Eerie Cuties (webcomic)

Eerie Cuties is a web--

Hey! Hey, get your cursor off of that red "X!" It's a great webcomic. Outside of the stupid name, anyway. Come on, just hear me out.

Okay, so Eerie Cuties (first page) is a webcomic written by Gisèle Lagacé and David Zero 1, penciled by Gisèle Lagacé, inked by Maria Victoria Robado (Shouri), and Miguel Marques used to do the coloring before the comic switched to black-and-white. It centers around Charybdis Heights, which looks like a normal high school on the outside, but in actuality, is a school for vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches, and other monsters. The main cast features Nina and Layla Delacroix (two vampire sisters-- Nina's the innocent one, Layla's the nasty one), Brooke Lyn (who can turn into a snake at will), Chloe (a succubus who thinks she's ugly), Ace (a werewolf and Nina's unwilling friend), Kade (Layla's catboy-boyfriend), and Blair (Nina's doll, possessed by a perverted guy). 

L to R: Layla, Nina, Brooke, Chloe

STORY

The story begins with Layla Delacroix showing her little sister, Nina around school. She explains how things work, and introduces Nina to Kade, her boyfriend. During the day, Nina makes new friends, such as Brooke and Chloe, and even befriends the scary janitor, Jeffery. Over the course of the comic:

a) The girls have a sleepover party and get drunk.
b) Layla goes to a rock concert... with a vampire slayer.
c) Blair manages to change all the guys in the school into girls-- and one of them stays that way even after that disaster gets straightened out.

And so, so much more.

CHARACTERS AND DIALOG

Occasionally, Nina can get on my nerves. For a fourteen-year-old freshman, she's awfully naive, innocent, and, well... stupid. Layla is the classic Jerk With A Heart Of Gold character-- she's a bitch, but she really does love Nina and Kade. Brooke is realistic; she's calm and collected, but she's hopeless with romance and struggles to figure out if she likes boys or girls. My favorite character is Tiffany, a vampire slayer who's trying her best to slay Layla, but that's not going so well. Probably because Tiffany has the attention span of a piece of lint. The dialog is fun and hilarious.

ART

The art in this comic is great, consistent, and fun to look at. It used to be colored, but, unfortunately, it's not anymore. But the art is still flawless.

FINAL GRADE

8/10

"Well, here we are, Charybdis Heights. A normal school on the surface, but we know that's not fully true."
     -Layla

Interview With a Nerd: Kalen

Okay. So the whole reason I have this blog is because I am in a class called “Writing for the Internet,” which, I may add, is populated almost entirely by weirdoes, liberals, brains, and smartasses, or some combination of the above. Johnny Ginter, our fearless leader, says that we have to have a “final project” sort of thing. I decided to do Interview With a Nerd.

  

Originally, I wanted to interview Frederick C. Peerenboom, who is more commonly known as Fritz the Nite Owl. He's this (extremely cool) old guy who used to have a TV show called Nite Owl Theater, where he showed old horror and sci-fi films, some of which sucked, some of which were okay, and reviewed them. Now he does the same thing, but once a month at the Grandview Theater.

The Nite Owl himself, with his logo.

There was just one problem: fate picked the EXACT time I needed an interview (i.e.-- by Friday) to put Fritz in the hospital for a surgery. 

Good: Fritz is okay. 

Bad: I couldn't get an interview before my final project was due. So yeah. My biggest thought was, I. Am. So. Freaking. SCREWED.

That, my dear readers (All three of you!), is where Kalen comes in.

Kalen's dA avatar, drawn by our friend Minnie-Mocha.

Kalen is my friend that I know through deviantART, which is an art website with a surprising lack of moderation from the moderators. We met through my other dA friend, Minnie-Mocha (though I doubt her real name is Minnie OR Mocha, but I could be wrong). I was panicking over not having an interview, so I message Kalen, trying not to sound like I was begging as I begged for an interview. And he said "sure."

So, here we are.

Kalen with his one true love, My Iced Tea, drawn by Minnie-Mocha. (Inside joke that only the three of us think is funny, sorry.)

**************

WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A NERD?
I wouldn't say so.

WHY?
For the reason that fanfiction has become a thing of the past, for myself.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE "NERDY" THING?
It used to be writing fanfiction, but since I've discovered dA (deviantART), I've started writing more poetry.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT IT?
What did I love most about fanfiction? I'd have to say the community. Even though I've basically quit, now and then I'll get a review. You see, normally how things work on fanfic is you climb onto a fandom and stay there. But you can find old 'fics' by going to an author’s profile.

