Category: Comics

Rarely Seen “Conquest” Written and Drawn by Mike Zeck!

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One of the great things about the internet is that you never know what will turn up.  Today we have a splash page from a very rarely seen story written and drawn by Mike Zeck.  The Sub-Mariner story, Conquest, appeared in the 1976 Omnicon Convention Program book.

I remember when I first read Conquest  back in the late 70’s, thanks to my best bud, John Beatty.  Mike’s story, in just 3 pages, perfectly captured the strength, power, majesty and mindset of Prince Namor.

Click over to The Bristol Board and check out Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner in Conquest written and drawn by Mike Zeck!

Sly Stallone’s Next Movie & TV Projects

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The photo above comes from Sly Stallone’s Official Instagram and is one of a series of photos from the set of Sly’s next film, Rambo V: Last Blood.

Sly has several films in development and is busier than ever.  Here’s what’s in the works:

  • Hunter: Sly is set to star in the adaptation of James Byron Huggin’s best-selling novel of the same name.  This is the film Stallone fans have been hoping for, since the novel’s release as it was written with Sly in mind.  The film will be part of Sly’s Balboa Productions.
  • Samaritan: is set to star Stallone in the tale of a young boy who learns that a superhero who disappeared years ago may still be alive.  MGM and Balboa Productions will team for this one.

Sylvester Stallone and Balboa Productions have also acquired the rights to…

Source: ComingSoon.

Eduardo Risso’s Amazing Art!

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If you’re following Eduardo Risso on Instagram, then you’ve seen this piece before.  I won’t apologize, because it is never wrong to share art by Risso.

If you haven’t seen this before, don’t waste time thanking me for the post.  Instead, click over to Risso’s Instagram and check out more!

For those of you still here, click on the art above and you can see a larger version.

Snake Plissken: The Made & Unmade Movies and More

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When John Carpenter and Kurt Russell developed the character of Snake Plissken for Escape from New York, they knew they had a winning character.  Russell enjoyed playing Snake, Carpenter had plans for many future adventures, and most importantly fans loved Snake Plissken.

Snake (Kurt and Carpenter) returned for Escape from LA.  Although not as well-received as EFNY, Escape from LA was not going to be the final adventure for our one-eyed anti-hero.  Next up was to be Escape from Earth.  Sadly, that film never left the launching pad.

But Snake Plissken didn’t fade away.  There were plans for future films, a tv series, comics (that did happen) and video games.  Kieran Fisher at Film School Rejects discusses them all in his article The Snake Plissken Sequels We’ll Never Get to See.  Since you’ve read this far, my guess is you’ll enjoy it.

 

When Jim Steranko Re-Cast Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.LD.

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Brian Cronin’s When Jim Steranko Re-Cast Nick Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. at CBR.com is well worth a read. 

But before you click over, let’s have a little fun. 

Cronin contends that Steranko based his version of Nick Fury on an actor famous for his athleticism and rugged good looks.  After reading the article, I agree!

As a bonus, Cronin also suggests that the blonde guy with the big smile in the lower right on the cover above is another famous actor from the same time period.  And, again I think that he’s right.

Do you have any ideas who those two actors could be?

 

John Byrne Batman Art and Studio Tour!

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The John Byrne Batman drawing above is being used as a variant cover on an upcoming issue of Detective Comics.  What makes it more interesting is that the art was a fan’s commission that DC Comics liked enough to request to use as a cover.

While we’re on the topic of John Byrne, did you see the video of his studio on Syfy?  If you missed it (or would like to see it again) check out the video below!

Thomas Boatwright’s “Rambo III” Stick Fighter!

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Above is Thomas Boatwright’s art of Sly from Rambo III.  If you like what you see (or love it as I do) then you may want to check out the video below of Boatwright creating it!

Over the years I’ve gotten several Stallone pieces from Thomas.  Click on the link to see what has been posted so far… there are more to come.

If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog and his instagram. Send him some love.

Fuel to the Fire: The Art of Tomer Hanuka

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Art fans will be glad to hear about the publication of Fuel to the Fire: The Art of Tomer Hanuka.

