John Byrne DC Art Gallery!
This cool Batman art is just one piece in the John Byrne’s DC Universe Gallery at Black & White and Bronze. Give it a look!
Category: Comics
Bob Burden’s Hitman for the Dead!
Hitman for the Dead.
Even without the cool Andrew Robinson art, the title would have brought me in for a closer look.
And it did.
ANTHONY HARKEN is a drifter, a detective of sorts, and a killer. While he kills the most evil kind of people – the unpunished murderers of the innocent – he knows he’s still a murderer, taking human life and operating totally outside the law.
In the world of good and evil, Harken has chosen sides, but in the world of normal, everyday life, he has chosen an extreme and dangerous path. He carries a gun, he does drugs (Yage), he kills, and lives detached from a society that has no idea that people like him are even among us.
To be sure, he fills in where the law fails: he is a vigilante. He is judge, jury and executioner. And there is no guarantee that he is always right or that he, himself will not make a mistake someday and dispatch someone who was totally innocent.
Anthony is not the only “hit-man for the dead” out there. There are others.
If this sounds like something you’d like, you’re going to love this!
Bob Burden, the creative genius of Hitman for the Dead has created a website for the property. The site has all of the background info you could ask for, art and more. Oh, and the more includes a 25K word Hitman for the Dead novella that you can download for free!
I hope Burden runs with. I’d love to see more Hitman for the Dead prose stories and graphic novels. Fire up the Kickstarter now!
Cody Starbuck Portfolio by Howard Chaykin!
The painting above is from one of Howard Chaykin’s Cody Starbuck portfolios. Hard to believe that this portfolio was released 40 years ago, and I’ve been a Chaykin fan for even longer.
If you’d like to see the complete Chaykin portfolio and some of his other portfolios and art posts check out Ungoliantschilde.
“The King’s Man” Trailer is Here!
Here’s the trailer to The King’s Man.
In 2020, they will become kings. Watch the new teaser trailer for The King’s Man now. See the film in theatres February 14, 2020.
As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them. Discover the origins of the very first independent intelligence agency in The King’s Man.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Based on the Comic Book “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons
Produced by: Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, with Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance
Trigger Mortis: A Zombie Western by Derec Donovan!
Trigger Mortis is a 64 page Zombie Western Hardcover Graphic Novel from Derec Donovan that’s on Kickstarter now. I jumped on board and I thought it would appeal to some of our readers. Here’s the synopsis…
EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter! Trigger Mortis is a 64 page Hardcover thrill-ride combining the action and human drama of Spaghetti Westerns, and the tension and horror of Zombie films.
1876: on the eve of Colorado gaining statehood, rancher Sarah Mc’Clintock has hired a pair of Pinkertons to protect her family’s ranch from the ever present threat of Cattle Rustlers.
She soon finds herself caught in a love triangle between her old flame, Deputy Dylan Hawkes, and mysterious Gunhand Seamus O’Donnell.
Until a zombie plague comes crashing to Earth, spreading like wildfire and threatening the unsuspecting citizens.
Can the living band together to defend the town of Devil’s Lantern from the army of the walking dead?
*Trigger Mortis is intended for Mature Audiences.
“The Bat-Man” Trailer is Here!
Today we have something pretty clever (and well done). It’s a fan made trailer for Batman (1989) as if Tim Burton made the film in 1945. Without further adeu, I present a trailer for The Bat-Man!
The Sylvester Stallone Guide to Movie Making
![](http://"http://stallonezone.com/zone/2019/z070919stallone_guide_moviemaking.png)
Today we have something pretty rare… an ad for the Sylvester Stallone Guide to Movie Making. It was a comic by Phil Clarke scheduled to be published by Solson.
I’ve never seen the comic. Was it published? My guess is “No,” but if it was I’d love to see a copy. Anyone know?
Source: Kirk Spencer.
“Curse of the Werewolf” by Francesco Francavilla
When I was a kid my favorite monster was the Wolfman.
My favorite wolfman movie was (and is) Curse of the Werewolf starring Oliver Reed. For my money (or at least my two cents), that movie has the best designed werewolf of any film.
