Arts & Entertainment, film, television, books, music, people and celebrities, arts

"Comic Book Men" (10 p.m. EST Sunday, AMC), set inside film director Kevin Smith's New Jersey comics-and-collectibles store, struggles to find a raison d'etre in its premiere episode.

PASADENA, Calif. - Looking back on it, actor Josh Lucas used to think it was only "a little strange."

But now, upon reflection, he sees it a little differently.

"A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH," Van Halen (Interscope)

Van Halen's back with "A Different Kind of Truth," and why not?

No more turntable.

That's the biggest change in "Les Miserables," the blockbuster that has been reworked for its 25th-anniversary U.S. tour.

"We could have had a turntable if we wanted, but then I think it would have been very easy to get sucked back into the old show," set designer Matt Kinley says. "The challenge was to do it in a new way."

A guide to movies from a family perspective:

"The Vow"

-- Rated: PG-13.

-- Suitable for: Mature tweens and older.

Here in the highly opinionated 21st century, we find ourselves in a divisive mood about so many things -- the economy, taxes, health care, the Super Bowl halftime show.

But it seems there are a few things we can agree upon: Blue skies are nice, ice cream is good, puppies are cute and Adele can sing her behind off.

PASADENA, Calif. - The barn doors opened, and Carol Peletier's life changed.

At least a dozen or so zombies came wobbling out of the barn in that scene in the midseason finale of "The Walking Dead" in December. One of them was most unexpected: Carol's missing daughter, Sophia, was no longer the sweet child her mother knew. She was now a gray-skinned, flesh-eating monster.

In the past 25 years, they've created more than two-dozen CDs for kids and adults and won two Grammy Awards.

Now singers/songwriters Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer have turned to a different audience: babies and their parents.

For those who have only heard about "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" and decided you hated it, the Tiger Mother has a request: Read it. All of it. And then decide.

The memoir, a global best seller that has prompted anger, scorn and vitriolic emails, is Amy Chua's account of raising her two daughters "the Chinese way."

TAMPA, Fla. - Banking pioneer Bob Samuels was ready for sun and relaxation by the pool. He told all his friends he was retiring to Tampa to write his memoirs.

That was 20 years ago. He self-published the book in November.