By Tracy (and Shelby & Sarah) Edmunds
July 20, 2004
The Comic-Con schedule is here! The Comic-Con schedule is here! I am somebody! Sorry…
I sat down with the girls and they helped me pick out the best in Comic-Con events for kids. How do you explain to a 5-year-old that the Disney comics and Warner Bros. Animation panels overlap and she can’t go to both? We’ll just have to deal with the tantrums later. Despite that, there are some real gems this year. And a few that mom and dad are excited about, too!
Friday: Some Can’t Miss Stuff for Kids
11:30 What’s New in STAR WARS from Hasbro – Expect the STAR WARS geek factor to be high here, but if your kids (or you, geek) love everything STAR WARS, this looks like a good ‘un.
2:30 THE INCREDIBLES – We’ve all been looking forward to this movie since the Con last year. It’s Pixar, what else can I say? Bring comics for the kids to read during the panel, but they’ll definitely enjoy the screening.
Shelby says: I want to go to this panel because you get a free poster and you get to watch some of the movie. In the trailer, I liked the guy better than the girls because he was funnier.
Sarah says: I want to see this movie because it’s made by Disney/Pixar and their stuff is fun to watch.
3:00 Cartoon Network – Features three new shows from Cartoon Network: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUNIPER LEE, MEGAS XLR, AND FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS. Of the three, Foster’s looks to be very cute, appropriate for little ones, and different than most of the stuff out there. Check it out at http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/fosters/index.html.
4:00 Disney Comics in the U.S. – What kid doesn’t like Disney? The title being imported from Disney Italy, W.I.T.C.H. looks excellent for girls; great manga-style characters and a “you-go-girl” attitude. It will also be an animated series as part of the JETIX block on ABC Family and Toon Disney.
Shelby says: I just like Disney for some reason. I saw W.I.T.C.H. on the internet but I haven’t read it yet. It looks great!
Sarah says: I like Disney comic books that they do and I want to see some new ones. I like it when they have Donald, Uncle Scrooge, Mickey, and all that stuff.
4:30 Warner Brothers Animation All Action Panel – This is like Holy Animation Grail for our household. JUSTICE LEAGUE and TEEN TITANS GO! are staples around here that we all love. Yes, I admit that I watch them, too – the writing is great. And we’re all looking forward to the new JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED and THE BATMAN series.
Shelby says: I want to see this one because I like the BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES and JUSTICE LEAGUE and I love TEEN TITANS GO! because they’re so funny. You should check this panel out because these guys make incredible shows.
Sarah says: I’m so excited to see the new Batman video!
Saturday: A Bit Light on Kid Fare
11:00 Hasbro: G.I. Joe and Transformers – Okay, so maybe older boys like GI Joe, but the trailer I saw for VALOR VS. VENOM is definitely too violent for kids. I’d skip this one unless your teen likes GI Joe and that’s okay with you.
1:00 Nickelodeon Presents AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER – The description of this one sounds promising: “In an ancient time, the world was divided into four nations: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. When the Fire Nation unleashes an attack against the other nations, the fate of the world rests in the return of the Avatar, the one person who possesses the power of all four elements. He is also only 12 years old.” The pilot episode will be shown before the panel, so you can always sneak the kids out early.
Shelby says: I wanna see that! It just sounds so cool. If you’re 12 and you’re taking care of those four nations, you have to be a pretty good leader.
Sarah says: That sounds cool!!!
1:00 Cartoon Voices – Kids love to see the real faces behind their fave cartoon characters. This looks to be a hoot, as long as they don’t go blue.
2:00 Dreamwave TRANSFORMERS – I admit I know squat about Transformers, but if you and yours like ‘em, here you go.
8:30 Masquerade – With kids, it’s definitely better to watch the Masquerade on the big screen in Sails Pavilion. Grab a table a little early and settle in. The kids loved the costumes, but it’s so late that they’ll most likely be asleep halfway through. Maybe I’ll spring for the video this year so they can see what they missed last year.
Shelby says: You should buy some popcorn and a drink and go watch the Masquerade on the big screen ‘cause you don’t have to wait in line five hours. And you can see better ‘cause the screen is so big.
Sunday – Kids’ Day!
10:30 Draw Cartoons Like the Pros
11:30 Drawing Comics for Kids
12:30 How to Draw Star Wars: Padawan Penciling
1:30 How to Draw Manga Style
2:30 Caricatures and Face Drawing
There are five drawing classes for kids this year, and they all look good. Shelby (our aspiring artist) chose the first and last panels based on the titles. Unfortunately, most of these overlap with something else that’s cool, but if you have a little sketcher, bring pencils and pad and work a drawing class in when you can.
Shelby says: I want to draw like the professionals because I’m almost like them. I want to learn about curves, highlights, shading, wrinkles (like when you bend your arm), and drawing better faces.
11:00 DANNY PHANTOM – From Butch Hartman, the creator of THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS comes this new series, described as “…the funny, fantastic action-packed adventures of Danny Fenton, who straddles two worlds as a shy freshman at Casper High and a heroic phantom-fighter with ghostly superpowers.” Now, I’m not a huge ODDPARENTS fan, but kids love it, even though many of the jokes sail right over their little heads. DANNY PHANTOM debuts on Nickelodeon the week before the Con – let the kiddie watch it so you can decide on this one.
Shelby says: I like Fairly Odd Parents and I want to see Danny Phantom because he has ghostly powers.
Sarah says: I want to see Fairly Odd Parents; the fairies are funny! And the Phantom thingy sounds funny.
12:00 !Mucha Lucha!: The Return of Malefico – A kids’ animated show based on Lucha Libre, starring Hector Elizondo, and set in Vegas. What’s not to like?
1:00 Johnny DC – It’s about time. With Marvel putting out the Marvel Age line of all-ages comics and books, DC needed to catch up. Johnny DC has been redesigned and will appear on the covers of all-ages books like SCOOBY-DOO, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, and the new BATMAN STRIKES! and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (tied into the new animated series). They’re also bringing back letters pages so kids can write in, which is a great way to get even reluctant writers to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).
Shelby says: I wanna figure out about new comics, especially Batman!
Sarah says: Cool; The writer of TEEN TITANS GO! If I go to this maybe I can look for Johnny DC in the comic store and it will be easier find the comics for kids.
1:30 TEACHER’S PET – This panel looked good to me because I know the kids have watched the show and I’m always a sucker for references and trivia. I don’t think we’ll be going, however, based on the girls’ response. Sorry, Gary!
Sarah says: I watched TEACHER’S PET but I don’t want to go because I didn’t like it very much.
2:30 BIONICLE 2- Legends of Metru Nui Exclusive Extended Sneak Peek – The animation on this looks very impressive. If your little ones are into Lego, Bionicle, or sci-fi robot stuff in general, check it out.
3:30 SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPERFORCE GO! Sarah says: (giggle, giggle) Super monkey robot…I can’t say it! (giggle, giggle) Super robot hyper monkey…(hysterical laughter) I can’t say the whole name, but it’s funny! I want to go see it!
See you at the Con!
Next Time: Reviews of kid-friendly comics from the Big Two, DC and Marvel: TEEN TITANS ARE GO!, BATMAN ADVENTURES, GOTHAM GIRLS, JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES, and MARVEL AGE titles; SPIDERMAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, and MARY JANE.
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