Uncategorized
https://blacknerdproblems.com/final-space-will-break-your-heart/
You know when you see commercials for a show and think, “I should check that out” but never do? That’s how I operate too. I won’t start a new show until I’ve caught up or exhausted everything I’m currently reading or watching. However, this pandemic messed all that up as time became a blur. I remember finding myself with nothing to watch, mad time on my hands, and in the mood for something new. I happened upon a Final Space commercial and decided to finally give it a try. I had seen commercials for this show before but never paid any mind. I figured I’d at least start it to see where the story goes. Little did I know how hard I would go for this show. *walks away from seat for dramatic effect then comes back into to the camera shot* Fam, I thought this shit was going to be a wacky space adventure filled with jokes and cute moments. Nah…. Nahhhhhh man.
Final Space goes from funny to heartbreaking right when you least expect it. It’s one thing for a show to be funny, but the way this show uses humor cuts off the jokes with heavy themes of hurt, loss, consequences, family, neglect, loneliness, and so much more. I honestly believe this show deserves to be looked at through the lens as some of the best storytelling, dialogue, and character growth on television right now. Right the fuck now. Be warned we going have some spoilers ahead for seasons 1 through 3. Please watch the show then come back to this if you haven’t already.
“It’s Back to Back 4 Life”
There’s so much to talk about this with show, but the main thing is the people you gain and the ones you lose. Gary was a Han Solo type smuggler now finishing five years of community service out in space for impersonating an Infinity Guard (trying to impress Quinn Ergon who wound up being the one to arrest him). All mans had is the ship’s A.I. H.U.E., an anti-insanity robot KVN, who he hates, and the random robot ship robots that do maintenance and security. When Gary meets the alien Mooncake then Avacato who was trying to capture Mooncake for the Lord Commander, Gary literally befriends Avacato, even tho he was trying to kill him, in order to get the Lord Commander off their trail. As soon as Gary does the clasp of friendship with Avacato, the Final Space adventure truly begins.
I did not expect to like Gary Goodspeed as much as I do now. A large part of that is having seen what these years of isolation has done to Gary. He instantly trusts Avacato and is willing to help him, and even after not being told a whole truth from Avacato, that the Lord Commander is holding his son hostage, forcing him to do his bidding, which leads to Gary losing an arm, Gary is still willing to help Avacato because they clasped hands which means “It’s back to back for life.”
Avacato being the one that performs the surgery to give Gary his robot arm becomes a first step in just how deep their friendship becomes. Final Space does a great job in writing these male presenting characters as more than just action buddies but friends that love each other. Avacato and Gary’s relationship is one of the best representations of masculinity and emotions in a positive light that’s different from the usual tv tropes. Especially as things get so grave between them as Avacato entrusts his son to Gary as he literally jumps on a bomb to save everyone on board the ship. His last words to Gary are, “take care of my boy.” We see Gary go through having no idea how to honor that as Gary now must take care of his friend’s child who he just met.
We saw Gary and Avacato both grow as characters and men opening up to each other. We now see Gary growing up as an adult and guardian when Quinn tells him he has to step it up as the guardian of this child cause his best is not enough at the moment. So later on, Gary does that and offers the option of adoption to Little Cato for him to be his son not to replace Avacato but to show how serious he is in being there for him. We see them come to love each other. Gary loves Cato so much that when there’s a chance to save his father by pulling a time heist and switching places with him, Gary is the one to do so in the end. He won’t let Little Cato do it as agreed upon because “You don’t just need your Dad, he needs you too.” Oh, and let’s be clear Gary does not stop being Little Cato’s father once Avacato returns. It’s a point Little Cato, makes and Gary makes later on. These three are family now through and through. We’ve seen characters transform from selfish to selfless, but there’s something special about the way it’s portrayed with Gary Goodspeed’s growth due to how much his five-year isolation has him value those around him as well as the people he values putting their life on the line for him as well. Even when death is in front of him and telling him the only thing waiting back for him in the living is a perilous journey of death and loss, Gary goes back because that’s where his people are.
Everything has a Price in Final Space
I love a show where nothing comes easy for the characters in it. When Olan rogers was writing this show, my man truly made hope the brass ring in the series. For this crew every time they try to save someone, it comes with a cost. Each time a member is to be saved it costs the entire crew. Failure is a theme that runs rampant within Final Space, and there’s something oddly beautiful about that. We are constantly reminded of all it took for this crew to make it this far. This is a story taking place across a multiverse as well. Each time Gary goes in to close the breach to Final Space, he dies and the story starts all over again. Things are different on this earth because Quinn closed the breach. The crew did everything in their power to get into Final Space to rescue Quinn.
