VSCO Guys

Since an article in the New York Times last week quoted a 12 year old girl saying that “VSCO is basically over,” I thought maybe I’d better hurry up and post this one. 

So you are either saying to yourself, “what is VSCO?” Or,  ugh, why is the napkin woman so late to this party? 

In case my mom missed the Times article, I will  briefly summarize that the term VSCO derived from a photo editing app, and is mostly favored by “VSCO girls” as a ostensibly easy-going, “beachy” aesthetic defined by several very specific consumer items: oversized t-shirts, shoes that are ugly/comfortable but specifically branded: checkerboard Vans, Crocks with charms or Birkenstock’s, pukka shell necklaces, Pura Vida bracelets, scrunchies, Fjallraven Kanken backpacks, and hydroflask drink bottles with metal straws. 

And mixed in with the brand consciousness is vague environmentalism expressed as a “save the turtles” slogan...mostly achieved by using metal straws. 

There’s some odd imported slang involved also, but I might refrain from mentioning that here to prevent my sons from writhing on the floor in torment. It seems that parental use of trendy slang is right up there in pain intensity with being doused in gasoline and set on fire.

At any rate, the VSCO trend seems to be to mostly just teenage girls being teenaged girls with the added commercial reach and reinforcement of social media. 

When I was twelve, horrifyingly enough, it was all about disco and Sasoon Jeans. Who among us remembers Sasoon Jeans? Anyone?

Moving on: 

It seemed to me that Deadpool and John Wick would appreciate a laid back surf aesthetic. Wade’s already halfway there with the Croc’s...though he does need some shoe charms.

But what do the sea turtles think about all this?

Happy Bomb Pop Day/ Throwback Thursday

Happy Last Thursday in June

(It’s National Bomb Pop Day,

Did you know?)

Unfortunately there is no fresh napkin for this year’s observance of this important holiday, so we are revisiting some from days past.

Deadpool was sucking food coloring through his mask back in 2017.

The Minions were offering a treat to Thanos the same year.

....And then to a Tyrannosaurus in 2015.
The Velociraptors date from last summer, but they are out of chronological order because I forgot about them.

And the Predator and Alien were celebrating the Fourth of July with Uncle Sam way back in 2013.

Our kids aren’t much interested in Bomb Pops these days. 

It’s hard to eat one in front of the PlayStation. 

You can see all the past Bomb Pop posts here

 

 

DeadPooh and Cable Too

Consider yourself pounced.

Having sat through the “Christopher Robin” movie preview a couple of times now, listening to Ewan McGregor say, “POOH!” repeatedly....well, it seemed like we had to have a DeadPooh.

I was thinking about pairing him with Spider-Tigger-Man, or maybe Wolverine/Tigger, (too much claw similarity) but our younger son thought Cable was a better bet. 

Perhaps I was just trying to avoid the additional labor of figuring out what Cable was wearing in Deadpool 2 and exactly what his arm looked like.

As it was, I neglected to draw the stuffed bear on his belt...but perhaps that would have been redundant...or meta?

Deadpool Goes Full Winnie The Pooh

Deadpool Goes Full Winnie the Pooh

Amid the avalanche of pop culture references in Deadpool 2, there is a memorable one to the honey loving denizen of the hundred acre wood.

The reference comes up after Deadpool has been torn in half and is home regrowing his lower body as a pair of toddler legs with adjacent little kid anatomy.  Like the name checked bear, Wade is only wearing a shirt.  And there is also a “Basic Instinct” reference. I’ll leave it there.

Yes, so very inappropriate for family viewing.  That was the point of course.

But I find the display of male body parts in a mainstream movie in a non sexual (and non violent) context to be not entirely a bad thing. 

I realize this may not be a popular sentiment. There is a thicket of gender issues here that I will resist wading into today. But suffice it to say, while the Deadpool film franchise certainly prides itself on boundary pushing, it troubles me less than most R rated action movies as it is not so steeped in misogynistic imagery.

