Comic Book Candy

As a self-professed Buffy addict and reluctant reader of Twilight, it was only a matter of time before I gave in to the multiple recommendation of trusted friends to watch CW's hit series The Vampire Diaries. Thanks to Netflix watch instantly, I've quickly made my way through the first two seasons and I'm enjoying the guilty-pleasure indulgence. I am hooked by the story of feuding Salvatore brothers Damon and Stefan as they vie for the affections of human teenager Elena. There are also witches, wolves, and evil doppelgangers to keep things interesting. My initial assumption about the series was that it was for pre-teens too young to watch True Blood and needing something to follow-up their Twilight binge, but I now appreciate the show for what it is: a love letter to the teen horror romance genre. The writers of the series have seen what was done before and have upped the teen high school dramatics to the max. One may mistake the obvious influences as proof of lacking orig...

After years of stalled pre-productions for a Wonder Woman film, the creation of David E. Kelley's television series has made surprisingly quick progress. Only a few short months ago, leaked scripts for the pilot were being circulated, and the casting of Adrianne Palicki is still a recent headline. This week saw the first glimpse of our generation's modern incarnation of the feminist icon, princess, goddess, and ass-kicking Amazonian, and more than a few opinions were expressed via the internet. Tempting as it was, I resisted the urge to dispense my immediate reactions, via twitter, blog, or otherwise. I opted to take a few days, and a few looks to reach a final verdict on the new costume. I'm still unsettled, with reactions falling somewhere between considering it a tasteless abomination to reverence for all its kitschy gloriousness. Many criticisms are justified when discussing aspects of the costume's design. Words that accurately describe it include shiny, camp, ...