BATMAN DAY 2021

Holy Coloring Pages and Activity Sheets Batman! It's Batman Day! Enjoy this Caped Crusader themed activity kit courtesy of DC Comics to have a super fun time today:

 

A Halloween Themed Family Movie Night

Our family enjoyed a Halloween themed movie night at home watching the Tim Burton flick FRANKENWEENIE.  This stop-motion-animated film that was theatrically released in 2012 is a parody of Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein and the 1931 horror movie based upon the book.  The plot of the movie involves a boy named Victor who after his beloved dog Sparky dies uses the power of electricity to resurrect the pup.  When his classmates learn about what he has done they blackmail him into reanimating their deceased pets too with results which end up creating mayhem throughout the town.  Frankenweenie was filmed in black and white to give a classic horror picture vibe to it.  The film, which is rated PG for its thematic elements involving death and scary images, has an 87% Fresh Approval Rating with Rotten Tomatoes. 

We started off our Halloween themed day by enjoying a free trick-or-treat event hosted by some of the businesses in a downtown area near our house.  When our kids arrive home from that event we had some fun activities for them to do to keep them entertained until it was time for us to put on the blu-ray.  First off we has some fun blasting ghosts with a fun toy by Fotorama that you can pick up from Walmart called The Visions of Johnny the Skull.  This is a really fun and affordable electronic game that will be a hit with kids and kids-at-heart which is perfect for Halloween.

The premise of the game is that the skull spins around randomly projecting images of ghosts throughout the room.  You need to be a ghostbuster and zap those pesky ghosts with your ray gun.  Each time your ray gun hits its target it tallies your score and the score board is remarkably accurate.  Each player takes a turn and whoever eliminates the most ghosts is the winner!

 

The Visions of Johnny the Skull worked without a hitch!  We just threw in some batteries in the skull (4 AA) and in the ray gun (3 AAA) and it was ready to go!  The game features some spooky sound-effects to enhance the experience but the highlight is that the skull does a great job of spinning around and illuminating the ghosts on the ceiling and walls around the room in a manner that the player has to be whirling around the room as well to catch his or her targets.  The game has 3 skill levels with each one increasing the randomization of where the ghosts land and how fast they appear and disappear.  I was really impressed at how well the skull projected the images and made the game challenging for players.  Plus the way the ray gun was able to synchronize with the images projected on the walls and accurately tally "hits" was very impressive.  My kids really had a blast playing this game! I'd really encourage you to check out this Fotorama Johnny the Skull game especially if you are going to be hosting any Halloween extravaganzas with a bunch of your children's friends at your place.

My kids also had some fun playing with some Halloween themed Wooly Willy magnetic drawing boards from Patch Products.  My daughter had a Wacky Witch to match her costume and my son played around with a Cool Ghoul.  At $1.50 these are great to pick up just for your own kids or to use for party favors, classroom handouts or instead of candy for trick or treaters.  Since we have to be on guard around candy and other edible treats because of our kids' food allergies we always appreciate fun items that can be given out in lieu of sweets.  These Wooly Willy magnetic drawing activities really captured my kids imagination and attention throughout the night.

The kids  did one more activity before they changed out of their costumes and we put the movie into the dvd player.  My wife had picked up some Paint Your Own Sun Catchers for a $1 each and the kids showed off their artistic side.  Art class is my son's favorite part of school so he really liked us incorporating this craft into our Halloween themed Family Movie Night.

 

So you can't have a Family Movie Night without snacks!  Instead of popcorn we went with a more Halloween inspired treat: Cheetos skeletons!!!

Plus we made up some of A Geek Daddy's famous Jack-O-Lantern Jigglers.  Click here for more information about this treat from A Geek Daddy's Spooky Snack Lab. Cheers!!!

