Moving, Superheroes and other Really Cool Stuff!!

Hi once again all those in the "Land of Blog" tis The Master of Disaster Ninja Librarian Bill coming straight at ya!!!! Well the weekend of July 24th, I officially moved to Lumberton, North Carolina. My new job is "Youth Services Librarian" for The Robeson County Library System!!!!! My wife, our 3 cats and myself finally found a place to live so we are all finally under one roof. I want to thank all my friends who helped me move from Rock Hill, South Carolina to Lumberton, North Carolina. One of those special people who helped was Iron Carl, so I have written an ode to him:

Where I work now!!!!!!!!








Ode To Iron Carl -

Library Ninja Bill was in trouble for sure,

Had to move a long way with nowhere to turn,

In his hour of need who should appear? Why Iron Carl with family right there.

They travelled to Rock Hill and vanquished heavy furniture, boxes and such. Bill was amazed in the power of him and family and such.

Then to Lumberton they did go and did much more of the same. So here is a toast to my heroes Iron Carl, Catherine and Kalee (Bill is sorry if he has spelled any names wrong)!!!!

 

And now for something completely different!!!

Here are some Graphic Novels I recently finished reading:

Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection by Chris Giarrusso and others - This Graphic Novel collects all the most excellent Mini Marvels adventures in one book. If you like funny, you will love this take off on all of Marvel Comics big super heroes portrayed as kids. Imagine if you will Spider-Man as a paperboy working for the ever irritable Mr. Jameson of The Daily Bugle. Now if working for Mr. Jameson were not bad enough, imagine if the Green Goblin happened to be on your paper route. Even though he subscribes to the paper, every time you try to deliver to him he tries to kill you. Sheesh, it's certainly no picnic trying to deliver the paper to this maniac (and it only gets worst with an assist by Venom). This and other stories such as Kid Wolverine in "Cereal Quest" just trying to to get a box of his most favorite cereal X-Crunch, The Kid Hulk getting too much dating advice from the Kid Avengers, Kid Hawkeye always reminding Kid Iron Man how he defeated him just using arrows against his superior machinery, and much, much more. This GN is a must read for all ages!!!!!

Marvel Adventures: Black Widow and The Avengers by Paul Tobin and Various Artist - Superhero Graphic Novels do not get much better than this one. This GN focuses on some early adventures of the Marvel Comics Superhero Team The Avengers. The team is made up of The Black Widow, Captain America, Iron Man, Nova, Thor, The Vision and Invisible Woman. This GN collects issues Marvel Adventures Super Heroes 17 - 21. Heroes, Villains , Ordinary People are acting strangely throughout the storyline in this book. The Avengers, along with guest appearances from such characters as The Silver Surfer, Diablo, Plant Man, have a real mystery to solve and things are going from bad to worst quickly. Solid storytelling and great art work make this GN a must read. So check it out, hopefully at your local library or comic shop!!!!!

Peace and Love all,

Library Ninja Bill

Books Every Guys Should Read

Hi all you Hep Cats in that cool land a name of "Blog." Tis I, the Slickest Summer Library Ninja of all Bill. To keepo your Summero Readingo interestingo, I have selected, along with some of my buds, some great reads. Here are my supper cool selections (remember to at any time suggest your own by commenting on our post):


I'm the good looking one in the middle!

The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney - Train to be a Spook (to find out what a Spook is exactly ya gotta read man) and fight ghosts, boggarts, witches and other things that go bump in the dark. This series is about a young boy named Tom, who is The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, who is being trained to be a Spook. This is a exciting and scary series assured to make readers turn pages at a startling pace.

The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli Volumes 1 & 2 by Jay Piscope - The first volume of this GN Series introduces us to the main character Capt'n Eli. Many other cool characters (good and bad guys - The Sea Ghost, Circe, Baron Hydro (major bad guy) and his Hydrons, and many more) are packed into this "too cool for school" Series. Coolest character ever, Commander X is also introduced in the first Volume. Cheek em out for action packed adventure!!!!!!!!

Commander X and Circe!!!!!!

Also be sure to check out the online adventures of Commander X by clicking HERE and HERE!!!

The Stoneheart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher - This series is about a 12 year old boy named George and his soon to be friend Edie (a Glint - to find out what that means read the books). While on a school visit to a museum in London, George looses his temper and breaks a small carving of a dragon on the face of the building. He soon finds out that this stupid act has brought him into a London he never knew existed. A London where statues are very much alive and fall, generally, into two categories either Spits or Taints (again to find out what this means you'll have to read the books). A fragile truce lies between them and George finds himself inadvertently breaking said truce and causing all out war between the two fractions. George and Edie meet many allies and enemies throughout this exciting such as The Gunner, The Black Friar, The Sphinxes, Dragons, Gargoyles, a Minotaur, The Clocker, The Walker, among many others. All these characters are wonderful and fascinating; jammed into a fast moving story that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end.

