THE STRAIN INFECTS FX IN JULY

A few years before Guillermo del Toro directed the recent summer SciFi blockbuster PACIFIC RIM, he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan a vampire horror novel titled  THE STRAIN which reached the NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller List in 2009.  Dark Horse comics adapted the novel to a comic book series in 2011 and now the story is coming to the small screen with the cable channel FX (home to American Horror Story, The Americans & Sons of Anarchy ) airing a television show based on del Toro's novel starting in July 2014.

Picture a stormy night at JFK airport with the wind whipping and lighting crashing.  A plane routinely lands but than just stops dead on the tarmac.  All the shades on its windows are drawn down, the lights are off, and no one is answering its radio.  In addition, to SWAT and counter-terrorism units being brought in to address the situation, a crack team from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is called in to help ascertain the situation.  This is how THE STRAIN begins.

The plane is the beginning of a vampire infestation of New York City.  These aren't the glamorized vampires of Dracula lore though but rather grotesque mutated monsters that really put the "horror" into the vampire myth.  If you've seen the mutated vampires in the movie BLADE 2, which del Toro also happened to direct, you get the picture.  If not check out the great artwork in Dark Horse's STRAIN comic books for some great visuals.  The book and TV show will revolve around how the CDC tackles this vampire epidemic.

Unlike Dracula and other vampire stories that provide a mystical element for the origin and creation of these creatures of the night, THE STRAIN takes a scientific approach to explaining them.  The vampires are infected by parasitic worms that carry a virus that is passed on to humans causing them to mutate.  The worms are introduces to a person's body through a vampire's feeding or through it entering on its own in an invasive manner through a wound or orifice.  The worms feed off of blood and as they do that they transmit an incurable vampire virus transforming the victim.

 
These vampires develop "stingers" that shoot out of their mouths to lach onto their human prey and suck out their blood.  If the vampire doesn't kill their prey through feeding on them than the person is infected by worms that make their way into their body during the feeding infecting them with the virus and turning them into vampires too.  The vampires in the strain also lose their hair and fingernails, while gaining sharp talons and a hard skin covering for protection.  Not the most glamorous of characters are they but pretty creepy.

If you enjoy THE WALKING DEAD, you will probably enjoy THE STRAIN.  Here's a teaser trailer from FX for this new show:

For more information, about FX'S THE STRAIN visit:  http://www.fxnetworks.com/thestrain

USE A LITTLE SALINE TO CLEAR UP STUFFY NOSES

It is that dreaded time of year … cold & flu season.  Our whole family has had flu shots this year but that hasn’t prevented us all from getting stuffy noses the last few weeks as snow has piled up  and freezing temperatures have made us shiver thanks to the infamous polar vortex.  So I looked up online some tips to try and get our noses unplugged and everyone feeling a little better.

MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (note the .gov in its url: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus ) had some great information on the topic.  The website recommended:

"Medicines are not the only way to relieve a stuffy or runny nose.  Often, gentler solutions are better.  Try these steps to thin the mucus, which can help you breathe easier and get nasal secretions back to normal.

•  Use gentle saline nasal sprays.

• Increase the humidity in the air with a vaporizer or humidifier.

• Drink extra fluids. Hot tea, broth, or chicken soup may be especially helpful."

 We were in luck because we just had just received a sample of a new product called Boogie Mist and I decided to give it a try to see if it could help get rid of those pesky boogers bugging my kids.  I’m pleased to say that it worked like a charm.

Boogie Mist is a non-medicated saline solution that flushes blockages from the nose, dissolves mucus, and moisturizes the skin within the nasal passage.  Seems like an easy enough solution, except until you take into consideration my children don’t want me sticking anything up their nose and freaked out like riled chickens when I approached them with the bottle.  Hmmm….what is a Dad to do?

Well I used it first on myself and showed them it wasn’t just fine to use but also a little fun too.  You see Boogie Mist instead of having a nozzle has a Schnozzle (scented nozzle) that makes the saline smell like grape flavor candy.  It actually is a tasty scent that is closer to bubblegum than cough syrup in the hierarchy of all things grape flavored.  Since, I made a big deal about how great the grape was the kids of course wanted to try it too.  Mission Accomplished!

Another nice feature about this product was that it doesn’t really spray into your nose but actually like the name implies mists.  My kids seemed pretty comfortable having the saline misted into their noses and I believe we’d probably have some kickback from them from a more traditional product where you are spraying a solution in with more pressure.

In addition to grape scented solution, we also tried out some saline nose wipes called Boogie Wipes.   These were nice because unlike traditional facial tissues these were moist and didn’t scratch up your nose when you blew it.  We’ve all been there before haven’t we when your nose gets raw, scratchy and hurts not from the congestion of a cold but rather from all the rubbing of dry tissues against it when you are repeatedly blow or sneeze into them.  My daughter actually said “hey Dad these are great they aren’t scratchy!” when she was using them.  Plus another great bonus to the product, just like the Boogie Mist, it smells like GRAPES! 

