‘Across the Spider-Verse’ Stars Brian Tyree Henry & Luna Lauren Velez on Super Parenting

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was unlike any other Spider-Man film we’ve seen before. It was a highly dynamic cinematic experience that used a variety of animation styles and techniques to deliver something wildly psychedelic and separated itself from the rest of its animation studio rivals.

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‘Don’t Make Me Go’ Cast/Director on Telling a Universal Story about Parenthood and Grief

Talking about illness or death is not an easy subject for many families, especially for people of color. In Hannah Marks’ Don’t Make Me Go, John Cho plays Max, a single father who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is given less than a year to live.

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Interview with ‘Batman and Robin and Howard’ Author Jeffrey Brown

Damian Wayne has many fans. The popular Arab American character, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al-Ghul, is an adorable crime-fighting — and previously murderous kid — whose fundamental charm and sincere desire to do good has captured the hearts of many DC fans, so much so that he has a current ongoing series. But we don’t see enough of Damian’s school life. When does he get to be a regular pre-teen who gets to have fun at school and make friends?

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‘Turning Red’ Features Pixar’s First Asian-Led Film

Turning Red is a big deal. It’s the first time a full-length Pixar film has featured an Asian protagonist and primarily centers on Asian characters. It’s also the first Pixar film to be fully directed solo by a woman, and the first by a woman of color, with the brilliant Domee Shi, who brought us the now-classic Oscar-winning Bao. And that’s not even the half of it!

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After 25 Years and Zero Games Played, My Father Remains the Ultimate Gamer

The other day, my father noticed one of the PC games I was playing and was pretty stunned — not just at the graphics but the overall presentation of gaming today. Growing up, the computer in our home was mostly used for homework, school projects, and of course, Math Blaster. I don’t know that my father knows how deep the rabbit hole of PC gaming goes, or its history, but he remains one of the single most significant figures in introducing video games to me.

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‘Adora and the Distance’ is an Inspiration

The classic “Hero’s Journey” is probably one of the most common and cliche methods of storytelling in media. It’s everywhere, and pretty hard to avoid, as the foreword for Adora and the Distance demonstrates. From Star Wars to Back to the Future, the majority of tales out there feature the classic story of a (usually white male) protagonist going on an impossible journey in order to stop the forces of evil from ruining his life as he knows it. 

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Marc Bernardin and Ariela Kristantina Present ‘Adora and The Distance’

Just in time for Father’s Day is award-winning writer and FatMan Beyond co-host Marc Bernardin’s first ever YA graphic novel Adora and The Distance. The novel is inspired by Bernardin’s daughter who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and tells a deeply beautiful and personal tale of adventure, courage, and mystery. The novel follows the goings-on of young Adora as her fantastical world of pirates, giants, and ghosts comes under threat by a mysterious force called “The Distance.”

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‘Made In Korea’ Review: Parents By Proxy

Every so often there comes a comic that manages to pique my interest almost instantly. A book that catches my eye before I’m even finished with the first panel, let alone the first page.

That’s the case with Made in Korea, a new six-issue limited series written by Jeremy Holt and George Shall.

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See the Emotional New Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Fatherhood’ Starring Kevin Hart

The heartwarming, funny, and emotional new Netflix film, based on an inspiring true story, has Kevin Hart taking on one of the toughest jobs in the world: fatherhood. Fatherhood is described as the inspirational true story of a father who must raise his daughter on his own. A film about overcoming grief and growing up… together.

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Kevin Hart’s ‘Fatherhood’ is Coming This Father’s Day Weekend

Netflix has the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day weekend. Fatherhood is described as the inspirational true story of a father who must raise his daughter on his own. A film about overcoming grief and growing up… together.

