Category: Comics

Batman Begins… Mixed Feelings

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Let me start by saying that EVERYONE that I know that’s seen Batman Begins really, really likes it. Most everyone has even gone on to say that it’s the best Batman movie yet. They usually conclude by saying how much I’m going to love it.

Well, now that I’ve seen Batman Begins, I can say that they were partly right.

I’d agree that Batman Begins is the best Batman movie yet. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I loved it. Yeah, I liked parts of it a lot, but that still leaves some parts that I didn’t. So, if you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to check the rest of this post later because it will contain some SPOILERS…

Still with me? OK… let’s start of with what worked for me.

The casting was great. Christian Bale makes a very good Batman / Bruce Wayne. Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman were also just right for their roles. [And I had had some doubts about Caine as Alfred.]

The soundtrack was fine. The sets were more realistic and worked well for the “new” direction. And speaking of direction, Christopher Nolan did a fine job, although I would have preferred a little more clarity during the fight scenes. Yeah, I know that he was trying to show how scary it was when you didn’t know where Batman was going to be next, and man, can he move fast… still, a little of that went a long way.

Now the things that bugged me…

Bruce Wayne as a kid is such a ‘fraidy cat. It’s because little Bruce‘s afraid that they leave the opera and his parents end up killed, and wow, won’t that be something to overcome. I did like how they handled Bruce’s dad though. He was caring and adventurous and understanding. [Heck, maybe HE should have been Batman.]

So Bruce decides to travel the world and hang with low-life criminals so that he can come to understand their minds. Huh?

The Ras Al Ghul League of Shadows was a cool idea. I liked the line where he talks about destroying Rome, London, and other cities when their decadance became too great. Ok, so now this sinister secret organization is going to take down Gotham. And they’re going to do it by releasing a poison in the water supply that has to be activated by a device that they have to steal from Wayne industries?!? That’s the best plan that this group could come up with?

And to make matters worse, they have to depend on a mentally ill doctor to hire henchmen to put the stuff in the water pipes? Why not send in a group of his ninja assassins and get the job done right?

And to make matters worse, as soon as Ras throws the switch on the Microwave weapon, the water for blocks on end IMMEDIATELY evaporates? I thought that this was going to be the more REALISTIC Batman?

And before we get to Batman’s actions… I didn’t like how Bruce Wayne was played as an idiot. Yeah, I understand that Batman is playing him that way so people won’t suspect that he’s really Batman. It just doesn’t work for me. Why not give Bruce some dignity. People aren’t going to think that the billionaire playboy is Batman. You don’t have to make him come off as a drunken jerk who burns down his own house.

Now for Batman’s actions… first of all, Batman shouldn’t be flying around Gotham. Swinging on his line I can live with. And don’t give me some guff and say, “Oh, but he was gliding.” I saw the movie. He was flying. LOL!

Batman is supposed to be a hero. He is supposed to be saving lives. There he was driving that “Batmobile” around destroying overpasses, riding across roof tops, knocking debris off buildings, causing car crashes, flipping police cars. He must have caused the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent people.

And when Batman said, “I won’t kill you, but I don’t have to save you.” Uh, Batman, you’re a hero… you’re business IS to save people… even the bad guys.

Batman is supposed to be smart. He’s the greatest detective alive. His brilliant plan to stop the train from getting to “the critical spot” where it would blow up everything was to give Gordon the keys to the Batmobile so he could get ahead of the train and blow up the tracks. That’s the PLAN?!? Meanwhile Batman “flies” up and on to the same train!?!

Huh? Did he somehow forget that Gordon is going to blow up the bridge? Hey Batman, why not just drive the Batmobile yourself and blow up the bridge? You have more experience at these things than Gordon… plus it’ll keep you OUT OF THE TRAIN!

A lot of people have been complaining about Katie Holmes‘ role. The only thing that bothered me is that she’s known Bruce since they were kids, and she had no clue he was Batman. She knew him longer than I’ve known most of my friends and I’d venture a guess that I’d recognize ANY of them in a Batman suit. Especially if they were two feet away from me and talking.

