2018-02-27T20:00:00-04:00 | Page 3 of 3

In Real Life, where avatars meet real-world consequences

Video games when I was a kid were simple on so many levels. It was just me and a friend, at his house, because he had an Atari and my parents wouldn’t let me have one. It’s a whole new world now and In Real Life is a graphic novel by Cory Doctorow with art by Jen Wang that examines the relationships and economics that takes place in-and out of video games. It’s the trinkets, jobs or vehicles that players can purchase with real money whilst playing the game. In Real Life takes a look at the sub-culture of those that sell things in games who are usually in impoverished conditions in emerging markets; as well as the different levels of players who take part in the game.

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All ages comics for March 7

Picky reader? Slow reader? A non-reader who you want to catch the passion for reading? A leisure reader? Whatever level reader you are (or have) there is something in the all ages comics rack to be read and enjoyed. In the podcast and YouTube version we’ll chat about Star Wars, Bodie Troll and two ‘life’ comics that will engage tween readers. For now, let’s take a look at three all ages comics for ages 7 and up that will make kids laugh, be curious and scare them (age appropriately of course), just a little bit.

Bart Simpson Bust Up

We love The Simpsons. Simpsons Comics is one of the go-to all ages comics that ages 6 and older can pick up any issue and be thoroughly entertained. Bart Simpson Bust Up is a graphic novel of previously published stories that are centered around Springfield’s spiky headed bad boy. ‘Bad’ is relative and this graphic novel is appropriate for ages 6 and up. I understand that some parents don’t want that age watching the television show. However, the printed version of Springfield doesn’t have the elements that parents don’t want their kids emulating.

Chimichanga: The Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face

A bearded girl, sideshow circus and a misfit little boy who grows his hair long so nobody can see him. This is Chimichanga and it’s one of the most satisfying all ages comics that was a mini-series from 2017. It’s not ‘scary’ per se, just very mysterious-in an all age way, with art and story to make young readers know that they’re reading something special. It’s from Eric Powell, whom older comic fans might know from The Goon. This comic though is squarely aimed at kids 8 and up.

Ghoul Scouts Tweenage Werewolf

Another great mini-series from 2017 that’s returning with new stories is Ghoul Scouts Tweenage Werewolf. From Action Lab Entertainment this mini-series is genuinely scary, but in a fun way in the same way that The Goonies was scary. Ask your parents about The Goonies kids. This is diverse group of kids who fight monsters and zombies in a real way. They have to work together in order to drive stakes and avoid danger, but real strife in their friendship’s occur and they’re tweens, so growing up is happening also.

Humor

Superhero

Action/Science-fiction

Coco is animated brilliance that any age will enjoy

Coco is one of the rare animated films that my family saw before I did. When they got back from the sneak preview everyone was raving about Coco and how it was the best film they’d seen in a long time. That was high praise coming from my family, but at the time I was only concerned about me, being stuck in bed due to the flu. Now that Coco is on Blu-ray DVD I finally got up to speed on what my family was talking about and I agree with them on all fronts.

In many ways Coco is the perfect film. It has all of the technical and production qualities that make Disney -PIXAR films great, but also has that extra something. For one, as much as I love and appreciate most Disney-PIXAR films they have a familiar rhythm to them. In Coco, the only familiar element to the film was Miguel’s dad, who looks suspiciously like the father in Inside Out.

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Rot is contest book of a different color that kids will love

For us, Rot, The Cutest In The World, reminds us of one of our favorite children’s books. You see, Rot is a mutant potato. I didn’t know that a mutant potato was an actual named thing. My inner monologue automatically called them mutant potatoes, but never really paid them any mind. And Rot fits the description, he’s speckled, with one pupil that’s three times as large as the other one, has scraggly hair, can’t sing and is a bit socially unkempt. Lucky for him there’s a contest that will decide the cutest in the world about to start and he’s eager to enter.

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