So basically I like the word-of-mouth advertising.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER IT?
My sister used to write there. Now she'll hardly write at all, something she admits she wants to change. I checked on her 'fics' one day, and was like "Wow, these people are giving advice too," so I decided to try it out. That was last December. I mainly wanted feedback on my ability as a writer, what needed to be done to correct it, and how to provide more technically sound stories.

WHAT MEDIUM (COMICS, MOVIES, ETC.) DO YOU LIKE BEST?
I'd have to say I'm a fan of the Kiesh'ra series, written by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes - a novelist who had a book published at around my age.

WHY DO YOU PREFER THAT MEDIUM?
Mainly the author, though the stories she writes themselves are good too. I like her because I can identify with the way she writes.

WHAT IS THE NERDIEST THING ABOUT YOU?
... I do not know. Ask Mocha, she may know.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE?
I'd have to say my favorite genre would be mystery and macabre.

NAME FIVE THINGS THAT YOU LIKE THAT NO ONE ELSE LIKES OR CARES ABOUT.
Hard thing to create, but I'll give it a go:

a) My taste in music is 'odd,' so at times my music.
b) ... Does a certain type of food count? Cause there's this one Korean snack I like.
c) NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) which is a BSA nationally used programme, is something only my family has taken interested in. I was asked back to become a Staffer for next year, which I've accepted.
d) ... the way I wear a choke-chain on my wrist some times. I haven't needed it for my dog for awhile, and I like the cold metallic texture . . . it's a weird feeling. But I like it.
e) I actually have a pretty supportive family (& friends) now that I think about it. I guess I should see myself as being lucky, yes?

DO YOU LIKE BEING A NERD?
I wouldn't consider myself one, but the people I know who have a more creative streak seem to love it.

WHY OR WHY NOT?
I just believe that writing - in the genre I write in, anyway - isn't nerdy. I'm not much of a video-games person, though I do admit that the Fable games are pretty fun.

DO YOU CREATE ANYTHING THAT'S NERDY? (I.E. -- WRITING FANFICTION, CREATING COMICS, ETC.)
As I believe I've already said, I've written fanfictions. Under the pseudonym Kalen Bloodstone, I wrote a verity of 'fics,' mainly sticking to the Artemis Fowl series and the Inheritance Cycle.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FAMOUS NERD?
I'd have to say Screech, from Saved by the Bell.

WHY?
I would say that Screech is my favorite Nerd, as the actor was great at what he did.

NOW FOR SOME RANDOM QUESTIONS TO SATISFY MY TEACHER'S WORD COUNT REQUIREMENT!
Like I haven't written enough? Pft. LIES! xD

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME ON MAGICAL ADVENTURES WITH MY FAIRY UNICORN (WHICH CAN DRILL INTO THE GROUND WITH ITS EARS)?
... Perhaps. Is this roleplay? Cuz' I don't normally do that.

JACK BLACK OR BILL GATES?
Jack Black, all the way.

MY LITTLE PONY OR CARE BEARS?
I'd like to say neither . . . I don't like either . . . um . . . PUPPIES!

GI JOE OR TRANSFORMERS?
I must again claim: PUPPIES!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PUDDING?
I love pistachio pudding! It's been a favorite since 2nd grade.

IF YOU COULD SLAP ANY FICTIONAL CHARACTER, WHO WOULD YOU PICK? (YOU ONLY GET ONE SLAP!!!)
... Bobby Pendragon, from the Pendragon Series. Why? Cuz' he can't see one dang thing about his relationships as well as his life.

IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO, WHO WOULD YOU BE?
... Does Van Helsing count? He sounds pretty awesome. Actually it does count! Though he isn't a superhero, I remember my sister saying something about a comic book series . . . hope she was right.

WOULD YOU HAVE A SIDEKICK?
I believe he has an Abbot who creates his weaponry and other gadgets.

X-RAY VISION?
I don't believe so.

A SECRET IDENTITY?
I believe - from what I can remember from the movie - that Van was the archangel Gabriel.

**************

So that was Kalen. He may not consider himself a nerd, but it counts as my final project, right, Johnny?

Right?

....someone please say "right."

Fear Itself (Teen Titans episode)

I'm going to begin this review... with a history lesson.

