For The Love of Lists — POW! May 3 is Free Comic Book Day!

***UPDATED BELOW***

Tomorrow, Saturday May 3, is Free Comic Book Day and my kid will be beating down the door of her favorite spot, Thank You Comics, trying to get her hands on some newness. Though she has no concept of money, or saving (despite our best parenting efforts), she always manages to find just enough pocket change to keep her bookshelves well stocked.

We've never made it to one of these events (held the first Saturday of May), so I don't know what to expect. According to the official event site, Thank You will be handing out designated "Kid Friendly" comics. You can find participating shops using a Store Locator on the FCB Day Home Page.

If your neighborhood store is only handing out the racy/violent/dark stuff, you can always scan the shelves for these cool kids' titles*. They won't be free, but they'll be worth shelling out the cash.

*My suggestions are based solely on the number of times my own kid has read and re-read these titles. (Most of these are appropriate for, say, a mature 2nd Grader and range from either twee/girly to unisex.)

The "Hilda" Series by Luke Pearson.

The "Zita the Spacegirl" Series by Ben Hatke.

The "Amulet" Series by Kazu Kibuishi.

The "Bone" Series by Jeff Smith, and its "Quest for the Spark" spin-off.

Ugly Doll and Mameshiba manga.

And last, but not least, my kid's guilty pleasure...The MLP "Friendship Is Magic" comics.

Lately, my kid's been sniffing around the "Adventure Time" comics. We'll see what she picks up tomorrow.

Can you recommend any other kids' comic titles? You know the kind that's so good, they wanna curl up into a little ball of reading rapture until you force them to eat/bathe/sleep.

***UPDATE***
If you're in a book-perusing mood, don't forget May 3 is also California Book Store Day! Find out what's going on at our favorites, Vroman's and Skylight Books.

Watch This — Adventure Time

Honestly, I've never "gotten" the whole Spongebob Squarepants fascination. Specifically, I've never been able to grasp non-breeding adults who dutifully watch it solo. Granted, my experience with the show is largely limited to turning it on to pacify my nephew when he was younger and clicking past it on Virgin America flights. Still, my impression of it is that it's insipid to the point of even really talking about.

Now, if you want to talk about a kids' show that's as much for adults as anything else, then let's talk about Cartoon Network's Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. Since I discovered it about a week ago, I have been absolutely all about it. Before this, I've been known to crack up over adult-aimed cartoons of the Home Movies, Dr. Katz, or the (very Rated-R) Archer variety. But now I'm feeling the kid-friendly fare (though it could easily skew toward the Adult Swim realm).

There is a kid in a bunny hood and his adopted brother, a shape-shifting dog. There is a hipster vampire girl, assorted really bizarre princesses, an Ice King (voiced by Spongebob, himself), lots of anthropomorphized pastries and, of course, Lady Rainicorn. There's no clear storyline, just heaps and heaps of funny, random adventures. New eps air each Monday night, but I've been Tivo'ing and catching up on re-runs.

I'm not even sure I want my kid to watch it, honestly; it's exceedingly random, fairly violent and, at times, creepy. Plus, I get the same sensation as when I find her liking my expensive cheeses, or Trader Joe's mango juice too much; too good for kids!

I'm not alone in my adoration for this show. It's got it's own Wiki situation, blog, Facebook page (nearly 1.4 million likes!) and Twitter feed.

There are a full episodes on the home page and a ton of clips on Youtube. Here's my favorite:

UPDATE: Also, this has now happened.

AN UPDATE OF ACTUAL TIMELY IMPORTANCE: The cast and creators will host a screening and panel discussion this Sunday, Aug. 14 at L.A.'s Paley Center. Click here for more info.

For reals?! — It's been almost a year???

Pink Worm Listens To Some Jams

I checked the date of my last-written post and was gobsmacked. I knew it had been a while since I last posted here, but I didn't realize that it had been the better part of a year.

Makes sense, though. The Sept. 2010 date correspondent with the start date of my current paying gig. I spend the majority of my days writing stuff like this, this and (brace yourself) this.

Oh, and let's not forget mommy-ing and...buying my first ever house! Eagle Rock is the spot (never mind what the New York Times says)!

Anyway...to ease me back into the swing of things, I figured I'd go with an easy post. My husband just got back from a trip to Seattle and brought back the above print by Chicago artist Laura Berger.

So cute, right? It reminds me of my current obsession, Adventure Time (but, more on that in an upcoming post.) You can shop for more of Berger's handiwork here.

Okay. That wasn't so hard. I have tons more stuff to share. So, get ready to get involved!