Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Bleeding Cool scored an advance look at Steve [30 Days of Night] Niles and Bernie [Swamp Thing] Wrightson’s Frankenstein, Alive, Alive!
Bernie Wrightson drawing Frankenstein is reason enough to give the book a look… adding in Steve Niles makes it a gotta pre-order item.
On September 27, 2011, the first prose Walking Dead novel, The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor will be available. You can actually pre-order it now through Amazon.com. I did. Of course I am a major fan of the comic and tv series.
What’s that? You are too? Then what are you waiting for?
I guess I’m old fashioned. Or maybe just old. You see, I like the books I read to be real… not some digital concoction that you read from a machine. I love being able to read a great book and then place it in my collection on my bookshelf. But that’s not what this post is about.
What this post is about is the fact that Anthony Neil Smith, the author of two excellent crime novels featuring bad cop Billy Lafitte is offering a super deal on the first, titled Yellow Medicine. Starting May 1st at 2pm you will be able to get a copy of Yellow Medicine for just 99 cents. The idea is to get everyone who wants a copy to jump on at the same time and get Yellow Medicine on the charts.
At 99 cents the novel is a steal. Heck, I paid a lot more than that for my hardcover copy and the story was so good, I thought I got a bargain. So if you read your novels from a screen, then give Yellow Medicine a try. [And if you’re like me and want a “real” book then order up one here.]
One of my all-time favorite graphic novels is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. I was pleased to read in The Hollywood Reporter today that a feature length animated adaptation is in the works with Bruce Timm on board to executive produce. Timm indicates that the production will closely follow the graphic novels story and look when he says:
“The source material is surprisingly cinematic; it’s a pretty straight forward literal retelling… Mazzucchelli’s artwork is beautifully composed and we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups.”
Ben McKenzie will provide the voice for Batman/Bruce Wayne and Bryan “Breaking Bad” Cranston will do the same for Liet. James Gordon. You can read more about the production here and here.
Variety reported today that…
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Richard Stark’s Parker novels as well as the graphic adaptations by Darwyn Cooke. I also enjoyed Lee [“Point Blank”] Marvin and Mel [“Payback”] Gibson in movies based on the Parker character. I have little doubt that Taylor Hackford directing Jason Statham will be welcome additions to the Parker legacy.
If you’re a fan of crime stories, boy have I got a good one for you. Written by Don [Savages] Winslow with art by Sean [Criminal] Phillips, it’s called Sunset on Sunset and appeared in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times Magazine. Although Sunset on Sunset is only 8 pages long, it packs a whallop.
[Via IFanboy]
Earlier today I posted about Hunter: The Martini Edition which will combine The Hunter and The Outfit into an oversized 9×13 package with 65 pages of additional material [344 total page count] for a very reasonable $75.00 price tag. At Wondercon, today, the cover of the edition [shown above] was previewed. In addition, Scott Dunbier, the editor of the project said that Hunter: The Martini Edition will…
“contain both of the graphic novels that Darwyn did — both of them were pretty widely acclaimed. It’ll have a number of illustrations, sketchbook material, a lot of cool little extras. One of the best is, it’ll actually have an original eight-page story that will only be available in this Martini Edition.”
Now, more than ever I think that IDW should print up an edition of extras for those of us who have supported the books from the start.
[Via CBR.com]
Here’s a match made in, uh, heaven… Stephen King has confirmed to EW.com that he is in talks to script an episode of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead. Man, I would love to see that happen. King and The Walking Dead’s executive producer, Frank Darabont, have a history of working together to create top notch entertainment [The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist] so odds are this will all work out. I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
Steve Niles, best known as the writer who created 30 Days of Night, has started a weekly column at CBR.com called Creator-Owned Spotlight. If you like comics, you should check out what Steve has to say.
I don’t read many comic books these days, but one I am really looking forward to is, Who is Jake Ellis. Written by Nathan Edmondson and with art by Tonci Zonjic, this comic series looks to be not only a change of pace, but a lot of fun. Here’s how Josh Wigler at CBR.com describes, Who is Jake Ellis?…
And speaking of CBR.com, they are running the first eight pages of issue one with commentary by Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic. Who is Jake Ellis? #1 is available at comic shops now.
Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s classic crime novel The Outfit is now available. In case you’re late getting in the game, The Outfit is Cooke’s follow-up to his award-winning adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Hunter. Stark aka Donald Westlake gave his blessing to the original plus three additional adaptations. In honor of the release of The Outfit Darwyn Cooke sat down for an in-depth interview with Tucker Stone for the Comics Alliance. Here’s a taste:
Palance was Westlake’s only visual reference. When I changed Parker, the idea was always to use plastic surgery as a metaphor for his emotional regression. He’s meant to look like a rawer, more stripped down version of himself… His jaw, and most importantly, his eyes, are the same. The rest is meant to reflect a man drained of things like remorse and compassion. A loveless, unadorned man.
I’ve got two more of these books to do. My plan is to finish the fourth one for my 50th birthday… I can tell you that it’s not wearing on me, working on this character. I can see him being a part of what I do for a long time. Maybe not constantly, but he’s going to be there.
Again, this is the benefit of having a few exchanges with Donald. One of his concerns was that I understood that Parker doesn’t operate out of anger. He never commits a violent act out of anger. He does it because it’s the expedient thing to do. It’s the practical thing, a survival mechanism.
I could continue to pull interesting quotes from the interview, but why not just read it. You’ll get insight into Cooke’s process in adapting the Stark novels, his [and Stark’s] take on what makes Parker tick, which crime movies were influences [and which modern crime classic Cooke thinks is over-rated], and so much more. Congrats to Tucker Stone and Comic Alliance for a great read and thanks to Darwyn Cooke for bringing Parker back.
CBR.com also has a nice little interview with preview art from Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Outfit.
Howard Chaykin has a Batman one-shot coming out this November that he’s writing and drawing. It’s called Batman/Catwoman: Follow the Money. Since I’m a huge Chaykin fan, I’m in. If you want to know more, then check out this interview with Howard Chaykin posted by the fine folks at CBR.com.
Andrew Vachss has a couple of new books coming out later this year. The Weight is a crime novel which is what most Vachss fans would expect. Heart Transplant is something totally different. It’s not a novel. According to the product description it’s…
Neither a graphic novel nor a self-help book, it uses elements of both to reach parents and children alike… Heart Transplant is aimed at actually changing the way we deal with perhaps the most critical issue for children and parents alike today. To accomplish this mission, an entirely new genre was created.
As John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, “That’s a bold statement.” Of course Andrew Vachss has always been a bold author. If Heart Transplant sounds like something you’d like [and it definitely has a lot of experts endorsing it], then you can check out this preview to learn more. Of course you can also go here to learn more and/or order it.
Last week I read a tweet from Victor Gischler (one of my favorite authors) saying that he was going to do a signing at Comic Central in Sanford, Florida. I decided that when I got off work I’d drive over and see if I could get Victor to autograph a couple of my novels. I’m really glad that I did.
Victor Gischler is a talented writer and an all-around great guy. Not only did he autograph the four novels that I took over (Gun Monkeys; Pistol Poets; Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse and The Deputy — all highly recommended!), but he also posed for photos (I should have had my wife take a second shot since I appear to be sleep-standing), and spoke at length with each fan that came in. It was very clear that Victor appreciated each person who came in to meet him.
It’s always nice when someone you admire for a skill (writing, drawing, etc.) turns out to be as nice as they are talented.
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.