I did like the ending. Things have been set up sweetly for the sequel.

Overall, I know this review sounds really negative. You’d probably think that I hated the movie. I didn’t. I liked it. Didn’t love it, but liked it.

And my guess is that I’ll like the sequel even better.

“Batman Begins” rates a C

Heroes and My Fortune Cookie

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Heroes Con is one of the best conventions that you’ll find anywhere. It has just the right mix of professional artists, publishers, dealers, media celebrities and fans.

I love the show, because there’s something for everyone. In fact, for the last four years we’ve scheduled our family vacation so that we can attend the show. This year will be no different.

Another great thing about the show is that I get to meet up with friends that I don’t get to see as often as I’d like. Some of them are professionals and some are fans, but those lines blur when we’re hanging out.

Of course, another benefit of attending the show is that I always get a few new pieces for my SZ Gallery. With literally dozens of artists showing up, the anticipation is half the fun. Well, let’s hope it’s just half the fun…

…Yesterday I had lunch with John Beatty and John Higashi. We went to a Chinese buffet and my fortune cookie said: “It is sometimes better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”

Well, that surely didn’t sound good. Still, despite the fortune cookie, I’m expecting to have a blast at the show. If you’re in the area, swing by and join in the fun. And if you can’t make it, don’t worry, you can expect a full report when I return!

One Last Bullet for 2004

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I hope that everyone made it to this side of 2005 with a minimum of damage. 2004 was a good year and I’m hoping for even better things in 2005. But before we leave ’04 completely, I thought I’d give a brief rundown of some of the highlights entertainment-wise [at least for me]…

Movies: I loved the Dawn of the Dead re-make and The Passion of the Christ. [Kinda strange that they were both about people who rose from the dead.]

Collateral was very good and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and The Chronicles of Riddick were fun rides.

Several of the best movies that I saw in 2004 were older movies that I discovered on DVD or cable. The original Metropolis was stunning even 77 years after it was made. And you know I love the whole tough guy – noir genre, so seeing movies like On Dangerous Ground, Brute Force and The Big Heat made my day.

TV: The Shield, 24, Survivor and West Wing continue to make my “Must See TV” list. And although Alias still hung in there, ER fell from the ranks. Lost soared to the top of the list and I enjoyed Boston Legal when I caught it.

Novels: The best were Portrait of a Murderer: The Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwall, Double Play by Robert Parker, Sensei by John Donohue, and Rain Storm by Barry Eischer.

Comics: My favorite comic of the year was Grave Digger: The Scavengers by Christopher Mills and Rick Burchett. The writing and art meshed perfectly to create a comic that’s impossible not to enjoy. If we don’t get more Grave Digger stories from Mills and Burchett, then there’s no justice.

My favorite graphic novel of the year was The Wicked West by Todd Livingston, Robert Tinnell and artist, Neil Vokes. Anyone who is a fan of westerns, horror or simply great graphic novels would love The Wicked West.

My favorite on-going series were The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard [which just keeps getting better and better] and 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.

Blogs: Mark Evanier’s News from ME is required reading daily. He’s funny, informative and blogs don’t get any better. Jeff Parker’s Mystifying Oracle and Mike Wieringo’s blog don’t appear daily but when they do, they’re worth a read.

Breakfast: Was a three hour marathon session [and NO, we weren’t eating the whole time] with my ole pal Jim Ivey last week. Jim will soon be 80 and we hadn’t been able to get together in quite a while. Christmas Break seemed like the right time to clear my schedule and make a trip over to see “Jimbo” and I couldn’t have asked for a better time. Jim seemed to enjoy it too. ; )

Now… on to 2005!

Sin City Trailer

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Oh, man! I just can’t wait
to see Sin City up on the big screen.

If you’re a long time ZONE reader, you’ve [repeatedly] heard how much I love
Frank Miller’s Sin City.