Finally it was movie time!!!  We'd had a fun day of Halloween activities and snacks, maybe a few too many things were going on because I found both my kids snuggled next to me on the couch fast asleep about half way through the movie.  So up to bed they went with visions of pumpkins, ghosts and witches dancing in their heads.  No nightmares that evening though just them waking me up very early in the morning to ask dad where he had hidden their trick-or-treat candy.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!  If you are considering your own Family Movie Night watching Frankenweenie enjoy these downloadable activity sheets and character masks you can print out:


**Disclaimer: Some of the featured products in this post were provided to A Geek Daddy for free for the blog to review.  Opinions are my own **

A Celebration of the Caped Crusader - BATMAN DAY is Saturday September 26, 2015

Saturday, September 26th is BATMAN DAY where bookstores, comic shops, and other retailers will be celebrating this iconic character with fun promotional giveaways and special deals on Batman products.  Kids and kids-at-heart can also have some fun at home on BATMAN DAY too by enjoying these activity sheets, coloring pages, and mask cutouts from DC Comics:



If you are heading out on Saturday make sure to stop by a  comic shop, book store, or participating retailer to receive a FREE copy of BATMAN ENDGAME SPECIAL EDITION #1 with an 8-page preview of the upcoming BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL.  Comic book stores will all have one cover for this free comic book but other retailers including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Books a Million, FYE, Gamestop, Hot Topics and Spencers will be handing out comics with exclusive variant covers.  Digital isn't being left out of the party either with free downloads, also featuring exclusive covers, being available from Apple iTunes, Comixology, Google Play and Nook.

BATMAN DAY partners include Warner Bros. Consumer Products with licensees Bendon, Capstone, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, and DK Publishing, as well as DC Collectibles, WaterTower Music, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Partners will provide unique retail and digital promotional tie-ins to celebrate the world-renowned Caped Crusader.

Signings and meet-and-greets with top Batman talent from DC Comics will also be taking place on BATMAN DAY including an all star line-up at Baltimore Comic-Con with Scott Snyder, Greg Pak, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Peter Tomasi, Cully Hammer, and Klaus Janson. Additional BATMAN DAY signing events featuring comic book talent will take place around the United States and Canada include acclaimed artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee (Los Angeles), Greg Capullo (Guilderland, NY), Tom King (Baltimore), Paul Dini (Los Angeles), Tim Seeley (Chicago), Dan Jurgens (St. Paul), Brenden Fletcher (Toronto, ON), Sean Murphy (Brooklyn) Len Wein (Los Angeles), Chris Burnham (Burbank), Ray Fawkes (Toronto, ON), Pat Gleason (St. Paul), Brian Buccellato (Los Angeles), Kyle Higgins (Los Angeles), Matt Manning (Asheville, NC), Daniel Wallace (Eden Prarie, MN), with  more to be announced.

To help fans get in the spirit for #BATMANDAY the various DC Comics Facebook pages have been updated with themed banners.

But wait! take a closer look! In addition to their being a Batman logo on the banner could there be something else lurking in the shadows?

It's Batman!  They've added an image of the dark knight in the main banner of these nine Facebook pages as Easter eggs for fans to look for in a great caped crusader hunt:  Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman,  The Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, Harley Quinn, Green Arrow, and Vertigo Comics.  Did you find all the hidden Batman images in the artwork?  Some are pretty easy to spot and others are really difficult.

As Robin would say Holy Armadillo Batman there sure is going to be a lot of Batmania going on September 26th!

Free Swag at Comic Book Shops in June from DC Entertainment

 

Wednesdays are New Comic Book Day each week every month throughout the year.  To help keep customers regularly coming through retail store doors and to assist publishers with managing their workload and production the distribution of new comic book issues are scheduled so that releases are evenly spread out throughout the month hitting store shelves on Wednesday.  So comic fans are guaranteed that on most Wednesdays they'll be able to find something brand new to pick up and read if they swing by their neighborhood comic book store.

DC Entertainment has had their comic book series on hiatus in April and May this year as they've focused efforts on promoting several mini-series tied together through a storyline called Convergence during that time span.  At the conclusion of the two month Convergence campaign, 25 of DC's popular monthly titles that existed before the Convergence event will continue again at the point where they left off at in March 2015 plus 24 brand new monthly series will begin with their first issues in June.  To promote the return of fan favorite titles like Batman, The Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman plus kick off the new serials featuring characters such as Black Canary, Starfire and Bat-Mite, each Wednesday in June DC Entertainment will be giving away FREE swag like posters, temporary tattoos, and cardboard super hero masks at participating retailers.

On June 3rd, DC Entertainment will be distributing Justice League Darkseid vs. Anti-Monitor 11” x 17” posters with art by Jason Fabok; Batman Beyond paper masks; Bat-Mite temporary tattoos; and Bizarro temporary tattoos.

June 10th will feature a Batman 11” x 17” armor blueprint poster; Harley Quinn masks; Starfire 5” x 7” postcards; and Gotham Academy crest stickers.

