A Geek Daddy's 10 Favorite Easter Eggs From Last Year

When I think of Easter Eggs it normally isn't the decorated holiday decorations that come to mind but rather the inside jokes and references that are often hidden within movies.  Whenever we add a new movie to our family's home video library, I always enjoy going on an Easter egg hunt to find these hidden tidbits within a film.  As an Easter treat here are ten of my favorite discoveries from the last year:

10.  THE MARTIAN

When a group from NASA secretly works to save a stranded astronaut on Mars they call their effort Project Elrond in a reference to the secret mission that is the heart of the plot for The Lord Of The Rings.  Also actor Sean Bean has major parts in both movies.

 9.  JAMES BOND: SKYFALL

The Mi6 safe house location in the film is hidden behind a storefront that says "Hildebrand - Prints and rarities - Established 1953, London" which is a reference to James Bond creator Ian Fleming's  collection of  five short stories titled For Your Eyes Only which included one called The Hildebrand Rarity.  

8. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

While rummaging through the Millennium Falcon, Finn comes across the training orb used by Luke Skywalker from when he trained with Ben Kenobi during his first voyage on the ship. A nice homage to the original Star Wars movie. 

 
7.  ANT-MAN

While watching the Ant-Man scenes within Hank Pym's house keep an eye out for shrunken items sprinkled throughout the house from the scientist's experiments.  One of the items to look out for is a little red chair that is a reference to Pym's first comic book appearance in Tales To Astonish where he shrinks this chair to test his invention before using it on himself.

In another scene of the movie the character Darren Cross during his speech introducing the Yellow Jacket militarized shrinking suit jokes about Hank Pym saying "an Ant-Man sounds like tales to astonish" referencing the Marvel comic book series in which the Ant-Man and Wasp characters were first introduced.  Hank Pym first appeared in Tales To Astonish #27 and the Wasp joined him in his adventures beginning with issue #44.

6. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

The movie references a popular character from past Mad Max films, Gyro Captain, in a gruesome scene.  When the Road Warrior is captured by the War Boy's one of the captors is hoisting a totem that has a human skull mounted at the top wearing the Gyro Captain's cap and flight googles.  Alas it appears this is the end of the road for the Gyro Captain in Mad Max films.

5.  FANTASTIC FOUR

When the Johnny Storm character is introduced in the movie there is a hint to his future fate hanging from the rear view mirror of the car he is racing -- A Super Mario Fire Flower which spits out flames in the video game.

4.  JURASSIC WORLD

 Jeff Goldblum may not have appeared in Jurassic World, but the book God Creates Dinosaurs (written by his Jurassic Park character  Dr. Ian Malcolm) is shown in the movie during several different scenes.

3.  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

When Tony Stark needs to replace JARVIS at the end of Age of Ultron to help him control the Iron Man suit he considers several alternate AI programs to use including versions called Friday, Jocasta and Tadashi.  Friday is a reference to an AI secretary used by Stark in Marvel's comic books; Jocasta was a robot built by Ultron as his wife in a comic book story arc; and Tadashi refers to the character that created the Baymax robot in the Disney animated movie BIG HERO 6.

2. INSIDE OUT

Disney / Pixar films are know for being filled with Easter eggs, especially ones with clues to upcoming movies, and INSIDE OUT is no different with references to The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory.  In one scene you can see an image of Nemo on the box for a board game called FIND ME in a tease for the upcoming sequel.  There is also a scene where Riley's family car has a run in with a dinosaur tale to tease The Good Dinosaur.

1. FURIOUS 7

While the Rock's character is staying in the hospital he's watching a football game that features footage of his real life self (Dwayne Johnson) playing as a defensive tackle in a Miami Hurricanes versus Florida State Seminoles game.

So what are some of your favorite Easter Eggs from movies that you've stumbled across?

Walt Disney Studios Kicks off the Summer with the Live Action Family Movie TOMORROWLAND

We are planning on taking a family outing to the movies over Memorial Day weekend to see the new SciFi themed movie #Tomorrowland which hits theaters in the United States on Friday, May 23, 2015.  This movie is aimed to be family viewing experience with a PG rating that is being marketed as a story that will entertain both kids from 6 to 16 plus the parents that take them to the show.  From viewing the trailers, the movie seems very much in the same vein as Back to the Future, E.T., Flight of the Navigator,  National Treasure, and The Karate Kid which were all fun live action adventures that parents could feel comfortable taking their children together for an entertaining time out for the whole family.  Hopefully Tomorrowland will live up to this billing and be a hit with our family.