You also already know how juiced I became when I heard that Miller was teaming [as
co-director] with Robert Rodriguez to bring Sin City
 to the big screen.

Then the cast started coming on board… Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Benicio Del
Torro, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood…

How could it get any better?

Take a look at this trailer and you tell me!

AC Comics @ FX

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If you’re planning to attend the FX show in Orlando next month [January 28th -30th], in between getting autographs from movie and tv stars and sketches from comic artists; you may just want to try and get yourself one of the exclusive toys and collectibles available only at the FX Show!

My buddy, “Wild” Bill Black, publisher of AC Comics will debut three limited edition versions of a new line of action figure toys based on Bill‘s Femforce and major AC characters. These toys are 8 inches tall with full articulation, created in the Mega style of the 1970’s, and will actually wear a costume made of cloth which is applied over the plastic figure. The figures, produced by Cast-A-Way Toys, are planned for early 2005 release but the limited figures [Fighting Yank, Black Terror and Miss Masque] will be available ONLY at the FX show.

Bill‘s a great guy. If you make it to the FX show, please be sure and swing by Bill‘s AC booth and tell him, “Hi.” He won’t pressure you to buy anything, but after you meet him, I’ll bet you may walk away with something… and it may even be one of his new action figures!

"Batman Begins" Teaser Disappoints

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The “Batman Begins” teaser has been popping up everywhere. Click HERE and you can see a larger version of it.

I’m looking forward to the new Batman movie.

I think that Christian Bale [as Batman] and Christopher Nolan as the director are exciting choices. I even think that the poster is well done, with a nice design and colors.

I just don’t think that it gives us the right “feel” for Batman.

First of all, why the heck is Batman hanging his head? “Batman Begins” is supposed to be Batman at the start of his career. He should be excited about going out to kick criminal butt… or at least to “strike fear into the heart’s of evil-doers.” Instead he gives off the vibe of that famous picture/statute of the Indian who’s at the end of the “trail of tears.” [And don’t get me started about that image.]

Also, what’s with the clouds and sky? Batman is an urban hero. He needs to be on a rooftop or in a gritty alleyway at night… not among the clouds and sunshine.

Still, I have high hopes that “Batman Begins” will be an excellent movie.

Grave Digger Deserves A Long Life

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Mills and Burchett have come together to create a comic that truly entertains. I’m hoping that the book will do well enough for more Grave Digger tales.

If Grave Digger looks like something you’d enjoy, then by all means, have your local comic dealer order you a copy.

Or, if you want to get your copy quicker, you can order one on-line [at a discount] by clicking HERE.

And no, I don’t get a kickback on this — I just want to do my part to support a book that I really like!

The Wicked West is Like a Reese’s Cup

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The Wicked West is like a Reese’s Cup.

A Reese’s Cup combines peanut butter and chocolate which by themselves are great, but together are even better!

Well… that’s what The Wicked West is like. Writers, Todd Livingston and Robert Tinnell have teamed with artist, Neil Vokes to bring us a horror story wrapped in a western.

I’d been looking forward to The Wicked West since I first heard the tagline: Suppose Josey Wales rode into Salem’s Lot. Man, that is the best pitch I’ve heard for any movie, comic, book or tv show in years.
The cool thing is that Vokes, Livingston and Tinnell lived up to the tag line! They created an ambitious story which not allows us to see “what really happened” in 1870 when Cotton Coleridge rode into a town under siege by vampires but also how the story was adapted to the “silver screen” for a “singing cowboy” movie in the 1930’s. The art and story mesh perfectly.  I think that anyone who is a fan of westerns, horror or simply great graphic novels would love The Wicked West.

Neil said that he had a blast drawing The Wicked West and it shows. I know I had a blast reading it, and like after eating one Resse’s Cup, it left me happy, but ready for another!

New Sin City Posters

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Yeah, I want to see Sin City more than any other movie coming out in the next year or so.

Why wouldn’t I?

I love Frank Miller’s Sin City comics. And Frank‘s co-directing this baby.

