Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Before you click on the Conan animation below, be aware that it contains realistic cartoon violence. I realize that’s an oxymoron, but it applies. The animation is NOT a type you would see on Saturday morning. It is more along the lines of what you might see in an “R” rated Conan feature film. The action is extremely well directed and I would love to see a full-length Conan film done like this.
Hats off to Mostapha Dhaouadi and everyone involved.
The Black Diamond comics shown above each feature a cover drawn by Paul Gulacy. A fan of the series and actress Sybil Danning recently posted the covers on Twitter with this response…
I responded to his Tweet with, “Funny story – I was Bill Black’s connection for both Paul Gulacy & Sybil Danning!”
I thought I had told that story here before but a search of the site indicates I didn’t… until now. Let me take you back to 1980…
It’s about 10 at night and I’m watching tv. The phone rings and I answer. The voice on the other end asks to speak to “Mr. ZAB-blow.” Dead giveaway that he doesn’t know me since he mispronounces my name. (For the record it sounds like ZAY-BLOW.) I think he’s a nervy sales guy and am ready to hang up when he says, he got my name from a Bill Black publication that listed me as an editor. The guy wants to get in touch with Bill Black.
Little does this guy know, my editing amounted to either putting Bill in touch with artists or copies of convention sketches. My biggest contribution in this area was that I introduced Bill to Paul Gulacy. Paul was my favorite artist, we talked fairly regularly and I had commissioned a few pieces from Paul. Bill wanted to get Paul to do some art for him.
Ah, but back to the Sybil Danning phone call.
The guy says that he couldn’t find any phone number for Bill, but he was able to locate mine. I tell the guy, that I can’t give out Bill’s number but would be glad to take a message for him. The guy proceeds to tell me he is Sybil Danning’s manager. He asks if I know who she is. I do. He says that they want to do a comic with Sybil as the main character. They want Bill to publish it. I take his number and tell the guy I’ll pass Bill the info. We hang up and I go back to watching whatever I was watching.
I’m pretty sure it was the next day that I reached out to Bill to let him know that I had received a call from a guy saying he was Sybil Danning’s manager and they wanted to do a comic with him. If you know Bill, you know how enthusiastic he gets. Bill begins rapid fire asking questions, “When did he call – do I have his number – why didn’t I call him last night to tell him – etc.” I explain to Bill it was late, I don’t know if the guy is on the level, etc.
Needless to say, Bill was able to contact Danning’s manager and the rest is history.
Here’s a cool opportunity to make someone who probably brought you at least a smile or two over the years very happy. Al Jaffee, award-winning cartoonist, inventor of Mad Magazine’s beloved fold-in page as well as Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, turns 100 on March 13th. Sam Vivano, former MAD Art Director and friend of Al’s is putting together a surprise to help Al celebrate…
…(T)he legendary Al Jaffee will celebrate his 100th birthday on March 13. You are invited to send him greetings at the post office box shown in the graphic (above).
Please be sure to put your full name and address on the envelope. This will help me keep track of everything that comes in.
The box is active for the next six months, so don’t worry if you think your greeting won’t arrive by the 13th. I’m sure Al will be happy to continue celebrating his birthday even after it’s passed!
Although the project will run even after Al’s birthday, it would be cool to have Al’s party flooded with messages from fans around the world on his birthday. Please consider sending in a card.
Sources:
Drew Struzan recently posted one of my favorite of his many, many wonderful paintings. It is, of course, Sly from First Blood.
Drew Struzan regularly posts on his Twitter. You can also see many of Drew’s posters and paintings at his website.
Check out this way cool Steranko Nick Fury art! Someone should put together a sketchbook of Steranko’s Nick Fury drawings. Not his Marvel Nick Fury stories, since that’s been done, but a nice sketchbook of Steranko’s Nick Fury art. Trust me on this one.
Also, I’m still campaigning for a Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD series set in the 1960s. One of you Hollywood types should get on this!
If you’d like to see a bigger version of the art above (and who wouldn’t?), click over to I Can’t Stop Thinking About Comics.
I can’t remember the last time I came across a new (to me) artist whose work excites me as much as Seung Eun Kim. Check out Kim’s childhood heroes drawing above. Not only does he have excellent taste in heroes, but man, that art!
Usually I will post one piece of art with a link to the artist’s site, but there were so many candidates for posting on Seung Eun Kim’s Instagram that I just had to post two… and which two to post was a tough decision. Click over and you’ll see what I mean.
A few days ago I suggested you check out Steve Epting on Instagram. Steve’s Marv from Sin City art prompted my post. I hope you followed up because if you did then you’ve probably already seen Steve’s cool riff on John Wick. If you haven’t followed Steve’s Instagram yet, there will never be a better time!
The hits just keep coming. Today we have Barry Windsor Smith’s take on Frank Miller’s Marv from Sin City!
