talking, yellow animal friend going on a somewhat surreal adventure.
The Clouds Above not only works well as an all-ages story, but also offers a nice bridge for younger readers transitioning from storybooks to comics. Thanks to picture books, kids are used to this idea of information being doled out in one-page bites so Crane’s one-panel-per-page style here makes sense for them . I’ve noticed when reading comics with several panels per page to my daughter that it can be a little hard for her to keep up, so I try to point to each panel. Crane eliminates that problem altogether while also keeping a nice pace to the story.
I haven’t been able to get our 3-year-old to actually sit down and read The Clouds Above just yet — it’s like harnessing a tornado most days — but I did sit with our 11-month-old the other day and read it to him. He actually sat through most of it which is pretty huge considering his usual attention span is roughly 11 seconds!
Like I said, I got mine at the library, but you can buy a copy as well through the Amazon link above. You can also download the first 20 pages of this graphic novel from publisher Fantagraphics to see if it’s your bag.
The Pop Poppa Nap Cast Episode 94 covers some recent changes in my work schedule, the end of a terrible month, lots of comics and movies and a few tips about teaching your baby sign language.
Here’s the Fluttershy
Meanwhile, if you want to check out Astro City, I highly recommend going to the beginning with Life in the Big City
Deer aren’t all bad…I guess.
To see the Frozen elements in Big Hero 6, head on over here.
Keep your eyes peeled on UM for a more formal review of Cronos. But, I did review Pacific Rim and The Strain, if you’re interested.
The two kids comics I mentioned are The Clouds Above
I called Aunt May Peter Parker’s grandma. Obviously this is a huge geek goof. It’s clearly his aunt. Please forgive me oh wrathful geek gods.
For more of me check out UnitedMonkee.com, Comic Book Resources and @PoppaDietsch on Twitter.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
Over on my pop culture blog UnitedMonkee I reviewed a pair of trades collecting comics I thought might be good for kids to check out, but probably aren’t solid for younger kids. Like I said when I reviewed Batman ’66 Volume 1, I’m always looking for versions of these characters I love that I can pass along to my 3-year-old, but I’ve got to say that The Batman Adventures Vol. 1
As you can see in the review I wrote over on UM, I do actually love both of those collections, but I did want to point out to this audience that they might not be the best introductions to these characters for little kids. Even though The Batman Adventures is based on a cartoon — the amazing 90s ‘toon Batman: The Animated Series — it’s still aimed at kids a bit older than my daughter’s age.
Sometime in the past year I was watching Batman: TAS and she came in the room and it freaked her out. Also, when I showed her the covers to this and the Batman ’66 book, she quickly went to the cartoonier book. I think the inherent darkness of TAS — both in visual style and tone — is just a bit too intense for her. The nice thing about a comic like this that’s based on a show, though, is that you can easily sit your kid down in front of an example and if they dig it, then you’re good to jump into the series. I’ll probably wait until Lu’s a few years older before going down this particular route with her, but I’m always looking for more kid friendly Bat books.
I was also curious to see if the digital-first, but printed Adventures Of Superman anthology series would be a good place for our kiddo to start experiencing the superhero that changed my life. This series has a variety of stories by all kinds of amazing writers and artists that run the gamut from Superman figuring out a good mission for his backwards clone Bizarro to Superman’s mom wishing he’d come home for dinner. Much like with the Batman book, I think this is a wonderful batch of comic books, great for a new reader, just not a super young one because the Man of Steel is still dealing with a variety of people trying to kill him on a regular basis.
There are definitely stories in here that are cool for kids, but have you ever tried to flip past one story to get to another with a pre-schooler looking on? It can lead to more than a few problems. However, a good way to get around that might be to go back to these stories’ digital roots which can be found on Comixology. In that format, each “issue” is broken up into different downloadable chapters that cost $0.99 each. This would allow you to show them just the ones that you think they’d be into without the hassle of them seeing you skip past the ones that aren’t.
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
As a kid, my first real exposure to Batman came from the Adam West TV show. Even though I was growing up in the 80s, a few decades after the series first aired its impressive 120 episode run, I was lucky enough to catch them on reruns. At the time, I just took the campy antics at face value, but still fully enjoyed watching the exploits of Batman, Robin and Batgirl as they took on The Joker, Riddler, Catwoman (or Catwomen, more accurately), Egghead and the rest. For years, the only way you could see these episodes was if they happened to be on TV as the home video rights were a tangled mess. In the past few years, though, those rights have been detangled and simplified to the point where we now have Batman: The Complete Television Series
Continue reading
I’ve loved comic books since I was 9 years old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to turn that affection into a career. As the parent of two kiddos, I want to have samplings of my hobby I can pass them when and if they show interest. Hey, Kids Comics! will chronicle my experience going through these offerings and not only evaluating my kids’ potential interest but also passing along any potential trouble spots for children and parents. As always, I encourage you to read these books first to see if you think your kid will enjoy them.