They met that goal but are also now met with all the billions of Gary’s that died across the multiverse trying to close breach. Those Garys are all being controlled by Invictus. Fam, this crew cannot catch a single fucking break at all… as much as I hate to see it, I fucking love it. Final Space is a show with stakes that keeps reminding us that not all of these characters are going to make it out of this alive. Fam, the tagline for season 3 is “Survive.” That’s it. We done seen Earth taken into Final Space, the crew now stuck in Final Space where things are crazier than they have ever been, and that’s legit not even half of it. That tagline is not just there for show. These muthafuckas legit trying to survive out here, and it is not looking good for your faves.
Quinn, You was Who You was Before You got Here
When I see a Black character on a show, the question becomes while watching, “Okay, are there here to tick a representation box or are they here with a story of their own?”. Man, Olan Rogers said, “Bay-bay, Quinn got her own story and all the space for it to be told”. Yo, Final Space makes shit so deep with characters storylines that you can’t even call them side storylines, because it’s all connected. Quinn’s transformation to an alternate future version of herself brings up the question of not only fate but identity. We get the space to see who both these characters are and come to find out they are similar but still opposites. Even their back stories are different. Nightfall was engaged to her Gary before he died closing the breach to Final Space. The Gary of our timeline can only offer her friendship as she is a Quinn but not his Quinn. Nightfall knows this and says, they’re “destined to be together but always apart.” We see that friendship take place en route to rescue Quinn from Final Space. We come to find out that the five keys needed to unlock Bolo (the titan helping the crew, who will take them to Final Space) there is one more key needed, a key of life. Gary was big mad at this but in the midst of a battle with Invictus, Nightfall gives her life to unlock Bolo so the crew can get Quinn back.
A friend (who I kept bothering to watch the show) pointed out that it’s the battle torn Black woman who dies to bring back the desired one. This wasn’t lost on me, and I thought about that as well. However, as I said before, everything in this show has a price. Each time they try to rescue someone, oftentimes someone else pays the price. The universe is not fair in the least bit in this show at all, and any kindness it does show, still comes with a cost. Nightfall made the choice to give her life to save her own life in the Quinn we know. We would love to have them both, but the universe be operating on Highlander rules. “There can be only one.” However, upon getting into Final Space to save Quinn we see the cost of her time being in Final Space. She’s been poisoned, and the only way to save her is to create a Selenium chip on her forehead that’ll absorb the poison. The exact same one that Nightfall had. This fucking show, yo. Everything keeps coming around full fucking circle. The coldest shit is while the team is out trying to get the resources needed to save Quinn, we then get a glimpse into Quinn’s upbringing through a fever dream from the poisoning.
This look into Quinn’s past gets presented to us as a parallel to Gary’s. Gary’s an only child whose father dies in Infinity Guard closing the beach to Final Space (as Gary was brought to his dad’s final moments via Bolo), his mother neglected and abandoned him wishing he never been born, which led Gary to burn his home down and get into the smuggling game.
Quinn grew up with a younger sibling constantly trying to surpass her. Her mom also in Infinity Guard and took responsibility so seriously that when Quinn’s little sister almost drowned Quinn was locked into a room with dead soldiers so that she could see this Infinity Guard shit ain’t a game. Lives are on the line. Fam, cold shit. Through this, we got a glimpse into why it was so hard for Quinn to trust anyone back in season one, why she’s constantly on alert, and why she was the one to figure out the breach issue of Final Space. We see the childhood price paid for Quinn being the top of the Infinity Guard.
There’s something I actually appreciated when the selenium chip made for her. Quinn’s body was too weak for the surgery, and any chemicals present would interfere with the fusion of the chip which literally required H.U.E. to drill into Quinn’s head. The only option present was to connect Gary’s pain receptions to Quinn’s in order to split the pain. There’s something to be said about the portrayal of Black pain in media. We’re seeing Quinn take a drill to the head with no anesthesia for a surgery she needs in order to live. This is very different from the painless surgery Gary got from Avacato for his robot arm. So, Gary stepping in to decrease that pain for Quinn is one thing, I’m like alright cool. Fam, Gary said that’s not enough and kept telling H.U.E. to raise the pain on his end. My man had a fucking cardiac arrest, Avacato had to use a defibrillator on Gary to bring him back, Gary woke up and said, “Fuck a heart attack, RAISE IT AGAIN H.U.E!” to the point where he was bleeding out of his eyes and nose.
