Category: Comics

Interman, Hellboy & More

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  • Jeff Parker’s The Interman rocks. It is one of the most intelligently written graphic novels that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Check it out. I’ll bet you’ll like it too!
  • CHUD has a nice interview with Ron “Hellboy” Perlman. Now, this is a comic movie that I can get behind!
  • Ashton Kutcher must be living right. He co-stars in “That 70’s Show,” hosts MTV’s “Punk’d.” Kutcher is up against Prince William in an online vote for People magazine’s top bachelor of the year, and is dating Demi Moore. Wouldn’t you think that dating Demi Moore would be enough?
  • A woman has claimed that Ozzy Osburne is the father of her six year old child. I guess she didn’t know that Ozzy had a vasectomy 17 years ago.
  • Seahorses are their own worst enemy. They’ve been fished to the point of extinction, yet they mate for life and their unwillingness to seek new partners after being separated has done little to improve their chances of survival. Seems the seahorses don’t believe until “death do us part.”

Zeck, Grant & More

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* In 1997 Mike Zeck [penciler] teamed up with writer Steven Grant, inker Denis Rodier and colorist Kurt Goldzung to create one of my all-time favorite comic mini-sereies. It was a hard-boiled crime story called DAMNED. Finally a trade paperback is scheduled to ship in August. This book is well worth the price!

* A failing British company fired 2,500 employees by sending text messages to their mobile telephones. ” U R Fired.”

A wanted man was arrested after his parole officer spotted him kissing his girlfriend in a live crowd shot displayed on the scoreboard at a Cincinnati Reds game. If convicted he could get up to 18 years in prison. He could be heading for the [grand] slammer.

AtlantaCon 2003 Report, Part 3

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Phil Hester does really cool sketches.

This is one of Mike‘s favorites. Phil does a tough looking Batman!

Dave Cook of Splatter Comix was not only doing free sketches… 

…but giving away cake as well! His enthusiasm is contagious! Check out his site and tell him I sent ya!

We met up with Tim Flanagan at AtlantaCon.

Tim’s a super nice guy who’s more than willing to sketch away! I’ll bet we’ll see him again at future shows!

Jacen Burrows was drawing some really cool sketches.

Mike just had to get one from Jacen [and so did I]! Take a look at his art and I’ll bet you want one too!

AtlantaCon 2003 Report, Part 2

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So where did we leave off? Oh yeah…

I’m at AtlantaCon with my son, Mike. I’ve picked up sketches from Jason Alexander, Andy Lee, and Cully Hamner. Adam Hughes will have my sketch ready on Sunday. Believe it or not the day gets even better!

How? Glad that you asked! Well, let me tell you…

AtlantaCon and Chud.com have teamed up to present a special screening of Equilibrium followed by a Q&A session with writer/director, Kurt Wimmer. Seating was limited, but I was able to get two tickets.

The only thing that I knew about the movie was that it starred Christian Bale and Taye Diggs, was scifi set in the future and received good word of mouth. I figured we’d be in for an entertaining evening even if the movie was just “ok.”

The screening was set for 7:30. Everyone was to get there by seven. Mike and I arrived at 6:40. A crowd was already forming. Mike and I ended up next to Nick from Chud. We had a nice conversation. I was pleased to learn that he knew of StalloneZone. He was also a Stallone fan. Nick said that we were in for a very cool film with Equilibrium.  It was a movie that he was really proud to help promote. I also spoke briefly with Jen who has set up a very nice Equilibrium fan site.

Soon it was time to go in. Mike and I took seats in the middle of the last row. People continued in and the theater was nearly full. Nick thanked us all for coming and that Kurt Wimmer had flown in from LA to attend the screening. Kurt had brought drinks and chips for the crowd!

As Mike went down to get a couple of sodas Cully Hamner, Phil Noto, Brian Stelfreeze, and Karl Story came in.  They sat directly in front of us. When Mike came back and saw them sitting there a giant smile came across his face. [For those of you who aren’t comic fans, this would be like driving to a basketball convention and having Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, and well, you get the idea, sitting in front of you.] Right before the movie started a gentleman and his young son took seats next to Mike.

The movie started.  It immediately took you to another place. It’s our world, but in the near future. The opening scene is so cool and so well done that I knew we were in for a ride. Then comes the action and – MAN – it is AWESOME! I loved Christian Bale‘s work in Shaft and Reign of Fire but Equilibrium shows that he is a star. Taye Diggs, Emily Watson and Sean Bean are also excellent… but the real star of the show is Kurt Wimmer who wrote and directed it.

