Dec 29 2017

Marvel And Star Wars Comics Sale at Amazon

Marvel And Star Wars Comics Sale at Amazon! I know, we do this a lot. Push digital comics sales. And sometimes it’s when there’s only a little bit of time left. But if you read digital comics — and you should — there are some sweeeet deals to be had. Only valid on December 29, 2017, so hurry up.

Hey Kids! Comics!

Hey Kids! Comics!

Here’s the general link. Specific suggestions follow.

Ms. Marvel Volume 1, $1.80:

Man did I love these comics. An actual modern take on the “kid gets powers, has no idea how to deal with them” story. Plus it focuses on a culture that I know very little about. Give it a try.

Infinity Gauntlet, $2.20

The movie is coming out soon, and this is way cheaper than spending $450 on the hardcover.

Planet Hulk, $5.00

Oh man did I love these comics. Thor Ragnorak is based in part on stuff from here. And you can follow that up with…

World War Hulk, $1.80

Hulk mad, but Hulk SMART. Hulk mad and smart is very dangerous for those he is mad at. And oh, is he PISSED.

Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon, $2.20

This was a pleasant surprise. Hawkeye buys a brownstone in Brooklyn and he’s blind, I think. It really wasn’t what I expected at all. Plus the art is genuinely different and overall very awesome.

And…

Marvel Graphic Novel #1: The Death of Captain Marvel, 80 cents

80 CENTS! FOR ONE OF THE BEST COMICS EVER! JUST BUY IT!

OK! Some Star Wars comics:

Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1, $2.20

Vader in modern comic book form is highly intriguing. Think about it. What do we know about him, really? I don’t mean Spongebob Whinypants from the prequels, I mean VADER. What’s he like? These comics offer some insight.

Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes

Let’s go full Skywalker family, bros! (Sorry about that. I’m not really a “bro” type but it felt OK here. Is it OK? Do I have to give myself a wedgie now? Will it hurt?)

Just hit the link below and explore. Shop. Today only. December 29, 2017. May the force be with you, True Believers.

Source: Amazon.com: Marvel And Star Wars Comics Holiday Sale December 29 ONLY


Jun 05 2017

Many Marvel Digital Comics On Sale

Wonder Woman may be all the rage at movie theaters right now, but Marvel is ruling the roost (what does that even mean?) when it comes to digital comics. Why? Big sale! Read on, true believers.

Marvel Comics

When I say “sale” I do mean sale. Like, these are some super cheapo prices for Marvel digital comics. No idea how long these prices will last.

X-Men:

First up — X-Men Epic Collection: Second Genesis. This is the beginning of the X-Men that most people know and love, the team with Colossus and Storm and Nightcrawler. Also Banshee, but he doesn’t last that long, which is too bad because I like him. Wolverine joins soon after, and we all know how popular that guy is. Bottom line: 528 pages for $3.40. SERIOUSLY. Go buy now.

Next — God Loves, Man Kills. This is a famous comic (technically Graphic Novel, since it has the “Marvel Graphic Novel #5” tag) that I don’t think I’ve read. I will now though, because it’s 96 pages for 80 cents.

Infinity War:

Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” movie comes out in 2018 (!!!) but before that you can read the comics the movie is based on.

First up is Infinity Gauntlet (1991) and then Infinity War (1992). “Gauntlet” is 256 pages for $2.20, “War” is 400 pages for $4.00.

Other stuff:

Marvel’s first ever Graphic Novel, The Death of Captain Marvel, might be the best comic of its era. Why? Because it is about what the title says. No more no less. I have this digital edition already and I can honestly say it is amazing in every way. Written and drawn by Jim Starlin, this is a serious book without being maudlin. And Marvel has managed to keep Marv dead all these years, which is impressive. (Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel, now goes by Captain Marvel, and she’s the one you’ll be seeing on the big screen in 2019. If you have no idea what that sentence means don’t worry about it.) Bottom line: 128 pages for 80 cents, one of the best comics ever. GO BUY NOW.

Photo of Jim Starlin at the Wizard World comic...