Perhaps Francesco Francavilla agrees because he created a great Curse of the Werewolf tribute piece!
Frank Miller Talks “Cursed”
I’m not particularly a big fan of young adult novels or the King Arthur legend, but I may just have to get on board when Cursed by Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler comes out later this year.
Cursed…
…approaches the legend of King Arthur from a very different angle, focusing not on the destined King of the Britains, but the “Lady of the Lake” herself, Nimue. Featuring color and b&w illustrations from Miller, its an all-ages tour de force not to be missed!
You can learn more and see additional art at the PREVIEWSworld Q&A With Frank Miller.
“Escape from New York” Poster by Ciarán O Donovan
Each week JoBlo.com posts a feature called Awesome Art We’ve Found Around the Net. I always enjoy what JoBlo finds because with each post they list the artist’s name and a link to more of his/her art.
That’s where I found this cool Escape from New York poster by Ciarán O Donovan. You can see more of Ciarán’s art here.
Coffin Bound by Waters, Dani, Simpson and Bidikar
Coffin Bound by Dan Waters (writer), Dani (artist) and Brad Simpson (colorist) is a new series coming from Image Comics. It doesn’t look or sound like a typical comic…
Chased by an unstoppable killer, Izzy Tyburn has decided that if the world won’t have her in it, it can have nothing of her at all. She’s retreading her life, leaving nothing but burned rubber, ash… and the sun-scorched bones of those who get in her way.
“This is a book all about the inevitability of death, and the choice each of us faces between coming to terms with it, or trying to deny it,” said Watters. “This is a book drawn beautifully by Dani, with Brad Simpsons’ filthy bright colors. This is a book about cars, guns, and sex—and how each of those things does little to stave off the bottomless void waiting just beyond the veil of our known existence. What was the question again?”
Image has an eight page preview that you can see here. I’m on board.
Things Learned from Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ Commentary
Film School Rejects presents 26 Things We Learned from Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ Commentary. Here are three of my favorites and some of my thoughts at the end…
3. People expected him to take a goofy tone with the film, “but that was the furthest thing from my mind.” He wasn’t a big comic book fan, but he loved Batman and the psychology of the character meaning he knew he wanted to stay true to that idea.
5. He met with numerous actors for the title role who fit the traditional “square-jawed” and heroic look, but he eventually realized “there’s a reason why a guy dresses up as a bat, he’s trying to create a menacing persona.” Michael Keaton has the crazy eyes, but physically he’s someone who would need costuming to make him seem scarier.
24. He took older films like The Man Who Laughs (1928), vampire movies, and the work of Val Lewton as inspirations for Batman.
I wasn’t a fan of Michael Keaton being cast as Batman. I get now why Burton went with MK after reading #5 above.
Neal Adams’ Savage Sword of Conan Painting and the Theft That Didn’t Happen
The cover above is to the Savage Sword of Conan #2 and was created by the legendary Neal Adams. It’s always been one of my favorite Conan and Neal Adams’ covers.
I had the good fortune to see the original painting at an OrlandoCon. The year was 1978 or ’79 (to the best of my memory). Mike Kott, a buddy of mine, had it on display for sale. He was asking $10,000.00 for it. Although that was a ton of money back then (and is still a lot today), the painting in person was so nice, it had more than one person saying, “If I was a rich man…”
I’d see Mike Kott on a fairly regular basis. He’d come into Jim Ivey’s Cartoon Museum or over to my apartment (we had a weekly card game) or I’d go by his place. It was on one of those get-togethers that Mike said his house had a break-in and thieves had made off with some cash (not a lot). Nothing else had been taken. Mike said that they had to have seen the painting but obviously hadn’t known the value of the art. Not long after that Mike sold the painting.
$10,000.00 was a small fortune back then. As to what the painting is worth today… I won’t venture a guess, but I will say that Neal Adams gets $50 for his autograph and fans line up all day long.
