Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
You’ve probably heard me speak read about my buddy, Bill Black many times. Bill always has something creative going. He writes, draws, edits and publishes comics. Bill also writes, produces and directs micro-budget movies.
Bill’s latest film is called “The Ghost of Garganta: The Giantess Rises.” Here’s a link to the trailer. If it looks like something you’d like, then check out Bill’s site. You can see more free clips and even order a movie or ten.
I commissioned my first sketch from Thomas Boatwright in December of 2010. It was this First Blood piece. Thomas finished it in less than a week and I totally loved it. So I ordered two more pieces. This sketch of Sly as Barney Ross from The Expendables is the second piece. I have another that I will post in the near future of Sly as Jack Carter. I totally dig them all and hope to get more art from Thomas for my collection later this year.
If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog and his DA site. Send him some love. If you get commissions, you should consider a piece from Thomas. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices and is a fantastic artist! – Craig
Want to see some rare Raiders of the Lost Ark preproduction art by Jim Steranko? You’d be crazy not to and you can thanks to the nice folks at Slashfilm. It’s interesting to note that at this point in the production, they major storyline was in place, but Indy was visualized as more of a rough and tumble guy who smoked.
Since you read my blog there’s a good chance that you are a Sylvester Stallone or Rocky Balboa fan. If that’s the case then you may want to try your luck at this Rocky IV quiz. It’s pretty easy. As you can see above I scored a perfect 9 out of 9. Would you have expected any less? [Via Mental Floss]
That’s the cover above to Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1. I can remember buying the first issue off the stands [cover date June 1972]. Lucas was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In an effort to get early release, Lucas agreed to an experimental treatment designed to boost a person’s immunity to illness. Instead it gave him super-strength and steel hard skin. Lucas used his new powers to escape prison and take on the identity of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
I loved the idea of a hero who took on cases like a private eye. And although Cage was a “Hero for Hire” he often took on cases for no pay when the cause was right. I really got into the comic. In “shop” class we had to create business cards, so while other kids were creating cards as lawyers, plumbers and the like, I created cards that read “Blackjack Joey, Hero for Hire.” I explained to the teacher that “Blackjack Joey” was my secret identity [taking the moniker of my favorite professional wrestler, Blackjack Mulligan, and combining it with my middle name Joseph].
That was over 38 years ago. So you can imagine my amusement when looking through the December issue of Previews to see these two comics coming out in the early months of 2011.
That’s the cover to Black Dynamite: Slave Island coming from Ape Entertainment. It’s a 48 page full color graphic novel based on the “Black Dynamite” movie which starred Michael Jai White. Black Dynamite: Slave Island was written by Brian Ash with art by Jun Lofamia. The book is suggested for mature readers and will set you back $5.95.
Harry Walton: Henchman for Hire is a 62 page full color graphic novel [$9.95] from Arcana Studio. Written by Zak Sherman with art by Tom Martinek and Jason Worthington, it is the story of a “disenfranchised ex-super-hero sidekick” who decides to “work his way up the ranks” and become a super-villain.
I’m not sure either of the two books are my cup of tea, but they did make me want to go back and re-read Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
Andy Kuhn does the best sketches! He is a master of spotting blacks and knowing just what needs to be put in and more importantly left out. I love Andy’s sense of design so I was extremely pleased to get on his sketch list at Heroes Con and asked him for Jack Carter. As you can see he rocked it. You can check out more of Andy’s art at his blog and his DA site.
Earlier this afternoon, Vin Diesel posted on his facebook page the art above and a tidbit about the third Riddick movie:
So the director of Riddick, my partner on COR [Chronicles of Riddick] since the beginning, DT [David Twohy]… has a new challenge in store. He wants me to have 3 different body looks for this next chapter… There is the DiNorscio type, the Dom type, and the lean Furyan type… but all in the same movie, haha… When it comes to art, we all like a challenge.
You can read more about the third Riddick movie here at Bloody Disgusting.
There’s been quite a bit of speculation lately, that Harrison Ford would like to see Indy killed off in the next Indiana Jones movie. Depending on which article you read, Ford either…
Either way, the rumors have some die hard Indiana Jones worried. Although I’m an Indiana Jones fan and would look forward to another outing, I’m not in the least bit worried about the character. Seriously, if Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull didn’t kill off the character, nothing will.
This week we have Dustin Harbin‘s look at Jack Carter. Dustin is a freelance illustrator working out of Charlotte, NC. I’ve known Dustin for years through his outstanding work with Heroes Con. It was only recently that I discovered Dustin’s talent for cartooning.
Well, you just know I had to see Dustin’s riff on Sly. I hope you dig it as much as me. Dustin will be back soon with his take on Sly as Freddy from “Cop Land.”
USAToday scored the first look at Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in “Fast Five” which is set to open on April 29, 2011. Johnson will play Hobbs, a cop on the trail of Diesel and Paul Walker. You can read the USAToday article here.
I had been a fan of Thomas Boatwright’s art for a while. When he announced a sale on commissions for the month of December, I wrote to ask him about a Stallone piece for my collection. Thomas quickly responded and said that he was a fan of “First Blood.” I was surprised at how quickly Thomas finished the piece and that he’d decided to put Richard Crenna’s character in as well. I totally dug everything about it.
So… I asked Thomas if he was up for some more Stallone. He said that he was, so you’ll be seeing his take on Sly from The Expendables and Get Carter on the SZ in the next few weeks. They are just as cool! If you want to see them sooner, Thomas has posted them on his blog and his DA site. Send him some love.
I hope to get more Stallone art from Thomas in the future. If you get commissions, you should consider him as well. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices and is a fantastic artist! – Craig
That’s Hugh Freeman’s quick sketch of Sly as Jack Carter. I discovered Hugh’s art at his Deviant Art site, but you can also see more of Hugh’s art at his website. Nice work, huh?
IMPAwards.com scored a look at two posters for Jason Statham’s remake of the Charles Bronson classic, The Mechanic. You can see a larger version of my favorite of the two, the one posted above, here… as well as the second one here.
I like this poster a lot. It makes me want to learn more about the movie and since I don’t know much about “I am Number Four” I’m going to have to do just that. I hope what I learn leads me to believe that the movie is going to be as good as the poster. [Via IMPAwards.com]
