Firebending Red Panda

Inspired by viewing "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra," Ansel asked for his favorite animal throwing flames on the napkin today.

Ironically, he woke up with a high fever this morning (from both a bacterial and a viral infection according to the pediatrician), so his lunch will be fiery... But both he and the napkin are at home for the day.

Cat Pirate with Six-Pack

Ansel asked to read a book with "violence and blood" for bedtime yesterday.

Despite the absence of depictions of actual splatter, "Crogan's Vengence" by Chris Schweizer fit the bill nicely with a decapitation, shootings, stabbings and other satisfying pirate activities.
Our 4th grade son, Archer was also pretty excited about the historical nature of the story, and is ready to read about every character in the Crogan Adventures timeline in subsequent books.

The name of the main character in this book, Catfoot Crogan, led Ansel to request a cat pirate on his napkin today.  And he specified that this pirate had to have a visible "sixpack."

Bemused by the six pack request, I lifted an image from amusingly cheesy bodice-ripper cover  for "Pirate Prince" (by Connie Mason....don't know who was responsible for the cover illustration)
Both kids almost cringed while looking at the napkin this morning,  but Ansel agreed that this was in fact what he had asked for.

Lately, our two sons are very busy working out what "sexy" means when it comes to women and girls, but like any other young male people who live in America, it is pretty difficult for them to think about the differences between how males and females are depicted. So, sometimes their aging angry feminist mother harangues them ineffectively about gender politics.

And sometimes she does weird things like draw a silly looking barechested cat pirate.

Ares From "Lions, Tigers and Bears" Realistic and Stuffed.

Yesterday, Ansel wanted to reread "Lions, Tigers and Bears" by Mike Bullock and Jack Lawrence.

It's the story of stuffed animals that come to life to protect children from nasty "Beasties" who attack from a parallel universe via the closet of course. 

 Given the vast number of stuffed animals in our kids' room, I fear that what they most need to be protected from is hoarding.

Le Brusier From Guarding the Globe

Reading the latest issue of "Invincible" last night, Ansel saw an ad that reminded him of the coolness of Le Brusier, the french super-powered canine member of the Guardians of the Globe.

Le Brusier has been shown smoking a cigarette and apparently is known for passing out in bars, so he is not exactly a role model for Kindergarteners....  But this only increases his appeal with my sons.

I left the cigarette off and did my best to make a french bulldog look focused and menacing, unfortunately at the expense of the breed's characteristic walleyed look. 

Predator and Assassin Kids' Costumes

There are few things as compelling as a video game that you are too young to play.

This week Alien Versus Predator, or AVP as the cognoscenti call it, has suddenly appeared on Archer's radar.  Ansel still finds Assassin's Creed III to be his personal age-inappropriate favorite. 

Last night, the two of them asked me to draw them as their respective murderous characters.

Archer woke me up early to tell me that his face looked horrible in the above image.  What he really wanted was to be wearing a Predator mask.  When I observed that then no one would know it was him, he suggested a label.

Tyrannosaur, Robin and Batman

Last night, Ansel insisted we read Doug TenNapel's "Tommysaurus Rex" for the second time this week.  I think the dogs in the book might be the real draw for him (and of course the possibility that a pet dog could be reincarnated as a dinosaur)

But I was more interested in drawing the dinosaur than the dog.  Robin and Batman are riding him because someone had to, and they don't require much research.

Ansel hadn't given me a request last night, but this image almost prompted a smile this morning. 

Prince Zuko From "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Firebends a Pizza

There is a lot of air, water and firebending going on at our house.  Or at least a great deal of dramatic gesticulating accompanied by loud whooshing noises.  I like the absence of pretend swords and guns, but bath time has been a disaster lately.

Ansel insisted that I draw three characters from "Avatar" on this one napkin, but I am really not that familiar with the series, so just Prince Zuko was enough of a challenge for one night.

There was a mini pizza in Ansel's lunchbox today.

