Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I’ve updated my blog and artist links sections with a bunch of really cool sites. I’m sure that you’ll find at least a couple that you’ll bookmark for return visits. [Hopefully not at the expense of visits here.]
This morning I headed over to the the Daytona Beach Comic and Toy Show. My buddy, Steve Myers, runs it and I knew that several other friends were going to be there as well. The plan was we’d all meet up at the show and then some of us would cut out for lunch. It was great seeing Bill and Reb Black, Nick Northey, Tim Gordon, Mark Gmuer, and Chris Hanson. I’d hoped to meet Jerry DeCaire, but he was running late and arrived just as I was leaving. John Beatty and Bella were also running late, and decided to just meet us at Uno’s for lunch. When we left the show there had already been over 100 people through the doors, so it looked to be a success.
On May 15th at 7:30 p.m. at select theaters nationwide, Stallone fans will be able to see a special showing of “First Blood.” Then, following the film, the alternate ending (where Rambo dies) will be shown for the first time ever in theatres. Then to top off this one night event an exclusive, never-before-seen interview with Sylvester Stallone [who will discuss all of the Rambo films] will be screened. – Craig
Today I swung by the April Sketch Society meeting for a couple of hours. The meeting is always held on the last Saturday of the month at the Java Junction in Holly Hill. One of the great things about Sketch Society is that you never know who’s going to show up. Two guys, O’Serimi and Owen joined the festivities for the first time. John Beatty [who started the Sketch Society], Rob Smith and Mark Dail were also in attendance. John worked on some Upper Deck Sketch Cards [sorry, but no pictures allowed]. O’Serimi, Mark and Owen worked on figure studies while Beatty and I did our best to keep up with Rob’s tales of his travels [and to NOT call him BOB].
Since I had to leave early I don’t have any photos of completed sketches, but promise to do better in May!
The art above is just a small sample of why I love Dave Johnson’s art. Click HERE for a bigger sample.
If you’re anywhere near Daytona Beach, Florida this Sunday, you may want to check out the Daytona Beach Comic and Toy Show. Jerry DeCaire who created the cool Punisher art for today’s header will be there. So will author Frank Feschino and a roomful of dealers. I’ll be there. Who knows, maybe I’ll come home with a new Stallone sketch for my gallery.
Saturday is the next meeting of Sketch Society. The festivities will be at Java Junction Donut and Coffee. I plan to arrive between 12:30 and 1 and hope to see you there!
Yesterday, my wife and I joined Jim Ivey and several of his friends to celebrate Jim’s 83rd birthday. Long time readers know that Jim Ivey is one of my oldest [as in been a friend the longest], oldest [as in age] and dearest friends. I first met Jim in the mid 1970’s when he was running The Cartoon Museum in Orlando, Florida. At the same time Jim was working as a syndicated cartoonist [The Thoughts of Man], a political cartoonist [The Orlando Sentinel], a publisher [CartooNews], teacher [UCF cartooning class] and even a comic book convention organizer [OrlandoCon]. At the time, I was into collecting comic books and later original art. Jim’s shop was like heaven.
Going to The Cartoon Museum became a weekly trip [almost always accompanied by my best friend, John Beatty]. When I moved to Orlando to attend UCF, my trips to Jim’s became even more frequent. We’d spend the day shooting the breeze and playing cards [blackjack, gin, hearts] and would occasionally stop for lunch or Jim to make a sale. Jim hated it when business got in the way of fun!
You never knew who would come through the store. Sometimes it was other buddies like Bill Black [pictured in the photo above with Jim and I], Mike Kott, Rafael Kayanan, or Robert Smith. Sometimes it was established artists like Mike Zeck, Bob McLeod, Bruce Stark or so many others.
As the years have gone by and we’ve all gone in different directions, I’m happy to say that most of us are still in touch fairly regularly. Many of us correspond via e-mail, but Jim doesn’t mess with computers. So it’s snail mail correspondence for us. I love getting my letters from Jim. Just like when we’d go to his shop and you’d never know what would be waiting; it’s the same experience opening an envelope from Jim.
But, I digress… back to the party.
Jim was happy to see the number of folks who made it to his party. Jim opened the festivities with a speech in which he talked about everything from the state of political cartoons today to the origins of Aborigines in Australia. We ordered our meals and while we were waiting Jim opened the gifts that had been brought to celebrate his 83rd. He received cigars, lottery tickets, and money — three of his favorite items — and more! The meals arrived and as we ate we shared stories… and more stories… and even more stories. Three and a half hours passed in what seemed less than an hour. There was enough laughter and fellowship packed into the short time, that it made me really wish that we could go back to the days of The Cartoon Museum with Jim running the show.
Oh well, if nothing else, we have Jim’s 84th to look forward to.
Hot on the heels of The Spirit teaser poster is The Spirit teaser trailer. 
Right now, THIS may be the coolest thing on the net.
Rotten Tomatoes has posted their picks for the 20 Greatest Fight Scenes Ever. They picked Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed as their #1 choice. Can’t say that I disagree.Although I think that they’ve left off some great fight scenes [Emperor of the North: Lee Marvin vs Ernest Borgnine; Hard Times: Charles Bronson vs Robert Tessier; etc], I’ll play along. Using just their choices, here are my top ten:
10. From Russia with Love: Sean Connery vs. Robert Shaw
09. The Karate Kid: Daniel-san vs. Johnny
08. Road House: Patrick Swayze vs. Ben Gazzara’s thugs
07. Charlie’s Angels: The Angels vs. Crispin Glover
06. Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Jones vs. the big, bald Nazi
05. They Live: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Keith David
04. The Matrix: Neo vs. Agent Smith
03. Game of Death: Bruce Lee vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
02. The Transporter: Jason Statham vs. everybody in the bus depot
01. Rocky: Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed
AICN has scored 
The List Universe posts their Top 20 Classic Tough Guys. Okay, I’ll play using just the guys on their list, here is how I’d rate them:
85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don’t get scores that high! Good show, old chap!
| What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland
“You have a Midland accent” is just another way of saying “you don’t have an accent.” You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. |
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| The Inland North | |
| The South | |
| The Northeast | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The West | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz |
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