EERIE Archives Volume 4 featuring Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Reed Crandall, Tom Sutton, Al Williamson, Ambrose Bierce & Edgar Allan Poe!

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EERIE Archives Volume 4 will be 256 pages when it is released on February 6, 2024.  Here’s the lowdown…

Follow your Cousin Eerie on a funeral march through the haunted halls of comics history in EERIE Archives Volume 4, now in a value-priced softcover format!

Join an all-star lineup of comics creators—Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Reed Crandall, Tom Sutton —as they mine your nightmares for ghoulish gold. Includes the adaptations of “The Death of Halpin Frayser” by Ambrose Bierce and “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and a lengthy interview with legendary comics illustrator Al Williamson.

Collects EERIE magazine issues #16–#22.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

“Hard Times” (1975) directed by Walter Hill, starring Charles Bronson & James Coburn / Z-View

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Hard Times (1975)

Director: Walter Hill

Screenplay: Walter Hill, Bryan Gindoff, Bruce Henstell from a story by Bryan Gindoff, Bruce Henstell

Stars: Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Margaret Blye, Michael McGuire, Michael McGuire, Bruce Glover, Robert Tessier, Nick Dimitri, Maurice Kowalewski, Naomi Stevens, Brion James and Frank McRae.

Tagline: New Orleans, 1933. In those days words didn’t buy much.

The Plot…

1933.  The depression rages.  A man known only as Chaney (Bronson) travels the rails from town to town.  He makes some money and moves on.  In New Orleans, Chaney happens on a warehouse where underground fights are taking place.  High rollers bet on the outcomes of each match.

Chaney watches with interest.  Chaney later meets with Spencer “Speed” Weed.  Weed manages fighters.  Chaney offers Weed the opportunity to manage him. They agree on percentages and head back to the warehouse.  When a promoter offers odds for anyone to take on his fighter, Chaney accepts. Odds are given and bets placed.  Chaney has six dollars to his name and bets it all on himself.  When he easily knocks out the other fighter, Speed sees dollar signs.

Speed tells Chaney he has a plan. If Chaney can beat a well known undefeated fighter, they stand to make a lot of money.  Chaney agrees.  Little do they know the double crosses that await.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Hard Times was Walter Hill’s directorial debut.  Hill followed Hard Times by directing The Driver, The Warriors, The Long Riders, Southern Comfort, 48hrs. and Streets of Fire.  What other director came out of the shoot with so many hits?

Hill’s original idea was for Chaney to be a younger actor. Someone like Jan Michael Vincent.  While that would have worked, when Charles Bronson expressed interest, it was pretty much a done deal.  I think that having Chaney be an older guy (Bronson was 53 at the time) works to the film’s benefit.

Bronson and Hill got along well, but never made another film together.  Bronson wasn’t happy with Hill’s opinion of Jill Ireland’s (Bronson’s wife) acting.  He also didn’t like that some of her scenes were cut.

Hard Times is one of my favorite Charles Bronson films.  It’s gets better with each new viewing.

Hard Times (1975) rates 4 of 5 stars.

Fargo | Installment 5 Teaser is Here! – Dot Lyon (Juno Temple) is a Homemaker

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It’s about to get saucy. Installment 5 of FX’s Fargo premieres 11.21 on FX. Stream on Hulu. 

| Visit Official Site https://fx.tv/Fargo

The latest installment of Fargo is set in Minnesota and North Dakota, 2019. After an unexpected series of events lands “Dorothy ‘Dot’ Lyon” (Juno Temple) in hot water with the authorities, this seemingly typical Midwestern housewife is suddenly plunged back into a life she thought she had left behind.

Frank Miller’s Very Limited Signed & Numbered SIN CITY: Marv & Nancy Callahan Lithographs!

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Frank Miller has teamed with MEL Publisher for a very limited set of two signed and numbered SIN CITY lithographs.

  • SIN CITY – MARV , 2022
    Lithograph in black on BFK Rives 400 grams paper.
    Numbered edition of 60 copies
    Signed in pencil by the artist
    160 x 107 cm
    Printed on the presses of the Idem workshop, Paris.
    Cost is approximately  $3,729.39
  • SIN CITY – NANCY CALLAHAN , 2022
    Screen printing in 3 colors on BFK Rives 300 grams paper.
    Numbered edition of 50 copies
    Signed in pencil by the artist
    90 x 62 cm
    Printed on the presses of the Tchikebe workshop in Marseille.
    Cost is approximately  $1,278.68

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Official Trailer directed by William Friedkin, starring Keifer Sutherland – The Trailer is Here!

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This looks good.  Deal me in!