For the napkin, of course the pants had to be on, so the Pooh reference had to be shifted a bit....but the DeadPooh possibilities are there... My kids were not big Winnie the Pooh fans back in the day. (They preferred Curious George)

But, like most small children, they did enjoy reclining on the couch without pants. 

Turbo and Deadpool

The super speed healing man and the super speed mollusc:

We still haven’t seen Deadpool 2 yet. 

My sons are suffering mightily. 

And loudly.

But we did see the more age appropriate snail with Deadpool’s voice way back in 2013.

(Did you remember that Ryan Reynolds was Turbo? 

Are you now as irritated as my sons were when I reminded them?)

Mercenary/ Furry Acroyogo

Aspirational Yoga: Wade and Cuddle Team Leader get their namaste on. (Characters our kids have been deprived of do some acroyoga that we are not capable of)

Deadpool 2 opened and somehow we haven’t seen it yet. I haven’t figured out how I am going to fast forward through the parts inappropriate for an 11 year old in the theater.

And, curmudgeon that I am, I refused to give my older son $20 to purchase the Cuddle Team Leader skin in Fortnite.

But I drew this napkin. 

Because every mother wants provide her sons with an picture of an amoral violent superhero and a sexy furry...?

Deadpool and Jack Jack

Successful Childcare Always Requires Some Invulnerability...or at the very least accelerated healing.

Deadpool 2 and The Incredibles 2 are movies we are looking forward to right now. Our sons like the idea of the multi-super-powered baby running his less super father ragged almost as much as they love the promise of sarcastic violence and inappropriate sexual content in Deadpool.

It seemed to me that, while he might be extremely unqualified to babysit, Wade might be one of the few supers who might survive an evening alone with Jack Jack....without cookies anyway.

My younger son points out that I should have drawn Jack Jack’s lasers blasting through the top of Wade’s head rather than just having set his suit on fire.  

I am sure that would be more, ahem, “accurate” to the nature of the baby’s lasers. And more in keeping with the Deadpool genre. And more appropriate for the childcare theme: taking care of an infant can simultaneously make one feel as if one has brain damage and that one might benefit from a lobotomy. 

But my sons read these posts, so for the record, neither child has ever set one of their parents’ heads on fire, ever. Or been the verifiable cause of definite, diagnosable, parental brain damage.

Not that we couldn’t use some invulnerability and speed healing, both literally and metaphorically.

Unicorn, Raptor, Wade, Rocket and Groot

Much anticipated spring movie characters with weird, awkwardly drawn, pink furry unicorn:

Yes of course we saw the Avengers Infinity War. 

And we will not miss Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, no matter how ridiculous the premise necessary to allow dinosaurs the opportunity to eat humans again.

Deadpool 2 presents another challenge. 

We were able to all watch the first Deadpool movie courtesy of some fancy editing by mom on the iPad. While our eleven year old son has definitely viewed more material inappropriate for his age than I care to admit here... I will probably have to put the popcorn bucket over his head if we see the movie in a theater.

Eight-limbed Monster

(Or, Fleece Onesies Inspire Late Night Hysteria)

When you are a saucy, parent-taunting adolescent, somehow, there is nothing so gratifying as dancing around in an infantalizing fleece suit long after your aggravated parents have insisted you should go to bed.

Our older son previously derived an immeasurable amount of pleasure from refusing to take off his Deadpool onesie for days on end. I’m not convinced that the plastic fleece was really all that comfortable, but it sure irritated his father.  

The skeleton onesie did not inspire quite so much devotion/irritation, but it was definitely good for a joint party of twerking and parent tweaking.

Venompool with Broccoli

Venom and Deadpool continue to be compelling are our house. Gross, immoral anti-heroes (preferably with an R rated movie) are so much more attractive to our kids than the good guys. 

And a combination of the two is particularly winsome. 

Our younger son and I debated whether he should have saliva dripping off his excessively long tongue. Most images of Venompool feature multiple strands of drool.  Nonetheless, we decided the saliva drapery was not an essential component. 

Or maybe I was just concerned that I was not going to be able to render the fluid in a convincing fashion.

But I am certain that Venompool would be salivating in anticipation of eating some broccoli in his school lunch.

