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10 Great Comic Books for Kids Under 12

Comic books were once a child’s domain. Now not so much. Today’s Batman and Iron Man are aimed more for teenagers and, let’s face it, those more in their 30s than for those beginning their love for the graphic novel*. You may look fondly on your younger self, sitting around following the adventures of Wonder Woman, the X-Men, or Archie. But where do you start for your child?

The following 10 comic books are ones that I’d recommend for children ages 7-12, who might find a story to love. And, parents, you just might love them too.

I Kill GiantsI Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura

There are monsters in every child’s life, but one girl, Barbara Thorson, is ready to fight them. And she’s preparing the world for her battle or at least trying. Barbara’s tale touches your heart, especially as she fights her demons: both real and imaginary. Between Kelly’s thoughtful writing and Niimura’s beautiful art, they bring Barbara’s story to life. Let I Kill Giants warm your heart.

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Peterson

One of my favorite comic books about the bravery of small things: in this case, mice. Mouse Guard draws you in with its beautiful art and keeps you around with its big heart. The Mouse Guard valiantly defends all mice territories from threats like eagles, weasels, foxes, crabs, and sometimes even larger creatures. Despite their size, the mice risk their lives for each other and work together to bring down their larger enemies. Soon Saxon, Kenzie, and Liam will be your new friends. Buy Mouse Guard.

Runaways vol 1 pride and joyRunaways Vol. 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

Ever wonder what would happen if you found out your parents were super villains? That’s just what happens to these six teenagers (plus, one pet velociraptor). After finding out that their parents play for the dark side, they run away and plot to stop their parents. Also Vaughan doesn’t forget that they need practical things like food and shelter. How would you react to finding out that your parents are evil? Join the Runaways on their epic adventures.

DolltopiaDolltopia by Abby Denson

I pretty much cannot stop raving about Denson’s Dolltopia. As a little girl, I played with dolls, mostly Barbies, Ninja Turtles, Batman, or Star Trek ones, all the time. There were extensive narrations in my head and certainly, ones like Denson’s book, that defied heteronormative gender identities. But before you go thinking Dolltopia might be too much of an intense genderqueer narrative for a child, it’s just subversive enough. It is, at its crux, a story drawn in all black and white and hot pink about a group of dolls that escape humans’ homes to find themselves. Whomever they may be. And there’s nothing stronger to give a child to read, but a book that tells them that they will be loved, no matter who they are. Get some subversive fun in your life.

rose and isabel
Rose and Isabel by Ted Mathot

Take a historical trip back to the Civil War with Rose and Isabel, two sisters who don’t sit idly by while their three brothers go off to fight with the Union soldiers. But Rose and Isabel are no ordinary women; they come from a long line of warrior women. And even though they were taught pacifism and kindness all their lives, neither will tolerate the loss of their family. Travel back in time to meet these strong ladies.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol. 1: Super CrushSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol. 1: Super Crush by Sean McKeever and Takeshi Miyazawa

Ever want to know what Mary Jane thought of Spider-Man when they were in high school? Now you can walk the halls with Mary Jane, Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, Harry Osborn, and Gwen Stacey as they all try to figure out who they are becoming. Miyazawa manga-style art makes this teenage romp even cuter. Discover Mary Jane and Spider-Man in their early days.

Kevin Keller: Welcome to RiverdaleKevin Keller: Welcome to Riverdale by Dan Parent

Who doesn’t have fond memories of going to the orthodontist and reading Archie and the adventures of the rest of the gang in Riverdale? It can’t just be me. Well, today, the whole loveable gang’s still around getting up to their typical shenanigans that still make adults go “those darn kids!” Recently, current writer and artist Parent has introduced a new pal to the bunch, Kevin Keller. Kevin’s most famous for being Archie’s first gay character. Get to know Kevin and how he’s just another darn kid.

doctor who the only good dalekDoctor Who: The Only Good Dalek by Justin Richards and Mike Collins

Hiding from Daleks behind couches is a strong British childhood tradition I’d like to bring to the States. Exterminate! Here the Doctor and Amy Pond must stop the Daleks from invading Earth (again) and follow up on some rumors about there being a good Dalek. (The Doctor is not a believer.) My favorite scene is where a Dalek sinks into lava; now that’s something I’d like to see on the show. Do you believe in good Daleks?

