Fans of recent Spider-Man are going to hate me, but when reading this issue the most prominent thought that comes to me is “Spider-Man is back” and “Spidey is Spidey”. Kids, this is Spider-Man, as sure as if it was Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz giving us a throwdown with Spidey and the Sinister Six. I know that legendary names like Ditko and Romita are part of Spidey’s past, but I have been unable to really buy Spider-Man as character since I stopped reading the comic (at the time my favorite character) back in the ’90s a little after Todd McFarlane left Amazing Spider-Man(coincidentally, I think it was an Erik Larsen story arc about the Sinister Six). Sure, I’ve enjoyed New Avengers as much as the next reader, but I don’t do so directly due to presence of Spider-Man, which considering the character’s status in my eyes has to be viewed as a letdown.

This is why you should – the parent – should be buying Spider-Man & the Secret Wars even if you’re not in fact a a parent. It plays into the ’80s Secret Wars stories that molded each and every comic fan that is now between the ages of 25-35. Do you remember this sweet cover?

What happen after (and before—giving readers a rather strong recap) is where Spider-Man & the Secret Wars#1 lives. Spidey is the focus and essentially our eyes (and mouth) in the story. Paul Tobin (the writer) is impressive; in one issue putting his story out there while still having room to clearly lay out basic premises that have made Marvel work for decades:

• Cap is a leader
• Hulk is strong
• Reed is smart

As to the first, Spidey (Tobin) gives it to us in one line

“One thing about arguing with Captain America…it means you’re probably wrong.”

The second is illustrated via mountain upside your head, and the third when Reed goes genius-level MacGyver. You throw in Spidey who is used as a vehicle to ask questions that we may have not asked as kids, but now would as adults. He does this, however, do so in a manner that is not demeaning or belittling to our former selves. It instead catches us up to what kids today would have ask!

What’s great about this issue (and Secret Wars) is you can do all of the above because the premise is as easy to explain as it is awesome. Heroes, Villains, Battleworld. The art by Patrick Scherberger does what art is supposed to do– establish place, a desire to be there, and all while finding this visual middle-ground that offers characters that generations can share.

I enjoy the current Marvel Comics well enough, this first issue of Spider-Man & the Secret Wars reminded me of how much more I – and may always – loved the me that was reading comics when I was a kid.

Thanks for that.

Check out a PREVIEW of this issue!

This is the big day, the one that ABC Family is probably looking forward to the most.  Tonight we get Santa Baby at 6 PM and then at 8 PM we have the premiere of the ABC Family original movie, Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe.  A good premise, with Mary (Jenny McCarthy) having to decide between her life in New York City and the family business of being part of the Santa family.  I have always liked Jenny McCarthy and thought she did a good job in Santa Baby, so it is no surprise that ABC Family has decided to go with a sequal.  The story is a bit different take on Santa and Christmas, and brings some of the modern world to the old school charm of the North Pole.  I look forward to seeing the disgruntled elf make some waves in an effort to take over the holiday.

(6:00-8:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA BABY
In the ABC Family holiday movie “Santa Baby,” Mary Class (Jenny McCarthy) is a highly driven business executive whose great success is acknowledged by everyone but her father, who just happens to be Santa Claus (George Wendt). Tired of not being recognized for her ideas on modernizing Christmas, Mary flees to the big city, not only leaving home, but also abandoning her loyal local boyfriend, Luke (Ivan Sergei). Four years later, after learning that Santa has fallen ill and is having trouble finishing preparations for Christmas, Mary eagerly returns home to the North Pole to implement her innovative ideas. This year is going to be Mary’s Christmas. (Live Action)

(8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA BABY 2: CHRISTMAS MAYBE – ABC Family Original Movie Premiere
Jenny McCarthy reprises her role as Mary Class, Santa’s business minded daughter, starring alongside Paul Sorvino and Dean McDermott. Santa (Sorvino) is in the midst of a late-life crisis and is ready to pass on the reins to Mary, who is torn between taking over the family business and running her own high stakes firm in New York City, all the while trying to balance her relationship with the love of her life, Luke (McDermott). The situation gets increasingly dire when a disgruntled former elf, Teri (Kelly Stables), in cunning disguise, sows dissension at the North Pole in an effort to take over Christmas. (Live Action)

Folks we are officially on the other side of the hump, with ABC Family’s 25 days of Christmas being half way over.  I know my kids are excited, because that just means that we are getting ever closer to Christmas.

