Let's go, Squaddies!

Before my wife and I started having kids, I imagined some day in the distant future, bouncing my son or daughter (or both!) on my knee and trying to figure out how to introduce them to the wonderful comic book characters I knew as a child. The movies are too adult and the cartoons I watched as a kid are just plain old.

I started buying toys. Then, there was a line from Marvel called ‘Spiderman and Friends‘. These featured little kid versions of my favorite Marvel heroes. I snatched up everything from teethers to board books to action figures and vehicles, anticipating the demise of the current Super Hero trend.

The beginning...

When I was a kid, I would literally sit down with the TV Guide and plan my Saturday morning. I remember the excitement of revisiting old animated friends and finding new ones. I remember the slow let down as noon fast approached, and I knew that the animated adventures would soon give way to golf and Star Trek reruns (I just didn’t get Star Trek at the time. Now I get excited when I happen to find one, but I digress)…

I’ve mourned the loss of cartoons to get excited about for quite some time. I just can’t get into Phineas and Ferb, Chowder, or the like. They’re just… boring. I’ve watched my three year old watch these shows, and she looks kinda bored too.

But I am delighted to report that the folks at The House of Ideas, the wonderful people at Mighty Marvel have once again unleashed good old fashioned action and adventure to the Saturday morning lineup in the form of Super Hero Squad!

Now I’ve seen other blogs/reviews that are miffed that this show is for kids and not for ‘Marvel fans’. I’d like to offer an alternative stand point. I happen to think this is the perfect show for Marvelites.

Even if I didn’t have a young child in my home, I would love this show. It has everything you could want: Dr. Doom, M.O.D.O.K., Fin Fang Foom, and relics scattered across the world that offer infinite power. And that’s just the first episode! Make mine Marvel!

I’m continually confused by so-called ‘true fans’ that poo-poo every new version of their favorite heroes. What did you find appealing about super heroes in the first place? I’d bet it wasn’t for hard-hitting deep dark storylines. If you’re anything like me, it was the appealing way that good and evil were in an epic struggle and there were no blurring of the lines. Sure, that’s not real life, but since when did stories about mutants and monsters have to be ‘realistic’?

Back when I blogged about ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold‘, I applauded Warner Bros. for bringing camp back to Batman and reminding us what Saturday morning was all about. I now applaud Marvel for bringing us more fun than you can shake an Infinity Sword fractal at.

With Super Hero Squad, Marvel has come up with a way to keep children and their parents happy. Children may delight in the action, but adults can appreciate the humor. And it’s not the ‘let’s talk over the kids’ heads and giggle at the innuendo’ kind of humor that’s found in most cartoons. Lines like ‘Hulk not do math. Hulk SMASH!’ and a bumbling Silver Surfer are all in good fun. The title cards are send offs of classic Marvel covers. I could go on and on.

My point is, you’re only as old as you feel. If you’re a Marvel fan and don’t like this cartoon, then you must be feeling pretty old. Lighten up, or better yet…

I dare you not to hum the theme song to yourself after watching this…

If you want to know more about Super Hero Squad or want to stream full episodes, make sure you visit the official home of Super Hero Squad online!

Calli can help you conquer the world!

Yesterday I was stressed at work. The day before that, I was stressed at work. Last week: yeah, more stress. I don’t want to get up in the morning. I don’t blog but once a week (FatherHood Friday, as seen at dad-blogs.com! Be sure to check out all the cool moms and dads who selflessly share the lives of their families for your entertainment and delight!) I can hardly take making a decision anymore, because somehow it’ll be wrong to someone.

So. After a stressful day at work, I walked through the pouring rain to my car. Generally, when it’s raining and I feel blue, I imagine myself as David Banner, put my hands in my pockets and whistle the ‘Incredible Hulk’ theme, but this time it wasn’t enough to make me feel better. I had to stay later than I wanted, causing us to miss the performance of Alice in Wonderland I really wanted to take Calli to. I popped the trunk and realized I’d left the laptop back in the office. Perfect. Only I didn’t think ‘perfect’. I try to keep my blog family-friendly, so I’ll leave out what I really thought.

I drove home, rain crashing on the windshield. I did NOT turn on the radio. I just sulked.

So I come home to the family. Calli is inconsolable. She REALLY wants to go outside. But she doesn’t want to wear her raincoat or boots. We plead with her and essentially wrestle her to the ground to get her to don her rain acoutrements. I try real hard to tuck in the raw nerve she keeps stepping on. It’s not her fault I had a bad day, week, and month. She’s just being her precocius two-year old self. And judging from stories I’ve heard, she’s not even all that bad!

Raingear on, Calli, Kat, and their Mom go outside. I pace the apartment, not wanting to be rude to my family, but feeling like I need a moment alone. The half hour in the silent car wasn’t enough. Aw, heck, I’ll go see what they’re up to!

I stepped outside my building in my Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robot pajama pants and Legion of Super Heroes t-shirt (a sign I truly don’t care. I normally don’t set foot outside in something like that! I usually match the pants to the t-shirt, come on!) and turn left, so absorbed in my sulking that I don’t notice the family off to the right.

“Justin!” I hear my wife call. I turn to see her jogging back to our apartment. “I gotta get the camera! Wanna go watch the kids playing in the mud?”

I looked over, and there they were: the two ‘sissies’ (sisters, not cowards) were splashing and playing in the mud.

Calli looked up with her big baby blues and said, “Try it, Daddy!”

“I don’t know, maybe later.”

“Peeeeaze? I wanta you to try it!”

“OK.”

Good times...

I kicked off my sandals and let the mud ooze between my toes. I watched Calli and Kat stomp around in the mud. We laughed and splashed and played. I began to think of when I was a kid, and rain was almost magical! Rain was when you went outside and splashed and played and delighted in your merry mess making. Rain’s not a literary symbol for sadness and depression. Rain is liberating and cleansing. I had forgotten that.

Kids will do that to you. Sometimes you have to shake off the cranial-anal disorder to see it.

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When I post Kat’s art, I get comments that say ‘Keep them coming!’ So, I’m happy to oblige!

Today we present some Kat-style fantasy!