Posts Tagged ‘doctor strange’
Stan Lee and Superhero Parenting
What is Superhero Parenting? It’s parenting like a superhero. It’s using lessons from comic books to raise your kids. It’s allowing comic books to teach lessons to your kids, lessons they might not want to hear from you but will gladly absorb from a fictional character in a costume.
The biggest lesson of all – “with great power there must also come great responsibility” – comes to us from Stan Lee.
One of the best things my father did for me was introduce me to Marvel Comics. (Note: my father was, at best, something of a putz.) My first was Doctor Strange, and I still vividly remember the splash page – the colors, the small words. (Compare the letters on a Richie Rich comic to a Marvel or DC book from the late 70s/early 80s. It’s a big difference.)
Later I got into Spider-Man and learned the immortal lesson of great power and great responsibility, maybe the best thing parents can learn. Think about it – what greater responsibility is there than parenting a child?
I’m hardly the only person thinking about parenting on the day Stan Lee died. Kevin Smith wrote on Instagram, “Outside of my parents, you were the one adult who gave me the most useful life skills I still use today.”
I think this is true for a lot of people. In some cases Stan might be MORE important than their parents. That’s not true for me; my mother had a huge influence on my moral compass. But so, in his way, did Stan.
More Stan:
Famous people remembering Stan
Stan shows up on these great old Fantastic Four radio shows
All of Stan’s cameos, or “Staneos”
Image: Wikipedia
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!
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!
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
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
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.
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.
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, 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.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Marvel Digital Comics Sale at Amazon
Marvel digital comics sale at Amazon. Doctor Strange, Thor, X-Men, Iron Man, Howard the Duck, lots and lots of stuff. Check it out, true believers.
Source: Amazon.com: Featured Sale Titles
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Doctor Strange Trailer (And Some Thoughts on The Comics)
By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, they actually did it. Here is the new Doctor Strange trailer.
Looks like fun, yeah? I’ll give you a few thoughts of my own; if you want a moment by moment Doctor Strange trailer breakdown check out this video at IGN.
(Note: Marvel/Comixology/Amazon is having a sale on Doctor Strange digital comics — 99 cents each. Check ’em out here.)
So. Doctor Strange. What’s his deal? He’s got magic powers, lots of nifty mystical items that he uses to protect Earth from inter-dimensional nasties, and… I don’t know, he’s cool. Not a traditional superhero like Iron Man, Spider-Man and the rest.
Splash page for the “Doctor Strange” story in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963). Art by Steve Ditko. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On a personal note, the first “real” comic book I ever read was an issue of Doctor Strange. I’d been reading Richie Rich, Casper, Archie, that kind of stuff. One day my dad said, “It’s time for you to read some real comics,” and handed me a copy of Doctor Strange. My little boy mind was blown. The first thing I remember is how much smaller the lettering was. That was true for all “real” comics (read: Marvel and DC); Richie Rich, et al, were aimed at very young readers and had simpler dialogue and storylines… and larger lettering. The next thing I remember is the splash page. One big image, full of colorful details, with Doctor Strange himself looming large over it all. I think he was looking out of a window, but it’s possible he was sitting in a chair with stuff drawn around him. I’ve been looking for that issue for years and I think I’ve found it, although I can’t remember what number it is at the moment. I also don’t remember the story. But I do remember how I felt. It was basically my comic book Bar Mitzvah. No more little kid comics for me. Now I could read the good stuff.
And I did. I have a nice collection of books that I bought at the local candy store/newsstand, because you could buy comics there when I was a kid. (You still kind of can, it just isn’t as common.) I didn’t keep those comics in very good shape, which in some cases is a bummer — my Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Daredevils would be worth a few bucks, as would my copy of the original Wolverine mini-series (which you can get for less than six dollars via Comixology). But instead of bagging and boarding everything, I read the hell out of my comics, because they were awesome. (Those Daredevils in particular are probably my favorite comic books ever.)
Back to Doctor Strange. His book went in and out, and I didn’t buy it that often. It’s possible that the local candy store didn’t always have it in stock even when it was being published. In addition to not being a traditional superhero, I don’t think he was as popular as the big names. He did found one of my sneaky super teams, The Defenders. The original core group of Defenders was Doctor Strange, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and The Incredible Hulk, quickly followed by The Silver Surfer. Basically a bunch of really powerful dudes who don’t play well with others, hence the term “non-team”. Later Defenders mainstays included such popular characters as Hellcat, Gargoyle, and Nighthawk. Also Valkyrie. Never heard of them? Join the club. (Marvel is doing a Netflix series called The Defenders, which I’m sure will be fun but doesn’t have much, if anything, to do with The Defenders’ comic books.) The Defenders hung out at Doctor Strange’s Greenwich Village mansion, known as The Sanctum Santorum, while constantly making a point of telling readers that they were NOT a super-team like The Avengers. I liked those comics a lot. Something about the idea of a group of semi-outcasts and/or angry people and/or loners teaming up only when it suited them really appealed to me.
I also always dug the good Doctor on his own. His job, Sorcerer Supreme, was to defend Earth from mystical threats. Sometimes he gets help from other Marvel heroes, but usually he doesn’t, because he’s the only one who can do what needs to be done. This led to some wonderfully trippy artwork, first by the legendary Steve Ditko (written by the even more legendary Stan Lee) and later by lots of other people.
The thing that made me the happiest in the trailer was seeing Doctor Strange’s Astral Form. (When Tilda Swinton punches him and it looks like a ghost pops out of his body.) It works like this: Doc leaves his body behind, defenseless, and his spirit floats around and does stuff. He can travel faster this way, but he can’t touch anyone and most people can’t see him. (One notable exception, if memory serves, is The Hulk. Because comic books. UPDATE: I just read some Doctor Strange comics from the 80s, and in those stories Doc can allow people to see his astral form if he wants them to. Again, because comic books.) It’s something that for various reasons I always found fascinating, so to see them do it in a live action movie had me making little nerdy noises.
So there you go. The Doctor Strange trailer. Looks like Marvel might get it right again, taking a character that isn’t well-known and putting said character into a big-budget blockbuster movie that doesn’t suck. Here’s hoping.
Read some comics:
