Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Yesterday I suggested that we get ready for the relaunch of Dark Horse Presents. Dark Horse announced that the first issue would feature work from Frank Miller [Xerxes, the prequel to 300] and Paul Chadwick [Concrete]. Today CBR.com has a preview page [two panels shown above] for Marked Man — a story that Chaykin will write and draw.
Miller, Chadwick, and Chaykin — I can’t wait to get Dark Horse Presents in my mitts.
Every so often I’ll post about Dark Horse Presents #1. That’s the first comic put out by Dark Horse. It was an anthology comic and over the years featured work from Frank Miller, Harlan Ellison, Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, Eric Powell, Chris Warner, and many, many other talented folks.
Usually when I post about Dark Horse Presents, it’s to say it’s time to see a new Black Cross series by Chris Warner or at least a compilation of the stories in a nice trade edition. And although I’d love to see the return of Chris Warner’s Black Cross, the focus of this post is something else…
Dark Horse is bringing back the anthology comic Dark Horse Presents! The first issue will feature work from Frank Miller [Xerxes, the prequel to 300] and Paul Chadwick [Concrete]. Dark Horse Presents will definitely be worth a look and CBR.com has a preview of the covers for issue one.
That’s the cover above to Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1. I can remember buying the first issue off the stands [cover date June 1972]. Lucas was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In an effort to get early release, Lucas agreed to an experimental treatment designed to boost a person’s immunity to illness. Instead it gave him super-strength and steel hard skin. Lucas used his new powers to escape prison and take on the identity of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
I loved the idea of a hero who took on cases like a private eye. And although Cage was a “Hero for Hire” he often took on cases for no pay when the cause was right. I really got into the comic. In “shop” class we had to create business cards, so while other kids were creating cards as lawyers, plumbers and the like, I created cards that read “Blackjack Joey, Hero for Hire.” I explained to the teacher that “Blackjack Joey” was my secret identity [taking the moniker of my favorite professional wrestler, Blackjack Mulligan, and combining it with my middle name Joseph].
That was over 38 years ago. So you can imagine my amusement when looking through the December issue of Previews to see these two comics coming out in the early months of 2011.
That’s the cover to Black Dynamite: Slave Island coming from Ape Entertainment. It’s a 48 page full color graphic novel based on the “Black Dynamite” movie which starred Michael Jai White. Black Dynamite: Slave Island was written by Brian Ash with art by Jun Lofamia. The book is suggested for mature readers and will set you back $5.95.
Harry Walton: Henchman for Hire is a 62 page full color graphic novel [$9.95] from Arcana Studio. Written by Zak Sherman with art by Tom Martinek and Jason Worthington, it is the story of a “disenfranchised ex-super-hero sidekick” who decides to “work his way up the ranks” and become a super-villain.
I’m not sure either of the two books are my cup of tea, but they did make me want to go back and re-read Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
Andy Kuhn does the best sketches! He is a master of spotting blacks and knowing just what needs to be put in and more importantly left out. I love Andy’s sense of design so I was extremely pleased to get on his sketch list at Heroes Con and asked him for Jack Carter. As you can see he rocked it. You can check out more of Andy’s art at his blog and his DA site.
Earlier this afternoon, Vin Diesel posted on his facebook page the art above and a tidbit about the third Riddick movie:
So the director of Riddick, my partner on COR [Chronicles of Riddick] since the beginning, DT [David Twohy]… has a new challenge in store. He wants me to have 3 different body looks for this next chapter… There is the DiNorscio type, the Dom type, and the lean Furyan type… but all in the same movie, haha… When it comes to art, we all like a challenge.
You can read more about the third Riddick movie here at Bloody Disgusting.
This week we have Dustin Harbin‘s look at Jack Carter. Dustin is a freelance illustrator working out of Charlotte, NC. I’ve known Dustin for years through his outstanding work with Heroes Con. It was only recently that I discovered Dustin’s talent for cartooning.
Well, you just know I had to see Dustin’s riff on Sly. I hope you dig it as much as me. Dustin will be back soon with his take on Sly as Freddy from “Cop Land.”
I had been a fan of Thomas Boatwright’s art for a while. When he announced a sale on commissions for the month of December, I wrote to ask him about a Stallone piece for my collection. Thomas quickly responded and said that he was a fan of “First Blood.” I was surprised at how quickly Thomas finished the piece and that he’d decided to put Richard Crenna’s character in as well. I totally dug everything about it.
So… I asked Thomas if he was up for some more Stallone. He said that he was, so you’ll be seeing his take on Sly from The Expendables and Get Carter on the SZ in the next few weeks. They are just as cool! If you want to see them sooner, Thomas has posted them on his blog and his DA site. Send him some love.