Cardboard LEGO Batman

LEGO Batman, complete with batarang, gets the Doug TenNapel magic cardboard treatment today.

My sons were very much looking forward to the release of the latest LEGO dvd: "LEGO Batman: The Movie- DC Super Heroes Unite" is the complete title I believe.  Multiple reviews explaining that it is not much more than the cut scenes from the video game did not deter them from insisting that I should buy it.

Teen Titans Robin Made of Doug TenNapel's Magic Cardboard

Ansel was so impressed with James Grashow's cardboard version of a Bernini fountain (pictured in the NY Times), that we had to read Doug TenNapel's Cardboard again last night.

There is no doubt what sort of person we would fabricate if we had magic cardboard that could come to life.

Ansel asked me hopefully this morning if I had made an actual cardboard model of Robin in order to make the drawing.  Disappointingly, no.

Tommysaurus Tyrannosaur with Dog

We reread Doug TenNapel's "Tommysaurus Rex" last night at bedtime, so playful affection between dinosaurs and canines was on Ansel's mind today.

Brittany and Alvin Cosplay as Starfire and Robin

There is something very discomforting about the Chipettes.  They make Alvin and his "brothers" look strangely realistic by comparison.  A chipmunk wearing a sweatshirt seems so much more reasonable when one is looking at a pony-tailed one wearing a sequined dress.

Teen Titans Robin was cool, but Ansel's response this morning to the floating rodent in a miniskirt and a crop top was literally, "eh."

Alvin of the Chipmunks Dressed as Connor of Assassin's Creed III

A television broadcast of "The Squeakquel" over the weekend reminded our younger son how much he likes the chipmunks. 

As a parent of two small boys, it is hard to decide which is more challenging:  the insipid furry with the excruciatingly high pitched voice, or the remorseless hooded slaughterer of hundreds.  

My sons are happy to emulate either one, in public and as loudly as possible.

It's a difficult choice, so here they are ridiculously rolled into one.

This morning, Archer shook his head and observed sadly, "His cheeks really mess up the hood."

Fantasy Dodgeball with Connor, Robin and Spider

Remarkably, even at a progressive Quaker school, our younger son  is having stress about dodgeball.

Here we have a fantasy team of sorts: Connor from Assassin's Creed III doesn't look like he is being very effective, Robin from Teen Titans is about to hit the floor hard, and Spider-Man is probably doing some gratuitous jumping.

Evidently it was too many characters on one napkin given the amount of time I had to work with last night....

Batman with Dog Head Hands

In "Dog Hand" a recent episode of "Teen Titans Go!" the demon Trigon fulfills Cyborg's wish to have a dog's head put in place of one of his hands. 

Batman gets the dog hand treatment here, because, something ridiculous is even more ridiculous on Batman.

Ansel found this idea really funny last night as we discussed the potential problems with personal hygiene.
But his response this morning was something along the lines of "I wanted something else!"

Napkin Not For A Lunchbox 13

From the 24 hour series: this is 8:50 am, the 4 1/2 mile  bike ride home after successfully leaving both children at school.  During the winter, I'm always a little colder on the way home without the 120 pounds of kids to push.

 (You can see the whole series so far at this link. )

"Teen Titans" and "Teen Titans Go!" Robins

Would Robin from "Teen Titans" (the Glen Murakami version from 2003-6) be impressed with his recent incarnation on "Teen Titans Go!" ?

The previous Robin was so cool that all of his teammates surreptitiously wore his costume while he was absent.  The new guy has a suspended drivers license and seems to be unable to open a locked door without physical injury.

Scooby Doo Watches Beast Boy Eat His Scooby Snack

"Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?"

The latest episode of "Teen Titan Go!' featured a brief bit where Robin bribed Beast Boy and Cyborg with dog treats.  Beast Boy morphed into a Scooby analog in anticipation.

Poor Scooby isn't sure why this strange green dog on another show is eating his food.
Are the two franchises owned by the same corporation? Or does this constitute fair use?