If you have kids at home and want to make being sick a little less miserable, I recommend checking out the Boogie Mist & Boogie Wipe products.  In addition to Grape Scent they also come in "Fresh Scent". You can buy them at Kroger, Target, Toys-R-Us, and Walgreens, among other retailers.  For more information, visit www.boogiewipes.com

DISCLAIMER:  I received a complimentary product sample from Little Busy Bodies of the Boogie Mist & Boogie Wipes discussed in this post.  The views and opinions expressed are my own.

A New Adventure: ELFQUEST "The Final Quest"

The Wolf Riders are back - the first new adventures of the elves of ElfQuest to be published in eight years start this week with the release by Dark Horse Comics of a series titled ELFQUEST: THE FINAL QUEST.  Created by Wendy & Richard Pini in 1978, the ElfQuest stories follow the adventures of Cutter and his band of elves on an Earth-like planet called the World of Two Moons.  The elves battle against pre-civilized humans who think of them as "evil spirits" and trolls who want to either enslave them or eat them depending on the circumstances.  The stories that have spanned over the last 35 years have focused on Cutter's band of Wolf Riders looking for the magical palace of their ancestors and along that journey discovering new brethren tribes of elves with unique characteristics and mysterious secrets about their origins.

Wendy Pini's ElfQuest illustrations have a  magical context to them that really emphasizes the artistic quality of artwork in the comic medium.  The stories are a little mature for elementary aged children with themes that include sex and violence, but I remember being engrossed by the mythical and mystical elements reading these stories in middle school.  ElfQuest is a great adventure to enjoy that I would recommend for someone who may be a tween or older that enjoys science fiction / fantasy stories.

What is really GREAT is you can read ALL of the ElfQuest stories that take place before this new Dark Horse Comics series for FREE at http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics3.html.  That's more than 6,500 pages of material to peruse.  If you've enjoyed the stories in the past, this is a great opportunity to go back to read them again and if you've never read ElfQuest before you can see everything online to review if it may be appropriate for your child to read or if you enjoy the characters and plots enough to purchase THE FINAL QUEST. The website also has a Prologue that is available to download for FREE that kicks off the story line for the new THE FINAL QUEST series.

Dark Horse Comics will be publishing monthly issues of THE FINAL QUEST starting January 2014 that will be available in print form from local retailers or in digital format via the publisher's website prices at $3.50.  Dark Horse also has a couple page preview of ISSUE #1 on their website, check it out at:  http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/Previews/24-774

I haven't read the new series yet, but plan on picking up #1 today for myself.  Here's Dark Horse's summary of this new comic book series for the ElfQuest franchise:

ELFQUEST: THE FINAL QUEST #1

The Wolfriders' chief, Cutter, knows that change is coming. His tribe's proximity to the Palace of the High Ones, a mysterious and magical oasis, makes this inevitable. As Cutter's daughter Ember, chief of her own tribe, shares her father's efforts to preserve the old ways amongst their kin, the human tyrant, Angrif Djun, ascends the mountain her clan call home and rocks the foundation of their peaceful existence.
* Winner of the Golden Pen Award from the Young Adult Advisory Committee!
* Brand-new Elfquest art and adventures!
* Includes Elfquest extras from past and present!

Martin Luther King Jr. utilized comic books to promote his message

On this Martin Luther King Jr holiday, I think back to the challenges of energizing a movement, capturing the attention of youth, and communicating a message to a wide audience back in a time, before I was born, that was void of the Internet, cell phones, texts, twitter, Facebook, and blogs that are such popular mediums today for people to connect with one another.  In the late 1950's television was the new exciting technology and most written messages were still delivered through newspapers, telegram, or the good old US Mail. How was a passionate Minster to reach out to gain volunteers and supporters to support him in his crusade against racial discrimination?  Very creatively, Martin Luther King Jr. used a comic book as a marketing tool to help share his vision to the World.

In 1957, a group called the Fellowship of Reconciliation  worked with Martin Luther King Jr. to publish a full-color comic book entitled MARTIN LUTHER KING & THE MONTGOMERY STORY.  This comic book brought the story of his fight to end racial discrimination to life for many people and promoted the concept of utilizing the principles of non-violence to reach this goal.   Noted civil rights veteran Congressman John Lewis credit this comic book for inspiring him and many other young activists at that time to join Dr. King's movement.

Top Shelf Productions is taking people back to that turbulent time in history by republishing the original MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE MONTGOMERY STORY in print and digital formats.  The comic can be purchased digitally exclusively on Comixology for $1.99 or in print format through Tip Shelf Comics for $5.00  Take a look at how comic books helped change the world through this unique historical reprint.  What a great way on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to sit down with your kids and discuss the issues relating to this holiday.  Martin Luther King Jr. was much more than his "I have a Dream" speech and this comic book is a great way to look at the man and his mission.  Plus it is an interesting look at how comic books have played a role in the development of American history.

