Author: Maddy and Anya Ernst

Tweeks: Go Go Power Rangers Dino Force!

On August 29th, Saban’s Power Rangers Dino Charge returns to Nickelodeon for another season of prehistoric-era Power Rangers excitement. Basically, in Dino Charge there are these Paragon Prisms which were given to a dozen dinosaurs for safe keeping by an alien, but they were lost when asteroids hit the Earth. So, now in present day, an intergalactic bounty hunter has come to Earth to try to find them to harness the power and, of course, destroy the world. If we are unfairly profiling, let us know, but in our experience, intergalactic bounty hunters usually tend to cause more harm than good. But thankfully, a team of Power Rangers formed to find the Prisms, use their power for good, and fight threats – such as the aforementioned bounty hunter, but other badies too.

We were excited to be invited back to the Power Ranger Power Lounge at San Diego Comic Con this year, where we got to get to know the Dino Charge cast. Brennan Mejia (Tyler/Red Ranger), Yoshua Sudarso (Koda/Blue Ranger), James Davies (Chase/Black Ranger), Michael Taber (Riley/Green Ranger), Camille Hyde (Shelby/Pink Ranger), and Claire Blackwelder (Kendall Morgan) were all super nice. But even better than that we got to bond over fandoms. Yoshua Sudarso, as you will see is a totally Tweeks approved fanboy, but we were also impressed by the other Rangers pop culture enthusiasm. You’ll have to watch to see who is as excited about the Hunger Games stars as we are and who is all about Arrow & The Flash. We also find out what to expect with the new season (new rangers, new colors, new Zords).

It’s Morphin Time….Unleash the Power!

 

Tweeks: The Graveyard Book Shouldn’t Get Buried (Week 4 #ChallengedChallenge)

It’s Week Four, which means we are at the half-way mark of the ComicMix Challenged Challenge. This week we take on The Graveyard Book Vol. 1, the graphic novel based on Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. This witty and compelling story was enhanced by P. Craig Russell’s graphic adaptation which includes amazing artwork by different artists in each chapter. We couldn’t help but love this book. We also couldn’t help but be confused as to why the CBLDF had to defend this touching book about a boy being raised by ghosts from being banned at a middle school. As middle schoolers ourselves, we don’t get it. We think maybe those who were so concerned with a few panels of blood missed the point of the story altogether.  Not to mention that for the genre and for our age group, this book is not in the least bit shocking. Watch our discussion about why this book deserves to be read by everyone who choses to do so.

Tweeks: VidCon 2015 Wrapup

Last week, we attended the VidCon. It was started in a Los Angeles hotel by John & Hank Green (The Vlogbrothers) and now in its 6th year, VidCon has grown to take up the Anaheim Convention Center with about 20,000 attendees.  This probably isn’t on most ComicMix readers’ radars, but it should be.  Online video and its creators and fans too are  taking over the world. Seriously. The YouTube Famous are stars to billions (with a B).  They are our generation’s A-list celebrities and at VidCon they walk the con floor and meet their fans and so there are lots of teenage girls who freak out and lose their minds in a screaming fit.  There’s also people in the online video industry upstairs learning stuff.  We had a great time and were able to meet some of our favorite YouTubers.  The video tells the story, as it should being about a video convention and all.

Tweeks: Read “This One Summer” This Summer: #ChallengedChallenge Week 3

For week #3 of the ComicMix Challenged Challenge, we discuss This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki.  This Caldecott Medal winner was challenged because some over-conscended parents didn’t bother to read the book jacket, assumed this ages 12 & up recommended book was meant for their young readers. Duh!  So, yeah, we talk about that, why we loved the book, and what might be questionable if you are worried about the subject matter for you kids.  Watch and learn and definitely read This One Summer!

Tweeks: SDCC 2015 Part 2: The Haul!

This week is our 2nd San Diego Comic Con Recap…and our HAUL!  See all our stuff (well, most of our stuff) we got at the con, watch us play KISS pinball,  & hear our exciting stories about the Scholastic Party, meeting Jem, the fashionably nerdy mixer,  Holland Roden, Snoopy & Belle in fashion, & a lot of other stuff.