This wasn’t solely a gesture done from a romantic angle of love. This was a gesture done of care for a friend’s well-being as H.U.E. is telling Gary is too much and Gary shouts back, “She’d do it for me.” We know that’s real rap raw because when Earth was taken into Final Space by a Titan, Quinn said I couldn’t save Earth… but I can save you” right before closing the breach to Final Space. Gary knows this pain is the least he can do for all that she did. All of which is to say, Quinn is that fucking chick. We see the importance of Quinn to the mission of closing the breach and how important it was that even the chance of her surviving in Final Space was enough for her crew to come after her. No questions asked. Three seasons in and we are still learning more about Quinn Ergon’s back story, Journey, and parallels with Nightfall. Even seeing Quinn get Nightfall’s Selenium chip to complete the similarities in appearance, through all the foreshadowing, it’s still a shocking scene.
“Counting Down a Clock, That Nobody Sees”
Before I close this out, I need to talk about the music on this show. Yo, Shelby Merry songs on the score for season one and two of Final Space, my god. I ain’t ever seen a composer for an animated show choose not violence, but a gut punch for every single fucking time. The strings just accompany the scenery of space so well and the moments where we are all watching someone die or sacrifice themselves. Shelby has an incredible ability to just capture the tone of the scene so well with the lyrics. She really said, “I’m going to fuck everybody’s feels up watching this show and there ain’t a damn thing they can do about it.” Jake Sidwell and Andrew Goodwin are doing the composing for season 3 (Jake was there for season one, Andrew was there for season 2 too) and apparently he’s on the same shit. He’s like they ain’t even getting lyrics, yall going to have to ride out how heavy this shit gets with just the beat. I’m with it. I’m with all of it.
Listen, Olan Rogers been writing his ass off for three seasons of heat with no misses. This whole crew really feels like family, which makes it all the more heart-wrenching seeing them just to squeak out a win. There’s so much else to mention that I can’t possibly even try to fit into this write-up. Everything has a price in Final Space but even when it’s paid there are still consequences. This show does not stop punching you in the heart with hurt and humor. From Fox’s backstory to how he got in the way, Gary being accountable for a loss that wasn’t his fault but he’s choosing to take responsibility for, and Avacato confessing to Gary secret he’s been living with that’s tearing him up inside, Ash’s journey, and more. I’m telling you this series is doing space adventure unlike any other cartoon in the game.
Olan Rogers is playing the long game with the storytelling, and I’m here for all of it. Each episode will have you holding yourself saying, “Fuck, how much worse can it get?” before seeing the worse come to fruition. However, the humor and moments of reprieve amongst the chaos, loss, and hurt makes you appreciate these beautiful little moments of light when the night is long.
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here!
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
The post ‘Final Space’ Will Break Your Heart While You Laugh and Ask for More appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
You know when you see commercials for a show and think, “I should check that out” but never do? That’s how I operate too. I won’t start a new show until I’ve caught up or exhausted everything I’m currently reading or watching. However, this pandemic messed all that up as time became a blur. I remember finding myself with nothing to watch, mad time on my hands, and in the mood for something new. I happened upon a Final Space commercial and decided to finally give it a try. I had seen commercials for this show before but never paid any mind. I figured I’d at least start it to see where the story goes. Little did I know how hard I would go for this show. *walks away from seat for dramatic effect then comes back into to the camera shot* Fam, I thought this shit was going to be a wacky space adventure filled with jokes and cute moments. Nah…. Nahhhhhh man.
Final Space goes from funny to heartbreaking right when you least expect it. It’s one thing for a show to be funny, but the way this show uses humor cuts off the jokes with heavy themes of hurt, loss, consequences, family, neglect, loneliness, and so much more. I honestly believe this show deserves to be looked at through the lens as some of the best storytelling, dialogue, and character growth on television right now. Right the fuck now. Be warned we going have some spoilers ahead for seasons 1 through 3. Please watch the show then come back to this if you haven’t already.
“It’s Back to Back 4 Life”
There’s so much to talk about this with show, but the main thing is the people you gain and the ones you lose. Gary was a Han Solo type smuggler now finishing five years of community service out in space for impersonating an Infinity Guard (trying to impress Quinn Ergon who wound up being the one to arrest him). All mans had is the ship’s A.I. H.U.E., an anti-insanity robot KVN, who he hates, and the random robot ship robots that do maintenance and security. When Gary meets the alien Mooncake then Avacato who was trying to capture Mooncake for the Lord Commander, Gary literally befriends Avacato, even tho he was trying to kill him, in order to get the Lord Commander off their trail. As soon as Gary does the clasp of friendship with Avacato, the Final Space adventure truly begins.
I did not expect to like Gary Goodspeed as much as I do now. A large part of that is having seen what these years of isolation has done to Gary. He instantly trusts Avacato and is willing to help him, and even after not being told a whole truth from Avacato, that the Lord Commander is holding his son hostage, forcing him to do his bidding, which leads to Gary losing an arm, Gary is still willing to help Avacato because they clasped hands which means “It’s back to back for life.”