Caine Mutiny Court-Martial follows a U.S. naval first officer who’s standing trial for orchestrating a mutiny after his captain shows signs of becoming unhinged and jeopardizes the lives of his crew. Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, Monica Raymund, Lewis Pullman, Jay Duplass, Tom Riley And Lance Reddick. Streaming October 6 with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. The stars have aligned. Paramount+ is the streaming home of SHOWTIME. Try Paramount+ for free today: https://prmntpl.us/PPlusYT

Subscribe to the SHOWTIME YouTube channel: http://goo.gl/esCMib

About The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: Barney Greenwald, a skeptical lawyer, reluctantly defends an officer of the navy who took control of the Caine from its captain, Lt. Philip Francis Queeg (Kiefer Sutherland), while caught in a violent sea storm. As the court-martial proceeds, however, Greenwald increasingly questions if it was truly a mutiny or rather the courageous acts of a group of sailors who could not trust their unstable leader. Written and directed by Academy Award®-celebrated filmmaker William Friedkin and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk of the same name. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial streaming October 6 with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan.

CREEPY Volume 6 featuring Harlan Ellison, Neal Adams, Archie Goodwin, Don Glut, Frank Frazetta, Tom Sutton, Ernie Colon & Vaughn Bodé

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Creepy Archives Volume Six will drop on March 26, 2024.  Clocking in at 288 pages it will feature…

The Eisner Award winning horror anthology series is now available in value-priced paperback editions!

Creepy Archives Volume 6 conjures a blood-curdling assemblage of shock, havoc, and nightmares by top comics fearmongers Archie Goodwin, Don Glut, Frank Frazetta, Tom Sutton, Ernie Colon, Vaughn Bodé, and more, and including “Rock God” by Hugo Award winning scribe Harlan Ellison, and illustrated by comics legend Neal Adams. Turn your happy home into a treacherous tomb with this terrifying tome!

Collects Creepy magazine issues 26–32.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (1928) starring Buster Keaton!

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Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

Director: Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton (uncredited)

Writer: Carl Harbaugh

Stars: Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron and Joe Keaton.

Tagline: What a thrill! Worth the price of admission alone to see what happened to Buster when the twister hit the town.

The Plot…

William “Steamboat Bill” Canfield is a big, rugged man’s man.  Bill owns and operates the Stonewall Jackson which is an old paddlewheel tourist ship.  J. J. King, a rich business man, has brought in a new steamer and plans to put Steamboat Bill out of business.

Bill’s son (who he hasn’t seen in years) just graduated college and has arrived for a visit. Steamboat Bill is shocked to discover his son is small, awkward and wimpy.  Bill Sr. is determined to make a man out of his son. To complicate matters, Bill Jr. has a budding romance with Kitty, who has also returned from college.  The rub is Kitty is J.J. King’s daughter!

Let the good times sail!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Steamboat Bill, Jr. is considered a classic.  It’s in the National Film Registry.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. features one of the most famous and copied stunts of all time.  If you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably seen a clip of the stunt.  As a tornado hits the town, Keaton is standing in the street.  The front of an entire house falls down on Keaton.  Luckily, the upstairs window is open and Keaton fits through perfectly.  Many movies and television shows have recreated this stunt, but Keaton was the first!

Steamboat Bill, Jr. was also the inspiration for Mickey Mouse’s debut in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie!

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) rates 5 of 5 stars.

CREEPY Archives Volume Five featuring Archie Goodwin, Steve Ditko, Reed Crandall, Angelo Torres & Alex Toth!

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Creepy Archives Volume Five will drop on January 23, 2024.  It’ll be 224 pages of horror comics fun!

The Eisner Award winning Creepy Archives series is now available in value-priced paperback editions!

Enter a world of the finest in spine-chilling storytelling from comics legends Archie Goodwin, Steve Ditko, Reed Crandall, Angelo Torres, Alex Toth, and more. Creepy Archives Volume 5 unearths a treasure trove of horror, homicide, and hauntings that set the stage for many a nightmare. Includes the adaptation of the harrowing H. P. Lovecraft classic “The Rats in the Walls.”

Collects Creepy magazine issues 21–25.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

Creepy Archives Volume 5

“Jack Ryan: Season 4” (2023) starring John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Betty Gabriel & Michael Peña, / Z-View

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Jack Ryan: Season 4 (2023)

Written by: Vaun Wilmott and Aaron Rabin and Steven Kane (ep. 25); Aaron Rabin (ep. 26, 30); Jada M. Nation (ep. 27); Robert Port and Aaron Rabin (ep. 28); Joe Greskoviak and Aaron Rabin (ep. 29)

Directed by: Lukas Ettlin (ep. 25, 29-30 ); Jann Turner (ep. 26, 28); Shana Stein (ep. 27);

Stars: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Michael Kelly, Betty Gabriel, Michael Peña, John Hoogenakker and Adam Bernett.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Jack Ryan steps down as the CIA’s Acting Deputy Director in order to go into the field.  Evidence points to collusion between a high ranking US government official(s) with one or more people in the CIA and a drug cartel/terrorist organization.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Jack Ryan has been nominated for 3 Prime Time Emmy Awards:

  • 2019  Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role – Nominee
  • 2019  Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) – Nominee
  • 2020  Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role – Nominee

It has been fun to see Jack Ryan develop from an brilliant analyst to a James Bond-type field agent.

