Category: Crime

THE BLACK BEETLE Deluxe Omnibus by Francesco Francavilla!

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Francesco Francavilla’s Black Beetle is getting a deluxe omnibus!  Here are the details…

FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA’S BLACK BEETLE RETURNS — IN A STUNNING GRAPHIC NOVEL OMNIBUS CELEBRATION OF PULP, PERIL, AND PURE STYLE!

From the mind and pen of Eisner Award–winning author Francesco Francavilla comes the complete saga of the mysterious masked crime-fighter who stalks the shadows of Colt City — The Black Beetle!

Now, for the first time ever, every thrilling tale of The Black Beetle from Dark Horse Comics is collected in one deluxe omnibus, featuring:

The pulse-pounding full-length adventures No Way Out and Kara Böcek.
The moody, hard-hitting one-shot Night Shift.
A treasure trove of never-before-seen bonus content including concept art, layouts, character studies, vintage-style lobby cards, and behind-the-scenes material straight from Francavilla’s sketchbook.
Plus: An all-new painted cover by Francesco Francavilla, created exclusively for this volume!

With its intoxicating blend of pulp noir, supernatural intrigue, and explosive action, The Black Beetle is a love letter to classic crimebusters — and a masterclass in visual storytelling.

Step into the shadows. Fight for justice. Discover the legend. Perfect for longtime fans and newcomers alike — this is the definitive Black Beetle collection.

Pre-orders available now!  Deal me in.

“Dylan Dog: Dead of Night” (2010) starring Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, and Taye Diggs / Z-View

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Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010)

Director: Kevin Munroe

Screenplay: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer; based on Dylan Dog by Tiziano Sclavi

Stars: Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, Taye Diggs, Mitchell Whitfield, Laura Spencer, Laura Spencer, Marco St. John, Kyle Clements and Kurt Angle.

Tagline: Living investigator. Undead clients. Zombie partner.

The Plot…

Dylan Dog at one time fought the things that go bump in the night.  He gave it up when his wife was killed by vampires.  Since then Dylan has worked as a private eye on normal cases.

That all changes when Elizabeth Ryan comes to Dylan for help.  Her father was killed by something strange.  Now Dylan is back… and the case will bring him into contact with vampires, werewolves, zombies and something worse.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

One of the vampires is named Sclavi. Tiziano Sclavi created Dylan Dog.

At one point a character calls Dylan Dog, “Superman”.  Brandon Routh who plays Dylan Dog of course played Superman in an earlier film.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night leans a bit more into comedy than I’d prefer.  Even still I would have liked to have seen a sequel.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010)  rates 2 of 5 stars.

RIP: Dan Simmons

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It was announced yesterday that Daniel Simmons died on February 21st from complications of a stroke.  Mr. Simmons was 77.

Dan Simmons began his career in education. Mr. Simmons received a B.A. in English from Wabash College and a Masters Degree in Education from Washington University in St. Louis.  While teaching, Dan Simmons began submitting short stories.

His first published story, “The River Styx Runs Upstream,” won the Rod Serling Memorial Award.  This got Dan Simmons an agent.  His first novel, SONG OF KALI followed.  It won the World Fantasy Award. His first horror novel, CARRION COMFORT, won the Bram Stoker Award. His first science fiction novel, HYPERION, won the Hugo Award.

Someone who writes in a lot of different genres, could be the sign of an artist looking for his voice. In Mr. Simmons’ case, it was a talent who refused to be constrained.

Even with all the awards Dan Simmons won, I was only vaguely familiar with his work. I don’t read fantasy, and very little science fiction or horror. But I do love a hardboiled thriller! You know, the kind written by Andrew Vachss, or Eugene Izzi, Stephen Hunter, or Richard Stark.  And that is how I came to love Dan Simmons’ writing.

Mr. Simmons wrote three novels about Joe Kurtz –

Joe Kurtz was a PI… before he was an ex-con. See he killed a man, a couple of men actually. They’d murdered his girl and unborn child. While it’s pretty reasonable to me that he threw one of ’em off a six story building, the jury didn’t see it that way.

Now, out of prison after eleven-and-a-half years…

…you’d think things would be looking up for Kurtz. You’d be wrong. Too many people want him dead…

I loved the Kurtz novels and they led me to others written by Mr. Simmons.  I enjoyed every one of them.  Even in the genres I generally avoided.  In fact, I still have a few Dan Simmons novels on my “to be read” shelf.  I’m going to have to move them up on the list. Dan Simmons was a master storyteller.  He was able to write compelling tales in every genre he attempted.  How many writers can say that?

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Daniel Simmon’s family, friends and fans.

