Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
CBR.com recently posted the cover above and took a look at a new series from Image by Jonathon Ross [writer] and Tommy Lee Edwards [artist]. It’s called “Turf” and is set in New York in 1929. “Turf” features a war between gangsters, vampires and aliens. Yep, gangsters, vampires and aliens. I was pretty much sold when I learned Tommy Lee Edwards was doing the art, but with that crazy mix of characters, I’m in.
This Paul Gulacy drawing of Shang-Chi originally appeared [at least I believe it did] in an issue of The Comic Buyers Guide. It ran as a small spot illo or perhaps as a part of an original art ad probably in the early 80’s. My guess is between 1980 and 1983. Despite all the things I don’t know about the piece, the one thing I am sure of, is that I like it. I hope that you do too!
If you’re a fan of horror comics, especially the old Warren Comics that featured Uncle Creepy, you owe it to yourself to check out this cool 2 minute 35 second video. It might even inspire you to search out some of the old comics or to check out what Dark Horse is doing with the character these days.
Thanks to Harry @ AICN for the link.
Yesterday I mentioned the classic Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy run on Master of Kung Fu and I promised to post a classic Gulacy cover from the series. Although every cover that Paul did was worthy, this is perhaps my favorite. My guess is it’s one of yours too.
Otis Frampton loves sharing his talents with his fans. Every Sunday [okay, ALMOST, every Sunday], Otis has a live UStream broadcast that he calls the 7×7 Sunday. Lucky fans can get a headsketch of ANY character drawn live by Otis on a 7X7 inch bristol board for 7 bucks postage paid. It’s the best deal going.
I’ve been lucky enough to get four pieces from Otis and the Cosmo Carboni from “Paradise Alley” shown above is one of them. I’ll be showing the rest in the coming weeks. In the mean time, check out Otis’ Gallery. Most likely, after seeing more of his work, I’ll be competing against you in Otis’ next 7×7 Sunday.
Today we have Mike Zeck’s cover to Master of Kung Fu #86 from March 1980.
Although Master of Kung Fu might sound like a silly title, it was actually a fairly serious series about the son of Fu Manchu [Shang-Chi] who teams with a group of British agents a la James Bond. The series ran from 1974 to 1983. Although several writers and artists worked on the series over the years, the writer most associated with the title is Doug Moench and artists Paul Gulacy and Mike Zeck.
Moench & Gulacy began their run in issue #22 and despite an occasional fill-in continued on the series through issue #51. Although other artists worked on the series, [and Mike even did a few issues] it was with issue #64 that Mike became the regular artist on Master of Kung Fu. The team of Moench and Zeck stayed with the series until Mike left after completing issue #101.
But back to the cover at hand… I like the intensity of this cover and Mike really caught the look of Shang-Chi. He doesn’t have a generic super-hero face [or even a generic Asian super-hero face].
We’ll be back tomorrow with a classic Paul Gulacy Master of Kung Fu cover.
Here’s the April 1977, Mike Zeck cover to RBCC [Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector] #135 that I promised to post. As you probably know Mike was a regular contributor to RBCC back in the day. Although I’ve never read any Blue Beetle comics, I always liked this piece by Mike. Hope that you do too. And since we’re on a Mike Zeck kick, we’ll keep it going tomorrow with a classic Zeck cover from Master of Kung Fu!
Happy New Year, ZONErs!
I thought we’d jump into the new year by taking a trip back to April 1977 to see a Mike Zeck spot illustration that appeared in RBCC [Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector] #135. Mike was a regular contributor to RBCC back in the day. In fact, Mike drew the cover for the very same issue. If you come back tomorrow you’ll see it here!
This week we have Jack Carter as realized by Tom Hodges. I discovered Tom’s art through his DA site and then last August, Tom had a 24 Hour Draw-A-Thon live on UStream. I got on board and commissioned the Jack Carter above and a Rambo which will be posted in a few weeks. Tom still draws regularly on UStream and it’s always fun watching him go at it.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Merry Kwanza, and of course there’s Festivus for the rest of us. Oh, and if you don’t celebrate any of these, than good day! I hope that you’re surrounded by friends and loved ones and that the day brings you all that you desire.
CBR.com is running a 17 page preview of Rick Remender’s “The Last Days of American Crime”. It’s a mature crime comic, but definitely worth a look if you’re into that kind of thing.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been talking up “The Last Days of American Crime” for years [I first mentioned it in 2003!]. Now it’s finally here. And from the looks of things, “The Last Days of American Crime” was more than worth the wait.
This week we have Dave Wachter’s take on Sly as Cosmo Carboni from “Paradise Alley”. I’d never seen Dave’s art until this year at HeroesCon. I immediately got on board for the sketch above. Since then I’ve picked up two more small pieces from Dave. He’s talented and very reasonably priced. You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. Plan to spend a while!
I discovered Andy Kuhn’s art through his blog. This led me to his DA site. Andy has a unique style which I totally enjoy. I was lucky enough to meet and get the sketch above from Andy earlier this year. Although it was our first meeting and my first sketch from Andy, hopefully it won’t be my last!
This coming Saturday I’ll be joining my buddy, John Beatty, at studio as he draws for what he is calling “Super Saturday Batmite Head Sketches”! John will be drawing live on UStream as fans interact with us. Yep, I’ll be co-hosting the event and we’ll have things set up so that I can take phone calls live on the air! The sketches that John is scheduled to draw include The Penguin, Harley Quinn, Ra’s Al Ghoul, Two Face, The Mad Hatter and either King Tut or Louie the Lilac! The fun is set to kick off at 10am EST.
Hope to “see you” there.
Dick Giordano, the comics legend is back! During his fifty plus years in the biz he’s done everything from ink all the greats (including himself) to serve as Editor-in-Chief of DC Comics, to co-founding his own comic company.
I recently had the good fortune to pick up six model sheet headsketches of Sly that Mr. Giodano did before starting work on DC Comics adaptation of “Demolition Man”. This is the fifth.