 

Tweeks: Drama Over Drama #ChallengedChallenge Week 2

It’s Week #2 of the Comic Mix Challenged Challenge! We talk about Drama by Raina Telgemeier, why some parents wanted to ban in school libraries, and why this drama over Drama isn’t about “sexual inappropriateness” it’s about homophobia. As middle schoolers (8th grade in the Fall, y’all) who are active in drama club, we break down why Raina got this book totally right & why people need to catch a clue as to what actual kids can and cannot handle. Spend an ordinary day in even the best middle school and you’ll quickly realize your kids see/hear/say/do many things more shocking. We suggest perhaps banning middle school.

Anyway, watch our video, learn about why this book is a great read for kids 8 & up, and support organizations like the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund so that all parents can have the choice to choose what their kids read.

Oh and also….when is someone going to make a movie based on this book? We need a movie! Or a TV show on ABC Family.

Tweeks: SDCC Report Part 1

It’s hard to believe Comic Con was a week ago because we’re still tired from all that running around, squee-ing, shopping, interviewing, and nerding it up.  Here’s a our video report full of our favorites from Hall H (Mocking Jay, Supernatural, Doctor Who), Maddy asking John Barrowman to sing as Captain Jack, the Welcome To Night Vale Tumblr Meetup, and other assorted vloggy goodness. But never fear, there was so much going on last week that this is only Part 1.  We will be back later with our haul, interviews, and observations.

Tweeks: Banning Bone is Boneheaded #ChallengedChallenge

Welcome to Week 1 of the ComicMix Challenged Challenge, where we take a different book on the CBLDF’s list of the most challenged & banned comic books for young readers and we break down the reasons why it might be on the list. We also give it a quick review and discuss some of the main issues.

This week we talk about Bone: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith. This is a book we have loved since we were 8 years old and truly is the book that introduced us to graphic novels. It’s a story about strangers in a strange land and in telling of Bone and his cousins, kids gets some examples of the consequences that can result when you aren’t well-behaved.

Spoiler Alert: We think it’s crazy that this book would even be considered being banned. Watch our episode to see why.

Tweeks: SDCC 2015

Greetings from San Diego Comic Con 2015!  Last night we attended Preview Night and Maddy thinks this is going to be the best Con ever (and as you’ll see, we have quite a history at SDCC).  We will be documenting the next four days full of interviews and panels and shopping on Twitter, Facebook & Periscope, so make sure to follow us. But until then, here’s our vlog where we eat animal cookies & talk about our most anticipate panels and what you can do here in town if you weren’t lucky enough to get a badge.  There’s actually a lot of great fun free stuff happening in the Gaslamp, like a Tumblr Welcome To Night Vale meetup, a Snoopy & Belle boutique, an X-Men fan screening and free breakfasts courtesy of Impractical Jokers.

Tweeks: Teen Beach 2 Because Disney

Full Disclosure:  We are obsessed with Disney Channel musicals.  And who can blame us?  It looks like a lot of people (of all ages) are too. Disney knows what they are doing with the genre and according to the Disney Channel last Friday night’s Teen Beach Movie 2 was its biggest cable TV original movie of this year & the most-watched TV telecast in nearly 2 years in the youth demos.  It was watched by 7.5 million total viewers — and only 3.2 million were kids (6-11), 2.8 million tweens (9-14) in the Live +3 ratings.  There were 13.3 million total viewers during the weekend encores.  That kind of makes the sequel to 2013’s Teen Beach Movie starring Maia Mitchell & Ross Lynch a definitive summer event for our demographic.  If you want to be able to have something to talk to kids, tweens & teens this summer (besides our #ComicMixChallengedChallenge) our video will tell you all you need to know.  Though if you also love a good musical movie or have a soft spot for Frankie & Annette beach movies, we bet you’ll enjoy this too — at any age.

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