RECOIL TWITTER PARTY

Join us on Friday, September 8, 2017 from 11 am - Noon EST as A GEEK DADDY co-hosts the #RecoilWORLD Twitter Party with The Toy Insider.  RSVP to participate in a fun chat filled with interesting banter and trivia and be eligible for some great giveaways.  During the party we'll be discussing a new adrenaline pumping game from Skyrocket Toys called RECOIL.



RECOIL is a location-based game powered by GPS with real-time player tracking for up to 16 participants.  It's augmented reality capabilities transform any location into a digitally-enhanced battlefield.  RECOIL also features real-time voice chat between players and live stats through the mobile app that powers the game.  CLICK HERE to read The Toy Insider's review of Skyrocket Toys' RECOIL.

Four lucky winners selected during the Twitter party will win a RECOIL Multiplayer Starter Set, and one grand prize winner will win a RECOIL Multiplayer Starter Set AND a RECOIL SR-12 Rogue!  To be eligible to win RSVP in advance of the party.  Also follow @RecoilWorld, @thetoyinsider and @Geekdad248 while engaging in the party's conversation using #RecoilWORLD in your tweets.  Hope to see you there! It will be a blast!

Trippin Round the Mitten

I took my eight year old twins to one of Randy Kaplan's local performances promoting his new children's album Trippin' Round the Mitten and have to say we really enjoyed ourselves.  While Kaplan's songs are written primarily for an audience between 5 and 12 years old, he prides himself in performing music that is not-JUST-for-kids and entertaining to audiences of all ages.  He does this be incorporating witty references and educational references into songs with familiar beats from a variety of musical genres.  Mixing in comedic interludes to the songs he provided a family-friendly experience filled with intelligent retrospect, humorous moments and toe-tapping tunes.

The twins favorite song from his live performance was "You Can't Always Get What You Want." This song, which is actually is from a previous album Five Cent Piece, tells the story of a young boy being reprimanded for trying to get out of taking a bath to the tune of The Rolling Stones' classic song.  My kids were all smiles during the performance!

As a huge sports fan myself, "Balls" was one of my favorite songs performed during the concert.  A R.E.M. "It's the End of the World" style ballad that provides an inventory of all the different types of balls used in sports. This song put a smile on my face just like my son's.  Kaplan did a great job interacting with the kids in the audience during this number pretending to do a psychic reading of their minds and taunting them with the question does a hockey puck fit into the list.



"Mr. Spaceman" from Kaplan's new album, Trippin' Round the Mitten, was another song my daughter, who loves astronomy and includes among her career aspirations the job of astronaut, specifically appreciated.  It takes inspiration from the Holy Modal Rounders' parody of Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bassman" changing the lyrics to a tongue-in-cheek lament from a father expressing reservations about his son's plan to join Elon Musk's mission to colonize Mars.  Kaplan, a certified high school English teacher, shows the educator side of his personality mixing in some science class lessons along with the quirky story of the song.

Other songs from Trippin' Round the Mitten include "Beach Song" (a spoof of The Dead Milkmen's song that protests going on beach vacations), "Super Nude" (describes Kaplan's son's superhero alter ego), "Cat & Mice" (a jazzy song about a dad and son bonding while mom is away), "Every Second Counts" (the true-to-life rendition of a typical chaotic morning in the artist's house), "Trippin Round the Mitten" (a song about the uniqueness of the State of Michigan) and "On the Phone on the Toilet" (which addresses the disconnection that can occur from being too connected to smart phones and the Internet).  "On the Phone on the Toilet" was released in advance of the album and rose to #2 on the SiriusXM Kids Place Live "13 Under 13" chart.  It really provides an impressive perspective of today's social media society.