“Red Eye”: Season 2 (2026) starring Jing Lusi, Lesley Sharp, Jemma Moore, Cash Holland and Steph Lacey / Z-View

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Red Eye: Season 2 (2026)

Created by: Peter A Dowling

Directed by:

  • Kieron Hawkes (eps. 1-3)
  • Camilla Strøm Henriksen (eps. 4-6)

Teleplay by:

  • Peter A Dowling (eps. 1-2; 4-6)
  • Jingan Young (ep. 3)

Stars: Jing Lusi, Lesley Sharp, Jemma Moore, Cash Holland, Steph Lacey and Richard Armitage.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

An assassin has made his way into the US Embassy in London where a huge party filled with diplomats, rich donors, corporate leaders and politicans.  After killing a US Department of Security Agent, the assassin makes a call ordering the Embassy be placed on lockdown.  If anyone leaves, a plane carrying high ranking officials will be blown out of the sky.

Detective Hanna Li is assigned to work with US Security Officer Clay Brody to find and bring down the assassin.  Li and Brody have a history which ended badly.  As Li and Brody search for the assassin and try to discover his endgame, the body count increases.  They come to realize, the assassin wants more than revenge.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Red Eye continues to provide the right mix of action and mystery.  Bring on season 3.

Red Eye: Season 2 (2026) rates 4 of 5 stars.

HOW NOT TO DIE IN PRISON: A SURVIVAL GUIDE by Taylor Sheridan and Tom Nelson!

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HOW NOT TO DIE IN PRISON: A SURVIVAL GUIDE by Taylor Sheridan and Tom Nelson is coming!  Here’s the lowdown…

The debut book from Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, creator of Landman and cocreator of Yellowstone — a no-bullsh*t, darkly funny survival guide to life inside a maximum-security prison, cowritten with prison-hardened ex-con Tom Nelson.

So, you f*cked up. Can’t talk your way out of it, buy your way out of it, or beg your way out of it.

You are going to prison. You will be living under a set of rules made up by men who have demonstrated to society that they need a big ol’ time out. There is no book of these rules. Nobody will tell them to you. But when you break one—boy, will you know it. For the newbie, the fish, the fresh meat—this book is your survival guide. How to mind your business without becoming a target. When to walk away. When to stand your ground.

This is how you don’t die. Follow the advice in this book, and you just might make it out alive.

Pre-orders are available now.

“Albino Alligator” (1996) directed by Kevin Spacey; starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M. Emmet Walsh and Joe Mantegna / Z-View

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Albino Alligator (1996)

Director: Kevin Spacey

Screenplay: Christian Forte

Stars: Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M. Emmet Walsh, Joe Mantegna, Melinda McGraw, Doug Spinuzza, Spencer Garrett, Enrico Colantoni and Frankie Faison

Tagline: They Planned The Perfect Crime… Until It All Went Perfectly Wrong!

The Plot…

When their robbery goes sideways, brothers Dova and Milo and their sociopathic partner Law find themselves on the run from the cops.  They’ve already killed three people.  One of them a cop. Plus Milo is badly wounded.

It’s well past midnight and the streets are empty.  If they keep running, they know they’ll get caught.  So the three take refuge in a bar that’s closing.  Inside they find five people: Janet, her boss Dino, an older man at the bar, a young man at the pool table and business man alone at one of the tables.

Dova and Law pull their guns and order everyone to stay seated.  Law is ready to blast away.  It won’t take much to send him over the edge.  Dova just wants to patch his brother up and hide out until they can slip away in the morning.

What nobody inside knows is the FBI has the bar staked out.  It is surrounded by agents ready to close in.

Why was the FBI already there?  What will happen if they charge in?

It’s late.  Last call before the action starts…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Albino Alligator showcases Kevin Spacey’s debut as a director.  It also features my favorite Faye Dunaway performance.

Albino Alligator (1996) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Eichmann” (2007) / Z-View

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Eichmann (2007)

Director: Robert Young

Screenplay: Snoo Wilson

Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Troy Garity, Stephen Fry.

Tagline: Husband. Father. Soldier. Monster.

The Plot…

Fifteen years after the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann was captured.  Although a high  official in the Nazi Party, an officer of the SS and one of the major organisers of Hitler’s Final Solution, Eichmann claimed to have no knowledge of the holocaust and was just as a small, insignificant bureaucrat—a “little cog in the machinery” who followed orders.

Captain Avner Less, an Israeli police officer, was assigned to interview Eichmann in an effort to get him to self-incriminate.  It will be a battle of wills to get justice served.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Prior to his capture Adolf Eichmann was the most wanted Nazi war criminal in the world. CIA documents released in 2006, showed that U.S. and West German intelligence knew that Eichmann was alive in Argentina, but fearing he might expose former comrades who had been useful to the CIA and the German government, did nothing.

Eichmann (2007) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Normal” starring Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler and Lena Headey – The Trailer is Here!

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The trailer for Normal is here and I’m on board.

Deal me in!

In theaters April 17
http://normalthemovie.com/

The latest collaboration between Bob Odenkirk, JOHN WICK creator Derek Kolstad and NOBODY producer Marc Provissiero, director Ben Wheatley’s (FREE FIRE, HIGH RISE) kinetic neo-Western stars Odenkirk as an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.

For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake.

Starring Bob Odenkirk, Lena Heady and Henry Winkler

Directed by Ben Wheatley