The promo items for June 17 will be  Justice League Of America 22” x 34” posters with art by Bryan Hitch; Black Canary 11” x 17” concert posters; Robin: Son of Batman paper domino masks; and Prez bumper stickers.

Wrapping up the month on June 24th will be a Superman Daily Planet Replica edition; Grayson Spyral ID cards; We Are…Robin temporary tattoos; and Batgirl paper masks.

Look for these free promotional items on New Comic Book Day each week throughout the month of June.  These aren't extravagant but still these fun little items will probably thrill most kids and put smiles on their faces. I know my kids always love temporary tattoos and would have a lot of fun playing around with these character masks. Oh, and I think that Darkseid poster is pretty darn cool myself!  CLICK HERE to find a comic book shop near you.

Have Your Kids Unleash Their Inner Super Hero

It was nice weather outside the other day and my kids were being rambunctious inside the house.  When I urged them to go out and play they whined back at me "there's nothing to do in the backyard."  I urged them to use their imagination as they were ushered outside.  It didn't take long for me to hear them having fun as they started to pretend they were the Avengers and imagining they were on an adventure to save the planet.

My son threw on his Iron Man Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron Hero Mask and Iron Man Arc FX Armor and was racing around the backyard pretending to blast apart the robotic hoards of the villainous Ultron's cybernetic army.  Hasbro's Arc FX armor provides kids with a pair of articulated gloves that assists them in role playing by featuring a light-up repulsor with sound effects so they can blast into their imaginary battles like Iron Man.  Raising your hand activates lights and blasting sound effects.  Meanwhile my daughter was pretending to be the Fantastic Four's invisible woman so she could ignore my son and stay out of the fray.

Iron Man next stumbled upon Thor's mighty battle hammer Mjolnir and tested himself to see if he was worthy to hold the famed weapon.  He used all the power of Iron Man's armor but was unable to budge the hammer from where it rested.  This peaked my little girl's interest who wandered over and without a bit of hesitation hoisted Mjolnir into the air.  That action transformed a six year old kindergartener into the mighty Thor!

Thor and Iron Man then teamed up to tackle a variety of challenges as they leaped, rolled, and wrestled their way through an imaginary adventure.  They spent about 2 hours outside on a nice spring day playing Avengers.  These role playing Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron toys from Hasbro were really a nice enticement to encourage my kids to get outside and play in a fun way that also got them some exercise and spurred their imaginations.

According to a post in Scholastic's parenting blog, pretend play, like my kids Avenger's adventure in our backyard, has important learning benefits that assist children with problem solving, critical thinking, self expression and imagination. The children's publisher Scholastic notes that when kids pretend to be different characters they have the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes" which helps teach the moral development skill of empathy.  The article also mentions that pretend play can assist children with language skills as they use words to reenact a story or act out their own adventures.  CLICK HERE to read the full blog post by Scholastic on the many benefits of children engaging in pretend play.

There are also a bunch of benefits in regard to getting kids outside to play. One of the most important is that the American Heart Association recommends that children 2 and older should be involved in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activities each day to stay in good health.  Getting your kids to pretend they are super heroes is a great way to get your kids outside playing and being active!  These Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron role-playing toys really can spark a child's interest in pretending to be a super hero and spur them to run, leap, and wrestle in imaginative play.

In addition to the Iron Man and Thor gear I've show above, here are a few other Hasbro role play items in their Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron collection that can be used to #AssembleYourTeam and help your child unleash his or her imagination to join the ranks of Earth's Mightiest Super Heroes.

 AVENGERS HERO MASKS
Wear the Hulk's scowl, Captain America's iconic 'A', Iron Man's flip up visor, or Thor's helmet to suit up as your favorite Avenger.  Recommended for children ages 5 & up.

HULK GAMMA GRIP FISTS
These foam hands let kids imagine battling evil like the most powerful member of the Avengers: the Hulk!  Recommended for children ages 4 & up.

CAPTAIN AMERICA STAR LAUNCH SHIELD
Pull the rip cord to deploy the shield's center disc and send it flying for a surprise attack.   Recommended for children ages 6 & up.

These toys are available at most major retailers and on HasbroToyShop.com 

Avengers Assemble! Get out there and have some fun adventures of your own!