I’m a huge fan of Robert Rodriguez‘s direction.

Bruce Willis is da man.

MIckey Rourke as Marv is inspired casting. And you know Marv is one of the coolest characters ever.

And let’s not forget that Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Josh Hartnett, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl and Elijah Wood are co-stars.

What’s that? You need just two more reasons to be convinced that Sin City is gonna rock?

OK. 1] Check out the poster above of Bruce Willis as Hartigan. and 2] Click HERE to see the new Rosario Dawson poster.

Now are you convinced?

Dawn of the 300

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I’m a huge Frank Miller fan.

The Dark Knight Returns.
Daredevil.
Ronin.
300.
Sin City.

Classic stuff. And as most of you know, Miller is teaming up with Robert Rodriguez to co-direct Sin City for the big screen.

How could it possibly get any better than that?

How about director Zack Snyder [“Dawn of the Dead” – which I liked better than the original!] bringing 300 to the big screen?!

Yep, it’s true. And you can read about it HERE.

Cavalcade of Comics

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Yesterday my wife and I drove up to Jacksonville to spend the day at the Cavalcade of Comics 2nd Annual Bennefit to fight Tourette’s Syndrome. Comic’s legend Don Perlin and his wife spearhead the event and this year looked to be even bigger and better.

The show had been moved to an elementary school because it had grown so large. Outside a children’s chorus was starting to line up, there were games for kids, people in costume, and the artists were setting up.

We headed into the artist’s room and the first person that we saw was Don Perlin. Don came over and thanked us for coming and for posting info about the benefit here at the ZONE. How cool is that?

Doralaya and I were checking out the art that was up for auction, and we ran into Robert Smith. Robert‘s an old buddy (and one of the guest artists) and he said that he wanted to do a Cobra piece for my gallery. Cool! The con hadn’t even officially started and things were already going great!

Jason Sobel was set up with Alex Saviuk, Bob Layton and Don Perlin. I met Jason at last year’s event and he did a Judge Dredd piece for me so I’ve kept an eye on his work. The sketches Jason was turning out yesterday were leaps and bounds ahead of last year. Keep an eye out for this guy!

Alex Saviuk is not only a great guy but also a very talented artist. Before he was even seated he had a list of eight or ten sketch requests. Bob Layton‘s list was swamped as well. Since I didn’t have a Stallone from either Alex or Bob, I asked if they’d put me on their lists. They agreed.

Doralya and I went back to check out more of the auction art. My prediction was that the Kubert “Sgt. Rock” would get the highest amount, but the piece with the most buzz was the Neal Adams’ Batman and Robin piece?! My favorites were a Wrightson pencil sketch called The Reaper and a print by Lee Ames called The Magician.

Doralya bought several raffle tickets then it was lunch outside with music from a middle school jazz band. As we settled down with some Mexican food we watched a karate presentation and several Jedi sword battles.
; ) The food was good and the jazz was even better.

When we went back into the artist’s room we hooked up with some fans and spent time sharing art and stories. Robert Smith came over and gave me my Cobra sketch!

Bob Layton‘s wife came over and asked if I would mind if Bob did my Stallone piece at home.

Bob was getting tons of requests and it’s take longer to draw Sly (for the first time) than Iron Man or Spider-Man for the 1,000th time. By doing my piece at home more fans would get a piece of art and the benefit would raise more money.

How could I argue? I told her that would be no problem.

I’m just excited to be getting a Stallone piece from Bob!

Robert Smith taught a wonderful session with little kids who want to be artists. While that was running I had a chance to speak with Ed Hall and thank him again for the Stallone piece he did for me last year. Ed was sitting with Dana Sumers [Politcal Cartoonist for the Orlando Sentinal] and Tom Armstrong [Marvin]. I asked Dana if he’d like to do a Stallone piece for my gallery. Tom said he’d give it a shot. I thanked him and headed back to catch the rest of Robert‘s sketch session.