All money collected from the sale of this comic book by Top Shelf Productions will be donated to the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).  An interfaith, tax-exempt organization, FOR promotes active nonviolence and has members from many religious, spiritual, and ethnic traditions. FOR-USA is a branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), which coordinates affiliates in more than 50 countries.  http://forusa.org/

For more information, visit:  http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/martin-luther-king-and-the-montgomery-story/876

PAPERCUTZ BRINGS DINOSAURS TO LIFE

PAPERCUTZ is a comic book / graphic novel publisher that I have a lot of respect for which has a great catalog of titles for children ranging from DISNEY FAIRIES, GERONIMO STILTON, GARFIELD and THE SMURFS for younger kids to CLASSIC ILLUSTRATED, HARDY BOYS, NANCY DREW, and TALES FROM THE CRYPT for grade school students and teens.  I have 5 year old twins who really aren't reading on their own yet, but I've enjoyed reading PAPERCUTZ titles to them which allows them to follow along with the pictures as I tell the story.  My daughter loves the Disney Fairies comics and my son The Smurfs.  Now, PaperCutz is adding a great new title to their catalog called DINOSAURS.

DINOSAURS isn't available as individual soft bound serial series comic books but rather will be sold as a series of 3 individual hardcover graphic novels with the first edition "In the Beginning ... " hitting retailers' shelves this week.  The book has a goofy paleontologist, with a name that spoofs Indiana Jones, called INDINO JONES discussing the history of dinosaurs, how things become fossilized, various geological topics, and the various time periods when these giant creatures roamed the Earth.  Rather than having stories, the graphic novel is divided into short segments or skits that each make you think of newspaper comic book strips. Looking at the artwork and reading through the text of each segment you could imagine this was a compilation of newspaper comic strips collected together for this book.  They actually have been created specifically for this book though and aren't taken from another source. The artwork reminded me of B.C. and Wizard of ID to some extent but it also has a "pop" factor from the pages of the book that provides a "wow" factor lacking from those types of comic strips.  My daughter saw me reading through the book on my computer screen and loved the graphics saying "That's a really cool comic Dad".

The stories are both entertaining and educational which I believe makes it an excellent addition to a child's bookshelf.  The artwork is bright and nicely colored in a cartoonish manner which may entice some children who may not want to read a book with realistic images because it may be to much like school work or in some cases scary for those kids who may get spooked by things.  Humor and some slap stick comedy is intertwined with the book to make the reading experience fun for the kids, and parents, reading it.  For example, in one scene while Indino Jones is looking for fossils on a beach he doesn't notice an elderly woman sunbathing as he is walking along and spouts out a statement of "old fossils on the beach".  The old woman, wearing a bikini, chases the haphazard paleontologist off the beach.

The book gives descriptions of "What is a Dinosaur" and the types of Dinosaurs ranging from popular ones such as T-REX, STEGOSAURUS, and VELOCIRAPTOR along with less well known ones such as ALLOSAURUS and DEINONYCHUS from the perspective of the dinosaurs.  Indino Jones role is somewhat similar to the paleontologist on the PBS tv show Dinosaur Train who comes in between stories featuring the dinosaurs to provide some educational information, though in this comic book he is a narrator who binds the book together plus also has a few storylines of his own and throws in some comic relief too.

 While my daughter did see a few pages of the book while I was working on this review, I decided not to read it to my kids because I thought the content was somewhat mature for preschoolers, which was a tough decision because my son LOVES dinosaurs. There are some graphic depictions of dinosaurs being killed and eaten by predators showing carcasses, exposed bones, and blood in blood.  Additionally there is some violence with dinosaurs fighting and hunting contained in the publication.  Also there was some language I didn't really want the kids exposed to including dinosaurs calling other dinos "morons" and "shrimps".  That being said I believe the content is suitable for grade school children maybe starting around second or third grades.  It may also be suitable for older middle school and high school aged students who need some extra enticements or encouragement to get into their studies.  The book does a good job of explaining "science stuff" like continental drift, extinction, fossilization in an easy to understand manner.  So the description of the book by the publisher is pretty fitting:

Think you know everything there is to know about dinosaurs? Think again! In this bronto-sizedseries, kid dinos show us what their lives were like in short, funny, teeth-gnashing bursts of prehistoric mayhem. DINOSAURS is your guided tour through the rough-and-tumble world of themightiest beasts to ever walk the earth!

All in all I believe the DINOSAUR graphic novels are an excellent addition to the PAPERCUTZ library that compliment there current lineup of titles and fits into their niche of providing quality reading materials for children and teens.  If you have a student in your life, I'd encourage you to take a look at DINOSAURS: IN THE BEGINNING.

The book is priced $10.99 and is available at local book stores, comic retailers, and online.  Volume 2 & 3 will be published in the near future.  For more information, visit:  http://www.papercutz.com/comics/dinosaurs/ 

DISCLAIMER:  I received a complimentary digital pdf copy of this book from the Publisher for this review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.