The Tunnels Series by Roderick Gordon & Brian Williams - This series (which has 3 books out so far) rocks!!!! The main character of the book is 14-year-old Will Burrows who along with his archaeologist father, Dr. Burrows, shares a passion for digging tunnels into the earth in search of buried historical items. Will’s family is extremely “different” and to say the least dysfunctional. Will is an extremely pale boy and picked on non-stop at school. That is until he befriends another outcast by the name of Chester, who is a rather large intimidating boy, and gets him interested in digging. Life is going pretty good for Will between digging with his father and digging independently with his new friend Chester. That is until Dr. Burrows goes missing and Will finds that right in their basement is a tunnel that leads to a subterranean world populated with people time left behind. What are Styx? What wonders and horrors dwell deep beneath the Earth? This series is full of twist and turns and just when you think you know what’s going on, it kicks into another gear to throw you for a loop.

Here are some more in which I will just give the titles:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney

The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan

The Stonekeeper Graphic Novel Series by Kazu Kibuishint

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Runemarks by Joanne Harris

The Bone GN Series by Jeff Smith

This is just a smattering of all the good reads out there, so get out there, find them (many are at your local library), and enjoy. Happy Summer Reading all,
Bill

And now for something completely different

Hey, everyone, it's Iron Guy Carl. The Iron Guy believes that reading is one of the coolest things a guy can do. Yeah, there's X-box and Wii and other cool stuff, but reading is right up there with all that. Unfortunately, a rumor has gotten out among guys that reading is not cool. Well, the Iron Guy is on a mission to smash that rumor like the Hulk smashing a bad guy! And one of the way I plan to do that that is by letting you know what good books are out there. That's why I'm posting a list of Books Every Guy Should Read. These are books that I and other guys have read and can guarantee that they ROCK! Here's the list (and they're not in any order--I just listed them as I thought of them):

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iguldden. Don't let me hear you say there's nothing to do--the book is FULL of cool and fun guy stuff. Plus you'll get to read some of the best stories ever!

The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. You've probably heard of these, but if you haven't read them, drop whatever you're doing and get them! More action, excitement, and humor than any other series I know.

The 39 Clues books (by different authors) Once again, more fun and excitement than just about any other series. Two kids go all over the world to find the 39 Clues that will make the owners the most powerful people on earth--and keep their evil cousins from finding the Clues first!

Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry. Based on a Polynesian legend, the story of a chief's son who's afraid of the ocean and steals a canoe to see if he can prove he''s not a coward. Along the way he fights a hammerhead shark and gets chased by cannibals!

Black Whiteness: Admiral Byed Alone in the Antarctic by Robert Burleigh. In the 1930's Admiral Byrd tried to see if he could survive alone in the coldest place on earth. This story is unbelievable!

The Last River: Major John Powell and the Colorado River Expedition by Stuart Waldman. Another amazing story of survival. Major John Powell lost an arm in the Civil War but led an expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon!

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. One of the best fictional survival stories around. Young Brian crash lands in the Canadian wilderness with no food, no survival gear, and only a hatchet to help. An incredible story.

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. An extremely funny guy story! One boy bets another boy $50 to eat 15 worms in 15 days. Could you do it?

The Alvin Ho books by Lenore Look. Good for younger and older guys, these two books about second-grader Alvin Ho, who's afraid of everything, will make you laugh out loud!

N.E.R.D.S by Michael Buckley. More extremely funny stuff with lots of secret agent action too. Read it to find out what N.E.R.D.S. stands for!

The Hound of the Baskerville by Arthur Conan Doyle. The Sherlock Homes stories are still entertaining guys after all these years and this one may be the best. Sherlock Homes takes a case that involves a murder, a vast inheritance, and a gigantic hound that may or may not be part of an old family curse! A character in C. S. Lewis's book That Hideous Strength gets captured by the bad guys and spends a night in his cell thinking that "everything he read as a boy was garbage except for Sherlock Holmes." Don't let that happen to you!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I read this when I was 10 and enjoyed it a lot. Tom Sawyer gets into trouble all the time but doesn't know what trouble really is until he accidentally witnesses a murder! This one is funny and exciting!

