Category: Comics

Rob Smith’s Santa Stallone

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I’ve known Rob Smith Jr. for over 30 years. In addition to being a talented artist, Rob is one of the most passionate, committed and dedicated people I’ve ever met. Rob absolutely loves the state of Florida, nature, art, politics, reading and more. Rob’s enthusiasm is contagious and he is always on the go. Another thing I admire about Rob is he doesn’t just talk about his passions, he gets actively involved.

Rob and I met up for breakfast with another old friend [Jim Ivey] earlier this week. As we were eating, talking and doing a lot of laughing, Rob whipped up his take on Sly as Santa. After our breakfast, Rob headed out to another meeting about preserving an old Florida school and then to an evening meeting with the Florida Trail Association. Whew!

You can check out Rob’s site and learn about more of his passions!

Howard Chaykin: Marked Man

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Yesterday I suggested that we get ready for the relaunch of Dark Horse Presents.  Dark Horse announced that the first issue would feature work from Frank Miller [Xerxes, the prequel to 300] and Paul Chadwick [Concrete].   Today CBR.com has a preview page [two panels shown above] for Marked Man — a story that Chaykin will write and draw.

Miller, Chadwick, and Chaykin — I can’t wait to get Dark Horse Presents in my mitts.

Get Ready for Dark Horse Presents

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Every so often I’ll post about Dark Horse Presents #1.  That’s the first comic put out by Dark Horse.  It was an anthology comic and over the years featured work from Frank Miller, Harlan Ellison, Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, Eric Powell, Chris Warner, and many, many other talented folks.

Usually when I post about Dark Horse Presents, it’s to say it’s time to see a new Black Cross series by Chris Warner or at least a compilation of the stories in a nice trade edition.  And although I’d love to see the return of Chris Warner’s Black Cross, the focus of this post is something else…

Dark Horse is bringing back the anthology comic Dark Horse Presents!  The first issue will feature work from Frank Miller [Xerxes, the prequel to 300] and Paul Chadwick [Concrete].  Dark Horse Presents will definitely be worth a look and CBR.com has a preview of the covers for issue one.

Hero, Dynamite and Henchman

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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 Gets Carter

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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.

Dustin Harbin Gets Carter

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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.”

John Beatty @ Collectors Comics

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Those mugs in the photo above are Keith Mallow and John Beatty.  Mallow and Beatty have been my buddies for years.  Yeah, I know.  My mom used to warn me about the company I keep.

Anyway, Keith is having Big Beatty down to his Collectors Comics store today.  Beatty will be drawing free headsketches for anyone who spends $25 bucks.  I’ll be there to heckle Mallow and cheer on John.  Heck, I may even try to finagle a new Stallone sketch.  Look for live tweets and later a full report.  If you’re within driving distance come on by!  For more information call 1-772-878-9229.

Risso’s Hex

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I’m a huge fan of Eduardo Risso’s art.   I’d buy nearly any comic that he draws.  When I learned that Risso would be pencilling and inking Jonah Hex #62, I was down for a preorder faster than Hex could draw-down on a man.  If you need to know a bit more about the issue, here’s what the tease says…

  • JONAH HEX #62
  • Written by JUSTIN GRAY & JIMMY PALMIOTTI
  • Art and cover by EDUARDO RISSO
  • Happy Holidays, Hex fans! You’ve been good this year, so we got you an issue drawn by the incomparable Eduardo Risso! Jonah Hex was sure he’d seen it all – but that was before he was hired to escort a delivery through the desert. Who or what is “The Package”?
  • On sale DECEMBER 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

And thanks to the nice folks at Newsarama and DC Comics, here’s a free five page preview.

John Beatty: The Expendables

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The art above was created by my brother from another mother, John Beatty at our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. Last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece. We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast.

This year, John decided to sweeten the pot with a free, Expendables Blu-Ray giveaway. We fired up the Beattytron and began broadcasting from the beautiful JBI Studio in downtown Holly Hill a little before 2pm. The show ran until 9pm — and John still had more to do on the piece. Along the way we were joined by Shana, Sophie, Mike aka Killer Karl Krupp, Royce, Rob Smith Jr., The Mad Pirate, Husky Courdoroy, and others. Shana was the lucky winner of the DVD set.

I can’t thank John enough for the art. As great as it looks on screen, it is even more impressive in person. John set the bar high and surpassed all expectations.

Black “Stallone” Friday

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The poster above was created by my buddy, John Beatty to announce our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. As most of you are probably aware, the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of shopping. For many businesses it’s their biggest day of the year. For those of us who don’t like crowds and traffic, it’s a pain. So last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece.

We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual event. So this Friday, we’re going to do it again. John and I will post the specifics later this week, but our hope is that we can get a lot of folks to tune in, even if only for a bit. The more fans that pop in with questions and comments, the more fun it becomes. So check back here or at John’s site later this week for full details. Oh, and I posted the art from last year’s event to give you an idea of what we can expect this year.

Judging Dredd

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The first still of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd from the upcoming movie “Dredd” has arrived.  I like the fact that this adaptation is supposed to be grittier and more in line with the comic, but man, I still think that Sly Stallone made a great Judge Dredd. [Via CBR.com]