Avacato being the one that performs the surgery to give Gary his robot arm becomes a first step in just how deep their friendship becomes. Final Space does a great job in writing these male presenting characters as more than just action buddies but friends that love each other. Avacato and Gary’s relationship is one of the best representations of masculinity and emotions in a positive light that’s different from the usual tv tropes. Especially as things get so grave between them as Avacato entrusts his son to Gary as he literally jumps on a bomb to save everyone on board the ship. His last words to Gary are, “take care of my boy.” We see Gary go through having no idea how to honor that as Gary now must take care of his friend’s child who he just met.
We saw Gary and Avacato both grow as characters and men opening up to each other. We now see Gary growing up as an adult and guardian when Quinn tells him he has to step it up as the guardian of this child cause his best is not enough at the moment. So later on, Gary does that and offers the option of adoption to Little Cato for him to be his son not to replace Avacato but to show how serious he is in being there for him. We see them come to love each other. Gary loves Cato so much that when there’s a chance to save his father by pulling a time heist and switching places with him, Gary is the one to do so in the end. He won’t let Little Cato do it as agreed upon because “You don’t just need your Dad, he needs you too.” Oh, and let’s be clear Gary does not stop being Little Cato’s father once Avacato returns. It’s a point Little Cato, makes and Gary makes later on. These three are family now through and through. We’ve seen characters transform from selfish to selfless, but there’s something special about the way it’s portrayed with Gary Goodspeed’s growth due to how much his five-year isolation has him value those around him as well as the people he values putting their life on the line for him as well. Even when death is in front of him and telling him the only thing waiting back for him in the living is a perilous journey of death and loss, Gary goes back because that’s where his people are.
Everything has a Price in Final Space
I love a show where nothing comes easy for the characters in it. When Olan rogers was writing this show, my man truly made hope the brass ring in the series. For this crew every time they try to save someone, it comes with a cost. Each time a member is to be saved it costs the entire crew. Failure is a theme that runs rampant within Final Space, and there’s something oddly beautiful about that. We are constantly reminded of all it took for this crew to make it this far. This is a story taking place across a multiverse as well. Each time Gary goes in to close the breach to Final Space, he dies and the story starts all over again. Things are different on this earth because Quinn closed the breach. The crew did everything in their power to get into Final Space to rescue Quinn.
They met that goal but are also now met with all the billions of Gary’s that died across the multiverse trying to close breach. Those Garys are all being controlled by Invictus. Fam, this crew cannot catch a single fucking break at all… as much as I hate to see it, I fucking love it. Final Space is a show with stakes that keeps reminding us that not all of these characters are going to make it out of this alive. Fam, the tagline for season 3 is “Survive.” That’s it. We done seen Earth taken into Final Space, the crew now stuck in Final Space where things are crazier than they have ever been, and that’s legit not even half of it. That tagline is not just there for show. These muthafuckas legit trying to survive out here, and it is not looking good for your faves.
Quinn, You was Who You was Before You got Here
When I see a Black character on a show, the question becomes while watching, “Okay, are there here to tick a representation box or are they here with a story of their own?”. Man, Olan Rogers said, “Bay-bay, Quinn got her own story and all the space for it to be told”. Yo, Final Space makes shit so deep with characters storylines that you can’t even call them side storylines, because it’s all connected. Quinn’s transformation to an alternate future version of herself brings up the question of not only fate but identity. We get the space to see who both these characters are and come to find out they are similar but still opposites. Even their back stories are different. Nightfall was engaged to her Gary before he died closing the breach to Final Space. The Gary of our timeline can only offer her friendship as she is a Quinn but not his Quinn. Nightfall knows this and says, they’re “destined to be together but always apart.” We see that friendship take place en route to rescue Quinn from Final Space. We come to find out that the five keys needed to unlock Bolo (the titan helping the crew, who will take them to Final Space) there is one more key needed, a key of life. Gary was big mad at this but in the midst of a battle with Invictus, Nightfall gives her life to unlock Bolo so the crew can get Quinn back.
