Craig Zablo’s Zone

Archive for November, 2009

John Beatty, who’s no stranger to long-time Zoners, created this amazing drawing of Sly from “The Expendables” on Friday while I was hanging out in his studio. John’s been my best friend since junior high and gifted me with this piece since I’ve been serving as his co-host for some of his live UStream sketch sessions.

Although I have quite a few pieces in my collection, and it’s impossible to pick a single favorite, this piece by John is going to be tough for anyone to top. Thanks again to John for going above and beyond the call.

Later this morning I’ll be at my buddy, John Beatty’s studio co-hosting as he draws, what we like to call $10 Head Sketch Saturday. John will be drawing live on UStream as fans interact with us.  It’s always a blast, even for those not ordering sketches.  And if you want a sketch, it makes the session even more fun.  The festivities kick off at 11am EST.

Details are located here.  Hope to “see you” there.

When I was a kid, the wolfman was always my favorite movie monster.  While this poster is a step in the right direction, I still don’t hold high hopes for the new Wolfman movie coming out next month.  I hope I’m wrong, especially with that cast, but I have a feeling that The Wolfman is going to be a howler.

While I’m still really looking forward to “The Book of Eli”, I have to admit that some of the anticipation has worn off.  I read a couple of spoilers and if “the book” is what it is purported to be and the events take place just a few decades from now… well, it’s going to be tough to get over that plot conceit.  Still, I’m hoping for a fun couple of hours.

My wife read the novel The Lovely Bones a few years ago [long before I ever heard that there would be a movie].  She kept telling me how much she loved the book as she was reading it.  [I haven't read it myself, but might some day...]  Of course she wants to see the Peter Jackson adaptation and from all accounts it looks to be a winner.

Maybe I will have to read that book.

I really hope that the movie adaptation of The Road lives up to Cormac McCarthy’s novel.  If it even comes close we’re in for a great time.  I like the poster and hope that the praise on it is warranted.   If you’d like to see a map-sized version of the poster from IMPAwards.com, then click here.

The art above was drawn by my buddy, John Beatty. It’s his take on Sly as Cosmo Carboni from “Paradise Alley”. John has done quite a few drawings of Sly for me over the years and he’s about to do another this coming Friday. Only this time he’s drawing it LIVE on UStream and you can tune in to watch it being drawn.

As an added bonus, I’ll be co-hosting the event. We’re calling it “Black Friday Stallone”. While our wives are out dealing with the holiday crowds, we’ll hopefully have a small crowd of our own watching as John gives us his take on… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? We’ll be talking about Stallone, movies, tv, art, comics and more. We plan to get things started at about 11am. John will have a direct link on his site. Hopefully you can join us and add to the fun.

On Sunday, November 8, 2009, Frank Stallone dropped by City Line Pizza in Edgewater, Florida. Store co-owner, Joe V, is a SZoner, and gave me advance notice so I made plans to be attend. It was a totally cool experience. Frank was down to earth and spent the time talking with fans, signing autographs and CDs. You can read part one of my report here.

That’s Mike Tourney getting Frank to autograph his ultra-rare Valentine record album cover. [Valentine was Frank's band back in the early 70's.] Mike is a long-time Frank Stallone fan who collects autographs and guitar pics!

That’s me, Frank and SZoner Stephen Isaia. Stephen sent in the photos used last week and has provided us with photos before. He’s a true Stallone and StalloneZone fan and I was pleased to meet him!

We close out with a final shot of my wife, Doralya, Frank and me. It was great meeting Frank and I want to thank him again for all the support he’s provided the StalloneZone over the years. Frank is a great guy, an amazing artist [singer, song writer and actor]. It was a true pleasure to meet him.

I also want to thank SZoner Joe V. of City Line Pizza [great food!!] for the “heads-up”. Hopefully, Joe will be able to have Frank back again some time. If so, we’ll report it here!

I’m a fan of Francesco Francavilla’s art. Usually when Francesco releases a new sketchbook, he offers free “quick” sketches with each purchase. My first piece from Francesco was Sly from “Cop Land”. My second quick sketch was in Francesco’s sketchbook of classic horror movie characters and for that sketch he did a “Jack Carter” zombie.

My most recent Francesco sketchbook was dedicated to a character that Francesco created, “The Black Beetle”. Francesco came up with the idea for my sketch — what would the Black Beetle look like if played in a movie by Sly Stallone. LOL. How could I not go with it? You can learn more about the Black Beetle here. You can see more of Francesco’s art here, here and here.