I hope to get more Stallone art from Thomas in the future. If you get commissions, you should consider him as well. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices and is a fantastic artist! – Craig
Eric Powell, the writer/artist/creator of The Goon, has an eight page Goon story running in the pages of the USAToday. You can read it here… well part one is up today and you’ll have to go back tomorrow for part two.
That’s Hugh Freeman’s quick sketch of Sly as Jack Carter. I discovered Hugh’s art at his Deviant Art site, but you can also see more of Hugh’s art at his website. Nice work, huh?
I’m a huge fan of Eduardo Risso’s art. I’d buy nearly any comic that he draws. When I learned that Risso would be pencilling and inking Jonah Hex #62, I was down for a preorder faster than Hex could draw-down on a man. If you need to know a bit more about the issue, here’s what the tease says…
And thanks to the nice folks at Newsarama and DC Comics, here’s a free five page preview.
The art above was created by my brother from another mother, John Beatty at our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. Last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece. We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast.
This year, John decided to sweeten the pot with a free, Expendables Blu-Ray giveaway. We fired up the Beattytron and began broadcasting from the beautiful JBI Studio in downtown Holly Hill a little before 2pm. The show ran until 9pm — and John still had more to do on the piece. Along the way we were joined by Shana, Sophie, Mike aka Killer Karl Krupp, Royce, Rob Smith Jr., The Mad Pirate, Husky Courdoroy, and others. Shana was the lucky winner of the DVD set.
I can’t thank John enough for the art. As great as it looks on screen, it is even more impressive in person. John set the bar high and surpassed all expectations.
WANT TO WIN A FREE COPY OF “THE EXPENDABLES” 3 DISC SET BLU-RAY DVD OR A FREE COPY OF “THE EXPENDABLES” SOUNDTRACK?
How to win:
You need to do two things:
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!!!
Ustream Starts At 2:00pm Eastern Time: USA!
Contest will be announced during the stream.
Winner must have valid shipping address in the USA
for physical shipment!
May also choose digital download via iTunes!
Outside the USA a digital download will be available via iTunes!
YES…it’s that simple!
The poster above was created by my buddy, John Beatty to announce our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. As most of you are probably aware, the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of shopping. For many businesses it’s their biggest day of the year. For those of us who don’t like crowds and traffic, it’s a pain. So last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece.
We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual event. So this Friday, we’re going to do it again. John and I will post the specifics later this week, but our hope is that we can get a lot of folks to tune in, even if only for a bit. The more fans that pop in with questions and comments, the more fun it becomes. So check back here or at John’s site later this week for full details. Oh, and I posted the art from last year’s event to give you an idea of what we can expect this year.
Since you’re reading this post, there’s a good chance that you know my buddy, John Beatty. That’s not really John in the photo above. John’s actually a little more intimidating. Ah, but I kid. I kid because I care. The truth is I do care. John is my oldest and closest friend [outside of my wife who is actually a little older and much closer], but I think you get the idea. Anyway…
John’s cat, Peepers got sick not too long ago. The medical bills were unexpected and fairly expensive. The good news is Peepers got better. The bad news is that John and Bella [John’s wife for those keeping score] had to dip into money that they’d been saving for Bella to take a trip back to the Philippines to see her family. They did it without second thoughts and figured that they’d both work a little longer/harder to make up the money spent. And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.
From time to time, I join John when he’s sketching for fans on U-Stream. John always likes when I show up to “co-host” because it allows him to spend more time looking at what he’s drawing since I moderate the typed in questions and can interact with the fans. There’s always a lot of laughter, convention stories, trivia, movie, tv and pop culture talk. And it’s always interesting to see who pops in to join the fun — other artists, friends, and strangers… not to mention [but I’m going to] John’s regulars aka The Corduroy Mafia.
So I suggested to John that we do a “Bellathon”. “What?” was John’s response and probably yours too. I explained. We’d do a U-Stream sketch session to help raise money for Bella’s trip to see her family. At first John was hesitant. Some fans had already purchased sketches [and even donated some bucks] when they first heard about Peepers being sick. I countered that the Bellathon would simply be another U-Stream session with me, but the proceeds would go towards Bella’s trip. Fans would still get great deals on art and they’d know the money was going to a specific cause. I felt it was a win-win for all involved. John thought about it and agreed.
So here’s the broad strokes – John and I will be U-Streaming our BELLATHON this Saturday. John will be offering a variety of sketches. All the details can be found at John’s site. I hope you can attend, even if you don’t plan to get a sketch. It’s going to be a blast… and for a great cause!
If you’re a fan of comic books, Walt Simonson, Charlton Comics, The Twilight Zone or twist endings, then you might get a kick out of this four page story drawn by Walt Simonson back in 1973 for Charlton’s The Twilight Zone #50. The story is called “Nature’s Way” and can be read in its entirety here thanks to the great folks at io9.com.