GoGirl Vol. 1GoGirl Vol. 1 by Trina Robbins and Anne Timmons

When Lindsay inherits her mother Janet’s superpowers, her teenage life involves more than just algebra. Inspired by Robbins own relationship with her daughter, GoGirl fosters a great mother-daughter relationship, not to mention equally awesome female friendships. In the first story, Lindsay saves her best friend Haseena, who’s been kidnapped, with the help of Janet and Haseena herself. Thoughout the book, Lindsay learns a lot about life, growing up, and her mother’s love as she starts fighting crime. And, of course, her adventures are just really a lot of fun. Take an adventure with GoGirl!

The Saga of RexThe Saga of Rex by Michel Gagne

Rex, a fox, gets taken from Earth to a faraway world to be studied. Due to his charismatic nature, he ends up traveling the universe and meeting his soul mate. In a comic with few words, Gagne paints every cosmic scene and discovers other worlds, species, and a bit of magic through the point-of-view of a fox. This adorable fox will melt your heart no matter what planet you’re from.

What comic books do you recommend for those under 12?

*Graphic novels are collected versions of comic books. Though sometimes these book might go straight to graphic novel format and skip the single issue.

Erica McGillivray is the Director of Marketing for GeekGirlCon.

Winter Downs
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Adventures at BrickCon 2012

Hey everyone, Shubz here and back from a fun-filled weekend of sleeping in, sun, and LEGOS! That’s right, this past Saturday, I got an opportunity to check out BrickCon with my husband and a few of our friends. Feast your eyes on some of these impressive structures!

This pyramid is no joke! Check out all the detail in the layers to give it that unfinished look.

You can’t go wrong with Ron Swanson.

There was a booth with blacklight and light up lego structures, and my favorite was this beautiful chessboard.

Now this was definitely another favorite! BEHOLD THE BATCAVE! This was complete with a rotating panel that held Batman’s other suits and all the vehicles the Caped Crusader cannot go without.

I never knew the Justice League decorated so minimally.

Folks, this is only a fraction of the Hogwarts structure.

Another view of Hogwart’s. How awesome is that?

Please check out BrickCon’s site to catch more of the fun and building that happened this past weekend.

If you are a builder of any of the structures I have added, please email me at prcontent@geekgirlcon.com so I can properly give you props on your hard work and creativity.

What’s on your Lego builder bucket list?


Shubz K. Blalack
PR Content Producer
prcontent@geekgirlcon.com

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Board Game Review: Small World

I was recently introduced to a new board game that I’d never heard of before. It was quite entertaining, enough to drive me to share my experience with everyone else! With the typical (and reasonable) constraints of allowing for 2-5 players ages 8 and above, Small World is a game that will keep you captivated and on the edge of your seat for about an hour with the continuous shift in activity. It’s a game of rise and decline, conquest and defeat, and excitement for all of the players!

You’re about to be reminded that “It’s a small world after all.” No, I’m not talking about the incessant little robots of Magic Kingdom that sang and danced around your boat as your naive mind wondered what this chorale had to do with Disney World in the first place. Not to mention, Earth has about 510 million kilometers of surface area, which in no way could be considered small! In this case, however, we’re talking about the fictional world (Small World) occupied by Elves, Giants, Orcs, and Sorcerers, and despite the clicheness, it is indeed a small world. It is made up of small chunks of land—certainly not enough to accommodate for the 14 Fantasy Races that intend to conquer and thrive there. Because they can’t all inhabit the land at once, your goal is to build an empire of your race and eventually dominate all of Small World in only 10 short turns!

