Author: Craig Zablo

How Common is Your Birthday?

Posted on by

How often do you meet someone who has the same birthday as you?  Not often, right?

At first glance, you’d probably think the odds were 1 in 365.  In actuality, the odds are better or worse depending on the day you were born.

My birthday, October 22nd, is according to the chart, pretty common.

Yet, I can only remember meeting one person who shared “my” birthday.  We went to elementary and junior high together.  Her name was, and I kid you not, Becky Beavers.  She was a sweet kid despite the time we got into a spitting contest in second grade.  What were we thinking (definitely not about our shared birthday)?

“Escape Plan” Gets a Poster & 3 Wallpapers

Posted on by

The poster for Escape Plan, starring Sly and Arnold Schwarzenegger was released this week and it is a nice one!

Inspired by the Escape Plan poster, StalloneZoner, Ferhat TEMİZ made these three wallpapers. Click on each to get the wallpaper-sized version.  Thanks to Ferhat! – Craig

“Elysium” Makes the “Must See” List

Posted on by


Until today, I hadn’t really paid close attention to Elysium.

Sure, I knew it was a sci-fi film written and directed by Neill [District Nine] Blomkamp and had Matt Damon and Jodie Foster as its leads.  It wasn’t until I watched this trailer that Elysium made it to my “must see” list.

 

 

If you want to see a larger version of the Elysium poster you can over at IMPAwards.  Elysium also has a Facebook page.

The Art of Sean Phillips is Coming!

Posted on by

Yesterday I put in my preorder for The Art of Sean Phillips.   It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Sean Phillips’ art and have been looking forward to his art book for a while.  The Art of Sean Phillips is an over-sized 9″ x 12″ hardcover with more than 300 pages!

Here’s how the book description describes it…

The Art of Sean Phillips is a lavish, career-spanning retrospective of the acclaimed artist behind Criminal, Sleeper, Incognito, and Fatale.

Sean has personally selected the very best, most interesting examples of his art for inclusion, from comic strips assembled with childhood friends in his bedroom, through his work for British girls’ comics and 2000AD, to his role as a key artist in the early years of Vertigo, through his superhero work for Marvel, DC, and WildStorm, and finally from his creator-owned series with Ed Brubaker.

Also, the renowned artist has been extensively interviewed, along with many of his key collaborators, for the book’s in-depth commentary on his work and career.

Here’s where you can see some preview pages thanks to Comic Vine.

The Art of Sean Phillips is available for pre-order now.

“The Guns of Shadow Valley” Now on Kickstarter

Posted on by

The Guns of Shadow Valley by Dave Wachter [co-creator & artist], James Andrew Clark [co-creator & writer] and Thomas Mauer [Letterer] is now available on Kickstarter.

The Guns of Shadow Valley started as a weekly web comic set in 1870’s in the mysterious Shadow Valley where a…

“posse of gunmen with special abilities must come together and defend against a tribe of ghostly warriors, an advancing army led by a deranged Colonel, and the perils of the valley itself.”

It’s more than just a western, it has elements of “science fiction, steampunk, superpowers, mysticism, and folklore.”

The Guns of Shadow Valley was nominated for the Eisner Award for ‘Best Digital Comic’ in 2010, and for the Harvey Award for ‘Best Online Comics Work’ in 2011. Dave Wachter was nominated for the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award in 2012.

If you’ve never read The Guns of Shadow Valley, why not check it out?  Then if you like what you see, please consider swinging by The Guns of Shadow Valley Kickstarter and become a backer.  There are backer levels [with cool rewards at each level]  to suit every budget.

Z-View: HeroesCon 2013

Posted on by

That’s the self-titled Corduroy Mafia at Heroes Con 2013.  From left to right we have Brian Jones, me, Gene Gonzales, John Nacinovich and Royce Thrower. How we gave ourselves the name Corduroy Mafia is a tale for another time.  Instead I present my HeroesCon 2013 summary.