Time recently released their various Top Ten of 2009 lists and among them are their Top 10 Children’s Book choices. I like seeing Jane Yolen up there (#7), and I do dig Adam Rex art (#2). Good tool or pointer to use with other lists – like the School Library Journal’s or Nick Jr’s. – to find the right book!

• Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
• Guess Again by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Adam Rex
• Dogs Don’t Brush Their Teeth by Diane de Groat and Shelley Rotner
• Crow Call by Lois Lowry; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
• Elephants Cannot Dance! by Mo Willems
• Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman
• How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• Pick a Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! by Judy Cox, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
• The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket; illustrated by Carson Ellis; music (accompanying CD) by Nathaniel Stookey
• The Snow Day by Komako Sakai

You can check out the breakdown of each book by Amy Lennard Goehner over at Time.

More Toy Story 3! To go on your 2010 want list with the Toy Story Ready, Set, Draw!, Amazon now has a pre-order listing for Charles Solomon’s The Art of Toy Story 3 (from Chronicle Books). It has a release/ship date of May 26, 2010.

What’s it about?

Pixar’s next leap forward will take viewers back to the story that started it all. This summer, Woody, Buzz, Rex, Slinky Dog, and thousands of toy soldiers alongside a surprising cast of new toys are set to return to the big screen in Toy Story 3. Internationally renowned animation historian Charles Solomon takes readers through the technical challenges, triumphs, and emotional hurdles that faced the Pixar team as they developed the toys’ final adventure. The Art of Toy Story 3 includes an extended introduction showcasing the art and story development behind the first two films, a special gatefold of Toy Story 3 color scripts, as well as a gallery of over 250 pieces of concept art. This deluxe volume provides a memorable narrative of the entire Toy Story trilogy.

Over at Chronicle they reveal that The Art of Toy Story 3 will includea preface by John Lasseter and a foreword by Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson. The dimensions are 11 x 9 (inches), has 160 pages, and includes full-color photographs and illustrations.

Who is Lotso? Well let me repeat some stuff posts we did over at BSCreview earlier this year real quick to get up! Back in May, Jonas Rivera, who who was a producer on Pixar’s Up told MTV that a new Toy Story 3 character could be found within their (then) recently released promo footage for Up. Where? Pixar is known to be masters of the Easter Eggs, and well fill you in with video and more below.

There’s a shot where a little girl is in her room and the house goes by,” the producer said of a seemingly simple reaction scene near the beginning of the film, in which a young girl is surprised by the flying house soaring past her bedroom. “She’s playing with her toys. She’s playing with her little plane. She gets up, and she looks [out the window] – under her bed is one of the new stars of ‘Toy Story 3’.”

Later in the month it was reported by that the character’s name was indeed “Lotso” and is a probably bady in Toy Story 3 (a lot of digging was done by /Film that month)! For the first time I’m aware of the character is featured with the other big characters of the film – Woody and Buzz – on the cover of Random House’s, Ready, Set, Draw!.

Over at Amazon UK this has an August, 2010 release date! If you need more Toy Story 3 now, go watch the trailer and check out the new promo image from the movie!

Selena Gomez twitted that the video for her latest single “Naturally” is out! It’s on twitvideo for you to watch now! You may remember that earliee we posted a sneak peek and some images from the shoot. For those of you who aren’t on twitter, go below as we found the video on Youtube (via BSCreview)

Naturally is from Selena’s debut album Kiss and Tell, and is her second single from it.

I am mister nostalgia, so that makes me notoriously hard on new Christmas specials, all you have to do is look at some of my other reviews.  So I set my expectation for Yes, Virginia low so I would not be disappointed.  Well I was very wrong, Yes, Virginia has become an instant classic for me and my family.  It has all the things needed to push it to that classic level, great story, characters you care for, and a Christmas message that does not have to be seen with a magnifying glass.

“YES, VIRGINIA”, is a new animated Christmas special based on the 1897 true story of Virginia O’Hanlon, an 8-year-old girl who inspired the most famous newspaper editorial of all time by asking, “Is there a Santa Claus?” This heartwarming tale of a little girl who taught the whole world to believe makes its television debut on Friday, Dec. 11th (8/7c), on CBS.

So, instant classic, let us talk a bit more why I really liked this show so much.  The first one we can talk about is the animation.  It really looks like it will stand the test of time, the characters are animated, but in a way that is well done and does not seem as CGI as some holiday specials do.  The people and the town are alive and this puts you right into the story with these characters.  The one thing you do not want animation to do is keep you outside of the story, and you do not have to worry about that with Yes, Virginia.  The question I ask myself is, “Will I feel the same way about the animation in 40 years like I do about the  Rankin/Bass stop motion specials?”  I believe that my answer will be yes for this show, which is saying something special.

