Marv by Sabin Arditty!
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have a Marv by Sabin Arditty.
Author: Craig Zablo
“First Shift” (2024) written & directed by Uwe Boll / Z-View
First Shift (2024)
Director: Uwe Boll
Screenplay: Uwe Boll
Stars: Gino Anthony Pesi, Kristen Renton, Garry Pastore, Brandi Bravo, Daniel Sauli, Aaron Berg, Onye Eme-Akwari, Tom Ukah, Cate Bottiglione, Tamara Della Anderson and Willie C. Carpenter.
Tagline: Day One, Duty Calls
The Plot…
A hard-nosed NYPD cop is teamed with a new fresh-faced recruit from Atlanta. They have different styles, but unless they can come together as a team, they won’t survive day one.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Gino Anthony Pesi and Kristen Renton have enough on-screen chemistry to make this one watchable… if you can’t find something better.
First Shift (2024) rates 2 of 5 stars.
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” (2025) starring Charlie Hunnam and Laurie Metcalf / Z-View
Monster: The Ed Gein Story (2025)
Created by: Ian Brennan
Directed by:
- Max Winkler (eps. 1-3; 6-8)
- Ian Brennan (eps. 4-5)
Teleplay by:
- (eps. 1-8) Ian Brennan
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Suzanna Son, Vicky Krieps, Laurie Metcalf, Tom Hollander.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Ed Gein was a murderer and grave robber. In 1957, when a sheriff’s deputy, following up on a missing person’s case went to Gein’s farm he discovered the missing woman’s decapitated body in a shed. The partial corpse was hung upside down and mutilated. In Gein’s house some of what authorities found included:
- Whole human bones and fragments
- A wastebasket made of human skin
- Human skin covering several chairs
- Human skulls mounted on bedposts
- Bowls made from human skulls
- A corset made from a female torso skinned from shoulders to waist
- Leggings made from human leg skin
- Masks made from the skin of female heads
- A victim’s face made into a mask in a paper bag
- A victim’s entire head in a burlap sack
- A victim’s heart in a plastic bag
- A belt made from female human nipples
- A pair of lips on a window shade drawstring
- A lampshade made from the skin of a human face
- more
Gein was determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. He was sentenced to a State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he lived until his death in 1984. Ed Gein’s murders and depravity inspired the novel (and later movie) Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Charlie Hunnam is almost unrecognizable as Ed Gein. Kudos to him for taking on such a challenging role. Laurie Metcalf is perfect as Gein’s mother.
I wish Monster: The Ed Gein Story stuck closer to actual events. Liberties are taken that I feel weaken the story. For example, Gein never had a love interest. Gein never chased down and killed lost hunters with a chain saw. Gein never had contact with Christine Jorgensen, an American actress famous for being known as the first transexual widely known in the United States.
Because of these fictional additions, it makes me question things when other real life personalitites, like Anthony Perkins and Alfred Hitchcock show up. I realize Monster: The Ed Gein Story isn’t a documentary. But it is supposed to be Gein’s story and that was creepy enough.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story (2025) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Hellboy by Eric Canete!
Check out Eric Canete’s Hellboy! I’m a fan of everything Eric Canete draws.
“We Bury the Dead” – The Second Poster is Better!
Here’s a new poster for We Bury the Dead. I like it a lot better than the first. What do you think?
“40 Acres” (2024) directed by R.T. Thorne, starring Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Greyeyes & Kataem O’Connor / Z-View
40 Acres (2024)
Director: R. T. Thorne
Screenplay: R. T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor, Lora Campbell
Stars: Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O’Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Tyrone Benskin, Mimi Côté, Patrick Garrow, John Tench, Derek Barnes and Elizabeth Saunders.
Tagline: Get off our land.
The Plot…
In a post-apocalyptic future Hailey Freeman’s family struggles to survive. They have become self-sufficient by farming and hunting on a remote piece of land. There are a few other small groups who have created farms or outposts as well. They stay in contact using shortwave radios. When a couple of the groups fail to respond, it is learned that a gang of cannibals are killing everyone in the communities. They feast, steal what they can and move on.
The cannibal tribe is now heading towards the Freeman farm.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
40 Acres was written by R. T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor, Lora Campbell in the screenwriting debut. It also marks R.T. Thorne’s directoral debut.
Danielle Deadwyler is a force to be reckoned with!
40 Acres deserves a wider-audience.
40 Acres (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.
Hellboy by Ariel Olivetti!
Who doesn’t love cool Hellboy art like the piece above created by Ariel Olivetti?
Rocky Balboa by Rich Hennemann!
Rich Hennemann is an amazing freelance artist. A few years ago I picked up his sketchbook and a sketch and I was hooked. Since then I’ve gotten several sketches from Rich.
Rich’s riff on Rocky Balboa is one of the first pieces I got from him. There will be more art from Rich Hennemann art in my future. If you’re a sketch collector, you owe it to yourself to get a piece as well.
FIVE GEARS IN REVERSE by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips!
Crime fiction fans will be excited to learn that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have a new CRIMINAL graphic novel coming out on June 23, 2026. It’s titled FIVE GEARS IN REVERSE: A CRIMINAL BOOK. Here’s the scoop…
A brand new CRIMINAL graphic novel featuring the legendary RICKY LAWLESS and the crazy tale of how he and MALLORY fell in love in the midst of a crime spree.