In appreciation of the Randy Kaplan performance we attended, A Geek Daddy wants to share our experience with you by providing one lucky winner with his album Trippin' Round the Mitten.  Must be a US resident over the age of 18 to participate.  Just complete the entries below before 11:59 pm ET on Friday, August 18, 2017 for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Trippin' Round the Mitten is available at iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and at Randy Kaplan's live shows.  For more information, please visit www.randykaplan.com

Randy Kaplan is a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Plus Award, has released six family albums of children's music along with eight albums for adults.  His work has been awarded top honors by NAPPA (National Parenting Publication Awards, now National Parenting Product Awards), been voted a Top Five CD in the Nickelodeon Parents' Pick Awards, and has appeared on the Top Ten lists of NPR, and People Magazine.  His music has been in the rotation of songs played on SiriusXM's Kids Place Live for more than a decade.

Tunes like the "Donut Song" clearly demonstrate why Kaplan has earned these accolades.  For his wacky originality that is a great source of entertainment that families can enjoy together, Randy Kaplan has earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval.  If you have young kids in your household check this musical artist out!

BUILD YOUR OWN CARS 3 BOARD GAME

Who else is excited that CARS 3 will be racing into movie theaters soon?!  My family is revving to go to see the next chapter in one of our favorite movie franchises.  Can't wait for the green flag to drop and the new adventure to start.  Thanks to our friends at Disney PIXAR we have a fun board game featuring Lightning McQueen and the cast of automobiles from Cars 3 to play with while we're idling for the film's debut weekend.  A Geek Daddy is also happy to be able to share this free build it yourself board game called RACE TO THE FINISH with our fans.

Can you be the first to cross the finish line in this racing themed game?  Pick from four of the Cars characters from the movie and compete to be the first across the finish line.  Roll the dice with the lowest number getting the first turn.  Roll the dice to see how many spaces your character can move during a turn.  Or your roll may show "Draw a Card."  Follow the instructions on the card you pull to see where you go.

Everything you need to build this game is embedded below.  Just download the sheets and print them out.  After a little bit of cutting and taping you'll have an entertaining game to play.  Have a fun family night watching the previous movies and playing RACE TO THE FINISH in anticipation of going to see Cars 3.



Cars 3 promises to be full of action, racing, funny moments and fun adventure scenes.  The movie begins with Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers.  Trying to get back to the front of the pack, McQueen turns to an eager young race technician named Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) for help plus gets some inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet.  Making his way through some unexpected turns #95 shows that he isn't done yet.  Can Lightning McQueen win another Piston Cup and take another cruise through victory lane?  We'll have to see the movie to find out!



Learn more about Cars 3 at cars.disney.com which includes character profiles, craft ideas, games, videos and an online store of themed merchandise. Also check out their Twitter and Facebook accounts as we head into the final stretch to the opening weekend of Cars 3!

Free Comic Book Day Has Plenty To Offer Early Readers

The first Saturday in May is one of our family's favorite days of the year: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.  This year will be the fourth year in a row now we've enjoyed going to the local comic book store and coming home with a bundle of #FREE comics for my kids to enjoy.  This year the event on May 2, 2015 is also kicking off Children's Book Week so it is has added an additional emphasis on providing kid-friendly comic books for the retailers participating in Free Comic Book Day.  We've always found a nice selection of titles being given out that were appropriate to for parents to read to preschoolers or for young readers to flip through on their own that have included in past years Sesame Street, Strawberry Shortcake, and the Smurfs among others in past years.

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.  Some stores let people take one of each of the 50 specialty issues being handed out until they run out, while others place limitations on how many you can pick up.  I frequent two local establishments that each have different rules.  One of the comic stores lets you pick 3 out of the 50 then you can take another 3 if you show up in a super hero themed costume and also grab one more issue if you bring a can food item to donate to a local food bank for a possible total of 7 freebies.  The other retailer lets each person choose 4 comics from the list of Gold Sponsor publications and 4 from the list of Silver Sponsor publications for a total of 8 comic books with no other strings attached.  If you don't normally visit a particular comic book store you may want to call ahead to confirm they are participating, their hours, and what the rules are for how they are distributing their Free Comic Book Day publications.  CLICK HERE to search for a participating comic book store near you.

If you are like me and bringing younger children along to Free Comic Book Day, here are a list of some of the comic books that have been rated "All Ages" which means they are kid-friendly  and in most cases targeted towards children.

