GeekMom Comic Book Corner – May 2nd, 2012

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

What my son is reading: Sonic The Hedgehog – 30 years Later– Dakster Sullivan

The other night, my six-year-old son discovered the wonderful world of comic book apps on his iPad. He was instantly drawn to the Sonic the Hedgehog specific app and asked me to download him some stories. It took him almost an hour of looking through the three page previews of each comic book to make his choices. He finally settled on Sonic the Hedgehog – 30 Years Later parts 1 thru 4. I’m a little sorry to say that I have never read any of the comics he reads, so yesterday I sat down with my iPad and got to work.

The storyline is interesting, but since I don’t know anything about what happened in the past or what is happening now, I was a little lost at what was happening in the future. My son is the same way and doesn’t seem to mind a little confusion, so I decided to read it like a child and take it for what it was on the page. The story centers on King Sonic, Queen Sally and the royal twins. The world is celebrating a time of peace, but there’s a villain who believes that the rightful king is not sitting on the thrown and is intent on making Sonic and his family pay for it. I could feel the emotion from each of the characters and could almost see the action in my mind.

Overall, it was an interesting story with the same humor and action I remember in the game and animated series. It can see why it’s the longest running series based on a video game. It’s a really good and easy read to get into.

Corrina Lawson
One of my favorite superhero writers, Mark Waid, has joined with several other well-known creators in putting together a new digital comic site, Thrillbent. There are two digital comics currently available, Luther , about those who clean up zombie roadkill, and Insufferable, featuring a discarded superhero mentor and his former sidekick (the insufferable of the title). Being a superhero reader, the first issue of the latter had just the right amount of action and character to hook me.

Both stories feature effects that can only be done digitally, including a nifty use of how panels appear. Go give these a read. They’re easy to navigate on-site and don’t have to be downloaded. Also, free.

Cathe Post
The Easter Bunny left my kids coupons for purchasing apps and books for our Kindle. Besides finally getting Plants vs. Zombies, my daughter also picked Super Siblings by Patrick Scullin. The first two issues have been the perfect length for my six-year-old at 12 pages each and are affordable at $0.99 apiece. The stories show a geeky twist on sibling rivalry. Super Siblings also has a website with a weekly strip and a store (where you can also conveniently pick-up the new 100 page book Super Siblings: Lord of the Clarks for $3.00). Check out the website for the weekly strip (or sign up to have it e-mailed to you) or download one of the Kindle editions. Any way you read it, Super Siblings is a fun read for everyone in the family.

My Week In Comics – Nicole Boose
I’m a freelancer in the comics industry and mom to a 3 ½-year-old. Here’s what my week was like:

Visited my local comic store, Carol & John’s, in Cleveland (home of Take Your Kid to the Comic Shop Day). I picked up the collected volume of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s  Nemesis so I can read it before I start editing the sequel series. I also bought Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland. As it happened I had recently re-watched the movie American Splendor, about Pekar’s life. Although I’d seen it once before, this was my first time viewing it as a Clevelander and recognizing some of the locations.

Working on getting a new issue of the mini-series Supercrooks ready for print!

Posted a new comic script critique on the Comics Experience Creators’ Workshop, where members can discuss their comic works in progress.

Sent some notes to the Marvel’s special projects office about their upcoming book that collects all 31 issues of the comic adaptation of  The Stand by Stephen King. I was fortunate to be editor of the final segment of that series, and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve worked on.

Read to my daughter in both comic and picture book format. Noted that Curious George books from the ’50s and ’60s combine text and images very differently from the ones that have been published more recently. Thought about how that affects the reader’s experience similar to the way it would in comics. Hope to have something insightful and scholarly to say about this one day.

A Look at Page by Paige — Rebecca Angel
For Christmas I wandered in the graphic novel section of my local bookstore and found this gem: Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. I bought it for my daughter who loooooooved it. It’s a simple story of a teenage artist moving to New York City from a small town, figuring out friends, boys, and the confidence to share her talent. Oh, the talent of Gulledge is great. Her style flows with the searching plot. The visual metaphors pour from this book. Artistic poetry. My teen daughter was inspired and delighted. I hope you are too.

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books from DC and Marvel:

Acronym Key:  VC = Variant Cover  / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback / CP = Combo Pack 

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