The Cover of Small World

You will be allowed to select the race you wish to play, paired up with a random Special Power that gives your race a unique benefit. You then use your Race Tokens to take over various regions of the map—in turn, forcing other races away. You must try to cover as much of the land as possible, for each region occupied at the end of your turn allows for the acquirement of Victory Coins, the system of points used to determine the winner at the end of the game. It’s not as easy as it sounds—conquering a region takes two Race Tokens, of which your supply is limited. If a region is already occupied by another race, it takes an additional Race Token for every enemy token already present in the region, and an additional Race Token for each obstacle on the region. This makes it difficult to conquer regions occupied by many Race Tokens and obstacles, so it is important to build a large and powerful army of your race if you wish to take over a large amount of land.

The game board: The land of Small World and its various regions.

Equally important as conquering land is defending it, for other players will be trying to take over your regions as you do to theirs. Sometimes your Active race (more on “active” races below) ends up being spread so thin that it is unable to recover, and the best option is to adopt a new race and begin a new conquest. In doing this, you must first send your original race into Decline. This means that their special powers are eliminated, they are reduced to only one Race Token per region, and the tokens are flipped over to reveal the greyed-out “In Decline” side. Those left on the board will still gain you Victory Coins during scoring, but they are not Active and will typically die out quickly. It is always an emotional time when it becomes necessary to force your own Declined race off of the map to make room for your newly expanding Active race. After 10 turns of continuous rise and fall of supremacy, each player will total his Victory Coins to discover the ultimate winner—the dominator of Small World!

The main reason I like this game so much is that the Fantasy Races / Special Powers combinations are always so unique. They are randomized before the game, and each one is completely original and creative, allowing you to get sucked into the fictional atmosphere. The first time I played, I started out with the Ratmen race and the special power of Spiritry. My Ratmen had no benefit going for them other than their sheer number, and their Spirit ability allowed them to stay on the board after Decline no matter how many races I had on the board. At first I didn’t realize how useful this would be, but it ended up causing my many Ratmen to inhabit a majority of the board to start, and they remained scattered about for almost the entire game—a victory point gold mine! The combinations are different each time, be it Stout Orcs, Commando Elves, or even Flying Skeletons, so the game is always kept fresh and lively.

Some of the Special Power/Fantasy Race combination signature banners

Even though this game has a lot of rules and situations to consider, it is very simple once you get the hang of it. The time goes by quicker than you would expect as you mourn and celebrate the losses and successes of your races and attempt to hinder the other players’ expansions while augmenting your own. You learn quickly that it is most certainly a small world. The one catch is that no matter how many times you play the game, you will always have stuck in your head the little “Small World” Disney tune that has haunted your mind since you were a child. Say what you will, but that song is awfully catchy!

Intrigued by Jaden’s review and want to try conquer a Small World yourself? Check it out at your local game store, one of our community business partners, (get a discount by becoming an individual sponsor) or other online retailers.

You can also watch a lively game of Small World hosted by Wil Wheaton for Geek & Sundry’s Tabletop show.

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Ask GGC: What panel are you excited for?

Hi folks! We’ve got less than three weeks until GeekGirlCon ‘12, and staff members are already getting our convention schedules together to make sure we don’t miss out on all the fun. Here’s what some of our staff had to say when asked which panel they were most excited for!

“I am most excited for the “Once More with Feeling” Sing-Along because who doesn’t love the musical episode of Buffy? Also, I’m excited for YA Literature and Feminism. As an avid reader of YA books, I’m interested to see the panelists’ perspective on this topic.” – Jex Ballard, Volunteer Coordinator

“This year, we have SO many excellent panels that this was a tough decision. Since I’m a die-hard Browncoat and Buffy fan, I had to go with Jane Espenson and Husbands because it’s a hilarious series and I cannot wait to see what surprises Team Husbands has for us.” – Kristine Hassell, Twitter Administrator

“The panel I am most excited for is—well, it is really, really hard to pick just one—Steampunk Sewing! Each year I have a fabulous idea for a Steamcon costume that never gets executed. And this year is no different; I have a great idea and I am way behind. I hope DodiRose Zooropa, Alisa Green, and Annah Sophia Summers share some nifty tips to save me from donning my dirigible mechanic garb once again because a girl needs options!” – Adrienne Fox, Copywriter

