Category: Comics

Garbriel Hardman Must Have a License to Kill

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James Bond not only has a new movie, Spectre, but 007 also recently made his return to comics with the release of a new comic series written by Warren Ellis with art by Jason Masters and published by Dynamite Entertainment.

To celebrate the release Dynamite Entertainment commissioned several artists to create variant covers for the first issue.  The cover above is by Gabriel Hardman and tops my list.  You can see all of the other covers at Bleeding Cool and they are worth a look.

Gravedigger: The Abductors by Mills and Burchett

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The photo above is of page two of the third Gravedigger story that Chris Mills and Rick Burchett would like to complete.

I sure hope they’re able to since Gravedigger is one of my favorite comic characters and the first two stories that Mills and Burchett created are some of my favorite crime, no scratch that, some of my favorite comics of any genre.

If you haven’t read any of “Digger” McCrae’s crime yarns, you can easily and cheaply enough here.    The trade paperback is also available through Amazon and InStockTrades. [I don’t make any kickbacks on any of the links, and honestly if I did, I send it to Mills and Burchett to get them closer to more Gravedigger tales.]

If you’re a fan of crime comics, great stories and art, or just want to help out a couple of really decent human beings — please consider giving Gravedigger a go.

Aaugh! 10 Facts About “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!”

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Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present Aaugh! 10 Facts About It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!  Here are three of my favorites…

1. THE FUTURE OF ANIMATED PEANUTS SPECIALS DEPENDED ON IT.
Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez had very high aspirations for A Charlie Brown Christmas. When they screened it prior to its premiere, however, they felt it didn’t live up to its potential—and CBS agreed. The network said it was the last Peanuts special they would buy. But after it delivered huge ratings, CBS changed their mind and asked for more. When the two delivered another hit—the baseball-themed Charlie Brown All-Stars—they thought they had earned the network’s confidence.

Instead, CBS told them they needed a special that could run every year, like A Charlie Brown Christmas. If Mendelson couldn’t provide it, they told him they might not pick up an option for a fourth show. Despite Schulz and his collaborators being annoyed by the network’s abrasive attitude, they hammered out a story with a seasonal clothesline that could be rerun in perpetuity.

3. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME LUCY SNATCHED THE FOOTBALL FROM CHARLIE BROWN.
In animated form, anyway. When Schulz, Mendelson, and Melendez were brainstorming scene ideas for the special, talk turned to the fact that Lucy’s habit of pulling the football away from Charlie Brown had never been seen in animation. They also decided it would be a good time to introduce Snoopy’s World War I Flying Ace. The joke had appeared in the strip, but Mendelson thought it would work even better in motion. He was right: the sequence with Snoopy in a doghouse dogfight is one of the most memorable in the Peanuts animated canon.

8. THE ORIGINAL AIRINGS WERE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.

Peanuts Wikia

Production costs for the early Charlie Brown specials were subsidized by television sponsors Coca-Cola and Dolly Madison snack cakes: the brands appear at the beginning and end of the broadcast. The Coke “bug” appeared for several years before getting phased ou

12 Spine-Tingling Facts About “Tales From the Crypt”

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Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present 12 Spine-Tingling Facts About Tales From the Crypt.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. LETHAL WEAPON IS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHOW.
Producer Joel Silver was on the set of 1987’s Lethal Weapon when he and director Richard Donner began talking about Silver’s failed attempts to adapt Tales from the Crypt as a feature film: the disappointing reception to 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie and 1982’s Creepshowhad lessened enthusiasm for horror anthologies. Unmoved by those failures, Donner said he’d be interested in joining the project. When the series idea was brought to HBO, they were intrigued that so many feature film talents were backing the idea. When Zemeckis—who was working with Silver on 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?—got involved, the network agreed to move forward with the show.

4. IT BROUGHT HUMPHREY BOGART BACK FROM THE DEAD.
Zemeckis’s involvement often meant that Tales from the Crypt would take any opportunity to explore new techniques for visual effects. In the episode “You, Murderer,” a career criminalmurdered by his wife and best friend posthumously narrates the events leading up to his demise. When the character looks in the mirror—the show takes place from his POV—viewers see the resurrected features of Humphrey Bogart. Zemeckis used footage from Casablanca,The Maltese Falcon, and other Bogart films to capture footage and digitally insert it into the frame. During wraparounds, the Crypt Keeper also converses with a seemingly above-ground Alfred Hitchcock.

6. TWO VERSIONS OF EACH EPISODE WERE SHOT.
For Zemeckis, Donner, and the rest of the show’s high-profile producers, the financial payoff was always thought to be a move to syndication. Because HBO was more permissive in terms of content, they needed to prepare for an eventual screening on broadcast TV stations. WhenTales from the Crypt was bought by Fox for a late-night Saturday slot in 1994, the episodes were re-edited to include alternate takes that eliminated most of the original episodes’ gore and nudity. The show also had actors loop non-profane dialogue during shooting. While HBO normally values exclusivity, it didn’t mind the deal: uncut episodes were still an attraction and, as one executive pointed out, “The show is called HBO’s Tales From the Crypt.” Free advertising never hurt.

A Pile of Comic Books for a Unknown Artist’s Batman Painting – Who Got the Better Deal?

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In 1962, Bill Steinfelt agreed to trade Mel Ramos a pile of old comic books for the painting above.

You’re probably thinking, man, I wonder what those comics would be worth today?  A lot, right?

Perhaps you should be thinking what that painting was worth.

The 1962 painting titled “A Sinister Figure Lurks in the Dark” was sold by Heritage Auctions in 2015.  It was bought by a Dallas collector who wishes to remain anonymous.  The winning bid was $173,000.

Mel Ramos created about 50 comic book and superhero paintings early in his career.  Bill Steinfelt was lucky to get one.

The 30-Plus Year Evolution of Frank Miller’s Art

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Frank Miller is an artist whose style continued to evolve throughout his career.  

It’s no secret I’m a huge Frank Miller fan.  His work on Daredevil, Ronin, Dark Knight and Sin City are some of the best (and my favorite) comics of all time.  I’ve enjoyed the ride and seeing the changes in his artistic choices.  

Frank Miller and Dick Giordano’s Superman & Batman drawn in 1983.