Grown-Up Movies to Little Kid Books
Josh Cooley is an artist at Pixar. Sometimes he likes to create re-imagine movies drawn as children’s books. Bet you love it.
Thanks to Bill Crider for the original link.
Category: Art
Alex Owens: Rambo
Alex Owens did the cool Rambo piece above. I discovered Alex’s art through his Deviant Art site. I commissioned this and a few other pieces last year.
Heroes Con 2010, Part 7
That’s Otis Frampton getting ready for his close-up. Most regular ZONErs know Otis from my many posts about his 7-7 Sundays.
That’s Sean Gordon Murphy holding up the Rocky & Butkus sketch that he did for me at the convention. I was really excited to get on Sean’s sketch list and even happier when I saw the end result. You know that I’ll post a scan of it in the coming weeks.
Here we have Wayne Osborne and Uko Smith. I’d never met either of these guys before. They were set up almost directly across from Big Beatty’s table. I noticed that Uko was the artist and Wayne just seemed to be hanging out at the table… sort of like I do with Beatty. Then I noticed that Wayne looked a bit like me (or is it that I look a bit like him?).
So I told Beatty, “that artist brought his own Zablo“. Beatty looked across and did a double take. He got to chuckling. That’s when he noticed that Wayne saw him looking and laughing. So Wayne mouthed something that I won’t repeat. Now Beatty didn’t know what to do. He’d been caught making fun of a stranger, or at least it seemed that way. That’s when Big John realized who it was. John had met Wayne before years ago. Wayne didn’t think Beatty was talking about him, he was just being silly to get John’s attention. At any rate, it was pretty funny if you were there.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll post some photos of some of the art that made it to the auction. Hope you’ll be back.
Heroes Con 2010, Part 6
A fun part of conventions is the fans who dress up in amazing costumes. Heroes Con always has a large number of fans who do just that and this year was no different.
The photo above is of Gene Gonzales and Joe Pekar. Contrary to what you might think, those aren’t costumes.
Andrew Chairpar made a surprise appearance at the show. I was fortunate enough to get not one, but two pieces from Andrew. He worked up Sly from The Expendables and Sly from Spy Kids 3-D. I’ll of course post scans in the coming weeks.
Luckily it won’t be weeks until my next batch of Heroes Con photos. Until tomorrow…
Heroes Con 2010, Part 5
I can’t think of a better way to jump start Part 5 of my 2010 Heroes Con report than with a photo of Dave Wachter holding a commission of Sly from The Expendables that he did for me at the show. I first met Dave at Heroes Con 2009 and got a head sketch from him. Since then I’ve been back for several other sketches. As you can imagine, I hope that the one pictured won’t be my last. You can bet I’ll post a scan of it soon so you can see it in all it’s glory.
Mick Foley was a guest at Heroes Con this year. I took along my copy Have a Good Day so that I could get Mick to autograph it. Mick was only going to be at the show on Saturday. Since he’d never been at any convention I’d ever attended, I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd he’d draw.
Saturday rolled around and still no buzz about Mick being at the show. Perhaps getting his autograph would be a piece of cake. I went by the booth where Mick was going to sign and asked when he could be expected. They said he had just arrived in town, was getting lunch and should be at the booth around 1:30. They said if I showed up then, I’d be right on time. I checked my watch and saw that I had time to run across the street, grab a bite and still be back before 1:30.
So that’s what I did. In fact I got back about 1:25. I headed over to get in line and was surprised to find Mick already signing. I started back tracking the line which wrapped around a corner and then down a long aisle and then out of sight. Before I had taken 3 steps I was stopped by a young lady working at the show. She said, “If you’re wanting to get in line for Mick Foley, you’re too late. The line has been capped.”
I was stunned. She repeated herself. I explained that I had checked at the booth and was told if I returned by 1:30 I would be okay. She said the demand for Mick was more than anyone anticipated and the line was capped. I thought about arguing my case, but realized it would do no good and it wasn’t her fault. The line was huge, by far the biggest I’d seen at any show for any guest.
