Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Did you happen to see the three new character posters for Captain America – The First Avenger movie? The posters are of Captain America [Chris Evans], Peggy Carter [Haley Atwell] and The Red Skull [Hugo Weaving]? If you haven’t seen them, then swing over to ScreenRant for a looksee.
Whenever Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips get together for a crime comic series they create magic. Well, the boys are at it again with their latest arc Criminal: The Last of the Innocent. Based on Brubaker & Phillips track record, I like many of you, pre-ordered it, sight unseen. Well according to this five star review at CBR.com, we made an excellent decision in getting on board early.
If you haven’t ordered yours yet, it’s not to late to contact your local comic shop. You’ll be glad you did.
What better way to spend part of Memorial Day, than reading an excellent interview with comic’s legend, Joe Kubert, brought to us by the fine folks at CBR.com?
In just one short week I’ll be heading up to Charlotte for my annual pilgrimage to HeroesCon. I can’t wait. It’ll be nice to get away for a “long” weekend… especially since I’ll be spending it at Heroes. There’s always plenty to do to stay busy and the guest list this year is the best ever.
If you’re planning to attend, here are some great tips [posted by Neil] so you can get the most out of the show.
That’s Fiona Staples’ cover to Criminal Macbre/The Goon: When Freaks Collide. This one shot comic looks to be a winner. Fans of Steve Niles’ Cal MacDonald stories [both prose and graphic] and Eric Powell’s The Goon comics will want to order a copy of Criminal Macbre/The Goon: When Freaks Collide since it features both characters in a story where…
Criminal Macbre/The Goon: When Freaks Collide is cowritten by Steve Niles and Eric Powell with art by Christopher Mitten. In addition to Fiona Staples’ cover, there will be a variant cover by Eric Powell. This bad boy is going to fly off the shelves so get your order in early if you want a copy!
Bleeding Cool scored an advance look at Steve [30 Days of Night] Niles and Bernie [Swamp Thing] Wrightson’s Frankenstein, Alive, Alive!
Bernie Wrightson drawing Frankenstein is reason enough to give the book a look… adding in Steve Niles makes it a gotta pre-order item.
That’s the cover to Dark Horse Presents #3 and yep, that’s Steranko’s classic private eye, Chandler. If you’re a fan of crime comics and haven’t read Steranko’s Chandler, you’re missing out. The great news is that Dark Horse Presents #3 will feature a 13 page preview of the soon to be re-released graphic novel plus a new interview with Steranko. The preview and interview alone are worth the price of admission.
[Via CBR.com]
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd did this for me earlier this week. Mike Torrance does it all – pencils, inks and colors. You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd and his Deviant Art site.
You’re also going to be happy to know that once a month Mike has a contest for someone to win a free sketchcard! This sketch of Jack Carter was what I chose when I won! What would you choose?
Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable. I just ordered four cards [three Stallone pieces and one for a friend so the subject must remain secret… at least until he gets it.]
Loose Ends by Jason LaTour [writer]. Chris Brunner [pencils & inks] and Rico Renzi [colors] is described as…
It’s no secret that I love hardboiled crime stories and great art. Loose Ends is gonna have both. It’s the one comic that I can’t wait to get my mits on. Loose Ends will be the first comic that I’ll read [Yep, Criminal and Walking Dead will have to wait] when it hits comic shops in July.
Jason has set up a great story and Chris’ art with Rico’s colors are amazing. Truly. I think that Loose Ends is going to break big and I’m encouraging everyone who might like it to give Loose Ends a try.
If you like what you see, please order up a couple of dozen copies from your local comic shop. [The copies will make great Christmas and birthday gifts.] If you don’t like what you see, it’s time to get your eyes checked.
Normally when I post a piece of art:
1] I tell you who drew it…
2] What the art was for and…
3] Why I’m posting it.
Not today. Today, I can tell you that…
1] The piece is by Howard Chaykin…
2] I’m not sure what it was for. My guess is something to do with Cody Starbuck, but I’m not sure…
3] I’m hoping someone reading this will know and fill me in.
The sketch above comes from the Zablo vault with a bit of a story. The sketch was a copy of a Neal Adams original. The colors [by John Beatty] were done on a copy of the sketch.
I was at an OrlandoCon back in the late 70’s. I was just starting to collect original art. I was approached by a guy about my age who had a pencil sketch of Conan by Neal Adams that he was offering me. The sketch was in a mat covered by acetate. It was a really nice sketch, even if it was a bit costly. I showed it to my buddy John Beatty. John looked at it and then took a closer look.
“It’s a xerox. It’s a good copy, but it’s definitely a copy.”
The guy acted surprised… with acting being the key word. I couldn’t swear that he knew the piece was fake, but you’d be hard-pressed to convince me otherwise. Needless to say, I didn’t buy the piece, but I think the guy gave me a copy because I’m pretty sure that’s it posted above. The colors were added to the copy on one of Beatty’s visits to my apartment in Orlando when I was still in college.
At least that’s how I remember it.
Dave Wachter joins us this week with his take on Sly pounding the beef from Rocky. I’m a huge fan of Dave’s art and own several pieces [and hope to get more in the future]. He’s a tremendous artist, but more importantly an all-around decent guy. You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig
On September 27, 2011, the first prose Walking Dead novel, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor will be available. You can actually pre-order it now through Amazon.com. I did. Of course I am a major fan of the comic and tv series.
What’s that? You are too? Then what are you waiting for?
I like something in almost every genre or type of music. Pop, rock, blues, disco, gospel, oldies… you name it and I can tell you artists and/or songs I like. Truth be told, I really didn’t know much of anything about cigarbox guitar music. One thing I do know is if the genre as a whole is a good as “If I Had My Way: A Cigarbox Guitar Tribute to Blind Willie Johnson” then I’ve been missing out big time.
Oh, and by the way, Thomas Boatwright did the very cool CD Cover. You can see more of Thomas’ art here and here.
One of my all-time favorite graphic novels is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. I was pleased to read in The Hollywood Reporter today that a feature length animated adaptation is in the works with Bruce Timm on board to executive produce. Timm indicates that the production will closely follow the graphic novels story and look when he says:
“The source material is surprisingly cinematic; it’s a pretty straight forward literal retelling… Mazzucchelli’s artwork is beautifully composed and we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups.”
Ben McKenzie will provide the voice for Batman/Bruce Wayne and Bryan “Breaking Bad” Cranston will do the same for Liet. James Gordon. You can read more about the production here and here.