Kurt has also written other screenplays including The Recruit and The Thomas Crown Affair. After the movie ended Kurt Wimmer was introduced.  He went to the front of the auditorium for the Q&A session. It was the guy sitting next to Mike! Mike looked at me like he couldn’t believe it… watching the movie with the Gaijin guys and the director of the movie!

Kurt was really entertaining. He spent an hour answering questions about the film. After the Q&A ended a group of us [including Brian Stelfreeze] stood in the lobby discussing how cool the film was. The dvd will be out in May. My advice is to pre-order now. I think this baby is a sleeper.

Sunday arrived. The final day of the show. The main question on my mind: Would Adam Hughes be able to get to my sketch? As we walked in I heard John Higashi yelling, “Craig, come and see what Adam did for you!” Needless to say, I was excited. Adam had created a very, very cool drawing of Sly dressed for an audition as Superman. I absolutely love the idea and execution. Adam Hughes is da MAN! I got a picture of Adam holding the sketch and thanked him.

Phil Noto was setting up. I checked to see if he would be able to fit me in. Unfortunately Phil was booked solid. He said he would do something for me and asked if I would leave him my address. I did and offered to pay for the sketch in advance. Phil said we’d settle up once he was finished with it. Believe me, it will be worth the wait! [Next on my list will, hopefully, be Brian Stelfreeze!]

Mike and I then went over to see Dan Brereton. We discussed a Stallone sketch. Dan was leaning towards a Rocky, but as he looked through my reference book he mentioned that he really liked Nighthawks. Whatever he wanted to do was fine by me. He said to check back in a couple of hours.

Mike and decided to visit some artists one last time. Mike got a headshot of Batman by Phil Hester, a Batman by Dave Cook of Splatter Comix and a Batman by Tim Flanagan. Our final stop was with Jacen Burrows. Jacen was doing some really interesting sketches. Mike got one for his sketchbook. I asked Jacen if he’d be interested in doing a Sly drawing for me. He said he would, but that he’d want to do it at home. We agreed on a price and Jacen said he’d have it to me in about a month!

Mike and I then headed back over to Dan Brereton‘s table. The piece was finished. It was a knockout! Dan had opted to do Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks! I got a picture of Dan and his lovely lady, thanked him. It was time Mike and I got back on the road for home.

It was a great show. I’ll post pictures of the artists and their artwork later this week. Mike and I hope to return next year. Maybe we’ll see you there!

AtlantaCon 2003 Report

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AtlantaCon was this past weekend. My son [Mike] and I had a blast! It was my goal to try and get sketches from Adam Hughes, Cully Hamner, Dan Brereton, Phil Noto and whoever else the budget would allow.

The con was scheduled to open at 1PM Friday. We got to our hotel before 9AM. I was surprised that we could check in early. As we were completing the paperwork, Dan Brereton began to check in as well. We decided to wait until the con to say, “Hello.” As the elevator doors were closing to take us up to our room, Mike Kaluta came on board. He is always so friendly.

We decided to eat breakfast. Dan Brereton had the same idea, but since he was with a couple of friends we didn’t want to bother him. After breakfast, Mike and I headed over to the convention center. There were already people in line. The con wasn’t scheduled to open for another hour and a half!

I was talking to a couple of guys when I heard someone yelling, “Craig Zablo, you lied!” I looked up to see John Higashi coming down the escalator. “You said, you wouldn’t be here until Saturday!” John continued yelling. John is such a fun guy to be around. He collects Star Wars art and his collection is one of the best I’ve ever seen. He has art by almost everyone. Who else do you know that has several pieces from Drew Struzan? John came down and showed us all where the line would start so we could pick up our con passes, and then entertained us with pieces from his collection until it was time for him to go in. John had a lifetime membership to the show, which meant that he would be allowed in to the dealer’s room an hour before everyone else.

Once the lifetime members were allowed to enter, the regular paid attendees lined up at the door. Mike and I were fourth and fifth in line and so I felt my odds of an Adam Hughes sketch were pretty good. Cully Hamner had already put me on his list [thanks to an e-mail from Big Beatty — thanks, bro!] so Adam would be my first stop when the gates opened. From where we were standing, we could see the line for Adam was already nine deep and growing… The crowd was allowed to enter and I ended up 13th in line for an Adam Hughes sketch. When I spoke to Adam about what I wanted [a drawing of Sylvester Stallone], he liked the idea. I left him a book for reference and hustled over to see Cully.

Cully remembered me and we discussed what I wanted. I thought that Cully would do a very cool Jack Carter. Cully hadn’t seen the movie but I had reference. I explained that Carter was a Vegas enforcer, a low level mobster. Cully looked at the pictures and said, “nice suits, right?” Yep. Cully said to check back later in the day.