After the session I headed over to put in my donation for my Bob Layton piece. Alex said that he’d also like to do my piece at home so I kicked in that donation as well.After a bit of visiting I headed back to get my Stallone piece from Dana Sumers. Dana said that after five or six false starts he came up with one that worked. I agreed with him; it does work! Dana said that Tom Armstrong also did a Sly drawing. As Tom was signing it for me, he added a little Marvin peeking over Sly. How cool is that?

The show was starting to wind down.

It’d been a great day. We made our way around and said our good-byes (and although it looks like Alex is begging us not to go, that’s just an illusion).

Then it was back on the road home.

Hopefully, the benefit made even more money than last year. It seemed to be better attended. I know that everyone I talked to had a super time and are planning to attend again next year.

I know, I’ll be there!

Bill "The Raytrix" Marimon

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My buddy, Billy Ray [“The Raytrix”] Marimon dropped me an e-mail with his latest painting attached.

Yeah, that’s it… well, a small jpg of it anyway.

You can see a larger version of it by clicking on the picture or HERE.

You can also see more of Bill‘s work HERE at his website.

Bill‘s a talented artist and his prices are very reasonable. If you decide to visit his site, please tell him I sent you his way!

Gravedigger

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One last entry before the Hurricane…

When I was a kid one of my favorite things about going to the movies was the Coming Attractions. For some reason I just loved [and still love] getting a preview of something really neat… and then the feeling of anticipation of just how cool it’s going to be.

Tonight as I was putting together my comic order, I came across this really cool-looking comic, Gravedigger.

The first thing that caught my eye was the cover by Rick Burchett. Rick‘s a very talented and under-rated artist whose work has appeared in Batman Adventures, Blackhawk, and many, many other comics.

Surprisingly, when you mention Rick‘s name the first thing that comes to my mind is the character Inigma that he created over twenty years ago for a fanzine. I’ve always liked Rick‘s art and I absolutely love what he’s doing with Gravedigger. The Lee Marvin-looking lead character and 60’s style design to the promo piece had me hooked.

Then I saw that the comic was created and written by Christopher Mills. I knew the name but couldn’t immediately place what Chris had written. A little web search and I quickly remembered that Chris had served as editor of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Danger for Techno Comics. Chris was also the creator and editor of the excellent crime fiction magazine, Noir. I was a fan of both of these series so I decided to dig a little deeper.

Then I found Chris’ webpage.

Surprisingly we have a lot in common. Chris also lives in Florida. He, too, is getting ready for a visit from another hurricane [I have to go in to open the shelter in seven hours — oh, what fun!], and he has a passion for old movies, crime fiction and comics.

I ended up spending a lot of time checking out his site. Not only are there cool previews of Gravedigger, and other comics that Chris has created, but he also has an interesting blog. [Any one who not only knows about Larry Cohen and Armand Assante‘s version of Mickey Spillane’s “I, the Jury” but wants it on dvd earns a spot on my Blogs to Read list!

As you can probably tell, I’m jazzed about Gravedigger. Check it out and if you feel the same way, then be sure and let your local comic shop know that you’ll want a copy. You might even want to drop Chris a line and let him know that you’re on board. If enough of us write, I’ll bet that Hurricane Jeanne won’t seem so bad!

New Sin City Collectibles

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You all know how much I love Frank Miller’s Sin City.

I have all of the Sin City Graphic Novels and comics. My bookcase proudly displays my Marv bust by Randy Bowen… my “Death Row Marv” and my Sin City Marv “Black and White.” But you just know I want more Sin City…

Well, more Sin City stuff is coming. Everyone knows about the movie, but you are going to be one of the first to hear about the new limited edition Marv statue. It’ll stand 12″ tall, over 13″ wide, 7″ deep and retail for $199.

Dynamic Forces is also going to put out a limited edition lithograph of Marv drawn by Sin City creator Frank Miller. It’ll retail for $19.99.

Hopefully these will just be the first of many new Sin City collectibles.

Well, what’d ya expect me to say… you know how much I love Sin City!