The Tripods books by John Christopher. Maybe the best Evil Aliens Take Over the Earth series ever!

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The original Evil Aliens Take Over the Earth story and still the best! (This is not the cover for the book. It's from an old comic I read as a boy and thought it was cool!)

Stone Fox by John Gardiner. A young boy tires to save the family farm by entering a dog sled race but has to go against the Native American racer Stone Fox, who has never lost. An exciting story with an unexpected ending.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. An "alternate history" story about World War I in which Europe is divided into Clankers and Darwinists. (got to read it to find out what that means!) Enough action and things that blow up for any guy!

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. A terrific sci-fi story about an underground city built to survive a world war. The only thing is that everyone has forgotten why the city was built and how to maintain it and now food is running out and the lights may go out. I've heard from a lot of guys about how good it is.

The Roar by Emma Clayton. Here's another book that made a lot of guys tell us how good it is. Even guys who say they don't like to read like this one! It's a sci-fi story about a time in which in which everyone on Earth is crammed into tiny little England because of the Animal Plague which threatened the whole world. Things are not as they seem, however, and two twins discover the Secret that the bad guys desperately keep hidden. What is it? Gotta read to find out!

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. One of my all-time favorites and perhaps the best book for guys about growing up. There's an epic bear hunt, thunderstorms that last two weeks, and the real possibility of starvation.

Yeah, it's a big thick book but I started one night at a halfway point and didn't stop until I reached the very end!

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingrid and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. Every guy likes Greek mythology, right? This is the one book about them that every guy should read, then, because it's still the best!

So what do YOU think? Did we leave any books out? Send us a comment or suggestion via the handy "Comment" tab below this post!

OK, Bill, how'd you like to do the honors and sign us out?

Peace out and Read out all,

Iron Guy Carl and Library Ninja Bill

Ain't No Cure for The Summer Time Blues (except good reads of course)

Hello all you cool cats out in the "Land of Blog!!!!" Today I'm going to talk about two great recent reads and share a very special performance by "The Hulk." Yes, first lets check out the original Smasher in one of his classic performances:

Hulk The Lounge Lizard Singing "Hulk Got You Under Hulk Skin"

Alright that was really great, but lets talk reads now.

Franklin Richards, Son Of a Genius: Collected Chaos by Mark Sumerak and Chris Eliopoulos - Ninja Librarian Bill found this Graphic Novel about the adventures of Franklin Richards (you know the son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman of The Fantastic Four) and H.E.R.B.I.E. (Franklin's loyal but forever frustrated robot guardian) to be extremely funny and great fun. Franklin's superpower it seems is to get into trouble. In one of the stories in the book Mr. Fantastic has gotten The Hulk to agree to be experimented on in exchange for a candy bar. Everything is going great until Franklin sees the candy bar and takes it not knowing it is intended for The Hulk. Let's just say havoc ensues when The Hulk does not get his chocolate and battle most fierce follows. The Gamma Irradiated Green Behemoth vs. The Bumbling Franklin!!!!! Other stories in this hilarious GN involve Franklin's Pet Hamster trying to take over the world, Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. tracking down a Yeti, a very messed up game of Football and so much more. Read and enjoy my friends!!!!!!

Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. surrounded by evil basketballs

 

The Keys to The Kingdom: Mister Monday by Garth Nix - They say that the written word is more powerful than the sword and in the case of this book that just might be true. The main character of this title is a young man by the name of Arthur Penhaligon. Arthur is not what you would call one of the popular kids, suffers from asthma and is just starting at a new school. Well let's back up a little before we are introduced to Arthur. It seems that in the very distant past The Architect built "The House," which is the "The Kingdom of all Reality" and holds the "Archive of All Things," from Nothing and populated it with servants to do her work. She then made "The Secondary Realms" which we call the universe. Some time after that The Architect went away but left a Will. This Will was intended to keep things working properly in "The House" and "The Secondary Realms." The Will was not just dead and lifeless words but a living thing. Some of the servants of "The House" it seems wanted to control all so they broke up The Will and imprisoned it. As we all know, things that are imprisoned if given enough time will escape and so does a small part of the beginning of The Will. This part of The Will finds Arthur and claims him to be the rightful heir to .....You will have to read the book to find this out. Arthur is given gifts of power and meets many different entities (some friends, some not, some just plain hard to tell) on this non-asked for  adventure. Lots of excitement and intrigue in this one, so if you like that sort of thing (which I do) give it a shot!!!!! 