DISCLAIMER:  I was not provided any financial compensation for publishing this post and there was no promise made to Hasbro that if they provided complimentary products that they would receive a positive review or in fact any post on this blog at all.  Opinions and views expressed in this post are my own.  Some of the product information and photographs used in this post were provided to A Geek Daddy blog by Hasbro.  A Geek Daddy blog was provided some complimentary products that were utilized in this post.

How To Carve Your Dragon

The hot thing that has caught my son's attention and imagination lately are the How to Train Your Dragon movies and television shows. So he was thrilled when our family included his favorite dragon, Toothless, into our Halloween activities by carving a jack-o-lantern of the character.  In fact, we switched up our Friday family game night routine last week and made it a #DragonsDay themed evening creating some fun dragon masks, carving our Toothless pumpkin and watching the original How to Train Your Dragon movie from DreamWorks Animation.


My friends at Fox Home Entertainment helped us put together our special How To Train Your Dragon night by providing templates for pumpkin carving and dragon masks that I was able to print out.  I've included these below if you'd like to incorporate them  into your Halloween festivities.

 

 

DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon 2 will be coming out on Blu-ray & DVD on November 11, 2014 distributed by Fox Home Entertainment so incorporating jack-o-lanterns and masks into your Halloween activities can be a fun way to get your kids excited about the upcoming home video release.  My son has been asking every week since we saw this movie at theaters this summer when he could see it again so watching the original movie and including Dragons into our Halloween really built up his excitement for us bringing the sequel home in a few weeks.  It was also a reminder that he needs to keep his grades up and keep being good at school if he wants us to let him watch How To Train Your Dragon 2 when it comes out.  A little bit of carrot and stick parenting there combining reward and punishment in one simple DVD package.  My daughter enjoys the movies too but to be honest she's just not as engrossed by dragons as much as my son is.

If you don't want to wait until November 11th to enjoy How to Train Your Dragon 2 there is one way you can view it right now ...  it became available for digital download on October 21, 2014.  Our household prefers Blu-ray though for watching flicks on our big screen tv.

About How To Train Your Dragon 2

It's been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island's new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.

DISCLAIMER:  A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive any compensation for this post but is a member of the Fox Home Entertainment Insiders Blogger program which provides this site with free movies for reviews and giveaways in exchange for promotional opportunities with our audience.

Enjoying the Geeky Side of Life - Celebrating Batman Day

2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the creation of the caped crusader with Batman's first appearance taking place in Detective Comics #27 which was published in 1939.  In recognition of this milestone year DC Comics designated Wednesday, July 23, 2014 as BATMAN DAY to celebrate.  Comic book retailers celebrated BATMAN DAY by distributing a free print of a modernized version of Detective Comics #27 that was revamped by DC Comics creative team along with some fun cardboard caped crusader masks and other dark knight inspired swag.  I decided to take a "Dad Moment" with my kids and blocked off the day from work to devote having a themed day of Batman fun.

We did that last summer when DC Comics held a similar event marking Superman's 75th anniversary in 2013.  I took off work to take my children to the comic book store to pickup free Superman comic books than we went home to enjoy some Superman ice cream and play super heroes in the backyard.  My kids really enjoyed our MAN OF STEEL DAY together last year so we had a CAPED CRUSADER DAY this summer.

We started off BATMAN DAY cruising over to the comic book store to pick up our freebies.  Than we headed over to the park to have some super hero adventures at the playscape.  Following some playtime we visited a nature center where the guides told the kids about bats and gave them an up close look at a few stuffed specimens that they had on hand.  The guides also showed us some bat houses behind the nature center where the live ones live and explained how bats help protect us and the ecosystem by eating mosquitoes.

July 23rd was also "National Hot Dog Day" so we stopped by Sonic to get some $1 chili cheese dogs that they had on special for lunch.  We also nabbed some Batman Slushes to take home with us (Grape Slush - looks like Batman's costume - with Nerds candy in them - because enjoying comic books is kinda nerdy).

When we got home we enjoyed our Batman Slushes (well my son & I did; my daughter insisted on getting the red colored version) while reading our new comic books.  It was a full day enjoying the geeky side of life celebrating Batman's Birthday.  The following day I'll back to work and the kids will be back at the babysitters so I wanted to make the most out of our special Daddy Day Out.  I'm hoping my kids will remember these geeky days with daddy when they're grown up fondly and recognize that I made an extra effort to spend some special quality time with them while they were little...and hopefully it will inspire them to enjoy the geeky side of life every once in awhile.