Teen Titans was an enormously popular series on Cartoon Network that aired from July 2003 to January 2006. (Before you go saying that if it's popular it isn't nerdy, just hear me out, because the basis of it was extremely nerdy.) Not many people know that the Titans actually made their debut in comic book form, way back in the ancient times (well, okay, 1964). They were pretty popular-- never to the same extent as their adult competitors such as Batman and Superman, but still, not bad-- and Cartoon Network realized that they could make money off of these characters by giving them a makeover, giving them a cartoon, and marketing that cartoon to kids and teenagers. And it worked! The Teen Titans series was a hit, focusing on five teen superheroes: Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg.

I remember when I discovered this series. I was seven years old, just a wee little Susie, and I was bored, so I began flipping channels. Home Shopping... no... Disney... no... TLC... no... Cartoon Network... no-- wait. I'd never seen this show before! Superheroes... robots... monsters... magic... this show seemed to have everything I loved. I found out at the commercial that I had stumbled across Teen Titans, an episode called Nevermore, to be precise.

Oh, and they did give the Titans a makeover. I mean, they changed the hell out of Starfire:

 

STORY

The Titans are called to stop a new villain called Control Freak from taking over a video rental store. Control Freak is only, as Raven puts it, "a couch potato with a souped-up remote," so the Titans don't take him all that seriously. After a fight, they easily beat Control Freak, send him off to prison, and rent a new horror movie, Wicked Scary.

Control Freak

When they return to Titan Tower, they all watch the movie, and are all terrified. Well, Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg are all terrified. Raven simply says, "I don't do the 'fear' thing."

Later that night, the Titans hear a noise and go to investigate. It turns out to be nothing, and Raven once again refuses to admit fear. But when the others begin disappearing, Raven is left all alone in Titan Tower with monsters made of pure darkness as her only company.

CHARACTERS AND DIALOG

This episode focuses mostly on Raven, so I'll talk about her. I love her in this episode. Raven always has a "have no fear" attitude, so this episode shows her when she's afraid and vulnerable, but refuses to admit it. It's a nice change. Even when she's terrified, Raven still makes snarky comments throughout, making some of her interactions with Beast Boy (resident comic relief guy) hilarious.

ANIMATION

The animation in this series is always good, and this episode is no exception.

VOICE ACTING

Tara Strong voices Raven, and, as every cartoon lover knows, Tara Strong is basically Voice Acting God. Or Goddess, whichever you prefer. Her voice is really incredible, whether she's doing a boyish voice for Timmy Turner, or Raven's dry and deadpan voice.

FINAL GRADE

8.5/10


"Split up?! SPLIT UP?! DID YOU NOT SEE THE MOVIE?! When you split up, the monster hunts you down one at a time, starting with the good-looking, comic relief guy: ME!"
                 -Beast Boy

The Creature that Lived in the Refrigerator, Behind the Mayonnaise, Next to the Ketchup and to the Left of the Cole Slaw! (Garfield and Friends Episode)

For those of you who are living under a rock, Garfield is a comic strip by Jim Davis. It started in 1978 and is still running today. It centers around Garfield, a fat, lazy orange tabby cat with a love of Italian foods, Jon Arbuckle, his unbelievably dorky owner, and Odie, the stupidest canine character ever put on paper (he's like the inverse of Snoopy). In 1988, Garfield got his own cartoon: Garfield and Friends, which is made up of three shorts each. He also got a CGI cartoon in 2008, The Garfield Show, which is still on air. I like The Garfield Show and all, but you can't beat the classics, and Garfield and Friends is definitely a classic to Garfield fans such as myself.

One of my favorite shorts is The Creature that Lived in the Refrigerator, Behind the Mayonnaise, Next to the Ketchup and to the Left of the Cole Slaw!, which is part of Show 81, so I'm gonna review it today.

STORY

This is part of a recurring mini-series on Garfield and Friends: GARFIELD'S TALES OF SCARY STUFF!!!. This particular Tale of Scary Stuff has an especially scary opening: Jon is cooking something new! The horror! Naturally, Garfield and Odie try to make a run for it, but that doesn't work out, and they're forced to try the new recipe anyway. They do, and everyone-- even Jon-- agrees that it's pretty awful. So they order a pizza instead. Instead of throwing the "food" out, like any sensible person would do, Jon sticks the "food" into the refrigerator, behind the mayonnaise, next to the ketchup, and to the left of the coleslaw.

We then move ahead by several months. By then, everyone has of course forgotten about the "food". Jon, however, stumbles across it one day, and finds out that it's no longer "food"... it's alive!

CHARACTERS AND DIALOG

Garfield is, as always, being his usual snarky self, which is a great foil to both Jon's being clueless and Odie's... being Odie. The character's interactions are hilarious and in-character, and the dialog in this short is some of my favorite in the entire series.

