Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I’m a huge Kyle Baker fan. [No wisecracks, Beatty!] Baker is a talented artist and writer. So you probably think I’m going to link to some of his art or a page from one of his comics.
Nope. Instead I’m linking to Kyle Baker’s review of “The Spirit” movie. Don’t you just love how he gets his point across.
I‘ve been following Eric Powell’s “The Goon” since his self-publishing days. Although it’s been eight years and Eric has moved into the big leagues with Dark Horse publishing “The Goon,” it’s as good as ever. And I’m not the only one who feels that way. This year Eric picked up two Eisner Awards [Best Painter and Best Humor Writer/Artist].
f you’re already a Goon fan, then you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not a fan, then you should check out CBR.com’s preview of “The Goon #31.” Who knows, maybe you’ll become one.
Believe it or not, no one is up in our house yet, but me. The kids, the wife, the dogs — everyone is still fast asleep. That’s okay though. I’m enjoying the quiet before the storm of Christmas morning.
There are so many things I love about Christmas. One of them is when folks make their own Christmas cards. The one at the top of this piece is by the uber-talented Dave Johnson. It’s just one of the many posted over at Newsarama.com. Oh, and be sure and check out this really cool one by Rick Burchett and Chris Mills.
Oh-oh. Sounds like everyone is starting to wake up. Have a great day!
I recently discovered that Francesco Francavilla was offering a free quick sketch with every sketchbook purchased from his blog. Since I’d been a fan of his work for a while, I decided that the time was right to take advantage of the deal. I checked to make sure that he was down for a Stallone piece [he was] and then Paypalled him some of my hard earned smack-a-toons for a copy of Talk about a great deal — the sketchbook and original piece of art for twenty-three bucks including postage! I plan to go back for the second sketchbook, Schermoscuro Volume 1 after the first of the year. Check out Francesco’s web site and you may want in on the deal yourself.
PS — I plan to post Francesco’s Cop Land piece this weekend.
Author James Reasoner really enjoyed the Batman: Vampire compilation. [Of course what’s not to love when it’s written by Doug Moench with art by Kelly Jones and John Beatty?] Here are a few quotes from the review:
This is classic Batman with a horror spin… Doug Moench was one of my favorite comics writers… His scripts on these three Batman stories are excellent, with plenty of action and angst… the artwork in this collection by Kelley Jones reminds me a little of Gulacy’s work, as well as Berni Wrightson’s… I’m glad I was able to catch up to these three stories all in one book, and if you’re a Batman and/or horror fan, I think you’ll enjoy them, too.
You can check out Reasoner’s full review here and the Batman: Vampire compilation here.
If you’re a fan of Ed Brubaker and/or Sean Phillips then here’s something worth checking out — CBR.com has an extensive first look at the premiere issue of INCOGNITO. Before you click over, know that this is for mature audiences!
We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about bailouts lately. [Lord knows I could use one. Bet you could too.] Barack Obama is proposing a bailout. So is President Bush. The problem with both of their proposals is that politics gets in the way, slows things down and gums up the works.
That’s why I’m happy to say that the third fellow pictured above is proposing a different kind of bailout. His name is John Beatty and he’s proposing a Christmas Bailout that is guranteed to help those the bailout is for [namely John and his family] PLUS it offers something back to those doing the bailing [Namely a sweet comission at a really decent price AS WELL AS a free sketchbook should your piece be included]. You can read the full details here.
Man, if only our country’s economic woes could be solved so quickly and with everyone coming out a winnah!
I love getting mail from my buddy, Jim Ivey. He doesn’t use a computer so it’s snail mail only. The great thing is, that Jim always includes a doodle or two. His most recent letter contained caricatures of me and Bill Black. Jim used photos from his 83rd birthday bash for reference. You read that right, Jim’s 83 and still full of “prunes and macaroons” as he often says.
I not only hope I have as much energy as Jim when I’m 83, I wish I had it now.
My buddy, John Beatty, has posted nine of his “Artist Proof” Marvel Masterpieces Sketch Cards on E-Bay. He’s listed them at the extremely low and affordable $9.99 starting bid. If you’ve ever thought about getting something from Big Beatty, now could be the time!
A sequel to 30 Days of Night is gearing up with Ghost House Pictures. While this is good news, the really good news is that Steve Niles, who co-created the graphic novel [with artist Ben Templesmith] and co-wrote the first film is back on board. You can read more about the project here.
Darwyn Cooke recently talked with CBR.com about his work on the upcoming comic adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker novels. It’s great to hear how closely Stark and Cooke are working and how much Cooke loves the project. You can see and hear the interview here.
My admiration for Kyle Baker’s talents are well known. He recently posted 
Whoa! Some how I missed the fourth installment of Newsarama’s interview with Tim Bradstreet. Have no fear, you can read it here along with the fifth and concluding segment. 
Charlie Adlard, the artist on my favorite monthly comic, The Walking Dead, has jumped feet first into the 21st century and set up his own website!
If you’ve been following along with part one and part two of Newsarama.com’s interview with Tim Bradstreet, then here’s part three [it even has a couple of images from Archetype!]