Discover the magical realism that makes Tomer Hanuka so popular in this exceptional art book celebrating the award-winning illustrator’s comic-inspired art.  Fuel to the Fire is a massive 300-page monograph filled with illustrations and comic book art that has graced the pages of The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Criterion, and more.  This long-awaited monograph showcases Hanuka’s most iconic and exclusive masterpieces, including all of his famous covers for The New Yorker and his award-winning recreations of movie posters (The Graduate, Star Wars, Akira, and every Kubrick film).

I can’t wait to get a look at this  baby!

Sean Phillips’ Jimmy Cagney!

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Sean Phillips is an amazing artist as you can see from his James Cagney piece above.  The art appears with an article on Angels with Dirty Faces by Kim Morgan that will appear in Criminal #2 dropping on February 12th.

The great thing about the Criminal comic series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is that each issue is packed with a great comic story PLUS bonus features and art.

Source: Kim Morgan.

The 7 Deadly Sins / Z-View

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The 7 Deadly Sins is available as a graphic novel, a six part mini-series and a digital download published by TKO Studios.

Writer: Tze Chun
Artist: Artyom Trakhanov
Color Artist: Giulia Brusco
Letterer: Jared K Fletcher
Cover Artist: Artyom Trakhanov

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

THE 7 DEADLY SINS
SEVEN DEADLY SINS.
ONE DEADLY MISSION.

1857. Texas. A group of death row criminals is recruited by a Mexican priest for a suicide mission into Comancheria.

Seven death row prisoners are recruited to accompany a Priest on a suicide mission into Indian territory to recover a child stolen from settlers.  Each of those on the mission have reasons to go above and beyond avoiding the gallows.

Tze Chun has created a story much more aligned to The Wild Bunch and The Searchers than most western comic book stories.  His characters all have individual personalities, depth and backstory.  Chun developed excellent twists that, although you won’t see coming, feel true.  Chun is a writer to watch!

Artyom Trakhanov’s art is beautiful.  I’ve followed his work in other stories but The 7 Deadly Sins is his masterpiece (at least so far).  Trakhanhov has the rare ability (think Eduardo Risso and Palle Schimdt) to make all of his characters, including those in the backgrounds, have their own unique feel and personality.  Trakhanov’s style is his own, but reminds me of a young Michael Golden. (High praise, indeed!)

Giulia Brusco’s colors compliment Trakhanov’s art and enhance the story. Brusco’s color’s are beautiful without being overbearing or drawing attention away from the story.

 TKO Studios releases all of their comics in three different formats: digital download, as individual comics in a collector’s box and as a graphic novel.  The comics and graphic novels are slightly larger than traditional comics/graphic novels.  With TKO Studios there is no waiting for individual issues month to month — all issues are available from day one of publication!  Also, each first issue is available to read online for free!  Hats off to TKO Studios for these welcome innovations.

If I was going to nit pick, I’d ask TKO Studios to include the individual comic series covers with the graphic novels.

The 7 Deadly Sins is the complete package – great story and art – and gets my highest recommendation.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

The “Lost” Cody Starbuck Story and a Cody Starbuck Omnibus is Overdue!

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My introduction to independent comics was the first issue of Star*Reach.  It featured a Howard Chaykin Cody Starbuck story. Starbuck was a swashbuckling space pirate. Over the years I followed his all-too infrequent adventures.

Cody Starbuck made appearances in…

  • Star*Reach issues #1 and #4
  • Cody Starbuck (self-titled issue published by Star*Reach)
  • Heavy Metal issues #2 through #6
  • a portfolio of prints published by Sal Q. (I still have mine!)
  • The Star*Reach Companion reprinted some Cody Starbuck stories.

There was also another Cody Starbuck story published in Spain back in the early 80’s.  Sadly, I like many Chaykin/Cody Starbuck fans never got a chance to see it.  It was never reprinted in the US.

Isn’t it time we got a US version of the Cody Starbuck story published in Spain?  Better yet, how about a nice hardcover omnibus reprinting all the Cody Starbuck stories, the portfolio and other bonus materials?