ANIMATION

Since this show was made in the 1980s, everything is bright and colorful. The animation isn't perfect, and I've certainly seen better, but it could've been a lot worse.

VOICE ACTING

Lorenzo Music often voices Garfield, and this is no exception. (In fact, Lorenzo's voice acting in The Garfield Show is one of the few things that's just as good as this series.) His dry, sarcastic, but flexible voice is absolutely perfect for Garfield. I can't imagine anyone else in the role.

FINAL GRADE

9/10

"When will people learn to be more responsible with their leftovers?"
          -Police Officer

Top 5 Things That I Like That No One Else Likes or Even Cares About

5. Chef! (TV show)

Sometimes I think I'm the only person on the planet who's ever heard of this thing besides my mom. The show follows Gareth (played by Lenny Henry), an excellent but somewhat arrogant chef who makes snarky comments to just about everyone he meets, and the staff of his restaurant's kitchen. It doesn't have very many episodes and is pretty much unknown, but it's really awesome. Plus the theme song is great:

4. Nero Wolfe (TV show)

This was also a book series, but I've never read those (note to self: READ THOSE), so I'll just focus on the 2001 TV show, titled A Nero Wolfe Mystery. It's about a detective, Nero Wolfe (played by Maury Chaykin), who's fat, lazy, loves petunias, and has very little patience for stupid people (or people in general, really), but is still really good at his job. His assistant, Archie Goodwin, is played by Timothy Hutton. Together, they solve mysteries (Nero's just in it for the cash, of course). My favorite episode would have to be Die Like a Dog, mainly because it's pretty much the only time Nero solves a case for a reason other than the money. Why does he solve it? A dog. No, really. See it for yourself if you don't believe me.

3. Tales of the Frog Princess (book series)

 Hey! Stop closing the window! Get back here! They're good books! What can I say? I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. The first book, the Frog Princess, follows Emma, a tall, awkward, redheaded, fourteen-year-old princess. While she's hanging out in the swamp (hiding from her mother and her obnoxious suitor, Prince Jorge), she meets a frog with a serious attitude problem. He claims that his name is Eadric, and that he's really a human prince, but after he criticized a witch's outfit, she got annoyed with him and turned him into a frog. If Emma kisses him, he'll turn back into his handsome(ish) self. She does, but... he doesn't. Hilarity ensues.

...don't judge me.

2. The Prince of Egypt (movie)

Basically, what would happen if the Ten Commandments was Disneyfied. The movie did pretty well when it first came out, but I'm the only person my age who's heard of it-- much less seen it-- that I know. But, hey, it's a good story, and I personally love this Rameses a lot more than the one in Ten Commandments. He's more developed and sympathetic-- he loves his brother, Moses, but is (of course) pissed when God plagues Egypt, particularly with the death of the firstborn son. Moses is more believable, too. He makes mistakes, especially before he found his calling, but is still a good man who wants to do the right thing. And yes, I admit to laughing at this corny joke towards the beginning:

 (Moses and Rameses are late for a banquet.)
Rameses: I'm done for. Father will kill me.
Moses: Relax. Nobody will even notice us come in.
(They enter. Everybody notices. And cheers.)
Rameses: Nobody will even notice?!

1. Return to Oz (movie) 

One of the few instances in which I like the sequel better than the original. This sticks to the books much more faithfully than the original movie with Judy Garland does. And, even without that, it's... just... better. Dorothy is actually played by a kid, the villains are scary and charismatic, everyone's more badass, and the storyline is DARK. It shows Dorothy a few months after the tornado that took her to Oz the first time. She's told Aunt Em and Uncle Henry about her adventures there, but no one believes her. In fact, they're a bit worried for her mental health, so they take her to a doctor, where she has to spend the night. The treatment the doctor plans to give her is... not very healthy. It's shock therapy, actually. (Yay, 1899!) A mysterious girl helps Dorothy escape the hospital, but Dorothy is caught in a storm. When she wakes up, she's in Oz once again, but everything is very, very wrong.

West Side Story (movie/musical)

Ah, musicals. I love them, no matter what you might say. I don’t care if people don’t sing and dance all the time in real life! (Though, seriously: HOW FREAKING COOL WOULD THAT BE?) West Side Story first premiered on Broadway in 1957, and was adapted into a film into 1961, which is what I’m going to be reviewing here. It is an adaptation of William “The Bard” Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet, only with Americans vs. Puerto Ricans instead of the Montague family vs. the Capulet family. The book was written by Arthur Laurents. The music was done by Leonard Bernstein, and the lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim. The (excellent) choreography was done by Jerome Robbins.