I hought, “Good for Mick Foley.” I was happy that so many people wanted to meet him and get a photo or autograph. Perhaps I’d meet him at another show. How could I complain? The day before I had gotten the most amazing sketch from Brian Stelfreeze for my Stallone art collection. I’d also received a call from my boss saying that I was getting a promotion! Heck, maybe I really would get a chance for Mick Foley’s autograph at another show… little did I know that my good luck wasn’t over (and I’ll tell you about that in another post soon)!
I wish I knew more about this piece. It was donated to the HEROES CON art auction. I don’t know the artist or who won the art, but I did think it was a pretty cool piece. Hope you like it as well.
Heroes Con 2010, Part 4
Today we start off Part 4 of my 2010 Heroes Con report with a shot of Adam Hughes. Most times when I post a photo of an artist it is because i got something from him/her at the show [sketchbook, sketch, autograph, etc.). That’s not the case this time.
So you’re probably wondering, “Why the photo of Adam Hughes?” I posted it because the show ran for three full days and the shot above lasted less than a minute and i just happened to be there! There for what you ask? (And I’m glad you did!) That photo proves that Adam didn’t have a line of fans in front of him the entire show. Now I’m sure that some folks are going to say that the crowd was photoshopped out and that there is NO WAY that Adam had even a second when he wasn’t 3 deep in a crowd of fans. All I can say is, I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it myself.
The shakey cell phone photo above shows two of the nicest (and most talented) artists you’d ever want to meet. The fellow on the left is Sean Gordon Murphy and the gent on the right is Casey Jones. I was very fortunate to get a wonderful sketch of Rocky Balboa and Butkus by Sean. And, as you guessed, I will post it in the not to distant future.
You’re probably wondering why the photos suddenly got better. No, it’s not just because of the subjects. The photos up to this point had been taken using my cell phone. We’re done with them. From here on out it’ll be digital camera work. This one was taken by my buddy John Beatty. He was kind enough to allow me to post it here instead of his site.
Tomorrow starts Heroes Con 2010, Part 5. I hope you’ll join me. At least the photos will look better.
Heroes Con 2010, Part 3
Can you believe it’s already time for Part 3 of my report on HEROES CON 2010? So today we kick off with a photo of Andy Kuhn. Andy’s blog is a daily stop on my internet travels. I love his bold sense of design and unique art style. I was fortunate to get a sketch from Andy at Heroes — he riffed on Sly as Jack Carter and I plan to post it soon.
I first met Chris Stevens at a con last year. Chris was there as a fan although his work had been making a big splash over at Deviant Art. When I heard that Chris was going to debut his first sketchbook at Heroes this year, I knew I had to get one. I pre-ordered and Chris even included a headsketch of Sly as Jack Carter. [As you probably guessed, I’ll post it in the near future.]
You’re probably wondering why Laura Martin, the best colorist in the business, is in such a great mood. You would be too, if you were so good at your job that if someone looked up what you do, there’d be a picture of you. Don’t believe me? Click on this link: Best Colorist in Comics.
What’d I tell you?
Jay Potts Takes On Jack Carter
Jay Potts, the creator of the very hip blaxplotation web comic World of Hurt, worked up a Jack Carter sketch for me. Yeah, he definitely caught the tough guy image that Jack Carter projected!
Before you click over to Jay’s web comic, be advised that World of Hurt is suggested for MATURE READERS due to violence, profanity and a bunch of other stuff that can be found in the best blaxplotation movies.
Heroes Con 2010, Part I
It’s hard to believe that HEROES CON 2010 was three weeks ago. Usually within the week following HEROES, I post my con report and photos. Of course, most years, the con is held later in the year and so when I return home I still have at least a week of vacation left. This year HEROES was held earlier in the month and I didn’t have the luxury of vacation when I returned home.
Enough with the excuses. In an effort to get my con report and photos up before next year’s HEROES CON, I will post three pictures a day along with some comments.