BONGO COMICS - THE SIMPSONS

Get in line for the foremost Free Comic Book Day four-color giveaway of the year! When Bart brings one of Professor Frink's recent discoveries to school, it leads to some hair-raising hilarity Then, Lisa finds a doorway to an ancient past, CBG gets a hip -new girlfriend, and Homer tries his hand at some home improvement. And much more.
Rating: All-Ages

BOOM STUDIOS - 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

 2015 is BOOM! Studios' Tenth Anniversary year, and to help us celebrate we've gathered short stories from several current and new all-ages titles for Free Comic Book Day, offering an oversized, full-color issue that showcases 10 all-ages-friendly titles from our Archaia, BOOM! Box, and KaBOOM! imprints. The BOOM! Studios Ten Year Celebration 2015 Free Comic Book Day Special features a cover illustrated by Mouse Guard creator David Petersen and will contain the following stories:

Jim Henson's Labyrinth
"Wisdom and Idioms"
Written and Illustrated by Cory Godbey
An all-new short based on Jim Henson's Labyrinth. The Wiseman and his bird try to find some humor in the magical world of Labyrinth.

Iscariot
Written and Illustrated by S.M. Vidaurri
Young Carson discusses magic and time with a wizard in this special preview of the upcoming Archaia original graphic novel written and illustrated by Iron: Or, the War After creator S.M. Vidaurri.

Mouse Guard
"Service to Seyan"
Written and Illustrated by David Petersen
An excerpt from Mouse Guard: Baldwin the Brave and Other Tales. Gwendolyn learns about her mother Alma and the great warrior hall of Seyan.

Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wards
Created by Pendleton Ward
Written by Jen Wang
Illustrated by Britt Wilson
A brand-new Fionna & Cake short from writer Jen Wang (In Real Life) and Britt Wilson (Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake)! Fionna and Cake are on the search for an opponent for Cake to play against in Card Wars.

Regular Show
"Coffee Shop Special!"
Created by JG Quintel
Written by Kevin Church
Illustrated by Coleman Engle
Based on the hit Cartoon Network animated series, Eileen and Margaret make Muscle Man his special drink.

Peanuts
"Dogstoevsky"
Created by Charles M. Schulz
Story by Charles M. Schulz
Pencils by Vicki Scott
Snoopy looks to finally become the World's Greatest Author, but Lucy's help may not be the helpful push he needs.

Garfield
"Fast Feline"
Created by Jim Davis
Written by Mark Evanier
Illustrated by Andy Hirsch
Nothing can keep Garfield from a good meal, even if it means having to beat the fastest cat to get it.

Lumberjanes
Created by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis
Illustrated by Brooke Allen
When the Lumberjanes aren't taking care of pesky critters or crazy demigods, they're making fun crafts like friendship bracelets. Friendship to the max!

Munchkin
"Table of Contents"
Written and Illustrated by John Kovalic
Fight the monsters, steal the treasure, and backstab your buddy! A wandering monster table appears in this short from the illustrator of the hit card game Munchkin, John Kovalic.

Help Us! Great Warrior
Written and illustrated by Madeleine Flores
Based on the hit webcomic and new miniseries from Madeleine Flores. Great Warrior gets attacked on the road!

Rating: All-Ages

PERFECT SQUARE - POKEMON

All your favorite Pokémon game characters jump out of the screen into the pages of this action-packed comic! Legendary Pokémon Xerneas and Yveltal 's battle against each other is destroying Vaniville Town. Can X and Y save the town in Pokémon X o Y?!
Bonus Feature: More action in Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Adventures Black and White!
Rating: All-Ages

UNITED PLANKTON PICTURES - SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS

 his year's SpongeBob Comics FCBD offering features a 22-page story by Boxtrolls director and Grickle cartoonist Graham Annable. In "Tangy!" Plankton's new special sauce made from jellyfish jelly has strange effects on SpongeBob and Bikini Bottom's residents. The only one unaffected, the only one who can save them all, is a very reluctant Squidward. Plus more undersea sequential stories by James Kochalka, Maris Wicks, Gregg Schigiel. and other awesome aquatic artists!
Rating: All-Ages

