Category: Celebs

Mark Pennington’s Jack Carter

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Mark Pennington graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1985. Upon graduation Mark became a toy designer at Hasbro. Mark created designs for the G.I. Joe line of action figures including a Rocky Balboa GI Joe that never saw production! Mark’s first work as an inker in the comic book industry was for SQP on Judge Dredd!

When I started collecting original sketches of Sly, Mark was one of the first artists that I approached. I was excited to get this Rambo head sketch from him. Earlier this month I posted Mark’s take on Sly as Rambo.

Today we have Mark’s take on Sly as an older Jack Carter. Although we’ll never get a sequel to Get Carter, and it is not a perfect film, Get Carter remains one of my favorite Stallone movies. Sly was perfect as the “bad brother” — the man who knew that he’d taken the wrong path and saw a chance at redemption by finding his brother’s killer and keeping his niece and sister-in-law safe. So I thought it would be cool to get Mark to draw Sly as Jack Carter, but with some more years on him… sort of like Clint Eastwood’s performance in Unforgiven. I couldn’t be happier with the result!

Mark Pennington’s Rambo

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Mark Pennington graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1985.

Upon graduation Mark became a toy designer at Hasbro. Mark created designs for the G.I. Joe line of action figures including a Rocky Balboa GI Joe that never saw production! Mark’s first work as an inker in the comic book industry was for SQP on Judge Dredd!

When I started collecting original sketches of Sly, Mark was one of the first artists that I approached. I was excited to get this Rambo head sketch from him. In the next few weeks I’ll post Mark’s take on an “older” Jack Carter. Like today’s Rambo sketch, it’s another winner.

The Frazetta/Stallone Connection

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A couple of days ago when I was looking for art to accompany my post about Frank Frazetta’s passing, I considered a ton of pieces.  The decision was a tough one because Mr. Frazetta had created so many iconic images throughout his career and because so many had made such an impression on me.  One that I had considered was the Judge Dredd cover that Frazetta had painted for Mad magazine.  I thought that the cover might be an interesting choice since it had a Sly Stallone connection.  Ultimately, I decided against it.

Today, as I was reading Mark Evanier’s blog, I came across a piece about Frank Frazetta that included a story about how that Mad cover came to be and why the painting’s background had to be yellow.  It’s an interesting post even if you’re not a Stallone or Judge Dredd fan, but even more so if you are.  Plus it gave me the opportunity to post the Frazetta/Stallone connection art.

Rambo Statue Pre-Order

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Hey SZoners! Mark from Hollywood Collectibles wanted us to get a heads-up…

The Rambo statue is now up for pre-order;
http://hollywood-collectibles.com/rambo_18.html
If your guys use the code “Rambo” at checkout, they will get a 10% discount!

How cool is it that the Rambo statue is once again created by Edinho Maga who was discovered here at the StalloneZone?

Thanks to Mark and the good folks at Hollywood Collectibles for giving us another discount. Remember that the last Rambo statue sold out quickly. So put in your order, or drop some hints for a birthday, Father’s Day or even Christmas gift!

As always, any SZoner who orders one and sends me a photo with it, will have it posted on the StalloneZone!

From the Hollywood Collectibles website:

RAMBO IV 1:4 SCALE STATUE

“Heroes never die……..they just reload”

Standing an impressive 20” tall including base (to top of head – not including bow), this Quarter Scale statue captures Rambo’s raw intensity, as the “boatman” reveals his true colors to the mercenaries he is accompanying.


Featuring an accurate likeness of Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo from the latest Rambo movie, this amazingly detailed statue portrays Rambo with his now iconic bow in hand, poised to dispense instant justice with another arrow!
This incredible piece of art is constructed from heavyweight polystone and then hand painted to the finest detail.

Limited to just 500 pieces worldwide

There is no HCG Exclusive version of this piece. However if you like low serial #’s, we are reserving # 1 to # 100 for retail customers only. So the first 100 retail orders will receive the desirable low edition numbers!

Sculpted by Edinho Maga.
Painted by Dan “Danno” Cope.

Patrick Thomas Parnell’s Rambo

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Patrick Thomas Parnell created today’s sketch of Rambo. I first met Patrick at MegaCon earlier this year. I don’t think I’d ever even seen his art before. Patrick was doing these really cool, tall/thin color sketches for a reasonable price. I asked him if he’d be interested in doing a Stallone piece for my collection and he chose Rambo.

Fatima Camiloza: Jack Carter

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This week we have a watercolor piece of Sly as Jack Carter by Fatima Camiloza. I saw Fatima’s art here and noticed that she was doing ten dollar 4″x6″ watercolor pieces. I liked Fatima’s art enough to give it a go and the piece above is the end result.

I’m extremely pleased to have a piece by Fatima in my collection… and perhaps there will be more in the future!

Ray-Anthony Height’s Rocky

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I had the good fortune to meet Ray-Anthony Height at MegaCon this year. I was talking with a con buddy who had a table near where Ray was set up and I saw him knock out one cool sketch after another. It didn’t take long before I checked to see if Ray would be interested in doing a Stallone sketch. He was, and created the nice Rocky piece that you see above.

You can see more of Ray-Anthony Height’s art here and here. And if you’re so inclined, tell him I sent ya!

American Vampire #1

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The Pitch: Cowboys and Vampires, oh and did I mention Stephen King wrote one of the stories?

The Overview: Two stories [one written by Scott Snyder and the other by Stephen King, both with amazingly good art by Rafael Albuqerque] combine to tell the tale of Skinner Sweet.  In 1880, Sweet was an outlaw in the wild west.  That was also the year that he became a vampire.  Jump forward 45 years.  A young woman named Pearl comes to Hollywood to make her fortune in the movies.  Things are rough, but she has no idea how bad things can get until vampires are thrown in the mix, and I’m not just talking about Summer Sweet.

The Good: Both stories are excellent.  The concept works.  Rafael Albuquerque’s art is a joy.  Love the characters, especially Pearl.  Summer Sweet’s appearances in Pearl’s story is well done.  I am looking forward to more about the vampires in Hollywood.  Alburquerque draws a great western!  Love the foreshadowing with the big, bald guy.

The Bad: Going to a Hollywood party hosted by vampires.  Shooting a vampire and it only ticks him off.

The Ugly: What happens to guests at parties hosted by vampires.  What happens when you tick off a vampire.

The Summary: I loved the first issue. Everyone involved did a bang-up job and I look forward to the second issue. American Vampire #1 is available now.