Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
That amazing drawing of Sly was created by artist extrodinaire, Hoyt Silva. I met Hoyt at Heroes Con and set up a take home commission. Hoyt gifted me this piece as a bonus.
Hoyt, in addition to being an amazing artist, has great communication and packages the art securely. I highly recommend Hoyt to all sketch collectors! – Craig
Matthew Jackson and Mental_Floss present 19 Shadowy Facts About Batman. Here are three of my favorites…
5. MANY STARS OF THE TIME WERE CONSIDERED FOR BATMAN.
The casting process for Batman was a long one, and involved a number of major stars of the day. Among the contenders for the title role were Mel Gibson, Bill Murray (yes, really), Kevin Costner, Willem Dafoe, Tom Selleck, Harrison Ford, Charlie Sheen, Ray Liotta, and Pierce Brosnan, who later regretted turning down the role.
7. JACK NICHOLSON WAS THE FIRST CHOICE FOR THE JOKER, BUT HE WASN’T THE ONLY CHOICE.
From the beginning, Uslan concluded that Jack Nicholson was the perfect choice to play The Joker, and was “walking on air” when the production finally cast him. He certainly wasn’t the only actor considered, though. Among Burton’s considerations were Willem Dafoe, James Woods, Brad Dourif, David Bowie, and Robin Williams (who really wanted the part).
9. EDDIE MURPHY WAS ONCE CONSIDERED TO PLAY ROBIN.
Though the character of Robin was ultimately scrapped because it simply didn’t feel like there was room for him in the film, he did appear in early drafts of the script, and at one point producers considered casting Eddie Murphy—who, you must remember, was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s—for the role.
Ron Salas posted his poster for Daredevil and it was just way to cool not to share!
Ron is a great guy as well as a fantastic freelance artist. If you collect sketches you deserve to have a piece by Ron in your collection!
Diversions of the Groovy Kind is a regular stop on my daily website visits. You’ll always find something cool like this post of “The Other Side of Night!” from Rampaging Hulk #4 (May 1977) by Jim Starlin [who plotted and penciled the story], Alex Nino [who inked it] and John Warner [who scripted it].
It’s hard to believe that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are celebrating the tenth anniversary of their crime comic Criminal.
They are and they’re doing it in style with a special tenth anniversary one shot! Check out Image Comics for the full details and some preview art.
If you’re diggin’ Walt Simonson’s riff on Marv from Sin City, you’ll also probably want to check out Nicolas Waldmann’s interview with Mr. Simonson.
Brian [100 Bullets] Azzarello and Juan Doe have teamed for American Monster, a new comic series coming for AfterShock Comics. Here is the official description:
AMERICAN MONSTER – War changes people. The person who leaves is never the person who returns. Theo Montclare is such a person. Horribly scarred and disfigured during his tour of duty, Theo returns to the small Northwestern town that was once his home a changed man, transformed emotionally and physically, both in appearance and in perception. But is he a returning hero or a modern day Frankenstein?
If you’d like to know more about American Monster and see some preview art [which looks great] then check out [be advised that this preview contains adult language] BRIAN AZZARELLO & JUAN DOE UNLEASH THEIR “AMERICAN MONSTER” at CBR.com.
Gamesradar posted their choices for The 30 Best Sci-Fi Movies Ever. It’s a pretty good list.
I’ve seen 21 out of the 30. My guess is that most of you have seen even more. And that almost everyone recognized the sweet Steranko Bladerunner art.
Here is an Alex Toth Black Canary splash that originally appeared in Adventure Comics #418.
Merry Christmas!
Several years ago John Beatty and I teamed up to create “Yes, Timmy, There is a Santa Claus!” John pencilled, inked and colored what I wrote. The story was published in a charity Christmas comic by Tim Gordon.
What you see below is the result of our efforts. I hope that you enjoy them.
Matthew Woodson’s Daredevil print is just one of many available at Mondo Gallery’s A Celebration of Marvel Comics. /Film has a look at all of the prints!
Greg Rucka is the subject of an interview over at Comics Beat. Rucka updates us on Black Magick, Lazarus, Stumptown, Lady Sabre but sadly no mention of Atticus Kodiac.
Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present 14 Blockheaded Facts About A Charlie Brown Christmas. Here are three of my favorites…
5. SNOOPY’S VOICE IS JUST SPED-UP NONSENSE.
The early Peanuts specials made use of both untrained kids and professional actors: Peter Robbins (Charlie Brown) and Christopher Shea (Linus) were working child performers, while the rest of the cast consisted of “regular” kids coached by Melendez in the studio. When Schulz told Melendez that Snoopy couldn’t have any lines in the show—he’s a dog, and Schulz’s dogs didn’t talk—the animator decided to bark and chuff into a microphone himself, then speed up the recording to give it a more emotive quality.7. CHARLIE BROWN’S HEAD WAS A NIGHTMARE TO ANIMATE.
Because Melendez was unwilling to stray from Schulz’s distinctive character designs—which were never intended to be animated—he found himself in a contentious battle with Charlie Brown’s noggin. Its round shape made it difficult to depict Charlie turning around; as with most of the characters, his arms were too tiny to scratch his head. Snoopy, in contrast, was free of a ball-shaped cranium and became the show’s easiest figure to animate.10. CBS HATED IT, TOO.
After toiling on the special for six months, Melendez and Mendelson screened it for CBS executives just three weeks before it was set to air. The mood in the room was less than enthusiastic: the network found it slow and lacking in energy, telling Melendez they weren’t interested in any more specials. To add insult, someone had misspelled Schulz in the credits, adding a “T” to his last name. (Schulz himself thought the whole project was a “disaster” due to the crude animation.)
My best bud and artist extraordinaire, John Beatty sat down for a podcast interview for the Riley and Kimmy Show and you can listen to it here.