Photo of Jim Starlin at the Wizard World comic convention, Chicago, Ill. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There’s a ton more digital comics for sale. I’ll add to this list when I can. Click the links and just go exploring. Or just check out Amazon’s top sellers in Comics and Graphic Novels, which at the moment are all Marvel stuff because of the sale. Remember, I have no idea how long the sale is going on, so don’t get mad at me if you click and find out the price has gone up. Buy now! Now now now! That’s I’m gonna do.


Aug 23 2016

Warning: More Superhero Posts To Come (But It’ll Be About Parenting Too)

I know this is DaddyTips.com, but I think there are going to be more superhero posts to come. You have been warned.

Danger Will Robinson

This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me or anyone who reads this site with even moderate regularity. I mean… well, I’ll let the picture say a thousand words.

Me and The Avengers movie.

Personally I prefer The Avengers. Have I mentioned that lately?

In case anyone is wondering, the phrase “Me and The Avengers DVD Combo Pack = happy dad” is still true. I could watch that movie almost any time. Luckily there is a steady supply of other stuff to watch, some that even doesn’t have superheroes in it like Stranger Things. (Stranger Things is all the things, by the way. I’ve already watched it twice. It’s good the second time around, in case you were on the fence about watching it again.)

Deutsch: Zentrale Heterochromie: Grüne Iris, u...

Deutsch: Zentrale Heterochromie: Grüne Iris, um die Pupille herum jedoch ein braun-gelber Ring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(The image above is totally unrelated and is included just to freak you out a little.)

I will be doing a better job of tying the superhero stuff into parenting and related topics. Not that this is necessary. To paraphrase Whit Honea from way back when we both blogged for Babble.com, superhero movies are relevant to a parenting blog because I’m a parent and I like superhero movies. (Whit’s kind of awesome; check him out here, and also everywhere.) I also watch them with my kids. The values they impart are important. Not that it’s all about values. It’s also about fun, and sharing something fun. The world is a rough place. There’s a reason it’s called “escapism.” But while escaping, it is worth noting that sometimes there are good values being imparted. Acceptance of others (Vision and Scarlet Witch). The complications of friendships (Captain America: Civil War). How awesome and weird it would be to have super-powers at age 15 (Spider-Man). OK, that last one isn’t really a value. But those three are all from the same movie. I’ve got more than that, trust me. Because with great power, there must also come great responsibility. (Ahem.)

Face front True Believers! Welcome to the DaddyTips age of Superhero Parenting! Trust me, it’ll be a fun ride.


Apr 28 2016

Sesame Street Avengers Parody (DaddyTube)

Apparently today is National Superhero Day. Even if it isn’t (I’ve been fooled before), this Sesame Street Avengers Parody video “The Aveggies- Age of Bon Bon” is quite amusing. Sorry, forget to say Spoiler Alert.

At the risk of spoiling the best jokes… OK, I won’t. But the Sesame Street writers manage to come up with amusing vegetable-themed names for all of the Avengers, and even works in a version of one of my all-time favorite lines (from the first Avengers movie, which this is technically a parody of, rather than Avengers: Age of Ultron). Makes me wish I had a little kid to hang out with so I could watch more Sesame Street.

If that makes you hungry for more (see what I did there?) here is a Sesame Street Superhero Playlist, which begins with none other than Superman. Ah, the good old days.


Dec 29 2015

There are Star Wars: The Force Awakens Contrarians

I enjoyed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the movie has received much critical acclaim. Great! May they make all the money.

However, I also think it’s important that there are other voices out there. People who say “this stinks” or at least “this isn’t as good as everyone says it is”. Otherwise we’re all mindless drones bowing to our corporate overlords. Not to be over-dramatic about it. But it rarely ends well when EVERYBODY agrees.

Star Wars - Sand People

Star Wars – Sand People (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Deutsch: „Star Wars”-Logo

Deutsch: „Star Wars”-Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And OK, sure. It’s just a movie. It’s just Star Wars. But it’s also more than just Star Wars. It’s entertainment, it’s escapist, it’s fun, it’s all good… as long as we can see the flaws. Or as long as we aren’t blindly devoted to the blockbuster.