Let’s turn our Marv quinella into a trifecta with Walt Simonson’s riff on Miller’s big guy!
Source: Cool Comic Art.
It’s a Marv quinella! Following up yesterday’s piece by Steve Epting, today we get Rod Reis’ take on my favorite Sin CIty character! See more of Rod’s art at his Instagram. You’ll be glad you did.
If you follow Steve Epting on Instagram then you’ve probably already seen the wonderful Marv from Sin City art above. Even if you have seen it, the piece is worth another look. If it is new to you, thank me later. Now you should click over and check out Epting’s other amazing pieces.
While we’re on the topic of new posters for classic Universal monsters, let me direct your attention to the two new Greg Staples’ prints for Dracula and Frankenstein that will become available for purchase tomorrow through Vice Press.
From the Vice Press release…
On Tuesday the 26th of January Vice Press and Bottleneck Gallery will be launching a new series of limited edition Universal Monsters movie posters and art prints by British artist Greg Staples.
Greg Staples is best know for his work on British comic 2000AD and artwork for Magic the Gathering but also regularly contributes towards film and game design and most recently has worked alongside director Neil Marshall on a number of projects.
‘For me the classic Universal Monster films have been engrained into me since I was a child, not only with their legendary visual design and makeup but because they are almost not of this world. To me they are the purest form of escapism and something that simply couldn’t be made in this day and age. I decided to approach these illustrations a little differently by choosing to try to add a bit of realism, hopefully to capture a small part of their character so wonderfully portrayed by Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. This really was an honour.’ – Greg Staples
Working closely alongside Universal and the estate of Bela Lugosi, this officially licensed series kicks off with pieces for Dracula and Frankenstein and feature Greg’s amazing paintings that beautifully capture Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in their iconic roles. Both versions of the art are available in a regular edition movie poster in an edition of 195 priced £44.99, and a variant edition art print in an edition of 175 and priced £49.99. Both prints are 24×36 inches. There will also be smaller art prints available featuring Greg’s original paintings.
There will also be the opportunity to add a signature by artist Greg Staples to your print for an extra £5.
I love the attention the classic monsters continue to get and that artists like Greg Staples are true fans of the genre.
I love this alternative Dracula poster. Everything about this is right, from the colors, to the use of Lugosi’s likeness, to the female vampires bowing to the Count as he brings in his latest victim.
Sadly, the artist isn’t known to me or Neil Vokes. (I first saw the image on Neil’s Facebook page. If you’re a fan of horror, Neil is as well, plus he’s a fine artist in his own right.)
If anyone knows/discovers the name of the artist who created this poster, let me know so I can update this post.
Over the last year I’ve posted about my wife’s and my renewed interest and love for Columbo starring Peter Falk. Because the series is so popular it appears on several networks daily which makes recording episodes easy. My wife and I have been working our way through every episode. Joe Dator is doing the same thing.
Joe Dator is an accomplished cartoonist whose work can regularly be found in The New Yorker, often be found in Mad Magazine and Esquire and believe it or not, at his personal website. Joe was a winner of The National Cartoonists Society’s 2018 Silver Reuben Award.
I tell you all of this as a way of introduction into Joe Dator’s Rediscovering “Columbo” in 2020. The cartoon strip first appeared in The New Yorker last October, but can be seen in full at Joe’s website. I agree with everything Joe says about the joys of watching Columbo. The one thing I would add is that while Columbo’s first name is never spoken it does appear to eagle-eyed viewers when Columbo shares his ID in a few episodes.
Paul Gulacy will be the subject of Comic Book Creator #27 which is due out in September! Here’s the synopsis…
Fall 2021 – 84 FULL-COLOR pages
Paul Gulacy is celebrated in CBC #27 with an extensive retrospective by Greg Biga that includes memories from the artist himself and a vast array of peers, including Val Mayerik, P. Craig Russell, Tim Truman, Roy Thomas, and others. From Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, Sabre, and James Bond 007 to Batman: Prey and Catwoman, we examine this superb cinematic comic book artist’s influences and his influence on an entire generation of creators. Plus we feature an extensive Joe Sinnott Memorial (also compiled by Greg Biga!) that includes heartfelt testimonials from an army of the masterful artist’s peers and admirers. Rounding out CBC’s main features is part one of a fascinating chat with distributor, publisher, and mail-order bookseller supreme Bud Plant, discussing his very early days as underground comix retailer, top West coast distributor, and fledgling publisher of Jack Katz’s First Kingdom. Of course, our regular team of Arndt, Whitehouse, Patrick, Ziuko, Thompson, and other stalwarts are onboard this ish, along with the latest from Hembeck! Edited by Jon B. Cooke.
You can pre-order a print or digital edition here. If you have a local comic book shop, you can also pre-order through it.
