It's COMIC BOOK DAY!

And I have the perfect way to celebrate.

Obviously I’m going to dip into my extensive comic book collection and pull out a couple of my Superman favourites for a re-read. But, I’m also going to GIVE AWAY a bunch of the Chase Superman Duffy comics—to YOU!

So what do you have to do? I thought you’d never ask.
 

Below are five trivia questions based on the 10 books in the series. Even if you’ve never read the books, the answers are on the blog (hint: check this page!) Email your answers to me at chase.superman.duffy@gmail.com (don’t paste your answers below, or it won’t be any fun for the next person!) by midnight tonight (Sept. 25) and that’s it. YOU WIN!

Plus, everyone that enters will be entered to WIN a full set of the books—that’s 10 new comics for your collection. Ready? Get set! GO!

1.    My sister Amelia is featured in which Superman Duffy comic?

2.    Who is the Saskatchewan farmer that first brought canola to Canada?

3.    Which Superman Duffy comic features mermaids, dinosaurs and sea monsters, oh my!?

4.    It’s a special day for Chase in 5-7-5 Errand Boy—what is it?

5.    How many canola seeds did real astronaut Robert Thirsk take up into space?

Gotta jet! Good luck—and happy reading!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Shiver me timbers!

Ahoy, mateys! Do you know what today is?

It’s TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY—one of my favourite days of the year! 

What started out as a goofy idea by the author Dave Barry has turned into an international phenomenon, with millions of people around the world taking part. There’s even a website and everything! (www.talklikeapirate.com)

Last year, I spent TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY annoying my parents by constantly speaking “pirate” while wearing an eye patch. Ha! This year, I’m going to watch pirate movies (Pirates of the Caribbean, anyone?) and read pirate books—probably while wearing an eye patch. Argh!

Not enough pirate books, you say? Aye, I hear you, mateys. But guess what? There is a new Superman Duffy comic coming out next month. It’s called SHIVER ME TIMBERS and it features ME as…yes, that’s right! A PIRATE. I can hardly wait for you to read this one.

Aye, I gotta jet! Have a great weekend. Argh!

—Chase Superman Duffy

Never too old for Play Doh!

I bet you didn’t know that September 16^th is National Play Doh Day. Maybe you think you’re told old to play it? Trust me, there’s no such thing!

There’s all kinds of research to show the benefits of playing with Play Doh, but want to know what I use it for? Character development.

Surprised? I know it sounds strange, but some of my greatest characters were developed after “creating stuff” with my sister.

Let’s pretend you have six colours of Play Doh and you want to make a “person” (or creature)—well, you have to make some decisions about that creation. Like, why did you choose purple for the hair? Is your character in a rock band? Is he/she from Mars? Or, what inspired the outfit he/she is wearing?

When I start creating my character, new ideas pop into my head and I jot them down in my notebook. Here are some questions you could ask yourself / about your character while you’re “creating” your masterpiece:

1.    Name / Nickname

2.    Age

3.    Where is he/she from?

4.    What is something unique about this character? (one leg? Purple hair?)

5.    Favourite colour

Now, use these details—and yoru Play Doh character—to create a story.

Gotta jet!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Making my Back to School list—checking it twice!

The summer is over.

Not technically, I know, but you can feel the shift in the air, right? The cooler temperatures, the slow change of colour.

Fall is actually my favourite season—Halloween!—but the end of summer means that school is right around the corner, and even though I’m always excited about getting back to class, that first day can sometimes be a bit challenging.

I’m not used to waking up at 7 a.m. Or getting out of my PJs before noon. Or making my own lunch. I can’t even think about what I’m supposed to take on my first day. (Except the super cool binder Mom bought me while we were out supply shopping!)

I don’t want to forget anything on Tuesday, so I’m preparing early! Here are some ways I am going to get ready for class:

1.    Organize my supplies — put paper in my binder, sharpen pencils, double check that pens are working, etc.

2.    Pre-pack a lunch. This weekend, Mom and I are going to the grocery store to stock up on my favourite lunch foods. YUM.

3.    Get a good night’s sleep the night before. That’s a tricky one because I’m always so excited that I CAN’T sleep. But maybe if I spend the whole day before reading… <grin>

4.    Make sure my bike is ready to go. I plan on taking advantage of the warm-ish weather while we still have it. There’s nothing worse than a flat tire on your first day, though.

OK, I think that’s it! Can you think of anything I’ve missed?

Gotta jet! If you’re going back to school on Tuesday, good luck! I hope you have a great weekend.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Gearing up for Frankenstein Day

I know, I know, Halloween is MONTHS away—but Frankenstein Day isn’t about Halloween. It’s a day to acknowledge all things Frankenstein, and it’s celebrated on August 30 in honour of Mary Shelley, the author of the original Frankenstein book. It’s her birthday!

Monster books are my favourites, and Frankenstein’s monsters are the coolest. So every year, I gear up to celebrate by immersing myself in Frankenstein pop culture—movies, books, magazine articles, whatever I can get my hands on.

This year, instead of checking out some of the (many) adaptations, I’m setting aside the whole weekend to read the original book—again. I can’t wait!

Do you celebrate Frankenstein Day? How? I’m always looking for fellow Frankenstein fans!

Gotta jet!

— Chase Superman Duffy

In celebration of senior citizens

Sometimes it’s hard to think of my grandparents as “elderly”—they’re both so active, not just on the farm with daily chores, but also in the community. Plus, they look super young!

So, imagine my shock when my parents and I were talking the other day, and Dad referred to Grandma and Grandpa as senior citizens. Gasp! Obviously they are…I mean, they’re my GRANDPARENTS. I just never think of them that way.

But today is Senior Citizen’s Day, a day when we’re supposed to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions the “elderly” have made to society—and give something back to them. For starters, I’m going to use my allowance to buy Grandma her favourite royal blue roses. And I’m sure Grandpa could use some extra help on the farm this weekend.

Who are the senior citizens in your life? How will you celebrate them today? Here are three easy ways to acknowledge the elderly:

1.    Talk with them.  Whether it’s a neighbor, someone you meet who is walking their dog, or a relative you visit regularly—the vast majority of seniors love to chat.

2.    Play Games. My grandma LOVES Trivial Pursuit. I’m not very good at it, but I’m going to suggest playing this weekend.

3.    Take on chores. This is a no-brainer for me (I’m always helping out on my grandparent’s canola farm) but maybe there are some things you can do to help out too.

Gotta jet!

~ Chase "Superman" Duffy

When is art "bad"?

August 18 is NATIONAL BAD POETRY DAY and for some reason, it got me thinking about art in general—if art is subjective (ie: based on personal opinion), what makes it “bad”?

I love reading, and my tastes are about as eclectic as it gets—everything from comics to horror novels, and everything in-between. But I don’t read romance, for instance. That doesn’t mean it’s BAD. It’s just not a genre I’m interested in.

So, back to thinking about Bad Poetry Day. I don’t understand all poetry, and I’m not very good at writing anything more than a haiku, but unless it’s riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, I wouldn’t label ANY poem (or art of any kind) BAD.

Instead of Bad Poetry Day, we should call it, NOT RIGHT FOR ME POETRY DAY—don’t you think?

Gotta jet! 

— Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. If you want to read some (potentially) “bad” poetry, check out the haikus my fictional mom wrote for me in the Superman Duffy comic 5-7-5 Errand Boy—she used haikus to give me chores. That may be a great example of BAD POETRY! <grin>