STORY

The story is set in Manhattan in the 1950s. Two gangs of teenagers, the Jets and the Sharks, get in a fight. Again. The Jets are made up of Americans—“Manhattan natives”—and lead by Riff. The Sharks are immigrants from Puerto Rico, lead by Bernardo. The Jets decide that enough is enough—the two gangs are just going to have to duke it out, once and for all. There’s a dance tonight, and Riff says that they can arrange a War Council with the Sharks there. He also decides to bring in Tony, a former member of the Jets and Riff’s best friend, “birth to earth, womb to tomb”. Tony agrees to meet the Jets there. Meanwhile, Bernardo’s little sister, Maria, is arguing with Bernardo’s girlfriend, Anita. Maria, too, is going to the dance, and wants Anita to shorten the skirt of her dress. Anita refuses, and Maria loses the battle.

At the dance, Maria and Tony’s paths cross, changing the course of these two gang’s lives forever.

CHARACTERS AND DIALOG

I’m going to be upfront: I find Anita and Bernardo far more interesting than Maria and Tony. It just seems to me that Maria and Tony fall for each other too quickly. Granted, this was carried over from Romeo and Juliet, but it still could’ve been improved. Besides, back when Romeo and Juliet takes place, people getting married when they barely knew each other was pretty normal. Despite it taking place in the 1950s, Maria and Tony only know each other for about an hour before deciding they love each other. Anita and Bernardo seem more real to me. It’s implied that they’ve known each other for a long time before getting together, and Anita and Bernardo both have their flaws, unlike our protagonists, who are pretty much perfect. But don’t get me wrong; I like Maria and Tony just fine—I just wish that they were as interesting as the other characters. The dialog is about average—nothing amazing, but still pretty good. Though the made-up slang can get really stupid.

CAMERAWORK

I like the camerawork in this. The shots are well-done and pull you in.

SET

The sets in this film are great. They look like a real city would in the 50s: dirty and grimy, but still livable. I like the bridal shop scenes; the dresses and accessories all over the place make it seem real.

COSTUMES

The costumes are realistic, and nice to look at, emphasis on the girls. I especially love the dresses the girls wore to the dance:

MUSIC

The music from this musical is really something special. Stephen Sondheim actually doesn’t like the lyrics he wrote for this. I disagree. One of my favorite lyrics is from the Tonight Quintet, sung by both Maria and Tony:

Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, yet still, the sky is light. Oh, moon, grow bright, and turn this endless day to endless night.

That song is my favorite, but Gee, Officer Krupke is a close second.

CHOREOGRAPHY

The dancing in this film is amazing. It totally makes up for the particularly corny scenes. The best is probably the beginning scene, with the Jets and the Sharks facing off, which finally results in an all-out brawl.

FINAL GRADE

7/10

“There’s a place for us… somewhere.”

-Tony, Somewhere

Mario Party 8 (video game)

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

One thing that you should know about me is that I am a huge Nintendo fangirl, particularly Super Mario Brothers. Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Princess Peach, Yoshi… I love them all. And this is the first video game I ever played that WASN’T on a Gameboy Advance, and the one that introduced me to the world of Mario.

STORY

This game doesn’t really have a story. Basically, you’re at the Star Carnival and can go into different tents. The main tent is the Party Tent, where it’s like a board game, only you’re actually walking across the board instead of moving a piece. You choose from 5 boards (Shy Guy’s Perplex Express is my favorite), and you can unlock a 6^th one later in the game.

CHARACTERS

You choose from 12 different characters to be, and you can unlock Blooper and Hammer Bro later. It doesn’t really matter who you pick.

GAMEPLAY

A large amount of the gameplay is made up of minigames, some easy, some hard. Most are based on skill (like Swing King), but some (like Cut from the Team) are based purely on luck. Controls are simple to understand and easy to use.

GRAPHICS

The graphics in this game are pretty good. They’re bright, colorful, and fun to look at. However, I’d like them more if they were a bit more detailed. Also, the brightness can be a bit too much.

SOUNDTRACK

The music in this game is fun and light (unless Bowser is involved; then it changes to hardcore rock). It can be a bit repetitive after a while. Each board has its own soundtrack.

FINAL GRADE

7/10

“Welcome to the Star Carnival!”

                -MC Ballyhoo