Category: Art

10+ Page Preview for Criminal by Brubaker and Phillips

Posted on by

The art above is just one of a ten page preview for the new Criminal comic series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.  The series will be on-going and feature new and returning characters from previous Criminal stories.  The first issue is self-contained and the second and third issues will start and wrap-up a two-part story.  I cannot recommend Brubaker and Phillips’ Criminal stories highly enough.

If you click over you can see the other nine pages of the first issue preview as well as the Criminal covers for issues one, two and three.

Source: Comics Beat.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018) / Z-View

Posted on by

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Director:  Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Screenplay: Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman from a story by Phil Lord

Stars: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Zoë Kravitz, Nicholas Cage, Liev Schreiber and Chris Pine.

The Pitch: “Let’s make an amazing animated Spider-Man movie featuring all of the various versions of Spidey!”

Tagline: Enter a universe where more than one wears the mask.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a beautifully animated movie that is a joy to watch and a love letter to comic books.  That’s because Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is unlike any other animated movie ever.  It actually looks like a comic book come to life right down to the zip-a-tone dot patterns, captions and sound effects come to life.

The story involves young Miles Morales bitten by a radioactive spider and empowered with, you guessed it, spider-like powers.  Miles finds himself the heir to Spider-Man when Peter Parker is killed trying to stop Wilson The Kingpin Fisk from opening up a portal to other dimensions.  Miles has no idea how to use his new powers or to stop Fisk.  Fortunately, when the portal opened alternate universe versions of Spider-Man came through.  These versions of Spider-Man team with Miles to try to stop Fisk and get back to their rightful dimensions before they disintegrate.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has well-developed characters, humor and suspense.  It’s beautiful to watch and a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

Rating:

Ed Brubaker Interview!

Posted on by

Alex Segura has an informative interview with crime fiction author Ed Brubaker where he talks about his work for Marvel and DC, his collaborations with Sean Phillips, working in television and his new Criminal series!  Check out TALES OF JUNKIES, FADE-OUTS, SUPER-HEROES AND CRIMINALS: Talking with Ed Brubaker, Acclaimed Comic Book, Graphic Novel and Television Writer.

New “Hellboy” Posters!

Posted on by

What do you think about the new Hellboy poster above?  Yeah, me too.  It’s kind of cool but not, ‘Whoa!  Stop what you’re doing and check out the new Hellboy poster!’ cool.  

There’s a new Hellboy motion poster out today too.  You can see it here.  Again, kind of cool but not make you move closer to the monitor cool.

On Thursday we get the first Hellboy trailer.  I’m hoping for something that’s more than kind of cool.

TKO Studios Offers Free First Issues!

Posted on by

TKO Studios is a new comic publisher and they’re looking to shake things up with their award-winning artists and writers and the way their comics are released. 

TKO Studios seeks to redefine the comic book industry creatively and commercially.

TKO Studios was founded by award-winning comic book, entertainment, business and tech professionals. We create unique takes on established genres, promoting diverse and exciting voices that reflect the modern audience.

Our aim is to publish high quality books and expand the comic book audience using modern methods of marketing, distribution, and audience engagement. We proudly offer the premier issue of each new miniseries available for free digital download.

You read that right, each premier issue of a new series is offered up for free as a digital download.  If you don’t like what you see, no harm, no cost.  If you do like what you’ve read, you can buy the entire series in any of three formats:

  1. As a digital download
  2. As individual comics with a collectors box
  3. As a graphic novel with all issues collected into one volume

TKO is on to something smart.  Now fans can check out the stories before committing to a series they may not like.  If they do enjoy what they see, there’s no months-long wait to get the whole story and they can get the story in the format that they prefer.  

I’ve checked out TKO’s first four offerings and ordered (as a graphic novel) The 7 Deadly Sins by Tze Chun (writer),  Artyom Trakhanov (artist), Giulia Brusco (colorist) and Jared K Fletcher (letterer).

Check out the TKO series available now and coming soon — it won’t cost you a cent and you may find something you’ll love.

How Sly Stallone Made the Cover of a French Graphic Novel

Posted on by

Today we have the Colin WIlson cover to the French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tête written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson.  If you think the the tough-guy on the cover looks like Sylvester Stallone, you’d be right.

See, Du Plomb Dans La Tête was the basis for Stallone’s film Bullet to the Head.

What’s interesting to note is the character (that Sly ended up playing) from the original graphic novel was drawn to look a bit like Sly as Jack Carter.  When Sly took on the role for Bullet to the Head, Walter Hill (the director) opted for a different look and Sly agreed.  So in the movie Sly doesn’t look like Jack Carter but on the Du Plomb Dans La Tête cover he does.

And now you have the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say).

Palle Schmidt’s Stiletto is Coming!

Posted on by

That’s the cover to Stiletto a crime graphic novel by Palle Schmidt premiering in March.  I just finished reading  The Devil’s Concubine and was impressed by Schmidt’s great story and art.  My review will be coming soon, but here’s a spoiler, Schmidt’s The Devil’s Concubine gets my highest recommendation.

Stiletto which was nominated for the Danish Pingprisen award, a rarity for crime comics.  Lion Forge is going to release Stiletto, as three 48-page issues, priced at $5.99 each.

Here’s how Schmidt describes Stiletto…

“Stiletto looks like a buddy cop movie at first glance, but you’ll definitely be surprised to see where it goes,” says Denmark-based writer and artist, Palle Schmidt. “This is a gritty neo-noir full of twists and turns, corruption, betrayal, and greed. I spent years working on the book, really pouring my heart and soul into the project.”

You can get more info and see more art for Stiletto at Bleeding Cool.

Jack Carter and John Wick by John Beatty!

Posted on by

On November 23, 2018, aka Black Friday, John Beatty and I met in his studio to do a livestream broadcast of John’s John Wick / Jack Carter drawing for my Stallone Sketch Collection. Click on the photo above to see a much bigger version.  We were joined in the studio by Ron Wendt who took the photos below.

That’s John…

That’s me…

And that’s John with his reference working on the art.  You can click on the video link below to see and hear how everything went down.  We had a blast with viewers texting in questions and even a couple of call-ins to the studio.

John is considering adding tones to the Carter / Wick piece and if he does I’m sure I’ll join him in studio, so maybe you will consider swinging by as well.  John draws live most Monday through Fridays and loves to interact with those who tune in.  You should give it a go and tell him I sent ya.