Taking a cue from the Pirate of the Caribbean movies, Tomorrowland is loosely themed on a Disney theme park attraction but that is more inspiration than actually incorporated into the movie.  It is the story of a brilliant but disillusioned teen named Casey who has been stirring up trouble over her angst about the down-sizing of NASA and the closing of the installation her father worked at.  Her actions lead her to getting arrested and when she is released from a police department holding cell, Casey finds a mysterious pin included in her possession that when she touches it cause her to have visions of a futuristic world.

Casey wonders if these visions are a "real place" someplace in time or space and begins a search to find out more.  This leads her to a former boy genius named Frank who is all grown up now and played by George Clooney.  It appears as a youth, Frank was invited to Tomorrowland but did something to get himself kicked out and access to the wonderland by others from Earth shut down.  Now fearing Clooney's character will return and cause havoc the leader of Tomorrowland begins hunting down Casey and Frank with his robotic henchmen.  Where is Tomorrowland, will Casey and Frank get there, and what will they find there? We'll all have to go see the movie to find out!

Walt Disney Studios provided A Geek Daddy blog with some amusing Tomorrowland activity sheets to share with our readers that could be put to good use over the summer as a distraction during a lazy summer day or while traveling for a family vacation.  We have some activities, mazes and coloring sheets you can scroll through to select, download and print out.

These paper fortune teller games bring back memories of third and fourth grade when everyone in my class would screw around and waste time in class - so maybe summer is just the right time to play around with these.



Who is ready for a jet pack balloon race?



I enjoy doing mazes like these almost as much as my kids do.  My wife and children often tease me for looking forward to completing them on the kids' restaurant place mats when we go out to eat.

Enjoy these free coloring pages!  We post a lot of these on various posts for A GEEK DADDY blog make sure to come back and keep an eye out for them if that is something you are interested in.



If you are looking for an intellectual stimulating movie that will be a contender for Best Picture at the Oscars than Tomorrowland most likely won't be your cup of tea, but if you are looking for a movie that your whole family can just sit back and enjoy a fun adventure while scarfing down some popcorn I have a pretty good feeling this will be a good movie to enjoy during your kids' summer break.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2015

It's starting to become an annual family tradition that we swing by the local comic book store on the first Saturday morning in May to enjoy FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.  This is a special event hosted by comic book retailers and publishers to entice new customers and reward existing ones for their loyalty.  Free Comic Book Day provides a selection of specially printed issues created for the event that provide a sample of a publishers work or an interesting one-shot story to promote a particular character or series.  This year there were 50 free comic books that people could select from and pick up from participating locations that ranged from child focused issues like Scooby Doo! and Sonic the Hedgehog to ones rated for "mature audiences" like And Then Emily Was Gone or Fight Club with a whole lot of other stuff in between for tweens, teens and anyone else of whatever age to enjoy as well.

This year was the fourth year in a row our family swung by a Free Comic Book event with the very first one being in 2012 which had some great titles for our then 3 year old twins like Donald Duck, Tinkerbell,  Snoopy, Smurfs, and Yo Gabba Gabba that were full of bright images and perfect for them to flip through.  Wow! looking at the pictures from that Free Comic Book Day and now in 2015 really shows how much these now 6 year olds have sprung up over the last few years.

My daughter wanted to dress up as her favorite Avenger for the day so our family was escorted to the comic book store by Thor.  We had to head to my son's soccer game directly after our Free Comic Book Day stop so he didn't join her in dressing up as one of his favorite super heroes as he was sporting his team uniform.  I threw on my Flash t-shirt to join my little girl in showing some festive spirit for our outing.

In addition to handing out free comic books, often times participating retailers will incorporate other fun stuff into the event like artist appearances and costume contests.  While we were waiting in line this year, the comic book store had an artist providing free sketches to the children in line of their favorite super heroes.  My son was so excited to take home with him an original piece of art featuring his favorite super hero Iron Man from a real artist.

Thor entered a costume contest for children 12 and under and enjoyed all of the attention she got from people complimenting her on the costume.

Thor's mighty steed!

Summoning the power of Mjolnir to return to Aasgard after a fun Free Comic Book Day!

So after my son's soccer game, we all lounged out in our living room relaxing and enjoying our haul of freebies.  My daughter enjoying Teen Titans Go!, Cleopatra in Space and Gronk while my son flipped through Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and Chakra The Invincible. Oh and I picked up a few free comics for myself that included a Doctor Who adventure, a comedy featuring one of my favorite cartoon characters The Tick, and a sampling of upcoming SciFi titles.