A friend (who I kept bothering to watch the show) pointed out that it’s the battle torn Black woman who dies to bring back the desired one. This wasn’t lost on me, and I thought about that as well. However, as I said before, everything in this show has a price. Each time they try to rescue someone, oftentimes someone else pays the price. The universe is not fair in the least bit in this show at all, and any kindness it does show, still comes with a cost. Nightfall made the choice to give her life to save her own life in the Quinn we know. We would love to have them both, but the universe be operating on Highlander rules. “There can be only one.” However, upon getting into Final Space to save Quinn we see the cost of her time being in Final Space. She’s been poisoned, and the only way to save her is to create a Selenium chip on her forehead that’ll absorb the poison. The exact same one that Nightfall had. This fucking show, yo. Everything keeps coming around full fucking circle. The coldest shit is while the team is out trying to get the resources needed to save Quinn, we then get a glimpse into Quinn’s upbringing through a fever dream from the poisoning.
This look into Quinn’s past gets presented to us as a parallel to Gary’s. Gary’s an only child whose father dies in Infinity Guard closing the beach to Final Space (as Gary was brought to his dad’s final moments via Bolo), his mother neglected and abandoned him wishing he never been born, which led Gary to burn his home down and get into the smuggling game.
Quinn grew up with a younger sibling constantly trying to surpass her. Her mom also in Infinity Guard and took responsibility so seriously that when Quinn’s little sister almost drowned Quinn was locked into a room with dead soldiers so that she could see this Infinity Guard shit ain’t a game. Lives are on the line. Fam, cold shit. Through this, we got a glimpse into why it was so hard for Quinn to trust anyone back in season one, why she’s constantly on alert, and why she was the one to figure out the breach issue of Final Space. We see the childhood price paid for Quinn being the top of the Infinity Guard.
There’s something I actually appreciated when the selenium chip made for her. Quinn’s body was too weak for the surgery, and any chemicals present would interfere with the fusion of the chip which literally required H.U.E. to drill into Quinn’s head. The only option present was to connect Gary’s pain receptions to Quinn’s in order to split the pain. There’s something to be said about the portrayal of Black pain in media. We’re seeing Quinn take a drill to the head with no anesthesia for a surgery she needs in order to live. This is very different from the painless surgery Gary got from Avacato for his robot arm. So, Gary stepping in to decrease that pain for Quinn is one thing, I’m like alright cool. Fam, Gary said that’s not enough and kept telling H.U.E. to raise the pain on his end. My man had a fucking cardiac arrest, Avacato had to use a defibrillator on Gary to bring him back, Gary woke up and said, “Fuck a heart attack, RAISE IT AGAIN H.U.E!” to the point where he was bleeding out of his eyes and nose.
This wasn’t solely a gesture done from a romantic angle of love. This was a gesture done of care for a friend’s well-being as H.U.E. is telling Gary is too much and Gary shouts back, “She’d do it for me.” We know that’s real rap raw because when Earth was taken into Final Space by a Titan, Quinn said I couldn’t save Earth… but I can save you” right before closing the breach to Final Space. Gary knows this pain is the least he can do for all that she did. All of which is to say, Quinn is that fucking chick. We see the importance of Quinn to the mission of closing the breach and how important it was that even the chance of her surviving in Final Space was enough for her crew to come after her. No questions asked. Three seasons in and we are still learning more about Quinn Ergon’s back story, Journey, and parallels with Nightfall. Even seeing Quinn get Nightfall’s Selenium chip to complete the similarities in appearance, through all the foreshadowing, it’s still a shocking scene.
“Counting Down a Clock, That Nobody Sees”
Before I close this out, I need to talk about the music on this show. Yo, Shelby Merry songs on the score for season one and two of Final Space, my god. I ain’t ever seen a composer for an animated show choose not violence, but a gut punch for every single fucking time. The strings just accompany the scenery of space so well and the moments where we are all watching someone die or sacrifice themselves. Shelby has an incredible ability to just capture the tone of the scene so well with the lyrics. She really said, “I’m going to fuck everybody’s feels up watching this show and there ain’t a damn thing they can do about it.” Jake Sidwell and Andrew Goodwin are doing the composing for season 3 (Jake was there for season one, Andrew was there for season 2 too) and apparently he’s on the same shit. He’s like they ain’t even getting lyrics, yall going to have to ride out how heavy this shit gets with just the beat. I’m with it. I’m with all of it.
Listen, Olan Rogers been writing his ass off for three seasons of heat with no misses. This whole crew really feels like family, which makes it all the more heart-wrenching seeing them just to squeak out a win. There’s so much else to mention that I can’t possibly even try to fit into this write-up. Everything has a price in Final Space but even when it’s paid there are still consequences. This show does not stop punching you in the heart with hurt and humor. From Fox’s backstory to how he got in the way, Gary being accountable for a loss that wasn’t his fault but he’s choosing to take responsibility for, and Avacato confessing to Gary secret he’s been living with that’s tearing him up inside, Ash’s journey, and more. I’m telling you this series is doing space adventure unlike any other cartoon in the game.
