Iron Man Too
I like this poster. It’s just a simple close-up of a helmetless Iron Man, but it works. Don’t ‘cha agree?
Thanks to IMPAwards.com for the link.
Category: Comics
Cooke, Hex & Hunter
If you’re a Darwyn Cooke fan, and you should be if you read comics, then you’ll probably want to check out this interview at CBR.com. Darwyn talks about his work on an upcoming issue of Jonah Hex as well as his sequel to his critically acclaimed adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Hunter.
John Beatty: Expendable
John Beatty, who’s no stranger to long-time Zoners, created this amazing drawing of Sly from “The Expendables” on Friday while I was hanging out in his studio. John’s been my best friend since junior high and gifted me with this piece since I’ve been serving as his co-host for some of his live UStream sketch sessions.
Although I have quite a few pieces in my collection, and it’s impossible to pick a single favorite, this piece by John is going to be tough for anyone to top. Thanks again to John for going above and beyond the call.
$10 Head Sketch Saturday
Later this morning I’ll be at my buddy, John Beatty’s studio co-hosting as he draws, what we like to call $10 Head Sketch Saturday. John will be drawing live on UStream as fans interact with us. It’s always a blast, even for those not ordering sketches. And if you want a sketch, it makes the session even more fun. The festivities kick off at 11am EST.
.Hope to “see you” there.
“Black Friday” Stallone
The art above was drawn by my buddy, John Beatty. It’s his take on Sly as Cosmo Carboni from “Paradise Alley”. John has done quite a few drawings of Sly for me over the years and he’s about to do another this coming Friday. Only this time he’s drawing it LIVE on UStream and you can tune in to watch it being drawn.
As an added bonus, I’ll be co-hosting the event. We’re calling it “Black Friday Stallone”. While our wives are out dealing with the holiday crowds, we’ll hopefully have a small crowd of our own watching as John gives us his take on… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? We’ll be talking about Stallone, movies, tv, art, comics and more. We plan to get things started at about 11am. John will have a direct link on his site. Hopefully you can join us and add to the fun.
Sly as Francesco Francavilla’s Black Beetle
I’m a fan of Francesco Francavilla’s art. Usually when Francesco releases a new sketchbook, he offers free “quick” sketches with each purchase. My first piece from Francesco was Sly from “Cop Land”. My second quick sketch was in Francesco’s sketchbook of classic horror movie characters and for that sketch he did a “Jack Carter” zombie.
My most recent Francesco sketchbook was dedicated to a character that Francesco created, “The Black Beetle”. Francesco came up with the idea for my sketch — what would the Black Beetle look like if played in a movie by Sly Stallone. LOL. How could I not go with it? You can learn more about the Black Beetle here. You can see more of Francesco’s art here, here and here.
“The Goon” in Thought
Friday night I watched my dvd extras for “The Mist” and was surprised to see Eric “The Goon” Powell on set with Frank Darabont. I’ve been an Eric Powell fan for years. So has Frank Darabont. In fact, Eric Powell did one of my favorite Stallone pieces [thanks again, John Higashi!].
Eric’s work on his creation, The Goon is required reading for all comic fans. And since we’re speaking of The Goon [okay, technically we’re not speaking and I am writing, but…} did you know that Eric has created an issue of The Goon without word balloons? The entire comic is made up of silent panels or just shots with thought balloons. The story involves the Goon, a stolen necklace, a fem fatale and a crazy killer… oh, and no word balloons. Sounds cool, right? You can read more about it, here at CBR.com.
“Last Days of American Crime” Movie!
Great news! Sam Worthington has signed on to produce and star in a big screen adaptation of Rick Remender’s “The Last Days of American Crime”.
Tampa Con Report
I finally had some time to post a few pictures from Tim Gordon’s Tampa Comic and Toy Convention. Those two mugs above are John Beatty and I. We’re holding up copies of the Christmas Charity comic that Tim put together. Big J and I did a story for it. John says that since the last story we worked together on was about 30 years ago, we can look for our next team-up somewhere around 2039.
John did some sketches while at the show…
Some superheroes showed up…
And even one that looked like…
Otis Frampton’s Jack Carter
Otis Frampton is an extremely talented artist who loves drawing for 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 Jack Carter shown above is just 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.
Big Day Saturday
Tomorrow should be a great day. I’m starting out at the beautiful JBI studios in downtown Holly Hill. I’ll be serving as co-host for John Beatty’s $10 Head Sketch Saturday. John will be drawing live on UStream as fans request their very own sketches. These broadcasts are a lot of fun, so even if you don’t plan to purchase a sketch, drop on by and join in. Details are here.
Then after a full day with Big Beatty, I’m going to join my brother, Boobyboo and nephew, Bartledoo, to watch UFC 105 live [for free] on SPIKE. Let’s take a look at the card and my predictions:
- Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs Aaron Riley. I’m going with “The Real Deal” for three reasons: 1] I’ve seen him fight 2] He has a slightly better record and 3] He has a nickname.
- James “Lightning” Wilks vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown. I’m thinking that “Lightning” is going to strike and “The Immortal” won’t be.
- Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Denis Kang. Kang may go the distance, but it will be “The Count” getting the victory that, uh, counts.
- Mike “Quick” Swick vs Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy. It should be a fast paced fight so I’m naturally favoring “The Quick”.
- Randy “The Natural” Couture vs Brandon “The Truth” Vera. “The Natural” should score the win and that’s “The Truth”.
Hopefully my predictions will be as good as Beatty’s sketches.
$10 Head Sketch Saturday
John Beatty is gearing up for another $10 Head Sketch Saturday. So if you missed out on the first one, here’s another chance: Saturday, November 14th starting at about 11am. You can order your sketch and then watch John draw it live on UStream. I’ll be there co-hosting the event and even if you’re not ordering, drop in and join the fun! Details can be found at John’s site.
Hope you can join us!
The Ghoul
If this description doesn’t get you interested…
The Ghoul, a monstrous investigator with a reputation for solving the world’s weirdest crimes…
…then perhaps knowing that it’s created and written by Steve “30 Days of Night” Niles with art by Bernie “Frankenstein” Wrightson will be enough to get you to pick up a copy. Of course you may be a real hard sell and want to see CBR.com’s five page preview before you’re willing to part with your hard-earned cash.
John Beatty’s Quick Carter
My buddy John Beatty recently did this quick sketch of Sly as Jack Carter. Not too long ago John began doing a weekly Wednesday Night Sketch Session live on UStream. These are full figure pieces and fans have the option of getting them with or without gray tones. Here are a few of examples [with tones /without tones / and again with tones]. Fans get on his list, John let’s them know the date he’ll be doing their piece and they can tune in [along with others] and interact with John as he completes the art. This has been going over so well, that John is booked through the end of the year.
In addition, John set aside a monthly time [usually a Saturday midday] that he goes live on UStream and does Ten Dollar Head Sketches. Because these move at a much faster pace [usually 20 to 30 minutes] and the turnout is so great, I serve as co-host. Here are two of my favorites – Captain America and Two-Face from the last session.
If you’re interested in getting in contact with John, just click here!
“Yes, Timmy, there is a Santa Claus”
Today I’ll be at the Tampa Comic Con & Toy Show. Tim Gordon, who runs the show, is debuting his first Christmas Comic for Charity and John Beatty and I have a story in it.
When Tim decided to put together his charity Christmas comic, he contacted several artists and writers to see if they would donate a pin-up or a short Christmas-related story. John decided that he wanted to participate and said that if I would write a short story, he’d pencil, ink and color it. How could I refuse?
What you see below is the result of our efforts. I hope that you enjoy them.