Mike was walking around checking out things. I caught up with him and we walked the convention center. Dan Brereton was setting up and I spoke to him about a commission. He said that he would definitely be interested. We agreed to hook up later in the show to work out the details. The first day wasn’t even half over and I had basically set up three commissions. I was loving life.

We walked around and spoke with Mike Kaluta, Andy Lee, Phil Hester, Jacen Burrows, Jason Alexander, Brian Stelfreeze, Karl Story, Shane Glines, Dean Motter, Bo Hampton, Alex Saviuk, and many others.

Jason Alexander‘s art is really cool. I spoke to him about a commission and he agreed to do a Rambo for my sketchbook. It turned out awesome. Watching Andy Lee paint was amazing. I spoke to him about a commission. We agreed on a Rambo. It also turned out great. I decided to check on the progress of Adam and Cully. Cully asked if it would be ok if he gave me the Jack Carter drawing in the morning which, of course, was no problem. Adam was still working on his first drawing. Gulp!

Saturday was the busiest day of the show. Kent Williams showed up [he shares a studio with Jason Alexander]. I told John Higashi that Kent was there [he wasn’t listed on the guest list]. John commissioned a really cool Star Wars piece! Mike spent the afternoon in a HeroClick‘s tournament. I walked around talking to more artist’s. Cully finished my Jack Carter piece. Whoa! I couldn’t be more thrilled with it! Adam said that he would have my piece for me on Sunday. Yes!

Believe it or not, the day was going to get even better…

[I’ll post the rest of my con report soon. Scans of my commissions and pictures from the con will also be posted soon.]

Gulacy is Back, Baby!

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Paul Gulacy is one of my all-time favorite comic artists.

Growing up, I spent hours enjoying the work he did with Doug Moench on the classic series “Master of Kung Fu.” I know, terrible title, but believe me, it was [and is] one of the best runs on any comic book series.

I got to know Paul back in the late 70’s when I was dealing original art. I commissioned him to do several pieces for me over the years. This cool Bruce Lee was my first commission form Paul. Sadly it was stolen back in the early 80’s.

Although Paul has worked on many cool projects over the years, none of them [not even Sabre, the James Bond mini-series, or the MOKF “reunion” this year] have been as popular as the original run of “Master of Kung Fu.” That may change with his latest work, “Reload.” The first issue is out and is excellent. The series is written by Warren Ellis and inked by Jimmy Palmiotti.

Give it a look. Gulacy is back, baby!

AtlantaCon 2003 Bound!

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On April 11- 13, I heading up to Georgia for the AtlantaCon Convention. The Guest of Honor is Mike Kaluta who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time over twenty years ago at an Atlanta convention! Mike is best known for his work on “The Shadow,” and I’m looking forward to seeing him again.

Dan Bereton is going to be a guest. I’ve loved his work since I saw the first preliminary piece for “The Black Terror” years ago. Dan has gone on to draw [and write] many other projects and I’ve followed them all. One of my favorites has been his work on The Nocturnals. It’d be cool to get a Stallone drawing by Dan.

I’m also excited because the guys from Gaijin Studios [Adam Hughes, Cully Hamner, Georges Jeanty, Brian Stelfreeze, and Karl Story] will be there sketching as well. As Stuttering John would say, “I’m a big fan, big fan.” I was hoping to get some Stallone sketches from them at MegaCon but I was only there for one day,and they were allready booked up. Thanks to Big Beatty, I’m on Cully‘s list for AtlantaCon and hope to get on Adam‘s and Brian‘s as well. At least that’s the plan.

Phil Noto is going to be there. His popularity has soared in recent years. Take a look at his art and you’ll know why. There’s going to be dozens of other artists on hand as well. Part of the fun of going to a convention is meet established pros, but also to meet the new people who haven’t broke through yet but have the talent to take you by surprise. There’ll also be tons of panels, screenings of movies, videos, and animation… not to mention gaming, but since I already did, well, nevermind.

It’s going to be a fun time. If you’re able to make it to the show, it’d be cool to talk to you. I’ll be easy to find. I’ll be the guy wearing the StalloneZone t-shirt getting the Stallone drawings.

Themed Sketch Collections

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People will collect almost anything.

I collect movies, books, comics and Sylvester Stallone memorabilia such as books [biographies, novelizations of his movies], magazine articles and pictures, and now original drawings of Sly or characters that he’s played. Recently I began to have artists draw in a sketchbook instead of on loose sheets of paper.

