Pop Culture | Page 5 of 41

Secret Coders: Paths & Portals, succeeds as a graphic novel and STEM tool

Secret Coders: P aths & Portals is the second book in the series by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes. It’s a fascinating graphic novel that wears its love for STEM on its sleeve. It also manages to do so in a way that draws in non-coders in a way that will make them want to explore the subject matter more.

That’s important to point out because this is a graphic novel, but it’s unlike any one that you’ve read before. Most graphic novels simply have the goal of being entertaining. Paths & Portals wants to be entertaining, as well as, show kids what coding can do, how it’s helpful and why it’s fun.

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At the intersection of Octonauts and Star Wars

Our oldest son just turned 7. Prior to much planning or research he opted for a Star Wars themed birthday party at home. For a kid turning 7 a Star Wars birthday party is a safe bet. We planned some cool Star Wars themed games for the party, sent out the invitations and let the Force be with us. Shortly after that we went to Toys R’ Us to see what toys were new and popular. It was then that he saw things that neither of us expected to see, Octonauts toys.

He was a couple isles ahead of us and I heard him yell, “daddy, daddy, Octonauts toys”. This had to be a mistake, I thought. I knew there weren’t any toys from that series. Last spring every big box store put their Octonauts toys on clearance and hasn’t had them since.

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Chimichanga-the all age circus freak comic book with heart

Chimichanga, The Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face is a freak show. No really, the backdrop for the comic book is Winkle’s Traveling Circus and our main characters are the freaks. They’re fun loving good-natured folk who society just doesn’t understand, plus Chimichanga a giant green monster that eats anything.

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Archie Meets Ramones, fun times in Riverdale and Max’s Kansas City

Stunt casting. It can appear in comic books and the results vary. Archie and his friends are very adept at doing the improbable. They’ve previously met The Punisher, Predator and other things that clearly do not belong in Riverdale. That is the appeal behind these mash ups. Archie and his friends behave the same way regardless of which fish happens to be out of water. In Archie Meets Ramones our gang finds themselves in modern day times about to compete in a band contest.

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A conversation with Dr. Scott Viguie, AKA Doctor Geek at Dragon Con

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Education, especially STEM based education can be tricky thing for some students and educators. It’s frustrating for parents too because STEM based jobs will grow by 5.5 million jobs between now and 2022. Doctor Geek’s Laboratory hears you and is there to help you in many ways that you may not even know you need help.

As part of Dragon Con we interviewed Doctor Scott Viguie. He’s has two doctorate degrees, is an archeologist, attorney, actor and author. His life story is nothing short of impossible, inspiring and fascinating. Growing up with Cerebral Palsy, his thirst for knowledge, natural curiosity and determination offer lessons that anyone-regardless of their passion for science, technology, engineering, art or math can learn from. Yes, art. Dr. Scott Viguie, AKA, Doctor Geek incorporates ‘Art’ into his materials. His podcast, Doctor Geek’s Laboratory is more of a radio soap opera than podcast. It presents real science lessons that people can learn from. It’s science inspired by fiction that applies itself to home scholars, students who want to be entertained while they learn or just folks looking to hear a top notch podcast.

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo nails it to the floor

A reluctant reader is a kid that is able to read, they simply want to read things that they like. Graphic novels, comic books and manga are a great avenue to get those types of readers into the habit of reading. These resources are also a great way to have fun. The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing is an original graphic novel about a young ghost hunter, the new kid on the block and a monster baby that’s gone missing. The content is great, but its presentation-and the fact that it’s done in a landscape format makes the book feel even more special.

Did you grow up reading the Sunday comics? We did and loved the full color, panoramic way that they were read. That is the way that the pages are done in Margo Maloo, the only difference is that this is a confined story with three chapters.

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New all age comics for October 5

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There are two cool fronts this week. The new mini-comics that you give out for Halloween or for other purposes are out this week. These are small than average, all age comics that are sold in bundles of 25 for only $4.99. They come in a wide variety of titles and can be found at your local comic book store. There is that in addition to the week’s new all age comics and there are some really cool ones.

In Humor comics it’s kind of a bummer that one of our favorite comics, Regular Show is ending its run with issue #40. This is a really funny comic book that has the spirit of the show down, great art and big, funny dialogue. In this issue Mordecai and Rigby have to save the world, by getting Benson the save the world. Ages 9 and up will laugh out loud at this one.

Looney Tunes #233 is out and at a price point of only $2.99 everyone will love this. Archie Meets The Ramones sounds like stunt casting-and it is, but based on previous Archie stunts we’ll buy into this one. I thought Archie Meets The Punisher would suck-it didn’t. I thought the same thing about Archie Meets Predator, it didn’t. Don’t bet against Archie or Riverdale and gabba, gabba, hey your way into this comic book.

One of the coolest comic books we’re excited about this week is Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up Marvel Universe. This is a brand new graphic novel that has Squirrel Girl taking on every Marvel hero and villain. Normally an issue of Squirrel Girl is great for ages 9 and up. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up Marvel Universe is going to be OK for slightly older readers, mainly due to the increased combat and camp humor.

Betty Boop is new this week, but this time she’s fighting ghosts and zombies! It’s good for ages 12 and up. Her appearance is the same, some audiences will enjoy the camp value while others won’t like her look. For audiences looking for a strong, modern girl-power book check out Miraculous Origins Goldie Vance. Issue #6 from Goldie Vance is out and this character is a crime solving tween with her mother and friends in Florida. It’s also a great all ages comic, especially for girls because there’s humor, intrigue, friendships and more that will keep them hooked.

Did you check out the podcast? If so-and you could rate it on the provider that you found it from like Google Play, iTunes or Podomatic, that would be great. Where is your closest comic book store?

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Kid friendly scares on Netflix #StreamTeam

We’re part of the #StremTeam for Netflix and were compensated for this post. All thoughts are our own. Scary things to a child are relative. Today I wanted to highlight some of the fun, but slightly scary things that are available on Netflix. All of these shows are OK from a content perspective for our 4 year old to watch. They’re either designed for children or harmless enough to merit inclusion. Parents will enjoy some of these more than others, be warned….

Phineas and Ferb, season 1, episode 9, One Good Scare Ought To Do Ya

Phineas and Ferb is one of the greatest television shows ever. When we were kid-less, one of our friends who had kids said that we should watch it because the humor spanned generations and flew at a very quick pace. He was correct. This is the series that got so much better with each series its increased quality was obvious, even though the earlier episodes were still good. Their first Halloween special, Once Good Scare Ought to Do Ya is about the giant haunted house they built in the backyard to help Isabella get rid of the hiccups. It’s not one of their better episodes, but it is still very good.

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