Between the Panels

Voltron might ring a bell to you if you watched the 1984 classic anime or if you have kiddos that like to watch lion shaped spacecrafts from the latest 2016 version on Netflix.  Either way this show has some moments that are fantastic to drive home.  A unique thing about the show is that Voltron is the title of the giant space robot that is formed from the five lion shaped spacecrafts (check out this link to see it for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtqKaUc6Uas&ab_channel=VOLTRON ). So these lions are piloted by five " paladins " that are to protect the galaxy from any evil threats.  Each one is powerful and has their own abilities, but they can't force the team to become Voltron.  Voltron is only made by the five paladins working in unity as one and having the same goal in their fight to save the galaxy . What I love about this is that they are willing to show how different these paladins are from one another and having disagreements. However, they ...

November has been a bit of a hard month for the nerd community with the passing of two iconic, childhood heroes. First with the passing of Kevin Conroy ; the voice actor of Batman in numerous animated shows, games, and a live performance as Old Bruce in a TV series.  Second and most recently Jason David Frank ; most well known for his character " Tommy " in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV show and the icon for the Power Rangers franchise.  These two deaths were certainly not just a blow to my childhood (rushing to watch Batman: The Animated Series or learning karate from Tommy in his instructional video), but have been a blow to the nerd community with several tribute posts and videos on social media. However, it was not just the roles that they played that left an impact on their fans, but their actual heart to be an encouragement to their fan base. Even amidst their collogues, there is this sense of great loss for the world at large as these people were a source of ent...

I am ten billion percent sure that you are going to love this anime recommendation! Why ten billion percent you might ask? Because I can! No in all seriousness, you are going to want to check out the anime " Dr. Stone ".  Essentially, humanity has been turned to stone for almost 4,000 years and Senku (Dr. Stone) is the only one trying to restart civilization.  However, the cool part is that he is doing this by taking modern day science and applying it to a Stone Age world.  Throughout the show he has this wonderful catchphrase of " ten billion percent " that he attaches to everything that he is absolutely sure of. I love that he is absolutely sure in his knowledge of science that he is even willing to defy logic by saying he is ten billion percent sure of what he is doing. You may remember an old hymn " Blessed Assurance " that you may have heard in your grandparents church services or records playing in the background.  This song has a wonderful connect...

Imagine being able to play a game as a dragon, flying through the air and making your own path. But watch out! There are other dragons and their path might lead to your own destruction if you are not wise or tactful. I am talking about our latest favourite board game, Tsuro .  Your whole goal is to keep your dragon on the board by guiding its path and making it difficult for other dragons (players) to stay on; thus being the last dragon standing!  At then end of the game it is quite fun to see all these different paths laid out and to see all the possibilities that could have happened. However, there can only be one path to victory . Jesus said something very similar to this in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." In this passage, Jesus is talking about our relationship with God and being able to reconnect with Him forever.  Jesus is making the exclusive claim that He is the only way to connect to God (the...

Did you know that a gathering of owls is called a parliament? I know, random factoid for you to hold on to, but this was because owls were often connected to the attribute of wisdom.  Another factoid to throw at you. Did you know that there is a Court of Owls in Batman comics? These are not actual owls, but are Gotham's financial and societal elite who are in control of the city.  This sounds like a pretty impressive group, you would think that with all that wealth and influence they might actually be co-workers with Batman, but you would be wrong.  The Court of Owls use their power and opportunities to suppress lesser people and often have nefarious plans that seek greater control on the backs of Gotham's citizens. This court reminds me of the Pharisees in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  Being the religious leaders and even societal elite amongst the Israelites, the Pharisees would often look for more prestige and power over their fellow country men....

I was given this odd comparison meme ( look to your right ) by one of our Graphic Word crew that looked at some connections between Loki from the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Moses.  The challenge was to see if there was anything that could be taught about this, so... here we are.  First, let's look at Loki: the God of mischief (really lives up to his title) is an adopted son of Odin and was supposed to be prince of the Frost Giants.  Growing up, he felt like the odd one out, but had a inkling in his heart to be a ruler/king.  However, whenever he attempted this (usurping Odin's thrown, trying to taker over Earth, disguising himself as Odin) it would always go badly. Loki had a struggle with this identity; that he was supposed to rule, this is who he is, what he is meant to do . Sadly this would leave him broken and often trying to break others to accept his self-defined identity. It's actually difficult not to pity him in all of his efforts. Moses on the othe...

Ever had an amazing teacher that moved you to tears? I have found one in nerd culture and his name is Koro Sensei . This yellow, octopus-shaped fellow is not just strange for his appearance, but also for the fact that he is a master assassin who is teaching a junior high class (the lowest in academic standing).  Did I mention that his class is tasked with assassinating him within a year or the world will be destroyed? You may ask, why I would recommend watching this extremely unorthodox anime? Two words; Koro Sensei .  Koro Sensei takes any and every opportunity to invest in his students. His attention to his students' growth is not just for academics or assassination skills, but in their personal lives, often speaking into who they are and what they can become. During this series, I had a lot of misty eyed moments (it was soooooo good), just from the times of direct investment Koro Sensei had with his students. So how do we go from yellow, octo-teacher to Jesus? Well Jesus ...