Zak Saturday, Ben Tennyson and Hiccup Haddock

Adolescent boys with prominent eyebrows and cryptid/ monster/ alien sidekicks.

We had a lot of debate over just how old these three characters are supposed to be in their various television appearances. My sons generally argued for younger whenever there was a question, because it is perfectly plausible for them that a 10 year old boy should work as an equal with his parents in a dangerous situation... or save the universe. I voted for at least 12 years old... (Ben is supposed to be 16 in the latest show, isn't he?)

Chris Grine's Chickenhare meets Ben 10's Kickin Hawk

We were compelled to stay up past bedtime last night finishing Chris Grine's graphic novel Chickenhare.

Here he meets another of my sons' favorite creatures from Ben 10 Omniverse.  They have little in common, I suppose, beyond their poultry parts, and their presence in my kids' imaginations.

ChickenHare seems a little uncertain about the alien...which is probably wise.

Teen Titans' Beast Boy and Ben 10 Go Big

Conservation of mass? What conservation of mass? 

In the world of implausible super powers, the ability to instantaneously morph from a single cell organism to a giant dinosaur (or from a small boy to a 100 foot tall alien) certainly requires a greater than usual suspension of disbelief.  

The boys and I have discussed just where is it that Beast Boy and Ben get (or store) all that extra stuff? A personal pocket dimension is the leading explanation, although it is pretty clear that the kids don't really get the concept of mass.... I probably don't either, really.

I got started on this one long after the time I should have already been in bed, so it, as Ansel would say, "is not some of my best work."  It's not clear what is going on in back with the Tyrannosaur and Ben's alien Way Big.  The intention was that the alien was holding the dinosaur... or at least patting him congenially on the back, but it's not really working either way.  

And the placement of the two guys in front is unfortunate and sloppy.  Revisions are just not possible on napkins...although I did move Garfield and Ben's arms around a bit so that it looked a bit less like they are reaching for one another's groin.  There is a very active subgenre of fan images of that sort of thing, and I was definitely not aiming to be part of it.  Nonetheless, their postures and expressions, still seem a bit peculiar.

Ben 10 with Finn and Jake from Adventure Time

Our sons have been watching "Adventure Time" for a while, but there have not been any napkin  requests until this one.  

Jake the metamorphic dog looking like Armodrillo from Ben 10 Omniverse was the specific assignment, but I added Ben Tennyson himself and Finn the human for scale.  Archer and Ansel then debated whether Jake just looks like Armodrillo, or would he actually have the alien's powers?

Shapeshifting is always compelling for small boys, particularly when there is a large increase in size.  The law of conservation of mass gets a real workout on both "Adventure Time" and "Ben 10."

Ben Tennyson (Ben 10 Omniverse) and Peter Parker (Ultimate Spider-Man)

Ben Tennyson and Peter Parker (both by Man of Action): Perhaps they are debating whose show is more popular? Or whose hair looks better?

Ben 10's Swampfire and Heatblast with Skylanders' Hot Dog

Three flaming characters crammed implausibly onto one napkin. Ansel specifically requested all three and told me to make sure that they did not "blend into the background."  I guess he meant that the surroundings should not also be on fire.

Ben 10 of Omniverse and Skylanders Wrecking Ball

Ben 10 (the Omniverse version) and Skylander's Wrecking Ball sit around in bad perspective land.  Ansel was not bothered by my lazy drawing, but both he and his brother worried about why Ben was not standing up and just what he was doing with his hand.

I realized a day later, much to my horror, that I had neglected to draw the all important Omnitrix on Ben's arm.  Strangely, neither of my child critics caught the lapse.

Wrecking Ball Shirt and Cake

One last birthday picture: I don't usually post shots of actual kid events on this blog, but the image of the Wrecking Ball shirt tonguing the frosting Wrecking Ball amused me.

Ben 10 Omniverse's Heatblast and Swampfire

Ansel was so displeased with this drawing of Ben 10 Omniverse's Heatblast and Swampfire that he took an older napkin instead this morning. He told me the placement of the Omnitrix symbol on Swampfire was wrong. He remained unconvinced even after I revealed (pathetically) that I had looked it up on the Ben 10 wiki last night.

Birthday Cake with Swampfire, Wrecking Ball and Dragonvale Sun Dragon

The sixth birthday cake:  Not one of my better efforts in frosting, but it does have three characters on it...and a large amount of frosting.  

Ansel's first question: "Why does Wrecking Ball look sick?"  

I did my best.  

Ben 10's SpiderMonkey and Spider-Man with Birthday Cake

Today is the big day at school: frosted cupcakes and official acknowledgement of Ansel's sixness.
I have yet to make the cake for the birthday party this weekend, and unfortunately it will not be as simple as the one above held by the anatomically challenged Spidermonkey and Man.

