Victor E. Hodge

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Cool Nancy Drew Stuff

From the little known Nancy Drew book club

A couple of strips by artist, Kate Beaton

Colleen Coover

Nancy Drew paper doll

The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by artist, Rudi Nappi

Cookie Crisp Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew paint set

I remember this!!! I used to have it!!!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Okay, I didn't come up with the title. It's in Veronica comics #202. The Archies get their very first openly gay character, Kevin Keller. They must be trying to keep up with the times because just last month, there was an interracial relationship between Archie Andrews and Valerie Smith from Josie & the Pussycats!!! (They got my money over that one, too.) Personally, I thought the story was funny from the rivalry between Betty and Veronica, to how much Veronica and Jughead seem to dislike one another, the joke Jughead plays on Veronica, and Archie's jealousy. The "Bro-mance," a word I think is actually kind of funny --- normally between two straight men, is between Kevin and Jughead Jones. (Didn't Homer Simpsons tell somebody in Waverly Hills he was cool because could turn words into dudes?) Kevin and Jughead bond over a hamburger eating contest, share a love for food and comic books. Anyway, I thought it was funny. I'm sure we probably won't meet his gay friends (like the one he kept texting) or see him ever kiss a man, but ... baby steps. I guess. Since I'm still on the Archie tip, I'm celebrating Riverdale's "only gay in the village" with a pin-up.

Archie & Chuck Clayton

Archie Andrews, the famous red head at the beach with buddy, Chuck Clayton. (I don't know ... is Chuck the only black man in Riverdale?) Watch out Betty and Veronica, looks like Archie's got a little bit of the fever.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

UnderCovers

J.J. Abrams, creator of "Alias" and "Lost" has a new show coming out in a couple of weeks on NBC, a spy drama called "Undercovers." What's most exciting is that the leads are black. Superfine Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha Raw star as Steven and Samantha Bloom, retired spies who get reactivated by the C.I.A. I knew there was something familiar about Gugu. Then, I discovered --- she's Tish Jones! Martha Jones's sister!!! Doctor Who's companion, Martha Jones!!! I had originally heard "Undercovers" was being compared to "Hart to Hart," one of my favorite shows back in the 70s. That was enough to grab my attention. I'm hoping this series will be good enough to survive with two black leads.

Steven & Samantha Bloom

Gugu Mbatha Raw

Boris Kodjoe

Martha Jones - Tish Jones

The Doctor & Jones Family

Friday, September 10, 2010

I have truly enjoyed the CW's Vampire Diaries. I hesitated at first because of the obvious Buffy influences, the beautiful, thin girls, sultry, muscled boys, well dressed teenagers and the obvious love triangle between protagonist Elena (Nina Dobrev) and the Salvatore brothers, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Lost's Ian Somerhalder). Even though there was the CW's usual glitz, glamor and teenage angst in full bloom, it was a show that took itself seriously from the start. Mind you, it will never be Buffy --- because make no mistake about it --- Buffy is Buffy and she started it all. But, I was drawn in from the opening sequence. It's supposedly True Blood without the nudity. Supposedly.

Here's what this entry is really about: I still get excited when I see black people on television. Still! Elena's best friend is the beautiful, Bonnie (Katerina Graham). At first, I thought Bonnie was just going to be "the best friend." Instead, it's revealed that she's from a long line of witches in Mystic Falls. But, she doesn't realize it, so we go along with her as she discovers her powers. Her Grams is played by none other than Jasmine Guy! Yes, the Jasmine "Whitley Gilbert" Guy! Bonnie's great great grandmother, Emily, revealed in one ghost sequence and then flashbacks, is played by Bianca Lawson (daughter of Richard Lawson - who I will always love for his role in my favorite movie ever - "Poltergeist." Bianca also played Kendra the Vampire Slayer on Buffy.) Gina Torres even plays Bree, an old girlfriend of Damon's. Black people!!! Yea!!!!

So ... SPOILERS: ---- The drama unfolds ... Stefan meets and falls in love with Elena, the protagonist. Elena is a doppelganger for Katherine, the vampire who seduced and sired Damon and Stephan in 1864. But, Katherine and 26 other vampires were captured, then imprisoned in a tomb underneath a church for 100-some years. Damon is still OBSESSED, after all these years, with Katherine. Damon is E-V-I-L. He's a real butthole. It's obvious, in spite of his actions, he's supposed to win you over. (Think Buffy's, Spike.) Elena believes that all he has to do is tap into his "human side." Yeah, right. All that aside ... the tomb is opened by Bonnie and Grams. They break the seal and accidentally release ... the vampires. Some of them are really angry.

From the wreckage came a swollen, shrunken face. As he came closer to the tomb's opening, I realized --- Gasp! He's BLACK! As Harper, he crawled from the tomb, all swollen and gray. He found his way into the woods and --- took an innocent life in order to revive himself. Hey! The boy was hungry. When the deterioration, gray skin and hunger dissipated, I realized: He is hot. Sterling Sulieman, the Oakland born, but Island of Oaho-raised actor from "All My Children" was one of the newest vampires in Mystic Falls. He wasn't a slave either, but a soldier. Unlike some of the others, he wasn't angry. He bands together with leader Pearl (Kelly Hu) and her daughter, Anna (Malese Jow). Loyally at Pearl's side, he helps other vampires acclimate themselves to the new world.

REAL SPOILER: I'm trying to figure something out. If you watch this show, please let me know. Pearl is murdered by Elena's mortal/human, uncle/daddy, John Gilbert (David Anders - "Sark" from Alias). As she collapses to the ground and dies, she falls into the arms of Harper. But, by time Anna finds her body, she's alone. What happened to Harper?!? It wasn't clear to me that he was killed as well. There was only one body. I'm hoping he'll resurface. The good and loyalty in him was highlighted when Stefan was kidnapped and being tortured by the vamps that Pearl couldn't rehabilitate. He had Damon spared his life for a reason. Did he find Katherine? Anyway, here's hoping that he returns.

Bianca Lawson as Emily the witch