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Nicole Walters Talks USA’s New Reality Show ‘She’s The Boss’

She’s The Boss follows Nicole Walters, an ambitious, jet-setting entrepreneur who runs a multi-million dollar marketing empire and her husband, Josh Walters, a quirky and devoted stay-at-home lawyer. The modern-day family is made complete with the couples’ three lovely adopted … Continue reading Nicole Walters Talks USA’s New Reality Show ‘She’s The Boss’

On Mirrors, Doorways, and ‘Abominable’ Snowmen

As a multiracial Asian American parent raising multiracial Asian American daughters in a media landscape much different from the one in which I grew up, I often think about how the images and role models, both fictional and real, to which they have access may shape their imaginations, aspirations, and ideas of what is possible. The decades-long discourse around diversity, and the lack thereof, in children’s literature and media, often starts with the idea of the importance of mirrors in which children can see themselves, their worlds, and their life experiences reflected back to them, especially in the form of textual and multimedia representations both performed and created by people like them. But more and more, as my children get older and become able to both converse with texts as fans and critics and become creators and producers of texts in their own right, I find myself thinking about the need to go beyond reflective mirrors or even windows through which different possibilities may be glimpsed. We need doorways through which we can step to create new realities. This may seem a slight distinction, but it’s one whose importance I’m learning from my children day by day.

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Talking with the Cast of ‘Shazam!’ on Incredible Kid Day

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend “Incredible Kid Day!” with the cast of Shazam! in Hollywood! The event, sponsored by Warner Bros., Camp Fire, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Kizuna, and Jack and Jill of America, was organized to celebrate the achievements of some of the most impressive youths in the Southern California region, in such areas as science, sports, academia, and responsible citizenship.

Helping these kids celebrate their wonderful achievements were Marta Milans (Rosa), Jovan Armand (Pedro), Grace Fulton (Mary), Ian Chen (Eugene), and Faithe Herman (Darla), who play Billy Batson and Freddie Freeman’s adopted family in the movie. The cast passed out awards and the kids were able to take one-on-one pictures with the whole crew following the conclusion of the ceremony.

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Right Here, Right ‘Bao’

Oakland and the surrounding East Bay Area is a welcoming, casual town. The standard uniform of jeans and a hoodie is a ticket to pretty much anywhere: a Warriors game, a UC Berkeley lecture hall (as a student or even as the professor), a Michelin-star restaurant, R&B paint night at the Complex. The few exceptions are three-fold: the Piedmont School District, an available slice of sweet potato pie at Lois the Pie Queen after 10:00 AM, and Pixar Animation Studios.

I have lived in the East Bay for more than twelve years, and I have never gotten closer than peering through the iron gates while driving past to get my son to badminton practice. Until now.

To celebrate the upcoming in-home release of Bao and Incredibles 2, Pixar opened their gates to The Nerds of Color as well as other media outlets for dinner and interview opportunities with their creators.

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Southern Fried Asian: Susie Reynolds Reece

Since May is both Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and National Mental Health Awareness month, Keith speaks with Susie Reynolds Reece, the founder of Suicide Prevention Allies, the author of Children’s Guide to Parenting, and the original “Southern Fried Asian.”

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Know Yourself: One Happy Parent

As a long-term comic head, I have become enamored of every type of comic book. I have horror, Classics Illustrated, science fiction, traditional superhero, and tons of international comics in more long boxes than I can count. The one comic lane I could never get in to: educational comics. I love the old Civil Rights, How Toons, and history comic books. What I could not stand were the ‘this is how the digestive tract works’ or ‘let’s wind our way through the eyeball’ offerings. This would seem to be in direct opposition of my cheerleading the use of comics in educational settings. Hey, I’m complex. As a parent, my dislike has curdled to disdain.

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Shawn’s New Site and Podcast

Hello, Family

I know I’ve been posting here infrequently, but I have a very good reason. I’ve been working on my site and my podcast over at www.uncleshawn.com. When I was growing up, and when I became a father, I searched for things that spoke to my navigating manhood, masculinity, and fatherhood. Nothing commented on my experience. The things I found were too white, too patriarchal, too classist, or just plain crap. I’m creating what I wish I had when I was on my search to make sense of my shifting ideas about masculinity and fatherhood.

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