Ultimate Spider-Man with Ben 10's Swampfire

And yet another Ben 10 & Ultimate Spider-Man team-up: 

Ansel was not much impressed with this one...

Perhaps Spider-Man does not look heroic-or sarcastic- enough?  I was thinking that he might be a bit nonplussed by the fireball wielding plant alien, but I don't think Ansel wants to see him upstaged at the moment.

Ben 10's Ultimate Spider Monkey and Black Suited Spider-Man

What does the word "Ultimate" mean when it comes to Ben 10 aliens and Spider-Man?

Ansel initially asked for  an "Ultimate Spider-Man" in the style of Ben 10's ultimate aliens:  (bigger and more scary, with shiny armor?)  

But after further conversation, it turned out what he really wanted was Spidey in the black suit and Ultimate Spidermonkey.  Although, as he points out, the alien is more like Ultimate SpiderGorilla.

Ben 10 Omniverse's Spidermonkey and Ultimate Spider-Man

After a long hiatus, the boys rediscovered the coolness of Spider-Man over the weekend.

An Ipad game triggered interest in the character, but watching a couple episodes of  "Ultimate Spider-Man" sealed the deal.  The snarky, slapsticky asides with the manga chibi version of Spidey remind them of the Teen Titans and are endlessly funny to the 9 and 5 year old mind.

Spider-Man was a pretty hot property around here several years ago.  There were many, many Spidey napkins back in the days before I started posting on this blog, and at least two Halloween costumes were purchased.  During the weekend web frenzy, the kids excavated these costumes from the closet, but discovered that they were way too small even for a determined 5 year old.

Archer said the pairing of Spidermonkey with Spider-Man was so obvious, how could we not do it?  Ansel was mostly concerned that my rendition of Spidey was not going to look exactly like the "Ultimate" version.

Skylanders Wrecking Ball and Ben 10 Omniverse's Upchuck

My older son said, "Wrecking Ball and Upchuck! Of course! It's so obvious, why didn't I think of it before?"

Ben 10 Omniverse's Alien X and the Silver Surfer

I realized I neglected to upload this image last week.  Ansel tells me it's ok, but he would prefer to see only Alien X.  I agree, my Silver Surfer is rather lame.

LEGO Ben 10 Omniverse

Our sons would love to have a LEGO version of Ben 10.  

A couple moments of online research revealed that there were some Ben 10 Alien Force sets back in 2010.  There were a few aliens that looked like precursors to the Hero Factory line.

(Tragically:  "The Ben 10 theme is considered by some as the most unpopular LEGO theme of all time.  The reason for this is that people thought that the designs, parts, or price were bad." according to Brickipedia. )

At any rate, we tried to imagine a more current Omniverse version of LEGO Ben 10.  Ansel pointed out that Ben wears a short-sleeved shirt in that series, but Archer quickly chimed in that there are no short sleeves in LEGO minifigures.  Well, there are no Omnitrixes either, so my claims for verisimilitude in this particular napkin are very limited.  Perhaps it should have been more of a mash-up of the three shows?... Ansel's second question was why did I leave Gwen and Kevin off the napkin?... They don't really appear that often in the present series, I countered.  "Gwen does!" he said.  (She did appear in the episode he watched yesterday)

Below is his version of the napkin (based on a tracing) which features Gwen and Vilgax and a much more innovative reverse color scheme on Ben's shirt.

Rook and Ahsoka from Ben 10 and The Clone Wars

What do sidekicks do on their day off?  

While talking about the similarities between the Ben 10 and Star Wars universes, we agreed that Rook was definitely the Ahsoka Tano of Ben 10:  the skinny, new alien sidekick to the human hero with graphic facial marking designed to engage a younger demographic for a franchise reboot.  

Ahsoka was formerly quite popular with my younger son, before he received the message from his peer that most girls are uncool.  

I'm afraid this napkin was mostly an exercise in parental perversity on my part.  Reminding Ansel that he was formerly interested in Ahsoka and pairing her with Rook resulting in uncomfortable giggling and "that is SO WRONG!"

Kickin Hawk from Ben 10 Omniverse

Upstaging perennial favorite Alien X at the last minute this morning: one of the goofier new aliens, Kickin Hawk. Someone at Ben 10 Omniverse definitely has a sense of humor.

Skylanders Terrafin with Ben 10's Armadrillo

Yet another Ben 10 Skylanders team up: Terrafin and Armodrillo. My sons tell me they are compatible as they both drill underground. I am a bit sketchy on the details.