The Drive Up:

Doralya and I left Friday morning.  We planned to leave earlier, but a late start got us on the road at about 5am.  Traffic was terrible, two different wrecks slowed us down and it rained almost the entire way.  From now on, we plan to drive up the night before the con starts.

The hotel:

We usually stay at the Weston, but this year it was the Hampton Inn Charlotte – Uptown.  What a great hotel!  It’s super-clean with the friendliest staff I’ve ever seen.  Free shuttle service and free breakfast made the stay even better. I’d definitely stay here again!

Main Goal of the Show:

My main goal was to meet (for the first time) and get a sketch from Rick Burchett.  I’m happy to report that Rick is as nice as he is talented — yeah, he’s really that friendly!  I hoped to get Rick to draw Jack Carter (Stallone) with Chris Mills/Rick Burchett’s character, Grave Digger (Lee Marvin).  Rick said he could make that happen!

I then got Greg Rucka to autograph two of my Atticus Kodiac novels.  I’ve been a Rucka fan since before he started working in comics — and was pleased when he teamed with Rick Burchett on Lady Sabre.  Eric Newsome was at the table as well.  Eric assists with the Lady Sabre website and more.  Since I am a backer of their Lady Sabre Kickstarter, I knew the password to get an advance look at a Lady Sabre script!  Eric also reminded me that he had done a Stallone sketch for the SZ!  It was great talking to Rick, Greg and Eric.

Books signed:

  • My original hardcover Berni Wrightson’s A Look Back
  • My first edition Chandler by Steranko
  • Two of my Greg Rucka Atticus Kodiac novels
  • Road Trip by Sean Murphy.  

All books autographed — mission accomplished.

Sketches:

  • Dave Wachter (mini-head sketches): Lords of Flatbush and Bullet to the Head
  • Drew Moss (busts): Get Carter and Rocky
  • Jerry Gaylord: Get Carter and Demolition Man
  • Mitch Gerads (head sketch): Expendables 2
  • Mike Torrance: several sketch cards
  • Gene Gonzales (head sketch): Get Carter
  • Manny Aguilera: Over the Top and Demolition Man (surprise gifts from LittleJohn312 & Patricia), Get Carter.
  • Rick Burchett is going to do my piece from home.

Panels:

  • The Inkwell Awards (and keeping with tradition, LittleJohn312 and Patricia joined me).
  • Jim Steranko (again with LJ & P) – Steranko is a charmer and captivated the crowd with his great stories!
  • Crime Panel: Greg Rucka (Whiteout), Jason Latour (Loose Ends), and Jason Aaron (Scalped) interrogated by Vito Delsante.  

It’s only been in the last several years that I’ve made a real effort to attend panels.  Without a doubt, they have made the con experience even more fun.

Drink and Draw:

Because of weather it was held in the lobby of the Hilton.  Jack the Radio provided live music — they’re good!  The place was packed, but the Hilton staff was very accommodating and brought out more seats. Patricia, Doralya and I enjoyed watching and messing with LittleJohn312 as he attempted to win some art — and he did!

HeroesCon Auction:

As always the auction was a fun night.  LittleJohn312 won a Wizard of Oz piece (as well as the companion piece that was in next day’s auction).  The move to have professional auctioneers is helpful, but Alison’s presence as the Mistress of Ceremonies was missed.

Kickstarter:

Some HeroesCon guests had Kickstarter projects that I had backed.  I made sure to swing by and congratulate each on their Kickstarter success:

  • Greg Rucka / Rick Burchett with Lady Sabre
  • Jeremy Haun with Bad Karma  (I missed seeing Alex Grecian, B. Clayton Moore & Seth Peck)
  • Eric Powell with The Goon movie

Meals:

The biggest surprise is that we only ate at Fuel once.  It was good to keep that tradition alive, but not over do it.  The best meal we had was at Fujo Bistro — we will definitely hit that place again next year!  Bojangles and Einstein’s Bagels also got our business.  Sadly we did not make it to Mert’s.