Well later sports fans and happy summer reading,

Ninja Guy Bill

Update on the Byron Vaughns Sale

It's Iron Guy Carl with a quick update on the sale that Mr. Byron Vaughns, comic book artist extraordinaire, is holding to support the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library:

UPDATE
“Due to the technical difficulties of the art download, I have extended the last day of the Billy Batson & the Magic of Shazam original art sale to all day Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Pages have been downloaded for purchase and issues 8 and 9 will be downloaded by the end of today, Saturday, June 26, 2010

I have reduced the cost of each piece by $5.00 and in addition, all call in orders will also receive an original drawing of my new superhero, Paxton Knight

I am very much committed to making a personal contribution of 40% from this sale, including FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING, USA, to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in honor of the Boys Rule Boys Read Blog, PLEASE HELP THIS WORTHWHILE CAUSE. BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE ARTWORK TO ENLARGE THE PAGE!

The Boys Rule Boys Read Blog ,created for elementary school-age boys to encourage reading http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com was created by library staffers, Carl Schwanke, Bill Corder & Zack Moore have been avid supporters of the Billy Batson & the Magic of Shazam series (especially Bill Corder. Although, Bill and Zack were laid off due to budget cuts, Bill, Carl, and Zack have a new blog, Boys Rock, Boys Read. Their commitment to guiding boys’ reading is still going strong.

Yes, our committment is Iron Guy strong! Be sure to check this out everyone!

Byron Vaughns Sells Artwork to Support the Library!

Hey, all boys and grownup comic fans everywhere, this is Iron Guy Carl with a really special announcement. Comic artist Byron Vaughns, who worked on Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam for DC, is going to sell original artwork and donate 40% of the money to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library! Here's a press release from Betty, his publicity agent:

Emmy award winning cartoonist, Byron Vaughns is starting a 3-day original art sale on Friday, June 25, 2010, at http://shop.byronvaughns.com/ in support of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library System and elementary school-age boys who love to read comic books. He is asking for your help with his personal donation.

“This is unusual for me as an artist ….…selling my original comic book pages from the DC Comics Billy Batson & the Magic of Shazam series,

http://byronvaughnsshazam.blogspot.com/ hard for any artist really, but I was moved by the critical funding issues of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library System http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/06092010/rallies-rallies-everywhere-final-budget-votes-loom which in turn affects the library’s unique, Boys Rule Boys Read Blog http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com/, created for elementary school-age boys to encourage reading; a place for boys to find terrific books and tell other boys about great reading. Because of the boys’ enthusiasm for the Billy Batson stories (a boy’s positive superhero image and exceptional relationship with his superhero sister), I felt this was a great cause to support. Hey, remember how good it felt to read comic books when you were a kid??”

“So….I am selling about 70 pieces of original, signed comic book pages and personally donating a portion of my proceeds (40%) to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library System and as the donator, I will retain the tax deduction rights. I am also donating FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING, USA for each purchase at no cost to you!
ORDERS OUTSIDE USA MUST CALL FOR SHIPPING CHARGES. BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE ARTWORK TO ENLARGE THE PAGE!

The 3-day sale starts on FRIDAY, June 25, 2010 at 6am Eastern Standard Time and ends MONDAY, June 28, 2010 at 10pm Eastern Standard Time. BUY NOW THROUGH PAYPAL! OR ORDER BY PHONE (818-749-8536) THIS IS FASTER AND WILL ALLOW ME TO HELP THE LIBRARY’S IMMEDIATE FUNDING GAP. I CAN ALSO ACCEPT CHECKS BY PHONE.
If you would like a personal greeting on the comics page, call and let me know!
For more information on Byron Vaughns: http://www.byronvaughns.com/

The Boys Rule Boys Read Blog, http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com/ was created by the library staffers, Carl Schwanke, Bill Corder & Zack Moore. They have been avid supporters of the Billy Batson & the Magic of Shazam series (especially Bill Corder) http://jaja-cas.blogspot.com/2009/07/mario-kart-shazam-and-star-wars-nuff.html Unfortunately, Bill and Zack were laid off due to budget cuts but Bill, Carl, and Zack have started another blog, Boys Rock, Boys Read.

For more information about the Boys Rule Boys Read Blog, contact Carl Schwanke at cschwanke@cmlibrary.org (704) 416-4630. Also check out http://boysrockbr.blogspot.com/ a new boy’s blog by Carl Schwanke, Bill Corder & Zack Moore!

Thanks, Betty, and especial thanks to you, Mr. Vaughns! Here's your chance to own some fantastic artwork and support the library! Don't pass it up!