Deadpool Wears Deadpool

No better way to annoy your parents than to wear your Deadpool onesie all day long.

Deadpool would. 

Our son found his onesie at Walmart and the rest is history. 

Ongoing history.

The Red Hood and Deadpool

The Red Hood and Deadpool Point Some Fingers Nonviolently:

One cannot help but notice the similar appeal of these two red masked individuals. 

And their visual appeal is intensified when they are holding and pointing their guns. 

I was trying to find a less weaponized arrangement for the two that also explained why they are so close to one another....other than to fit on the napkin...

I thought perhaps the finger trap allowed for some gratifying finger pointing posing without the actual guns.

Maybe.

Unfortunately, it meant I had to draw both of their overly detailed gloves.

Deadpool in Fallout Land

I keep hoping that the pressure to have two napkins ready to go every camp day will lead to some sort of increase in drawing skill if I don't have time to fuss over the individual napkins.

Not so much so far. 

We do have results like this one. It might be a image of what the Deadpool mod looks like in Fallout 4. I did not have time to confirm the details. 

I liked the idea of the giant hammer. And the decomposing Starlight motel sign is always fun. 

My son said it was......ok.

Deadpool Celebrates the 4th of July

Deadpool Celebrates the Fourth of July:

Bomb Pops are definitely more my fixation than that of my sons.  I remember many red, white and blue popsicles from my own childhood. I might have liked them almost as much as fudgsicles. My kids, however, certainly wouldn't say no to one.

They are happy about pretty much anything that comes out of an ice cream truck.  Apparently the truck makes whatever it is taste it so much better. They are totally unmoved by the prospect of fancy gelatos or homemade organic freezer pops or ice creams in interesting flavors. 

Perhaps Deadpool might feel the same.

(Yes, he's sucking it right through his mask. Why not?)

Proposed Sidekicks for Doctor Who in Season 10

Just some suggestions...

Yes, I know that they have already announced who the co stars will be for Peter Capaldi's last season. We even saw the Christmas special.

This napkin post is rather delayed, I am afraid. We had the conversation about who should replace the dear departed Clara quite a while ago. The kids both thought that a new sidekick should be someone other than another young attractive Caucasian woman, but could not agree on what sort of person should be next. I have assembled a cast of their favorites as potential companions.

Doctor Who is not really on our sons' minds right now, but as the tenth season is coming up soon, I thought perhaps it was time to post this one.

My younger son was happy to point out some of the many drawing failings on this one. Deadpool is too small,  the pug in the foreground is awkwardly posed. And, he would like to add that pugs aren't necessarily his favorite dogs right this now.

This napkin is definitely more about quantity rather than quality. Back when I was drawing two napkins a night, I used to have a rule about no more than two characters at a time. It made a lot of sense.

RaptorPool for Dinovember 2016

Or perhaps it is VelociPool?

 (Just not DinoPool, my sons say, as that has already been done.*)

In honor of #Dinovember: A Merc with an extra toothy mouth. (I debated about covering up his mouth, and teeth, with a more accurate mask, but in the end, I just couldn't do it.)

A couple of days ago, I was picking out some images from the last year, and I noticed the overwhelming prevalence of Deadpool napkins. So here is yet another.

A classmate of my older son was over for a visit recently, and I overheard him declaring that Deadpool was the only superhero that still interested him at his advanced age of 14.  While my sons are still compelled by other supers, Deadpool definitely stands out for them also.

Wade is the only superhero with a R rated movie... Could there be a connection?

*The T-Rex DinoPool in "Deadpool Kills Deadpool" from 2013, which also featured the much-beloved-at-our-house PandaPool.

Red From Angry Birds with Deadpool

Better Red than Dead?

(Two wisecracking red and black guys who are strangely indestructible)

Our sons were perfectly happy to see the Angry Birds Movie last weekend.
But they still would prefer to see the R rated Deadpool movie.

Rocket Raccon, Captain America and Deadpool

What did you have for lunch today?
I had a Cap' Sandwich!