 RED 5 COMICS - BODIE TROLL

With a mix of playfully irreverant humor, attention-grabbing art and incredible heart, BODIE TROLL is a perfect first comic to give to a non-comic-reader of any age. In an all-new exclusive adventure, things turn ugly for cute BODIE TROLL when he gets hijacked into that most agonizing of events - a little girl's tea party! Plus, an all-new adventure from the world of DRONE and previews of 2015 Red 5 favorites and new faces.
Rating: All-Ages

GRAPHIX - CLEOPATRA IN SPACE

When a young Cleopatra (yes, that Cleopatra) finds a mysterious tablet that zaps her to the far, really far future, she learns of an ancient prophecy that says she is destined to save the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of the evil Xaius Octavian.
Rating: All-Ages

ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT - GRONK

Gronk is a monster...and not a very good one!  Follow Gronk's continuing adventures as she learns about the world around her from her "teacher", Dale, in this all-new Gronk story from fan favorite Katie Cook!
Rating: All-Ages

CAPSTONE PRESS - MARCH GRAND PRIX

A Free Comic Book Day 2015 sneak peek of the new, turbo-charged graphic novel by Kean Soo, author of the award-winning series JELLABY! March Hare wants to be the fastest and furriest racecar driver around. But first, this rabbit racer must prove his skills at the speedway, on the streets, and in the desert. With pedal-to-the-metal illustrations and full-throttle action, MARCH GRAND PRIX is sure to be a winner! Featuring a full tank of bonus materials: creator Q & A, pinup art, and much more.
Rating: All-Ages

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS - SONIC THE HEDGEHOG / MEGA MAN

GRAPHIC INDIA - CHAKRA THE INVINCIBLE

 Based on the animated shorts seen on Angry Birds ToonsTV with over 25 Million views worldwide, 'Chakra The Invincible' is the latest superhero from legendary creator, Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, The Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, and more. This all-ages comic features short stories of Chakra The Invincible for kids and superhero fans of all ages.
Rating: All-Ages

DC COMICS - TEEN TITANS / SCOOBY-DOO

DC Entertainment's all-ages FCBD special edition has two tales for readers of all ages! The Teen Titans are back in Teen Titans Go! Chapter 10, and Scooby Doo Team Up! #6 features the Super Friends! Readers will want to follow the adventures of the Teen Titans in Teen Titans Go! Volume 1, and Scooby Doo's adventure with the Super Friends will continue in the forthcoming collected edition of Scooby Doo Team-Up! Super-hero adventures for readers of all ages have never been so much fun!
Rating: All-Ages

Stop by the local Comic Book Store as part of your Trick or Treat Plans

On Saturday, October 25, 2014 local comic book stores across the United States and Canada will be giving away FREE comic books for the industry's HALLOWEEN COMICFEST.  Participating retailers will be handing out 12 full size comics and 7 mini-comics to kids, and adults, who stop by and say "trick or treat" while supplies last.  CLICK HERE to see if there is a participating location near you.

The full size comic books are aimed more for teens and adults with titles such as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, BATMAN-LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, MAX BROOKS' EXTINCTION PARADE, GRIMM FAIRY TALES HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, RACHEL RISING and RESIDENT EVIL.

There are though a few of the full sized comic books with a kids focus such as HERO CATS, MY LITTLE PONY, and SCOOBY-DOO TEAMS UP WITH BATMAN.

The mini-comics are much more aimed for younger audiences with a compilation by Boom! Studios that includes stories featuring Adventure Time, Peanuts and Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock plus other comics featuring Angry Birds, Little Battlers and Vamplets: the Undead Pet Society.

Don't miss out on the fun! Make sure you swing by a participating comic book store on Saturday, October 25th.  They'll probably be out of the freebies by the end of the day so don't wait until later in the week to try and pick these up or try to actually trick or treat on Halloween at these stores.

For more information, visit www.HalloweenComicFest.com