Voltron Force Characters

Inexplicably, we had missed the previous television iterations of "Voltron Force"- seemingly a mash up of Transformers and Power Rangers.  The kids discovered the recent graphic versions by Brian Smith and Jacob Chabot at MoCCa Fest this year.  I'm pretty sure they don't know about the TV shows yet...and I may allow them to continue to be uninformed for the moment.

Ansel wanted me to draw ALL of the characters and their Transformery/Megazordish Lion things on one napkin.  Ha, ha, ha.

But in all seriousness, this is an interesting problem that clearly comes up frequently in the world of comics .  Often all of the characters in a given story must be displayed at once on a cover.  It seems challenging, if not impossible, to orchestrate a bus load of equally sized superheroes into a compelling composition.  

But I am an unpaid amateur, and clearly the problem was not interesting enough for me to seriously try to solve it last night.  Instead, I passive aggressively posed the Voltron Force like cheery coeds and left the lions out entirely.

And see how I completely avoided having to draw their arms?

Napkin Not For A Lunchbox 12

This image from the 24 hour series is 3:30 pm:  our ride over the Manhattan Bridge for an after school therapy session.

With the exception of the very unpleasantly steep entrance ramp,  pushing 200 plus pounds of kids and bike to Manhattan over this bridge is not too physically painful. 

But it is a slow trip, and I do have plenty of time to quietly contemplate the Kubrick-like single point perspective.  The kids, however, are not much interested in the view, or in conversing with me.  Although  I do get the occasional obscure weapons related spelling question from Archer.


(You can see the whole series so far at this link. )

Momo From Avatar, The Last Airbender

Just recently Ansel has been watching some very old episodes of "Avatar" during his ride to therapy in the cargo bike.

I'll admit, I know very little about the show, or this lemur like character. Momo.  I had to rely on Google to come up with anything last night. 

Archer, a big fan of yesterday's "sniper kitty,"  told me this morning, "You know you really should have done another cute animal with a weapon instead."

Kitty Sniper With Water Pistol

Ansel requested the "kitty sniper" for today.

I've been trying to remember why there was a picture of  the "kitty sniper" internet meme stored on the Ipad to prompt this request.  My  best guess is that it came up during some sort of Google search for cute animals with weapons back when I was doing a Doctor McNinja napkin of a homicidal dolphin last summer.

That dolphin napkin was  a rare instance of a weapon unplugged by fruit that I drew for Archer when he was in summer camp and not having lunch at a Quaker school.

In this case, I turned the cat's rifle into a cute orange squirt gun in an attempt to make it more acceptable to Quaker pacifists and Kindergarten teachers.

Archer shook his head in disapproval this morning and told me I should have at least made it a SNIPER squirt gun to be true to the spirit of the original image.  Foolishly, I said I don't think there is such a thing....

Of course there is, Mom. 

Invincible's Dinosaurus With Strawberry

We have been finishing up rereading "Invincible" at bedtime.  
Dinosaurus is a somewhat well intentioned villain who melts Las Vegas to address global warming.
I 'm afraid that he might not be a fan of organic strawberries for a Kindergarten lunch- excessive use of resources and all. 
Given his facial expression here, it's hard to tell whether he is pro or con.

Connor from Assassin's Creed III As An Irish Wolfhound

When in doubt, draw a dog wearing a costume. 

I'm not sure why I thought an Irish Wolfhound was the right choice last night.  My knowledge of dog breeds is rather poor... although it has improved a bit recently thanks to the super canine series.  Maybe something incongruously cute would have been a better choice for the remorseless killer.

Muscular Teen Titans Robin Poses With Unimpressed Batman

In last night's episode of "Teen Titans Go!"  Trigon granted Robin the physique that perhaps, he has always wanted.

I have to observe that in other iterations of Teen Titans Robin, his primary character flaws were probably not vanity and fatuousness.  But he's certainly more funny as a vain idiot.

My kids thought the whole thing hysterically funny. 
Batman, however, would not be impressed.