Daddy Mojo

New all age comics for March 15, 2017

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New comic book day is every Wednesday and in that lot are dozens of graphic novels or all age comics that are great for young readers. These comic books have a wide variety of topics and will interest reluctant readers to those kids that already love to read and simply need something new. Here are five of the more interesting or go-to all age comics that your young readers need to know about.

Bart Simpson graphic novel: Suckerpunch

Simpsons Comics and their spinoff comics like Bart Simpson are easily some of the best, most consistently entertaining all age comics that you’ll see in comic book stores. They’re filled with bright, vivid colors, silly stories and humor that will be appropriate for ages 5 and up. That age will not understand most of the jokes, but they’ll love the colors, physical gags and reading with you. Slightly older readers (like our 7 year old, as well as me….) will laugh out loud at the stories.

Disney Pixar Cars #2

Name a major Disney property and there is a comic book out there for it.* Disney Pixar Cars #2 is out this week and will light up the interest level for fans of that franchise. As a comic book it left us feeling a little flat because it consists of several short stories that end up with a pun at the end. Don’t get us wrong, we love a good pun and the characters in Cars are easy to love. However, the art is a bit too cartoonish and the short stories won’t draw in young readers for a repeat lap. Our 7 year old wasn’t a fan, but his 5 year old brother did like looking at the pictures and having it read to him.

*The fact that The Incredibles doesn’t have a comic book companion is criminal.

Super Sons #2

We were skeptical of the first issue of Super Sons. However, it wasn’t that bad and I can see ages 8 and up enjoying this story about the sons of Batman and Superman joining forces. It’s loaded with realistic action, but is toned down relative to the comic books that star their famous fathers.

Doctor Who: T is for Tardis

Doctor Who is one of the great all age comics. Doctor Who: T is for Tardis is an alphabet book for Whovians and their parents. A is for Angel and so forth, it’s presented in retro style and is an alphabet book that you’ll read far beyond the learning age of A, B, C.

Deep #3

Deep is a great example of a comic that doesn’t skimp on action and presents family bonding in a way that anyone will enjoy reading. The Nekton Family are undersea explorers, meeting all manner of dangerous creatures, exploring sibling rivalries, some STEM skill and having fun. It’s OK for ages 5 and up, but they’ll require some help reading it. Ages 7 and up can read it on their own and will have a kick of a time in this very fun mini-series from Boom! Studios.
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Google Chromecast Audio brings new life to old speakers

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. I stream lots of music. Odds are that you do too and that has left you (and until recently us also) with a small problem regarding the pairing of your device to the speaker. For us it was akin to the password paradox and pairing the device or a dropped connection led to our favorite speaker going dormant for over a year. Google Chromecast Audio is the Rosetta Stone to your speaker and music streaming needs.

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Sci-Fi Junior High reaches reluctant young readers

From the dedication page of Sci-Fi Junior High it’s obvious that its creators are devotees of the classic science fiction properties. From Stan Lee, Space Ghost, Chewbacca, Burt Ward and more they go about thanking all of them for what they contributed to society. Thanks, is also what 8 year old science fiction fans will be saying to the authors after they read Sci-Fi Junior High too.

This is story of Kelvin, a middle school aged boy whose family has just moved to a new space station. His mother is a neuroscientist and his father is a robotics engineer, but Kelvin is supposedly smarter than both of them. However, middle school is the same wherever you go, even if it’s in outer space. There are food fights, strange friendships, bad dad jokes, study groups, embarrassing parents and lots and lots of robots.

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The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World, a book to go nuts for

We’re fans of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comic book from Marvel Comics. It’s one of those of those comic books that has more puns per paragraph than your uncle Murray and securely has its tongue in cheek. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Squirrel Girl Meets World is a novel adaptation of a Squirrel Girl story that will be OK for young readers who are upper elementary students and up. That age range is kind of a switch up from the comic book, which lists itself as appropriate for teens.

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New all age comics for March 8, 2017

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What’s new in all age comics this week? There’s a graphic novel or two, trade paperbacks and single issue comic books to where there is something that will interest your young reader ages 5 and up. As a kid going to the book store to get a comic book after a doctor or dentist’s appointment was our reward. It was a Waldenbooks, remember that mall store? They had one of the largest racks of comic books in town. Comic book stores are our kid’s go-to doctor jam, to find the closest one to you check out the comic book store locator, now, on with the comics.

If your tween is watching Riverdale on the CW they might be interested Josie & The Pussycats #5 or Reggie and Me #3. Reggie is a five issue mini-series about the handsome prankster that is more for the established fans of the new Archie. Both of these series will skew younger than the TV show, so the comics would be appropriate for middle school students.

For the really young kids, ages 5 through 7, check out My Little Pony Deviations, Spongebob Comics #66, Darkwing Duck #8 or Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Saphire graphic novel are some of your best options for all age comics. That Pokemon book will also be of interest to kids through 11 years old and is a traditional graphic novel. I point out that difference because there are several Pokemon books that have no pictures.

Our overall favorite comic book this week is Justice League Power Rangers. Issue 3 of this 6 issue mini-series is out and it’s one of the best all age comics we’ve seen in a while. It’s OK for ages 5 and up, but those 7 and up will get the most out of it. It’s loaded with action, some great heroes, cool villains from the DCU and lots of morphin too.

Teen fans of anime and manga will be interested in reading One Punch Man graphic novel, volume 11. One Punch Man has a very large cult following in the U.S., but is a publishing juggernaut in Japan. He’s a chilled out, average looking guy, who is also a superhero able to defeat opponents with one punch. Factor in that he gets bored with the lack of competition, sub-par superheroes stealing his glory and you’ve got a wry character that’s somewhere between Deadpool, Spider-Man and Iron Fist.

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Logan is just an X-MEN movie

Logan is just an X-MEN movie in the same way that The Dark Knight is just a Batman movie. Separate for a moment the different actor who portrayed Bats and consider that it was the same superhero from Batman Forever to The Dark Knight. Logan is the same character that we saw in The Last Stand, yet he’s so very different and so much better.

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Is Myrtle Beach really for families?

A family vacation to Myrtle Beach is a go-to plan for families who live east of Ohio. Myrtle Beach has a big reputation for family fun. There are all manner of attractions, water sports, shows and entertainment that have lots to offer to tourists. Our experience at Myrtle Beach was a mixed bag, it certainly has lots to do, but depending upon where you stay and how old your kids are will dramatically impact the level of fun.

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Kelvin and Rosalee Ramer, keeping Monster Jam in the family

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Monster Jam is one of the best family night outs that you will experience. What child does not want to see larger than life trucks jumping over dirt mounds, doing flips or racing around a course an unimaginable torque levels? Plus, torque, it’s a chance to teach school age children about torque and how it makes the trucks accelerate so quickly. We spoke with Kelvin Ramer and Rosalee Ramer, two drivers on the Monster Jam circuit, who also happen to be father/daughter.

Rosalee Ramer is in her second season and was the rookie of the year in 2016. Kelvin Ramer has been driving Monster Trucks for 14 years and their story is really one of talent and family.

Did you see Rosalee when she was on The Ellen Show? Ellen’s reaction after she saw Rosalee do a Monster Truck demonstration in the parking lot is how you’ll walk away if you’ve never seen Monster Jam in person. After seeing it once you will have an enthusiastic reaction every time you hear the vehicle start, spin out and be sure to have your camera on video just in case you’re lucky enough to see one flip.

A truck doing a flip with flames shooting out from the bottom? #monsterjam

A post shared by Daddy Mojo (@treyburley) on Mar 5, 2016 at 8:15pm PST