Our sons certainly enjoyed watching "Captain America: Civil War" last weekend. But they did not seem as outright giddy as they have been after the viewing of various other much promoted and anticipated superhero blockbusters. Perhaps that is partly due to superhero blockbuster fatigue? It hasn't been so long since Batman and Superman squared off, and the next X-men iteration is breathing its hot breath on our necks already.

But I think that the absence of their usual overwhelming enthusiasm had something to do with the somewhat serious tone of the movie and the lack of talking animals or extensive comic relief. Their main gripe afterward was that there hadn't been enough screen time for Spider Man and Ant Man.

In other words, perhaps "Civil War" would have benefited from a little Rocket or Deadpool.

The "Sandwich" joke appears to be a thing in my husband's family. Two people, usually sitting on a couch, sidle up to an unsuspecting person, usually a child. One asks the other, "What did you have for lunch today?"  The second responds, "A insert-name-of-victim-here, SANDWICH!" Hilarious (or extremely annoying) body compression follows. This sort of thing did not go on in my childhood home. (We did not do the "You've got something on your shirt" thing either.)

Perhaps Steve Rodgers would have a jovial disposition about such pranks. But it seems possible that Rocket and Wade might be a bit much for his taste.....
But Marvel/Disney does own all of these characters. So you never know. It could happen.

Pikachu Zaps Deadpool

Maybe it's best if relations are not too warm and fuzzy.

We recently read some of "Deadpool Volume 5: Wedding of Deadpool," during which Wade and his new bride, Shiklah, (who Is literally a man-eating demon) fight some Pokemon-like creatures over a briefcase full of cash. Deadpool says something like, "you follow that guy, and I'll stay here and kill Pikachu." The Pokemon creature in the comic doesn't much resemble Pikachu...but the kids and I agreed, why not Deadpool and Pikachu?

I thought maybe their relationship should look a bit less combative, if not entirely positive. Given Deadpool's behavior with unicorns in the recent movie, it might be wise to keep the relationship slightly unfriendly.

(Pikachu never seems to lose his charm as far as the kids are concerned- See all of the Pikachu napkins here)

Totoro Sits on Deadpool

"Insert snarky comment here"

Our younger son has developed a sudden intense desire to watch the movie "My Neighbor Totoro." I suspect this interest somehow came from a YouTube video, but I cannot identify the exact source. Unfortunately "Totoro" appears to only be available on DVD, and our TV and DVD player stopped communicating with one another about a year ago. The kids are utterly mystified- "HOW can this movie not be available on Netflix or ITunes?  In their universe, all video entertainment is available at all times.

As a stopgap measure to satisfy the Totoro craving, I picked up a used copy of a four volume graphic novel composed of stills from the movie. The direct import of movie stills into the book leads to some oddities. There is not a lot of dialogue in the movie, but there are a lot of sound effects. These are reproduced graphically in Japanese text with an index of english translations in the back- many pages of tiny text translations of "tmp, tmp, tmp,"  "VROOSH" and the like.

And certain images in the book seem a little odd or awkward because they were isolated out of a stream of animation. In the flow of the movie, one would not be able to dwell on them, but in the book, one can.

One such image which particularly drew my sons' attention was the dangling furry testicles of the flying "CatBus" character. In the context of the movie, his endowment might be a brief visual joke, if one noticed at all... but in the book, one can dwell on the image at length, particularly if testicles are of special interest.

Earlier on in the book, I had explained that Japanese culture feels generally a bit more relaxed about the anatomical realities of the human body than we do here in the puritanical United States. There is a scene where the Dad hangs out naked in the bathtub with his two female children which would probably not appear in an episode of "Dora the Explorer" or "Inside/Out."  But the CatBus scrotum seemed a bit extra credit anyway.  As my sons were quick to point out, he did not appear to have a penis.

The CatBus anatomy of course led to conjecture about Totoro's genitals, or lack thereof.
So when it came time to draw Totoro comically sitting on top of Deadpool, I decided that Wade had better be on his stomach and not potentially getting a face full of furry dangly bits.

My sons told me that I should have just drawn Deadpool's head sticking out instead, and that he should have a speech bubble that says "insert snarky comment here."
As usual, they were correct.