Olan Rogers is playing the long game with the storytelling, and I’m here for all of it. Each episode will have you holding yourself saying, “Fuck, how much worse can it get?” before seeing the worse come to fruition. However, the humor and moments of reprieve amongst the chaos, loss, and hurt makes you appreciate these beautiful little moments of light when the night is long.
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here!
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
The post ‘Final Space’ Will Break Your Heart While You Laugh and Ask for More appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
We’ve found the best graphic novels for kids by age to help you encourage reading and pulling your children away from screens.
There are a lot of great graphic novels out there for kids, which is a good thing too given how important it is for your child to take breaks away from all their electronic devices. There is nothing wrong with buying a few graphic novels throughout the year as an addition to their bookshelves. Don’t forget to check your public library as a source for awesome graphic novels as well. There are plenty of new worlds to get lost in on this list. Bear in mind that the age categories below are only guidelines. You have a much better sense of what your kid is ready for than I do.
Preschool and Early Elementary School (Ages 4-7)
This is a wonderful age to get your little ones excited about reading. Consider purchasing a new graphic novel each month for your child to continue encouraging them to read. Keep in mind, that you will need to read to your younger children, but trust me it makes for an awesome bonding experience.
Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
Are you looking for rip-roaring adventure, or are you more of a rip-snorting aficionado? The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, by Don Rosa, features both rip-roaring and rip-snorting in a globe-girdling story of how a young duck from a small town became the legendary Uncle Scrooge.
My Little Pony: Friends Forever
I once saw a guy on the train reading an issue of My Little Pony out loud to his daughter. I was embarrassed for him. He wasn’t doing any of the voices and his explanations of the motivations and interior lives of the characters were, at best, slapdash. This was the first comic I read to my daughter, and we both got pretty into it. After you finish reading it check out, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
The Super Hero Squad comics, which were a tie-in to the surprisingly good Super Hero Squad TV show, are a fun introduction to the Marvel Universe. The stories are short and punchy and have a lot of characters from the movies. Super Hero Squad might be just the thing to encourage a reluctant reader.
The Garfield Comic series tells longer and more ambitious stories than the three-panel comic strip does. All the Garfield touchstones are there: Odie, Jon, Nermal, Liz, and Arlene. These are fun comics that are great for emerging readers and provide an alternative to violence.
Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil
Pages 23-30 of Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith contains one of my favorite sequences in all of the comics. Homeless kid Billy Batson meets the Seven Deadly Enemies of Mankind, learns a magic word, and starts on his hero’s journey. I once worked it into a PowerPoint presentation at my day job. I forget what point I was trying to make, and I may or may not have made it coherently, but I’m sure my co-workers could tell how much I love this comic.
Have your kids ever really looked at their lunch lady? Have they ever gazed into her eyes and seen something more than just a dutiful slopper of nutrient paste? Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady is a lunch lady with a secret identity as the courageous and resourceful Lunch Lady! Like Batman, Lunch Lady relies on her brilliant mind, well-trained reflexes, and lunch-themed gadgets to win the day.
Each short story in this anthology is based on a letter sent by a kid to a member of the Justice League, and each story captures something essential about its main character. My favorite story features a put-upon Superman just trying to help and getting yelled at for not doing it right.
Giants Beware and Dragons Beware, by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado, is the story of Claudette, her brother Gaston and their friend Marie as they take on giants and dragons that bedevil their medieval French town. Claudette is 10 pounds of fight in a five-pound bag, and her solution to most problems is to hit them until they give in. Gaston and Marie are more thoughtful, and the contrast between them makes for some great stories.
Tyler and his friends play a lot of Minecraft in this comic by writer R. Sfé Monster (winner, best name award) and artist Sarah Graley. Their skills and relationships strengthen to the point where the group is ready to test themselves against the Ultimate Quest and the Ender Dragon! This comic does a good job of showing how the friends’ online and In Real Life interactions influence each other. If you’ve got a Minecraft fanatic on your hands be sure to check out our article on Minecraft-themed bedrooms and Minecraft clothes.
Elementary School (Ages 8-11)
As your child gets older and becomes a more confident independent reader they’ll be able to handle more complex stories and mature content. This is a perfect time to introduce them to the classic comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes if you haven’t done so already.
Bone, by Jeff Smith, is one of the greatest comics of all time. It’s magnificently epic in scale, and yet sweet, humane, and laugh-out-loud funny. The stupid rat creatures are even funnier if you imagine them with the voices of Frasier and Niles Crane. Sometimes it’s hard to follow your kids into the world of a comic, but I give you my word that you will care as much about the Bone cousins as your kids do.
Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types is a great world for you and your kid to get lost in. It’s an unusual summer camp: there are giant cats and ancient Greek goddesses around and something weird is happening to the space/time continuum. The five main characters range in age from eight to about 14, so there’s something in Lumberjanes for nearly every kid to identify with.
Your kid’s brain can’t live on Bone cousins and Lumberjanes alone. You must also fortify their minds with the knowledge of their world if they are to confront the Seven Deadly Enemies of Mankind. There are 20+ books in the Science Comics series, covering cats, dogs, cars, drones, bats, and a universe of other topics. They’re very well done with excellent art and informative writing.
Jennifer and Matthew Holm’s Babymouse series is about a middle school-aged mouse who runs for student council, babysits younger kids, and has other real-world adventures that are within reach of your own kids. Babymouse is bright and good-natured, but like a lot of tweens she sometimes bites off more than she can chew.
Chickenhare, by Chris Grine, is an acquired taste. It is morbid: the characters drag around a dead body for a big chunk of the story. It is extremely strange. What is a chickenhare? Why does Abe wear that weird hat? The reader never finds out the answers to those and other key questions. It’s also hilarious, with most of the humor coming from the main characters’ constant bickering. The sequel is even stranger: one of the heroes dies and the others go to Hell to find him. If you and your kids can handle this kind of thing, then you’re in for a treat. Also check out Chickenhare: Fire in the Hole.
Costume Quest: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers
I don’t know anything about Costume Quest the game, but I can tell you that Zac Gorman has made a terrific comic. It’s about a group of creatures called Grubbins who travel from their world of Repugia to our world in search of Halloween candy. It has a lot of the same vibe as It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I was surprised by how much I liked it, given that my interest in video games petered out around 1993.
Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga
For reluctant readers, a popular character drawn in a manga style might be hard to resist. This adaptation of Ken Liu’s novel includes four short stories in which Luke Skywalker begins to make a name for himself among the downtrodden of the galaxy as kind, brave, and an all-around mensch. It’s a new way, for me at least, of exploring the galaxy with a character I’ve loved since childhood.
Amulet, by Kazu Kabuishi, is a vast steampunk saga worthy of sharing a bookshelf with Bone. Over eight books, Emily Hayes becomes a terrifyingly powerful sorcerer called a Stonekeeper. Her brother Navin grows into an ace pilot of Jules Verne-eque flying machines. Amulet tells a story of how enemies can become friends, something that may be of interest to anyone living in 2021.
Middle School (Ages 12+)
At this point, your child is probably picking their own graphic novels to read. Hopefully, they’re reading some awesome books as well. Even though your kid has gotten older, you can still enjoy reading graphic novels with them. That’s why we put together this list of best graphic novels because we love them just as much as kids do. Work on your bond with them and keep introducing each other to the fantastic stories you both discover.
Look, I try to keep the tone around here positive. This, however, I have to say: a lot of Marvel and DC’s current output is no fun. It’s too insular, too grim, too dependent on the reader’s knowledge of back issues, and trying too hard to please an unpleasable fanbase. Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s Wolverine and the X-Men is fun. It takes the characters back to their roots as teachers at a school helping young mutants make sense of a world that fears and hates them. It makes side characters like Toad far more interesting than they’ve ever been before and introduces some terrific new villains in Kade Kilgore and the other young members of the Hellfire Club.
Groo is a barbarian who is an idiot. He wanders aimlessly in search of cheese dip with his dog Rufferto. He fails at everything he does except for fighting and people are generally worse off for having known him. Or are they? Series creators Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier, Stan Sakai, and Tom Luth show that most of the damage that occurs in each comic is the result of people overreacting to Groo rather than anything Groo does. A million years ago there was a set of PVC figurines of Groo characters, which I stupidly did not buy when I had the chance, are now impossible to find and which I covet.
Barbarian Lord (creator Matt Smith doesn’t give him any other name) is a barbarian who is not an idiot. Everything he does he excels at fighting, sailing, insulting his enemies with poetry. He speaks when it’s time to speak and is silent when it’s time for silence. Barbarian Lord is loosely based on He-Man, but it’s very much its own thing. If your kids are interested in Norse mythology, they may like Barbarian Lord.
What would it be like to meet Wonder Woman? She’s brilliant, she’s stunning, she’s for-real magical and she’s really amazingly good at beating the ever-loving bejeebus out of people. She’s better than you at everything but she’s so cool that it’s hard to resent her for it. Adapted from Leigh Bardugo’s prose novel by Louise Simonson and Kit Seaton, Wonder Woman: Warbringer has a great plot and characters, but the main attraction for me is how well this comic captures how jarring, but also how exciting it would be to meet the Amazing Amazon.