So Glad to Be Here

Hey all you crazy reader cats, this is Iron Guy Carl. When it comes to reading so many really good guy books that other men would faint or carrying more books in one bag than any other mortal would dare to lift, no one beats the IRON GUY! I am SO glad to be blogging again with Bill and Zack. I still am on the Boys Rule! Boys Read! blog we started at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library but the three of us had so much fun together that we decided to start our own independent blog. Hope you guys enjoy it.

First off, let me echo Bill's sentiments about The Prisoner. It's a really cool show and it was good to see it again after all these years. There's action, spy stuff, mystery, and even a chance to stretch your brain. I remember watching it back in the day--it was in the summer and I'd be swimming at the Y all afternoon and then ride my bike furiously to get home and be there in time for the latest episode. I still remembered a lot of them after 30-plus years and they're as good now as back then. Let me say one more thing, though--the ending is just as strange now as it was then too! The last two episodes are Just. Plain. Weird. Watch them. You'll see what I mean. BUT---I liked it that way. As I said, this show gave you a chance to stretch your brain and this ending stretched mine to the max. If any of you watch them, let me know what you think. You too, Bill.

Let me tell you about a couple or REALLY good reads. Since we're talking about mystery, action, and international conspiracy, it's a good time to talk about The 39 Clues. These are the most fun books I've read in a long time and I am always excited when a new one comes out. These two are the newest books in this terrific series.

If any of you have been trapped in The Village the last year or so and don't know the story, here's a brief recap. Dan and Amy Cahill are a couple of kids whose parnets died in a fire 7 years before. They've spent a lot of time with their rich grandmother, Grace Cahill but when she dies, they find that Grace left them an unusual choice--take a million dollars each or join the hunt for the 39 Clues. Whoever finds all 39 of the Clues could become the most powerful person on earth. The only trouble is that they find that the rest of the Cahill family is in on the hunt as well. Not only that, the Cahills have been at this hunt for 500 years, have included every important person in history for the last 500 years, and they will stop at nothing to prevent Dan and Amy from finding the Clues. What chance do two kids (and Nellie Gomez, their au pair) have against THAT? In The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman, the kids go to China and Dan gets kidnapped! In Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park, they go to the Caribbean to find a Clue left hundreds of years ago by Anne Bonny, a female pirate. These books, like all the 39 Clues books, have slam-bang action, laugh-out-loud humor, and mysterious messages embedded in the books. In other words, these are great guy books! Don't miss them. No one does it better than The 39 Clues!! (and the fun continues on The 39 Clues website. Don't miss it!)

I Am Not a Number!!!!

Hello all traveling in the Land of Blog. Ti's I The Mysterious Library Ninja Guy!!!!!!

Heavy Metal Ninjas Battle till their ears bleed!!!!

This past weekend Iron Carl and myself got together and watched episodes of this really cool TV show from the 60s called "The Prisoner" staring Patrick McGoohan. Here is a summary, taken from Wikipedia describing the series:

"The series follows an unnamed British agent who abruptly resigns his job, and then finds himself held captive in a mysterious seaside "village" that is isolated from the mainland by mountains and sea. The Village is further secured by numerous monitoring systems and security forces, including a mysterious device called Rover that captures those who attempt escape.

The agent encounters the Village's population, hundreds of people from all walks of life and cultures, all seeming to be tranquilly living out their lives. As they do not use names, they have each been assigned a number. The agent is told by the Village's chief administrator "Number Two", that he is "Number Six", and they are seeking "information" as to why he resigned; the task of doing this is carried by the ever-changing "Number Two", acting as supposed proxy to the unseen "Number One". As the series unfolds, the audience learns that the Village authorities have other interests in Number Six aside from the knowledge he

possesses: interests that often spare Number Six from the more destructive information-gathering techniques employed by the Village authorities upon other inmates.

Number Six, distrusting of anyone involved with the Village, refuses to co-operate or provide answers. Alone, he struggles with multiple goals: determine for which side the Village works, remain defiant to its imposed authority, concoct his own plans for escape, learn all he can about the Village and subvert its operation."

Patrick McGoohan - The Mysterious Secret Agent dubbed Number 6!



The Opening for each Episode!!!!

Very Cool!!!!!

And finally just a brief sequence from the series:




Pretty cool stuff huh? Well I am hooked after just two episodes and will be on the look for the rest of the episodes. I love this show cause you cannot confine it into just one genre. It's awesome spy stuff, trippy sc-fi and just plain fun!

Hope some of you guys reading this try to look for it. I'm sure some libraries probably carry the series.

Hey, what are some of your favorite TV shows? Let us know so we can check them out.

Well peace all,

Bill