Category: Authors

Crossed #0 Review

Posted on by
Crossed #0 [written by Garth Ennis with art by Jacen Burrows] is available now. That’s the wraparound cover by Jacen pictured above and it should give you a good idea of what to expect. At first glance, you might think it’s another zombie comic, but it’s not… at least not exactly.

An event happens which causes a good portion of the population to go crazy. Normal folks in a small town are suddenly surrounded by friends and neighbors killing each other and worse [much worse in some cases]. This introduction by Ennis is smart in that it places us in the middle of things as the insanity spreads. There are enough inspired touches that we understand that this is not a limited event and the world will never be the same. The most frightening scene in my opinion wasn’t any of the attacks by the infected, or the bomb blast, or the widespread shots of carnage all around. To me the most creepy shot was of a plane crashing — we see it strike a clock tower as it hurtles to the ground and then Jacen gives us a close up of the cockpit. In it we see two flight attendants in the background fighting, an infected passenger with an evil grin killing the co-pilot as the infected pilot laughs maniacally as he dives the plane into the ground.

Crossed was definitely good enough that I’ll be back for more. Jacen Burrows provides the pencils and inks and this is his best work yet. Greg Waller provides the colors and did a great job in capturing the mood of the book and complimenting Burrows’s line work. Garth Ennis’s story leaves me wanting more. He knows how to hit all the right notes but be aware that he’s not afraid of going over the line when it comes to shocking gore and violence.

Crossed isn’t for everyone. However fans of horror and the zombie genre [although the infected aren’t zombies… at least traditional zombies] might want to check it out. Issue 0 would be a great place to start. It’s only a buck and available now.

You Say Fantasy, I Say Horror

Posted on by
One of my favorite authors, Charlie Huston is the subject of this interview at FantasyBookCritic.

Huston’s new Joe Pitt novel, Every Last Drop comes out next month, so that’s probably the reason for the interview… and I guess Every Last Drop could be classified as “fantasy” since it features modern day vampires. Still, if anyone asks me, its genre when I’m reading Every Last Drop, I’m going with “horror.”

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse

Posted on by
The Pitch: “Mad Max“ meets your real life.

The Overview: Through a series of events [natural disasters, flu epidemic, wall street collapse, nuclear bombs blasts, etc.] the world as we know it is gone. Mortimer Tate, (formerly) an insurance salesman, has spent the last nine years alone in a cave. Tate saw the end coming and was prepared for it. Now after nine years, Tate is ready to venture out and see what, if anything, is left of civilization. Through his journey he will meet heroes, villains, survivalists, business men, cannibals, mad men and more. [Doesn’t sound like much has changed does it?]

The Good: Gischler provides just the right mix of horror, gore, and humor. // The pace is quick. // There are plenty of twists and just the right number of outrageous characters. // How the trains are powered. // “Jack Daniels: The Tradition Survives.” // “The man sitting in the throne stood to face Mortimer. He wasn’t ten feet tall, not even eight. But he was seven feet if he was an inch, and when he smiled, Mortimer saw the man’s teeth had been filed to points. He wore a leather vest, no shirt, muscles rippling like Conan. He had a square Frankenstein face, greasy hair. He carried a wooden club like a caveman’s. He wore a necklace of human ears and noses. Mortimer gulped. “Who dares come to see the Red Czar?” His voice was thunder.” – The next two paragraphs are worth the price of the book alone!

The Bad: What happens to trespassers. What happens to those caught by cannibals. And perhaps worst of all what happens after Ruth steps aside!

The Ugly: Mother Lola… oh, the horror, the horror.

The Summary: Victor Gischler is a very good writer. I’ve read Gun Monkeys and The Pistol Poets and would recommend them to those who enjoy crime novels. His latest, Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse is even better. If the title alone doesn’t get you to run out and pick up a copy, then I’m curious as to why you’ve read this deep into my review. And if you’ve read this far, you know you gonna love the book!

3 Real Life Heroes

Posted on by

Comic book legends Neal Adams, Jack Kubert and Stan Lee have teamed in an effort to do what their creations are known for… to right a wrong. The only difference is this is not fiction.

Dina Gottliebova Babbitt is an 85 year old woman who survived Auschwitz due to her artistic talents. Sent to the camp at the age of 19, Ms. Gottliebova [she was not yet married] came to the attention of the infamous Nazi, Josef Mengele, after she painted a mural of Snow White in an effort to raise the spirits of young children being held there. When she was taken to meet Mengele, Ms. Gottliebova believed that he was about to order her execution. Instead he told her he wanted her to paint portraits of the gypsies he used in his experiments. She would also paint portraits of Nazi officers and their families and even Mengele himself. Ms. Gottliebova summoned up her courage and said that if her mother would be spared the gas chamber, she would agree to his demands. Her mother was spared and Ms. Gottliebova created the artwork. Ms. Gottliebova and her mother both survived until the camp was liberated.

After the war, Ms. Gottliebova met Arthur Babbitt, an American, who made his living as a cartoon animator. Coincidentally, he worked on the classic “Snow White!” Ms. Gottliebova became Mrs. Babbitt and moved to the United States where she became employed as a cartoon animator for Warner Bros., MGM and Jay Ward Productions. In 1973, Ms. Babbitt was contacted by officials at the Auschwitz State Museum. They had several of her portraits on display and wanted her to verify that she had created them. At her own expense she traveled to Poland and confirmed that they were hers. Ms. Babbitt believed the museum would give her the originals and keep prints for display… but that wasn’t to be.