The characters of Yes, Virginia all feel real, you are put into one story of their life but you can feel that they have existed before you have started watching and after you turn off the television.  Virginia and Ollie, while not related, play a great brother and sister roll in late 1800s New York City.  Virginia’s mother and father give us the ruled by reason (father) and ruled by her heart (mother) personalities that keep Virginia always thinking.  Charlotte the snooty rich kid is older than Virginia and Ollie and looks down on them for wanting to believe in Santa.  It is interesting because this special really does not have a villian character but rather Charlotte and Francis Church playing the rolls of non-believers which works well.  Francis Church is the editor of the New York Sun and initially dismisses Virginia’s letter.  That is before Scraggly Santa, who was once a reporter for the Sun and now raises money for the poor, gets to Francis.  He is really the star of the show, teaching us (and the characters) what Christmas is really all about.  Let us not forget Miriam, the head librarian at the New York City Library, who lends us an informative and fun scene in the library on how each country has its own version of Santa Claus.

Scraggly Santa is the embodiment of Christmas, thinking only of the poor and how he can help people.  A very touching scene is made when Virginia goes out of her way to buy him a new coat after he has given his to someone less fortunate than himself.  The story itself has a nice flow, and I even did not mind the “believe meter” being thrown in to viewing audience to gauge where Virginia is at with her emotions.  Every character in the story has a purpose, and the way that it all comes together is like a jigsaw puzzle, the overall picture being that of Christmas spirit.  The ending is also done perfect with just a glimpse of what we should believe to be Santa, but no words are necessary.  The fact that this was all based on a true story makes it even more enjoyable.

The only thing for me, and it will seem silly, that was a concern is making sure your kids do not fall asleep before the ending.  The reason is that we have a a lot of talk about Santa not being real in the beginning leading up to the wonderful ending.  I would have hated for my kids to only hear the beginning and not see how it all worked out in the end.  Silly?  Probably, but just my thought.  Also the little things, like the pop up book, are icing on the cookies.  I also liked how Charlotte had a change of heart at the end as well,  I enjoyed her roll during the show, they did not overdo it.  For me, Yes, Virginia is a classic, and I look forward to watching it next year.

You could pretty much watch ABC Family all day today and really get in the festive spirit. They have a huge block of Christmas specials from 7 AM to midnight. During prime time tonight we get Santa Clause 2 and Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, both likable holiday shows.  Really though, if you are around during the day, that is where the magic is going to happen.  I want to point out one of the most moving holiday shows of the season, Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.  I do not know too many people that can watch this without being moved.  Also  The Little Drummer Boy makes his appearance of the season on Saturday as well.

(6:00-8:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA CLAUSE 2 – (*See Friday, December 11, for description.)

(8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE – (*See Tuesday, December 1, for description.)

So while Saturday night is a repeat of some shows shown earlier in the season, the day is chock full of goodness.

Haven’t seen these on Amazon but the Disney just listed Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray editions available for pre-order at the Disney Store! The store lists them as shipping on March 23, 2010.

What’s in the Toy Story Special Edition Blu-ray:

Toy Story Feature
Toy Story 3 Sneak Peek: ”The Story”
Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: Blast Off
Paths to Pixar: Artists
Studio Stories: John?s Car
Studio Stories: Baby AJ
Studio Stories: Scooter Races
Buzz Takes Manhattan
Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw Plus original DVD features

What’s in the Toy Story 2 Special Edition Blu-ray:

Director commentary
Blu-ray Live-portal
Toy Story 3 sneak peek: ”The Characters”
Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: International Space Station
Paths to Pixar: Technical Artists
Studio Stories: Toy Story 2 Sleep Deprivation Lab
Studio Stories: Pinocchio
Studio Storyies: The Movie Vanishes
Pixar’s Zoetrope
Celebrating our friend Joe Ranft

Check out the listing for Toy Story here, and for its sequel here. Great gift those first quarter 2010 birthdays!

If you’re pumped and need more now, make sure you check out the recent promo image and international trailer we posted of Toy Story 3!

We have this preview of Marvel Superhero Squad#4 from Marvel Comics. Unfortunately it didn’t come with any more info (and nothing else is online). At Kids we turn negatives into positives though, and will just call this BSCkids exclusive! What you need to know is this issue will be out in stores on December 16th. I’m assuming it’s written by Paul Tobin, as he’s been the writer for this series, but let me confirm before saying for sure.

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