In one of the wildest, most action-packed books that Brubaker and Phillips have ever done, we delve deep into the life of one of CRIMINAL‘s most complex and tragic characters, Ricky Lawless as he tries to pay off a deep debt to a mobster, while things just keep going from bad to worse.
FIVE GEARS IN REVERSE will have long-time CRIMINAL fans cheering the return of RICKY LAWLESS and new readers will find it a perfect jumping-on-point for the greatest crime comic series of the 21st century.
“Brubaker and Phillips don’t hit a wrong note.” – Shane Black
Pre-orders are available now.
Awesome “Creature from the Black Lagoon” Painting by Andrew Robinson!
This Creature from the Black Lagoon painting by Andrew Robinson is awesome.
“Among Those Present” (1921) starring Harold Lloyd / Z-View
Among Those Present (1921)
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer
Screenplay: Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, H. M. Walker
Stars: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Aggie Herring, James T. Kelley and William Gillespie.
Tagline: A triple barreled comedy shot with laughter.
The Plot…
The O’Brien family are newly rich. Although Mrs. O’Brien wants to be accepted among society’s elite, her husband and daughter could care less. In an effort to rub elbows (and hopefully make new friends) Mrs. O’Brien hires a “society pilot” to guide her. He says she should host a fox hunt. She invites all the wealthy society elite.
When Mrs. O’Brien learns that Lord Abernathy is in town, she orders the “society pilot” to get him to the party. Unable to get Lord Abernathy to come, the pilot resorts to hiring a hotel bellboy to impersonate the Lord. The bellboy is way out of his comfort zone.
Sound the horn. Start the hunt!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Two years after the release of Among Those Present, Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis were married. The union lasted until her death in 1969.
Among Those Present (1921) rates 3 of 5 stars.
ROCKY: THE COMPLETE FILMS by Sylvester Stallone!
Sly Stallone and Rocky fans are going to love ROCKY. THE COMPLETE FILMS by Sylvester Stallone and editor, Paul Duncan. This 9.84″ x 13.39″ hardback will clock in at 320 pages.
Here’s the lowdown…
Rocky Balboa is the Philadelphian icon who took on the world and won. The original “Italian Stallion,” the gutsy fighter who rose above the odds to boxing glory, and a rags-to-riches legend in the business of making movies.
Ever since Sylvester Stallone unleashed his impassioned title character in 1976, the resilient fighter has earned his place in history as a symbol of tenacity and courage and a legend of cinematic success.
The story of Rocky the movie is as exciting as that of its eponymous boxer. Shot on a tight budget, with the virtually unknown Stallone writing the script as well as taking on the lead role, it became a surprise overnight sensation, generating millions in box-office revenues, notching up three Oscar wins, and transforming Stallone into a global star as an actor, writer, and director.
The Rocky phenomenon developed into a franchise of six films, including Rocky Balboa in 2006. In collaboration with Sylvester Stallone and MGM, this tome brings you all the guts and all the glory of the complete Rocky story.
Copious images, including many on-set pictures from famed sports photographer Neil Leifer, come together with precious archival material from the Academy Library and MGM archive to reveal the making of an enduring action hero as much as a movie masterpiece.
A foreword by Stallone and vintage interviews over the course of his career bring insight into the development of the hero and the franchise, as well as privileged access to the tenacity, spirit, and passion that characterized Rocky behind the scenes as much as on screen.
ROCKY, ROCKY BALBOA, and all related ROCKY Trademarks, Logos and Materials © 1976–2025 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ROCKY. THE COMPLETE FILMS drops on February 9, 2026. Pre-orders are available now.
“Beetlejuice” Alt Poster by Christopher Shy!
It’s cool how Christopher Shy leans into the creepy, horror aspect of Beetlejuice in his alt poster.
The Punisher by Marshall Rogers!
This cool Punisher piece by Marshall Rogers appeared in Super Spider-Man #180 (July 21, 1976). Click on the art to see it biggie-sized.
Source: Jason Schachter.
“Good Night and Good Luck” (2025) starring George Clooney / Z-View
Good Night, and Good Luck (2025)
Director: Micah Bickham, David Cromer
Screenplay: George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Stars: George Clooney, Mac Brandt, Will Dagger, Christopher Denham, Glenn Fleshler, Joe Forbrich, Jennifer Morris, Michael Nathanson, Andrew Polk, Aaron Roman Weiner and Fran Kranz.
Tagline: We will not walk in fear, one of another
The Plot…
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy leads investigations into individual citizens’ private lives in an effort to route out communists and get them blacklisted. CBS journalist and broadcaster, Edward R. Murrow, arguably the most popular newsman of his time, takes a stand against McCarthy despite the problems and dangers it could cause him and others around him.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Good Night, and Good Luck first appeared as feature film directed by George Clooney. In the film, Clooney played Fred Friendly. David Strathairn took the role of Edward R. Murrow. Clooney said the reason he didn’t take the lead in the movie was, “Murrow had a gravitas to him that at 42 years old I wasn’t able to pull off”.
Good Night, and Good Luck was the first ever live televised global broadcast of a Broadway play.
It’s ironic how events in the 1950s echo current events.
Good Night, and Good Luck (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.