Season four didn’t resonate as well with me as previous outings.  I liked it and thought it was well done.  The problem is we know Jack is going to survive.  The real danger is to the supporting characters.  John Krasinski is excellent as Jack Ryan.  The supporting cast is wonderful as well.  Kudos to Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Michael Kelly, Betty Gabriel and Michael Peña, (Soon congratulations may be in order for Peña since a spin-off featuring his character is in development.)

Jack Ryan: Season 4 (2023) earns 3 of 5 stars.

FAR SOUTH by Rodolfo Santullo & Leandro Fernandez

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FAR SOUTH by Rodolfo Santullo (writer) and Leandro Fernandez (artist) sounds like it might be pretty good.  Here’s the lowdown, followed by a couple of sample pages.  Click on them to see them biggie-sized.  Also keep in mind that they haven’t been translated to English yet.

What happens in the Far South stays in the Far South! Pimps, crooks and gauchos call it home even though it’s dirty, greasy and violent. Welcome to a ruthless world where violence is the only love language. A Sin City-esque graphic novel brought to you by Leandro Fernandez (The Old Guard) and Argentinian best-selling novelist Rodolfo Santullo.

An arid and wild land, cut off from the world, populated by rustic men with hot blood and fond of alcohol. This is where the taciturn Montoya runs a bar. A bar where the worst scoundrels in the area come to settle their differences or talk about their setbacks. This book will immerse you in the merciless world of these cowboys through a series of short stories of jubilant violence in the ancient land of the Gauchos!

“London After Midnight” starring Lon Chaney – A Rare Still!

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I continue to hold out hope that someday a print of London After Midnight will be found.  London After Midnight starred Lon Chaney, was directed and co-produced by Tod Browning.  There is no known copy of the film (the last known print was destroyed in a fire in the 1960s) and is considered to be the most “sought-after” lost film. From WikipediA…

London After Midnight (also marketed as The Hypnotist) is a lost 1927 American silent mystery film with horror overtones directed and co-produced by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, with Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran. The film was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was based on the scenario “The Hypnotist”, also written by Browning.

I truly hope that a copy of the film is found for fans, like me, to see.

John Benteen’s FARGO: HELL ON WHEELS – Adapted by Howard Chaykin

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I can not wait for this to go live.  Deal me in.


https://zoop.gg/c/fargo

A 96 page prestige format, action packed, hardcover graphic novel starring soldier of fortune Neal Fargo, based on the legendary ‘Fargo’ paperback series by John Benteen! Imagine if Conan was an American in the early 20th century. He still wouldn’t be as hard as Neal Fargo! Written and illustrated by the inimitable HOWARD CHAYKIN!

Exclusive Cover by DAVE JOHNSON.

Contributing artists also include Gary Frank, Butch Guice, Jordi Bernet, Enrico Marini, Robert Tanenbaum, Ron Garney, and more!

Who is Neal Fargo? Fargo has been described as “a combination of Robert E. Howard‘s Conan mixed with Sam Peckinpah‘s The Wild Bunch.  He was a big man, with wide shoulders, narrow hips the long legs of a born and bred horseman. His hair was close-cropped and snow white, though he was only in his thirties. He had grown up hard and never looked back. He’d punched cattle, rough-necked in the oil fields—even fought in the prize rings. He joined up with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and found his true calling—combat. His face was so battered, scarred, weathered and remarkably ugly that it was almost handsome. He drew helplessly admiring looks from the women and cautious, wary looks from the men. He was a soldier of fortune, for sale to the highest bidder—he was Fargo.

What’s the story? Fargo is hired to protect a small railroad on the verge of going out of business from being sabotaged by a larger ruthless and corrupt competitor. Fargo always enjoyed a challenge, and payback was fair play in his book. Fist fights, gunfights, women and whisky, ‘Hell on Wheels’ is a prime example of what makes Neal Fargo a timeless character in the world of adventure graphic novels. Combine that with the unique creative sensibility of Howard Chaykin, no stranger to tough, smart protagonists (with an eye for the ladies) and ‘Fargo: Hell on Wheels’ will be one of the most exciting independent graphic novels of the year!

“The Cosmic Hoax: An Expose” (2021) / Z-View

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The Cosmic Hoax: An Expose (2021)

Director: Michael Mazzola

Writer: Michael Mazzola

Stars: Steven M. Greer, Paola Harris, Carol Rosin and Daniel Sheehan.

Tagline:  None

The Plot…

Dr. Steven Greer believes that our government (and other governments) know about and are in contact with different aliens species. This has been going on for over 100 years.  Greer creates an interesting timeline and provides interviews with other like-minded people/”experts” as well as other evidence (although nothing conclusive).  It makes for an interesting presentation.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

I’m a sucker for well done docs on this (and other conspiracies).  Do not think that my viewing or high rating means I am a believer though.

The Cosmic Hoax: An Expose (2021) rates 4 of 5 stars.