Once again we had an enjoyable family outing for Free Comic Book Day and are looking forward to the first Saturday in May for 2016.  I'm hoping that these annual outings with dad are providing some quality childhood memories for my kids, instilling with them an appreciation for the arts, and encouraging them to enjoy reading. That plan seems to be working so far!

Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 2, 2015

One of my favorite days of the year is the first Saturday in May which is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.  This year there are 50 free publications being given out with something for everyone in the family ranging from early readers (All Ages)  to teens (Teen+) to adults (Mature) to pick up at a participating comic book store.  CLICK HERE to find a participating location near you.

To help encourage new customers to visit their stores and to reward existing ones for their loyalty, Free Comic Book Day provides a selection of comic books that provide a sample of a publishers work or an interesting one-shot story to promote a particular character or series.  While all of these comic books are absolutely FREE, each retailer normally has their own guidelines for the event. While I always enjoy taking my kids to this event to pick up some fun comics for them to enjoy, I have to admit there are always a few things each year I pick up for myself as well.  Here's a few items that will be available on May 2 that those of us in the 18+ age category can enjoy and that I'll be looking to grab for myself.

NEW ENGLAND COMICS - THE TICK - RATED: ALL AGES

THE TICK returns for FCBD 2015 with 32 pages of FULL-COLOR comic book fun! In the ALL-NEW lead story, The Tick & Arthur's apartment is haunted by a ghost from The Tick's mysterious past---an entity who claims to be The Tick's FIRST sidekick and it won't rest in peace until... well, we can't give everything away! Plus more full-color story fun featuring The Tick! Great for fans new and old!

DARK HORSE - FIGHT CLUB - RATED:  MATURE READERS

Dark Horse Comic's most thrilling FCBD to date . . . Chuck Palahniuk and Cameron Stewart premiere Fight Club! Eric Powell with all-new tragedy in The Goon! And Guillermo del Toro presents an all-new chapter from The Strain! Need we say more?

TITAN - DOCTOR WHO - RATED: TEEN+

Take a blistering trip through time and space with three stunning ALL-NEW short stories featuring Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor and the brand-new Twelfth Doctor by the ongoing DOCTOR WHO creative teams - PLUS a sneak peek of the TOP SECRET Summer 2015 event! Be the first to get a hint of the epic that will shake the Doctor to his core! It's an unmissable read for fans, and the perfect primer for anyone looking to jump on board the TARDIS!

COMIXTRIBE - AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE - RATED: MATURE READERS

A chilling prelude to the cult horror sensation, And Then Emily Was Gone!  Bonnie Shaw is a terrifying creature of Scottish folklore who would grant parents their hearts' desire... in exchange for their child.  Young Billy McTaggart has nothing to fear from Ol' Bonnie, as his mother and father love him, don't they?  DON'T THEY?! Featuring a cover by superstar artist Ryan Stegman

HERMES PRESS - THE PHANTOM - RATED: ALL AGES

The Phantom, the grand-daddy of costumed heroes celebrates Free Comic Book Day 2015 with a volume showcasing stories by some of the greatest artists to ever create tales for this ground-breaking title featuring The Ghost Who Walks.  This 32 page book will feature work from the Gold Key and King Phantom comics created by Bill Lignante; from the Charlton Phantom comics created by Jim Aparo and Don Newton and will offer samples of the newest Phantom story created by Peter David and Sal Velluto. Hermes Press' Phantom FDBD issue will also offer bonus material and tons of surprises!

 LEGENDARY COMICS - COMIC BOOK SAMPLER - RATED: TEEN+

Working with industry-leading talent such as Grant Morrison, Frazer Irving, Matt Wagner, Simon Bisley, Judd Winick, Geoff Shaw, Jonathan Hennessey and Shane Davis, we've created an ever-growing library of thrilling sagas including Annihilator, Epochalypse, A Town Called Dragon, The Harvester, The Tower Chronicles: DreadStalker and more, alongside cinematic tie-ins such as Godzilla: Awakeningand the best-selling Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero.

DARK CIRCLE COMICS ISSUE #1 - RATED: MATURE READERS

THE BLACK HOOD! THE FOX! THE SHIELD! Get in on the ground floor of Dark Circle Comics and experience the cinematic and creator-driven reinventions of these iconic properties. Who is the new Shield? How did the Black Hood come to be? Can things get more unpredictable for The Fox? Learn the secrets of the Dark Circle universe from the creators themselves via sneak peeks at the new series, creator interviews and a first glance at the next Dark Circle series - all held together by an eye-popping cover from Afterlife with Archie artist Francesco Francavilla!