The very first comic I ever tried to read with my daughter was Art Baltazar and Franco’s Johnny DC title Tiny Titans. I was a huge fan when the book launched in 2008 thanks to its mix of inside DC fan humor and ridiculously adorable artwork. It was like a classic comedy comic, but tailor made for DC Comics fans like myself. However, she was probably two years old at that point and wasn’t interested in reading comics of any kind.
More recently, when I got the idea to start looking at various kids comics, I pulled Tiny Titans: Welcome To The Treehouse off my shelf. I got through the first issue of six collected in this volume and set it aside to do that whole parenting thing. Later that day we caught an episode of the excellent Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network. When that was over and I saw that my daughter had enjoyed herself, I showed her Tiny Titans and started reading to her, pointing out the characters as we went. She loved it and it has since become a mainstay in her reading rotation. Continue reading
Every time I go to the library with my daughter I scope out the kid’s graphic novel section which sits adjacent to the computers and play tables she loves to frequent. I walked away the other day with a pretty solid haul, all of which happen to be written and drawn by influential comic book professionals.
Written and drawn by James Kochalka, The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza
The 110 page book from First Second is a fun romp that might remind you of Adventure Time or something in that vein. As usual, I read these things before seeing if my three year old daughter is interested and I think I’m going to skip this one for now with her. There is a tiny bit of cartoon violence in there that and some talk of death — both of which are in Adventure Time, now that I think about it — but there’s a crazy twist at the end that I really don’t think she’d get right now. Maybe next year.
Two more quick things about Kochalka. First, if you do read this book, pass it to your kid and she or he digs it, make sure to check out his other books before passing them along. I mentioned Johnny Boo and Dragon Puncher above which are both kids books, but he also does adult work like Magic Boy, his journal comic American Elf and (hopefully) obviously SuperF*ckers that you might not want to pass along just yet. Secondly, American Elf fully inspired me to start doing Photo Diary back in 2011.
Up next we have Jeff Smith’s adorable Little Mouse Gets Ready
I’m embarrassed to say that I still haven’t finished Smith’s amazing epic comic book series Bone, but I’ve read enough to know that this 31 page storybook for kids fits perfectly in with the visual style established in his other work. You get a pretty good idea of it from the cover image above which features bold lines, warm colors and delightful characters.
I did read this one with my daughter and she told me she liked it, but she hasn’t become obsessed with it like some other books. Though, to be fair, she hasn’t been obsessed about any books for a while, partially because she’s been skipping naps, falling asleep on the couch and thus not having her normal “Books and Bed Time” routine. 
Hansel & Gretel
And I’ve got to say, it wasn’t much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid telling of this story about a pair of siblings whose parents ditch them in the woods and they eventually discover a mean old woman in the woods with an edible house who has nefarious designs for them. But, there wasn’t as much Neil Gaiman-ness in there as I had hoped. However, Mattotti’s artwork really does bring something new to this story. His deep black brush strokes fill each two page spread with the kind of darkness and shadows that you want to pour over to see if anything spooky pops out.
Because of the scarier elements of this book — which doesn’t clean up the violence from the original, but also doesn’t revel in it — I will also hold off on reading this one to my daughter. Heck, it almost gave me nightmares, who knows what she’d think?!
All-in-all this was a fun reading experience for me, even if it didn’t necessarily net much in the way of kiddo reading time offerings. Still, I love the idea that these people whose comic work I love so much are making things in various formats that I can share with my kids at various times and hopefully show them the quality of the work that these people do while laying the groundwork for future suggestions.
If your pre-schooler is like mine, then they’re all about the Disney Channel and Disney Junior. The marketing wizards over there do a rock solid job of hyping their upcoming projects and getting the young viewers like my daughter super psyched about all of their projects. That of course includes Big Hero 6
Since we weren’t able to see this one theatrically, we’re anxiously awaiting the film’s arrival on Blu-ray. And it looks like this version will have the kinds of extra features Disney fans have come to expect from their various offerings according to a press release I just received.
In addition to the short film “Feast,” the set will include features like “The Origin Story of Big Hero 6” which gets into the property’s comic book roots, a look at the half dozen main animators called “Big Animator 6,” deleted scenes, gags and a guided tour of the film’s many Easter Eggs. Check out this clip to get a taste of all the hidden Frozen references throughout the movie.
Big Hero 6 is scheduled to hit home video on Feb. 24th, though it will be on Disney Movies Anywhere and Digital HD on the 3rd.