HeroesCon 2019 – Craig’s Report
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week since HeroesCon 2019 kicked off. We’ve been going to the show for decades and it’s always a treat. Here are the highlights…
I went to the show hoping…
- to get a Richard Cox commission of either Rocky or Jack Carter
- to pick up a Rocky sketch that Matthew Childers gifted me
- to pick up a Jack Carter piece pre-ordered from Chris Visions
- to get Mark Evanier to autograph my Jack Kirby: King of Comics hardcover
- to get a sketch from Pat Quinn of Jack Carter
- to pick up Dan Panosian’s new sketchbook and get a Rocky head sketch
Friday
My first stop was Richard Cox’s table. My buddy, Little John had told me that Richard’s list filled up on Thursday night. I thought LJ was messing with me and it turns out he was. I was able to get on Richard’s list.
I was also able to get on Pan Quinn’s and Dan Panosian’s lists. Matthew Childers’ had my sketch ready and also shared some cover commissions that he was doing for fans. Little John had ordered a cool one to add to his Search for Superman theme. Matthew also was working on a Batman & Godzilla cover. Inspired pairing, that one!
I met Shane Douberly for the first time and commissioned a Rocky head sketch from him. I then spent the bulk of the day visiting with old / new friends and walking the convention floor. My sketch commissions were set up, so the pressure was off.
Little John and his wife Patricia, along with my better half, Doralya, and son Chris headed over to the Red Ginger for a great hibachi dinner. LJ repeated his feat of draining the saki sprayed from the bottle. Luckily, there were no college kids at our table this year to try to replicate this feat.
After dinner we headed over to the HeroesCon Drink and Draw for charity. LJ and Patricia scored a few very nice pieces. Chris Flick created 3 sketch cards for the charity. LJ picked up two and I scored the other (Stallone from Expendables). Yeah, Chris knows what I like.
Saturday
Because of flight issues (detailed at ME’s blog), Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones weren’t able to arrive until Saturday. So ME was my first stop. I was able to meet Mark Evanier and get his autograph in my Kirby hardcover. I also attended a panel that ME moderated. The panel featured my best bud, John Beatty along with Mike Royer and Klaus Janson. The panel was informative and it was nice to see so many people there to hear inkers talk about their craft.
Today was art pick-up day. Richard Cox had a great Rocky (III) painting waiting for me. Dan Panosian’s piece was ready as well (Rocky II). Dan’s sketches are second to none. (By the way, Dan was turning all of the proceeds of his head sketch commissions over to the Heroes Initiative charity.) When I picked up my sketch, I also purchased Dan’s second sketch book. Pat Quinn created a very cool Jack Carter sketch for me. Chris Visions was still working through his sketch list but assured me it would be ready by Sunday.
Hainanu Saulque goes by the name Nooligan. I’d never met him before, but after seeing his Rocky: Once and Future Champ print, I knew he was an artist I wanted to meet. Nooligan is an amazing artist with a unique style. We spoke about Stallone, films, comics and more for the better part of an hour. I usually don’t buy prints, but I purchased both Nooligan’s Rocky and John Wick prints. Hopefully some day I’ll get a Nooligan original for my Stallone art collection. Meeting Nooligan was a definite HeroesCon highlight this year.
Dinner that evening was at the Redeye Diner with my wife, son, Little John & Patricia, Richard Cox and his wife. My only regret about eating at the Redeye Diner is that we only made it there once this trip. Great atmosphere and food.
Our next stop was the HeroesCon Art Auction. LJ showed a lot of restraint purchasing just one piece — a painting by Josh Greathouse. I made it most of the way through the auction but called it a night before it was over since we were heading home early Sunday.
I proud to say that I was able to complete all of the things I had hoped to get done. It was great meeting Mark Evanier after following his blog daily for nearly 20 years. I was happy that my son Chris joined me at the show on Saturday. Comics aren’t his thing, but he had fun at the panel (he’s known John Beatty his whole life) and art auction.
It was great seeing old friends and meeting new. The art on display was, as always, jaw-dropping. I need to give a special shout out to Casey Jones. His art book was filled with page after page of beautiful art ranging from sketches to inked pieces to published pages.
I’ll be posting my art pick-ups in the coming weeks.
A few years ago, we began going to Charlotte on Thursday night to meet with friends before the show starts on Friday. Sadly, we usually cut out before the show ends on Sunday. Little John has convinced me that we need to stay for the full experience. Starting next year, that will be the plan. Let the countdown begin!