Sneak Peak at Upcoming Princess Leia Comic Book Mini-Series

Marvel Entertainment will focus the reintroduction of its publishing STAR WARS titles in 2015 (they originally had the licensing rights from 1977 through 1986) with three new comic books - a Star Wars ongoing monthly series beginning in January, a Darth Vader ongoing monthly series beginning in February and a 5 issue Princess Leia mini-series beginning in March.  Here's a sneak peek courtesy of StarWars.com at the first few pages from the first issue of the upcoming PRINCESS LEIA mini-series written Mark Waid (Daredevil) with artwork by Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men):

 

The first issue of the mini-series begins with the medal ceremony that took place at the conclusion of the film A New Hope ( aka the original Star Wars movie).  The theme of this comic book mini-series will be on how does Leia handle being a princess for a world that no longer exists. Waid discussed the plot in an interview he did with StarWars.com about Marvel's new publications:

"So it's a five-issue story that takes her across the galaxy in search of others of her kind to try and pull them together," Waid says. "Of course, some of them are going to be suspect, because they suspect this could be some sort of weird trap by the Empire. Some of them are going to be very angry, as they rightly or wrongly blame the house of Organa for what happened. Obviously, Leia will be traveling as low profile as she possibly can. If and when the Empire gets wind of the fact that Leia is doing is this, they're going to be very interested themselves in what she's doing, what she thinks she's doing, and what information there is to be mined from these people."

PRINCESS LEIA #1 will be available to read in March, 2015.

They're Back! DC giving 3D Comic Book Covers Promotion a Second Chance

DC COMICS likes to make a splash in September with special issues and promotions.  Last year it promoted VILLAINS MONTH which featured special one-shot villain focused stories with impressive 3-D covers.  Check out this 3-D cover from the JOKER issue of last year's Villains Month promotion:

DC's bringing the 3-D covers back this September for a month long event they have titled "Futures End."  Inspired by the newly created weekly comic book series of the same name (which I have to admit I haven't read yet), each of the monthly titles in DC's New 52 lineup during September will feature a stand-alone story that leaps your favorite super hero characters into a possible future five years ahead of the current timeline.  Each of these one-shots will feature a 3-D motion cover that hints at the story within the comic book. Here are a few samples of the upcoming 3-D covers, I think they look pretty sharp:

 

Hopefully DC has learned its lesson from the mistakes it made in VILLAINS MONTH. Last September, they didn't produce enough of the 3-D covers to meet demand and many of the publications were hard to get your hands on.  Also it appears DC over-extended its staff with all these one-shots because to be honest most of the stories were pretty badly put together and a lot of the artwork was lacking in quality. It seemed as if this whole promotion was rushed into distribution beyond the capabilities of the publisher.  So while you did have a nice cover for your collection with these 3-D titles (if you could fine the books),  the pages behind the covers weren't very impressive...which was pretty disappointing with how much potential the the promotion could have been with its theme.  Come on DC, comic book fans are as interested in checking out the histories, plots, and imagery of cool villains as they are your super heroes.  After last year's experience, I initially rolled my eyes when I heard they were doing a big September promo with 3-D covers again.

Than I picked up a new weekly series by DC titled BATMAN ETERNAL.  It is a year-long weekly serial celebrating Batman's 75th anniversary and I have to say I've purchased 13 issues now enjoying every one.  The artwork has been incredible and the stories are really well scripted.  This is what I thought VILLAINS MONTH would be like and while that failed Batman Eternal has exceeded my expectations.  If you haven't read this weekly Batman comic book series (most comic books are published monthly) and you are a fan of the caped crusader you have to grab it.  I believe BATMAN ETERNAL is the best comic book series that DC currently has on the market!  It utilizes a wide array of authors and artists from across all DC's titles to be able to meet its publishing demands and yet it meshes together.  So now I have a slimmer of hope that in addition to some cool 3-D covers, FUTURES END will also have good scripts and artwork making these comics coming out in September more like BATMAN ETERNAL than VILLAINS MONTH.

THE FUTURES END comic books will be published in weekly waves throughout the month of September.  So we'll be able to see from the first week if the titles are worth the money to purchase from weeks 2 - 4.  Of course, it is all about your own interests and tastes and even if the inside content isn't the best you may want to purchase the 3-D books just to showcase their covers for a collection.  I've also been told by some comic book retailers that they are getting plenty of allocations for every issue so the limited supply and price gauging issues of VILLAINS MONTH shouldn't be a problem this year.

Whether you are a new or long-time collector these 3-D covers are a nice addition to any collection.  I'd encourage you to keep an eye out for them this fall.  If you grab one off the shelf, send me an e-mail to thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com and let me know what you think of both the 3-D covers and the pages that fall in between.