That’s Chris DiBari. He’s worked on some pretty neat comics including adaptations of The Warriors and The Crazies (especially cool since Chris is a big movie buff). Currently Chris is working on the very well received western comic Pale Horse. Chris is also a Stallone fan and he did a cool take on Sly from Nighthawks which I will post in the near future.
That’s Jay Potts, the creator of the very hip blaxplotation web comic World of Hurt. As you can see from the photo above, Jay rocked a Jack Carter sketch for me. I’ll post a scan soon.
Chris Mills Spruces Up Atomic Pulp
My internet buddy [which means I’ve never met him in person], Chris Mills has retooled his main website. It will serve as a hub to his other internet joints. If you click over to this post about the new Gravedigger graphic novel, you might notice that the bad guy that gets the drop on Digger resembles someone we all know and love. We’ll at least my dog loves me… I think.
Chris Mills is a great guy. Swing by and show him some love.
Rod Serling by Ben Walker!
Looking at the art above by Ben Walker, I can almost hear Rod Serling as he says…
You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop, The Twilight Zone!
Miller Talks Up Xerxes
If you enjoyed yesterday’s post about Frank Miller and Xerxes, his prequel to 300, then you’ll probably want to check out this interview with Miller posted at the LA Times. If you didn’t like yesterday’s post, my advice is to skip the interview. I’m just saying.
“They were 300. He was one.”
Yesterday, CBR.com followed up on a Dark Horse Comics announcement via its twitter page that Frank Miller is returning to comics with a prequel to 300. The long rumored series won’t hit the stands until sometime in 2011 and will be titled Xerxes.
Xerexes was the Persian king who attempted to conquer the world, only to fall short thanks to the efforts of 300 Spartans. The tagline for the new series is a good one…
Xerxes: “They were 300. He was one.”
You can read more about the Xerxes mini-series and the Frank Miller lithograph that Dark Horse is releasing by checking out CBR.com’s post.
Heroes Con Countdown
In just about exactly 72 hours, I’ll swing by and pick up my best bud, John Beatty, and we’ll be off to Heroes Con. John will be a guest there, sketching and signing autographs for his fans. Although I’ll hang out at his table and help keep the good times running, I’ll also spend time on the other side of the aisle as a fan, visiting other artists to get books signed and some new sketches for my collection.
Heroes is always a blast. I can’t even begin to imagine how much fun it will be this year. The guest list has never been bigger. In addition to all of the regular comic superstars that always attend, this year we’ll also get to see folks like Tim Sale and Mike Mignola for the first time. As LittleJohn312 said today, “The guest list keeps growing, but my budget doesn’t.” Amen to that. My plan this year is the same as last: get the most bang for my [limited] buck. So I’ll be looking for sketchbooks with head sketches and avoiding the superstars.
If you’re going to be at Heroes, you can usually find me hanging out at John Beatty’s table [#721 in artist’s alley]. If I’m not there, I’ll be the guy looking to score some Stallone sketches. Either way, I’m not too hard to find.
Mark Pennington’s Jack Carter
Mark Pennington graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1985. Upon graduation Mark became a toy designer at Hasbro. Mark created designs for the G.I. Joe line of action figures including a Rocky Balboa GI Joe that never saw production! Mark’s first work as an inker in the comic book industry was for SQP on Judge Dredd!
When I started collecting original sketches of Sly, Mark was one of the first artists that I approached. I was excited to get this Rambo head sketch from him. Earlier this month I posted Mark’s take on Sly as Rambo.
Today we have Mark’s take on Sly as an older Jack Carter. Although we’ll never get a sequel to Get Carter, and it is not a perfect film, Get Carter remains one of my favorite Stallone movies. Sly was perfect as the “bad brother” — the man who knew that he’d taken the wrong path and saw a chance at redemption by finding his brother’s killer and keeping his niece and sister-in-law safe. So I thought it would be cool to get Mark to draw Sly as Jack Carter, but with some more years on him… sort of like Clint Eastwood’s performance in Unforgiven. I couldn’t be happier with the result!