DaddyTips readers (and pretty much anyone who knows me) are well aware of my love for the Avengers movie. I am willing to acknowledge that there are parts of the film that aren’t perfect. It’s a thing that makes me happy, and I think those things are important. For example, I don’t believe in “guilty pleasures” unless your guilty pleasure is something you should feel guilty about doing, such as clubbing baby seals. Watching a movie that you know isn’t great but you like it anyway? Please. (I do not, for the record, put The Avengers movie in that category. At all. I’ve seen it more than ten times. I might watch it again today.) That being said, I have no problem with someone who doesn’t like the movie, be they a friend or a professional film critic. I enjoy reading/hearing a different point of view than mine. As long as they have more to say than just this:

This article from Vox, titled “Critics are going too easy on Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, written by David Roberts (whose bio says “I write about energy and climate change” — and Star Wars, apparently, which shows how big a deal this movie is, in case you hadn’t noticed), makes some good points, and also has links to other Vox articles that are worth reading, including one that supposedly explains what the heck The First Order is. (I haven’t read it yet, hence the “supposedly explains”. Keep in mind that I did see the movie, but I still don’t really know what The First Order is. For the record, it doesn’t really matter, except that it does. Which is basically my point. If that’s confusing, ask me and I’ll explain.)

Bottom line: you can like a movie and know that it’s flawed, you can dislike a movie and acknowledge what’s good about it, you can hate a movie that everyone says is great — you should make your own decisions. I’ll even go so far as to call this a DaddyTip. In what way? The tip is that you shouldn’t let your kids get sucked into the blind devotion of a movie. I’m not suggesting you hit them over the head with criticism either, especially if they’re young. But let them know that it’s OK if they don’t 100% LOVE every single minute of this new Star Wars movie even if their friends do, or any other piece of entertainment for that matter. Be clever. Be a contrarian. Look at things with a critical eye as well as the eye of a fan. Understand that entertainment is awesome, and that it’s fun to escape from reality. Just make sure that you don’t completely forget about reality when the movie is over.

Or join the crowd and love it. That’s also an option, and probably easier.

Being derivative is not some clever pomo statement — it’s just derivative.

Source: Critics are going too easy on Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Vox


Sep 09 2015

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron 2-Disc BD Combo Pack Pre-Order

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. You saw it. (At least you did if you live in my house.) You loved it. Maybe not as much as you loved The Avengers (the first one), but that’s not a big shocker because the first one was awesome and tough to top. Now the 2-Disc Blu-Ray Combo Pack is available from Amazon for pre-order. I’m going to pre-order it, because, well, I love me some comic book movies.

English: Cast of The Avengers at the 2010 San ...

English: Cast of The Avengers at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International featuring Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BUT! I won’t get it until October 2, 2015. #FirstWorldProblems

I can’t quite tell, but I think if I want to pay $19.99 NOW I can get the movie in HD *immediately*; SD (standard definition) is available on October 2, like the discs.

Can I wait a month? Of course. Do I *want* to wait a month? No. I want to watch the movie again NOW.

Call the wahhhhbulance. Read more »


Jun 04 2015

Avengers Age of Ultron Science Fact?

There’s a bit in Avengers Age of Ultron that involves a machine that prints skin. (I’m simplifying.) This technology even leads to the creation of a really cool character. (I won’t say which one in case you haven’t seen the movie yet. Although if not, what exactly have you been doing with your time? I mean, sheesh.) It would appear that what I thought was mere science-fiction is becoming science fact.

(The photo below has nothing to do with this post. But it could one day! 3-D Eyeball Printers!)

Deutsch: Zentrale Heterochromie: Grüne Iris, u...

Deutsch: Zentrale Heterochromie: Grüne Iris, um die Pupille herum jedoch ein braun-gelber Ring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

L’Oreal is working on a 3-D printer that can print human skin.

“Print” should probably be in quotes. Basically they’re using a machine to create skin cells to replace human skin that’s burned or otherwise damaged. Read the Wired article for more.

Eventually, of course, this same technology could be used to create an entire body. For now that’s science-fiction instead of science fact. But who knows what the future holds.

h/t Top Tech Blog (via Scott Adams. Yes, the Dilbert guy. He blogs about interesting stuff and has other folks blogging about interesting stuff on his behalf.)

Source: Inside L’Oreal’s Plan to 3-D Print Human Skin | WIRED