Dragon Hoops creator Gene Luen Yang taught at a Catholic high school that was a serious basketball contender. Dragon Hoops follows both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams as they compete for the California state championship. The book paints a fascinating picture of a high school community from the point of view of a teacher rather than a student, which is rare in YA graphic novels set in schools.
In Joann Sfar’s The Rabbi’s Cat, a scraggly, disreputable cat living in 1930s Algeria eats the family parrot and learns to speak. Just because he can talk doesn’t mean he stops being a cat though. He’s opinionated, economical with the truth, and asks any number of highly inconvenient questions. The Rabbi’s Cat portrays a vanished world that is just as lively and unusual as any fantasy world. Also, check out The Rabbi’s Cat 2.
Katie and her Mom can’t afford summer camp, so Katie is making money taking care of her neighbor’s cats in Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue’s graphic novel. They’re unusual cats. For one thing, there are 217 of them. For another thing, unlike most cats, these cats have jobs. Jobs like “DJ” and “explosives expert”. Cat-loving readers will enjoy figuring out what’s going on along with Katie.
There isn’t enough money to support both the cheerleaders and the robotics club at Nate and Charlie’s school. The only logical solution is for the students to come together as a team to build a chainsaw-wielding robot and enter a possibly/probably illegal robot deathmatch. Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks do a great job of showing how basketball team captain Charlie and robotics club president Nate’s friendship can survive some pretty intense robot deathmatch-ery.
The post Best Graphic Novels for Kids By Age appeared first on Nerdy With Children.
Source: Ebony Beckford / Fin Lit Kids
As moms, there are so many things that we desire to teach our children. However, our list of wants and the things that we are actually able to follow through on are often mismatched because motherhood is a whole juggling act. Even the most regimented moms will have things fall through the cracks. For this reason, it’s important to prioritize and whenever possible, outsource.
If you’ve been wanting to instill financial literacy skills into your children, Fit Lit Kids can help. We had the opportunity to catch up with Fit Lit Kids Founder, Ebony Beckford, to discuss how Fin Lit Kids’ Money Box can help busy moms teach their kids the basics about money management.
MN: What was the inspiration behind The Money Box?
Ebony: I’m a mother of a 19-month-old. I was born and raised in an under-resourced community. When I got pregnant with Madison, it was very important for me to make sure that she had a good understanding of money. Growing up in an under-resourced neighborhood, you start to understand that your opportunities are limited. I lost my mom when I was 18 years old and I was on my own. So I went from being underresourced to having no resources because when my mom passed away, I lost all of those things. When I got pregnant with Madison and my husband and I were thinking about her future and the legacy we wanted to build for her, I started to develop anxiety. While we’re doing very well now, we don’t have generational wealth to pass down to her. And I was like, “Well, I don’t have generational wealth to pass down, but I do have lessons that I’ve learned along the way. For me, it felt more important to pass down those lessons than an inheritance. A lot of times, people will inherit money and blow it, but the people who end up keeping it and building on it are the people who are financially literate. I searched for financial literacy products for kids and while many of them had cartoons and things kids could relate to, a lot of the messaging was for adults. I wrote a children’s book and the response that I received led me to build out the Fin Lit Kids brand. There are four boxes. The Money Box is the first box.
Source: Ebony Beckford / Fin Lit Kids
MN: What lesson do you want kids to walk away with after experiencing The Money Box?
Ebony: I hope people use The Money Box as a tool to actually have a conversation with their kids about money. I hope that this makes kids understand the importance of saving. I want people to understand that it’s never too early. It’s really about taking these complex terms and breaking them down in a way that kids can understand and build upon them. I really want people to make money management more of a family value. It’s not about how much you make, but how well you can manage what you have and how well you can invest and make it grow.
MN: What is the recommended age group for The Money Box?
Ebony: There are small pieces in the box, so the box actually says three and up, but it’s really never too early to start. Kids recognize that money has value by age three, according to research, but it’s never too early to introduce the concepts.
Keeping a rug clean is a losing battle. Sometimes it feels like cleanliness and rugs are like oil and water—they simply don’t go together. And if you have filthy kids (or maybe you’re a tad messy yourself) you can forget about ever having a clean rug. Even though this is the case, rugs aren’t going anywhere. According to Zion Market Research, the global carpets and rugs market was valued at around 84.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach approximately 107.9 billion by 2023.
If you’re into rugs and like to keep them clean, opt for washable rugs. Just toss them in the machine for a quick wash, then dry using air only setting without heat. Fun fact: they make great wall decor, too. Check out our favorites below.
The post 5 Machine Washable Rugs Designed To Withstand The Heaviest Traffic appeared first on Essence.