This may sound like a unique idea but it’s really not. There are a lot of people out there collecting drawings for their themed sketch books. Some of the more interesting themes include “cliffs,” “time,” “silverfish,” and… well, you get the idea. Phillip Anderson has several themed sketchbooks going. You can get a look at all of them by clicking [HERE].

Who knows? After seeing the cool stuff that Phillip has, maybe you’ll be inspired to start your own themed sketchbook collection!

Eric Powell Takes the Goon Through Rough Stuff

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Eric Powell writes, pencils and inks The Goon, which is one of the few comics that I buy EVERY time it comes out. Dark Horse just picked up The Goon so if you wanna beat the crowd, get on board now! You’ll also find Eric’s work on the covers to DC‘s Arkham Asylum: Living Hell six issue mini-series starting in May.

Eric did his version of Sly when I caught up with him at MegaCon. I was so tempted to get a Goon sketch but just had to have Eric in the SZ Gallery. Eric‘s take reminds me of a sports drawing from the ’30’s.

Rough Stuff, a trade paperback which collects The Goon‘s first three issues is now available.

I’ll bet it’s the first graphic novel to come with a “director’s commentary!” Yep, a trade paperback book with a director’s commentary.

Isn’t that just goony?

Steve Niles is Quite a Writer

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Steve Niles is quite a writer.

I guess he should be though since he’s been making a living at it for about fifteen years. What? You haven’t heard of him? Sure you have! I wrote a ZONE piece on Steve way back on January 4th, after I read his novel, Guns, Drugs and Monsters.

I was so impressed with Guns, Drugs and Monsters that I immediately bought Savage Membrane, the first Cal McDonald novel. It was just as good! There are more Cal McDonald novels in the works, as well as a series from Dark Horse Comics.

Steve is also the author of 30 Days of Night, a vampire graphic novel that Ben Templesmith illustrated. It has just gone into it’s third printing, and was optioned [for a cool million bucks] by Sam Raimi‘s production company! Plus Steve get’s to write the screenplay!

You might think that all of this has gone to Steve‘s head. You’d be wrong. I got to meet Steve at MegaCon and he was very kind, gracious, and appreciative of his fans. Read this interview with Steve, check out his website [tell him I sent ya!] and then order his books. You’ll be glad you did because…

Steve Niles is quite a writer.

X-Men 2 Trailer

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I’ve been a fan of the X-Men for a long time… since the glory days of the  Claremont, Byrne and Austin!  If you have to ask who they are, then it means you either not a comic book fan, or the 1980’s were just too long ago to matter.

At any rate, I found the first X-Men movie pretty well done. It wasn’t an all-time favorite and it’s not in my collection, but I did enjoy it on dvd.

Soon the sequel will be hitting the theaters, and the new trailer makes it look even better. So good, in fact, that I may have to catch it in a theater… as any long-time X-Men fan should!

Snake is Everywhere

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Snake Plissken. Cool name. Cool character.

If you don’t know who he is [or you thought he was dead… sorry but I couldn’t resist], then check out “Escape from New York,” starring KURT RUSSELL and written/directed by JOHN CARPENTER.

Don’t buy the dvd — even though you’ll find it for less than ten bucks! Why, you ask? Because “Escape” will soon come out in a new edition with a lot of extras. See Snake Plissken is going to be showing up in a bunch of different places. New comics, video games and anime are gearing up all featuring Snake.

And how cool is that?

Art of the Raytrix

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If you’re a regular ZZ reader, then you know how much I enjoy the artwork of Bill Marimon. I like Bill‘s work enough to create a web presence for him. Have you checked it out yet? If not you should.

Perhaps if you take a peek at the thumbnail to Bill‘s latest painting you’ll see what I mean about his art. If you can’t see it, then maybe it’s time for an eye exam.

Nolan Excited About Batman

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CHRISTOPHER NOLAN [“Momento” “Insomnia”] has signed on to helm the next Batman movie. NOLAN was quoted as saying, “I grew up with Batman, I’ve been fascinated by him and I’m excited to contribute to the lore surrounding the character. He is the most credible and realistic of the superheroes and has the most complex human psychology. His superhero qualities come from within. He’s not a magical character.”

FRANK MILLER [writer/artist for the two classic Batman series: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns] is said to be working on a script. NOLAN directing from a script by MILLER would be a fan’s dream… at least this fan’s.

Meet Bill Marimon

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Bill Marimon is one of the nicest guys that you’d ever meet. Bill‘s worked for AC, DC [not the band], and Marvel. He’s now available for commissions. [His art is great and his prices are reasonable — can you think of a better combo?]

I’ve put together a site to showcase some of Bill‘s work. Check it out!