“I’m most excited to see Jane Espenson and the cast of Husbands. Jane is my hero as we desperately need more women writing and producing TV shows. I love that she can bring the funny, the dramatic, and the heartfelt. I also adore Husbands as I do remember a time (when I was a tiny kid) where I never thought queer people like me would be positively portrayed and in lovingly adorable relationships in TV.” – Erica McGillivray, President and Marketing Director

“I am so excited about some pretty different panels this year. I’m really looking forward to A Fate Worse than Death: The Last “Outsider” in Popular Culture – Disability — the panelists are a fantastic group and it’s a topic I am interested to hear more of. If I have to choose between the super cool science-y stuff (robots! NASA! more!), I would have to say that the Stunning Space Science: Voyager — 12,396 days and counting is really calling out to me — you had me at space + science.” – Amanda Powter, Copywriter

Check out our Saturday and Sunday Programming Guides and let us know which panel you are excited for!

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Board Game of the Month: Ark

Today’s blog is the first in a series from our copy intern, Jaden Blazier. Jaden is a big fan of board games and will be reviewing a few of her favorites. Enjoy!

Rain or shine, board games are always a great activity! While this one doesn’t physically include a board (it’s more of a complicated card game), it’s still one of my all time favorites. Ark is a game of strategy, logic, and cute animals. It’s the perfect blend!

Ark

I’m sure we’re all enjoying the nice summer weather that’s finally made it to the Pacific Northwest, but you couldn’t say the same for Noah. With the treacherous 40 day storm just around the corner, there is work to be done on his ark. It couldn’t have been easy building such a giant boat, and he’s now facing the challenge of getting animals of all kinds settled onboard before the flood. Do you think that you could handle it? Now you can see for yourself!

This game is a 45 minute journey into the land of the Ark. Three to five people above age 8 (including you!) will be placed in the stressful, yet exciting, situation of finding safe places for all of the animals on the boat before the rain hits. Sounds easy? Well, here’s the catch: each animal has needs that must be satisfied. Maybe you play the koala bear card, and this koala is a slow, herbivorous, sunshine-loving creature. He must be placed in a cabin with other sunshine animals so he doesn’t freeze, without any provisions because he might eat them, and without any carnivores that might eat him. Oh, and don’t bother trying to get anyone else on the boat in that turn, this is one slow critter. Complicated enough yet? He also weighs 1 whole unit, and you wouldn’t want to tip the boat!

With a handful of animals of all shapes, sizes, and needs, fitting them all together can be quite challenging. However, finding places for these needy creatures will be rewarding! Every time you successfully place something of a certain category on the boat, you earn points in that category. Your koala would earn you a point in the “slow” category, and the food you placed in the cabin next to him would earn you a point in the “provisions” category. At the end of the game, those with the most points in each category will get bonuses, and the player with the most points wins the game! See how many points you can collect and how many animals you can get onto the boat before the final rain-card is drawn and the boat sets sail.

It may sound a little bit overwhelming, but it is a surprisingly fun game, especially for an animal lover like me. The one downside to this game is that it can get frustrating at times. Finding a good spot to place an animal takes some thought, simply because there is so much to consider. Sometimes you might feel like giving up entirely, but persistence pays off. It always feels great once you figure it out, and it really is worth the effort!

Other than being a tad tricky, I give much praise to the game.The first time I played it, I was less focused on the actual game and more enchanted by the beautiful artwork included. Each animal is drawn with charm, sealing the deal for me. Ark was designed by Frank Nestel, my favorite board game designer. He is well known for all of the animals and critters in his games, and this one is no exception. The characters are made loveable to keep you absorbed in the fantastical world created by the game; you’ll want to play it again and again!

A few of the playing cards from Ark

I would certainly recommend Ark, a game suited for family or friends. It is the perfect choice for a laid-back game night, or simply a fun activity for a day in. It may not be very applicable to the real world, but it does indeed develop strategic skills, and is plenty enjoyable for those with big imaginations. Ark is definitely worth a try. I mean really, who doesn’t love a challenge, some competition, and cute animals? Just get them all on the Ark before the storm and you’ll be set!

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