The Drive Home:

We left about 5:30 and arrived home at about 12:30am.  Traffic and rain were both light and we were exhausted, but in a good way.

In closing:

HeroesCon this year was huge with twice the floor space as previous years.  The wider aisles made movement easier.  There were also additional sections this year with chairs and tables for con guests to sit, eat and visit.  The bigger painting area was also a plus.

I’ve had to rewrite this sentence several times, because I come off like a real fanboy trying to say how “cool” it was to meet Rick Burchett and Steranko.  Let’s just say it was great and leave it at that.

Seeing old friends and meeting new ones is always a fun part of the show.  I won’t try to list them all because invariably I would leave some out.

Thanks to Shelton and his crew for another great HeroesCon — see everyone next year!

The 30 Greatest War Movies Ever

Posted on by

Over at Shortlist.com, they posted their choices for The 30 Greatest War Films Ever.  That’s them pictured above.

Ok, using just their choices, here are my top five:

1. The Dirty Dozen – Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Clint Walker, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, George Kennedy.  These guys were the original Expendables.

2. Saving Private Ryan – The opening sequence is enough to put this at the top of any great movie list.  Add in Spielberg, Hanks, Sizemore, Pepper, Burns, Diesel, Damon, Danson and the rest and you end up with a solid war movie.

3. Zulu: A small band of British soldiers vs the whole Zulu nation.  Look for a young Michael Caine in a supporting role.

4. Platoon: I have to admit, I didn’t really care for this movie when I first saw it in a theater.  My buddy, John Beatty told me to give it another shot.  I went back and saw it again in a theater.  I liked it a lot better.  It has grown on me with each additional viewing over the years.  Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Berenger are the three biggest stars but look for a young Johnnie Depp in a supporting role.

5. Full Metal Jacket: It’s almost like you have two different war movies for the price of one.  Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio and R. Lee Ermey (in a breakout role), directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Although they didn’t make the list, what about: Blackhawk Down and Aliens?

HeroesCon, Here We Come!

Posted on by

In just a few hours, Doralya and I will be heading up to Charlotte for our annual pilgrimage to HeroesCon.  I can’t wait.  It’ll be nice to get away for a “long” weekend… especially since I’ll be spending it at Heroes.   There’s always plenty to do.  Look at the guest list and schedule of events and you can see I’m not kidding.

Hope to see you there, but if you can’t make the show, don’t worry, I’ll post a full report later in the week.

[And Chris, if you’re reading this, remember: No parties!  Be sure to feed Bruiser!]

 

Michael Corleone’s Revenge Scene Cut from “Godfather II” is Here!

Posted on by

Did you know that a scene was cut from The Godfather II in which Michael Corleone [played by Al Pacino] committed a revenge killing?

This rare deleted scene from The Godfather Part II brings closure to a massive loose end: Michael’s brutal, long-delayed revenge on Fabrizio, the man who planted the car bomb that killed his first wife, Apollonia.

The scene is a chilling display of Michael’s transformation. He ensures Fabrizio meets the exact same fate—a car bomb explosion—confirming Michael’s reign as a ruthless Don who always settles his debts. This clip was cut from the theatrical release but appears in ‘The Godfather Saga.’

The Walking Dead 100 Project

Posted on by

Image Comics printed blank covers for The Walking Dead #100, and the Hero Initiative commissioned 100 top artists to do an original drawing on each cover to be auctioned for charity.  You can see the results here.

Talented artists including folks like Charles Adlard, John Beatty, Chris Ivy, Casey Jones, Karl Kesel, Peter Krause, Jeff Lemire, Shawn McManus, Paolo Rivera, Alex Saviuk as well as so many other turned in awesome art for a great cause.

I posted my favorite of the 100 at the top of this post — it’s by Ken Lashley.  Ken’s a new artist to me, but one that I’ll be following.