To this day the museum continues to refuse to return her paintings to her. Over the years she has been given a number of excuses: the education value of the paintings outweighs her rights to them [despite the fact the high quality prints are usually on display instead of the originals], that returning her paintings might encourage other survivors to take back their objects on display [somehow this logic gives trump to the museum’s rights over the true owners], and even that the paintings were the legal property of Josef Mengele [despite receiving letters from over four dozen lawyers calling the claim “preposterous and offensive” and pointing out “a war criminal does not deserve to enjoy the fruits of his crime.”

The paintings still have not been returned to Ms. Babbitt. So Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Stan Lee teamed up to create a six page summary of her story that was printed in the New York Times. They are attempting to get the word out to the world. You can view all six pages of the strip by following this link to the Times article. The “Multimedia” box in the left hand column of the Times page will take you to the story. After you’ve read it, if you’re so inclined you can send an email to the Museum director personally expressing your feelings.

Mr. Piotr Cywinski, Director
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
Oswiecim, Poland
muzeum@auschwitz.org.pl

It’s nice to know that Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Stan Lee don’t just create heroes — they are heroes.

 

 

Severance Package

Posted on by
The Pitch: “Three Days of the Condor“ meets “Die Hard.“

The Overview: Seven staffers for a small financial firm are called in for an early Saturday morning meeting. They convene in the conference room on the 36th floor of the isolated and deserted office building. The meeting is called to order and the CEO tells them that the company is closing down and unfortunately all of them are going to have to die. The good news, if you can call it that is that they can drink poison that will kill them instantly. The bad news is a bullet to the brain awaits those who want to opt out. Should they try to run and are lucky enough to get out of the office, the floor and all doors out have been laced with poisonous gas and booby traps. Bottoms up, anyone?

The Good: Swierczynski’s novels move and Severance Package is no exception. The security guard, Vincent Marella, [a familiar face if you‘ve read The Blonde] tries to overome his fears and do the right thing. The cover and illustrations by Dennis Calero. What people are willing to go through to survive. The twists that Swierczynski throws in to keep things interesting. Stuart’s belief that it’s all a training exercise and how he plans to excel. The last page.

The Bad: Performing a tracheotomy on yourself. The Vincent Marella’s luck. What happens to Jamie’s hand/fingers.

The Ugly: “She was fixated so much, she didn’t fully notice when something cold and wet lashed across her wrists.”

The Summary: I’ve been singing praises for Duane Swierczynski since I discovered The Wheelman just under two years ago. I loved it. I then sought out Secret Dead Men and was impressed. From that point on, I have purchased Swierczynski’s novels as each was released [The Blonde and now Severance Package]. Each one has left me looking forward to the next. What better praise can there be for a writer? [Click HERE if you’d like to hear how Duane Swierczynski came up with the idea for Severance Package.]

“The Road” – Hopefully Another “No Country for Old Men” Level Film!

Posted on by
ComingSoon.net scored six photos from The Road, the big screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s best selling, award-winning novel of the same name. Viggo Mortensen [is this guy on a roll, or what?], headlines a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce.My hope is that it will be as good as the last adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel [No Country for Old Men]. Is that too much to ask?

Robert B. Parker’s Resolution

Posted on by
The Pitch: Themes from Robert B. Parker’s Spenser written as a western.

The Good: Robert B. Parker‘s writing. It‘s sparse and conversational, but I really like it. The verbal interplay between Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole. How Hitch becomes the town “protector.” What happens when the person you sided with turns out to be the “bad guy.” Cole‘s reputation as a gunfighter. “Sometimes you got to kill one person early, to save killing four or five later.” When Cato and Rose ride in. Major Lujack and his twenty versus Everett, Virgil, Cato and Rose.

The Bad: Virgil Cole‘s love for Allie.

The Ugly: What happens to someone blasted with an eight-gauge shotgun.

The Summary: Resolution is a direct sequel to Appaloosa. It’s Parker’s third western. His first was Gunman’s Rhapsody which took a look at the events involving Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, the Clantons and an incident at the OK Corral. You may have heard something of it. At any rate, all three books get my recommendation. [And you really should read Appaloosa before Resolution!]

If You Love Crime Fiction

Posted on by
Darwyn Cooke has just announced that he’ll be adapting Richard Stark’s “Parker” crime series into graphic novels.

Man-oh-man-oh-man! Talk about great news! How can it get any better than the combination of one of my favorite artists [with a love for the crime genre] adapting one of the most iconic characters in crime fiction?

You can read more about the pairing of Cooke and Parker here and here.

Get the Digital Plague

Posted on by

The Pitch: “D.O.A” meets Avery Cates with the world in the balance.

The Overview: In Jeff Somers‘ sequel to The Electric Church, Avery Cates is kidnapped and injected with nanobots that infect and slowly kill anyone near him. First it’s his friends who begin to get sick and die. Then people who have come into contact with his friends. Cates must find someone with a cure and then figure out why he was chosen to be the source of the outbreak. If he can do those two things, there’s a good chance he can save himself and the world. If he can’t, he’ll die trying… and either way, he plans to kill a lot of people.

The Good: Jeff Somers‘ writing. Avery Cates. The opening line: “I was going to have to kill a whole lot of people.” The story moves. Happling and Hense. The twists. How zombies are worked into the story and the explanation for them. The reason behind Cates being selected for the source of the plague. Jae Lee is back with a cover illustration.

The Bad: What happens to those infected with the nanobots. What Avery Cates is put through.

The Ugly: What happens to city populations as the plague runs rampant.

The Summary: I predicted that The Electric Church would make my list of Best Books of 2008. I liked the The Digital Plague even better!

I can’t wait to see what Jeff Somers has in store for Avery Cates in his next adventure, The Eternal Prison. In the mean time, I have Jeff Somers ‘ blog to tide me over.

Updated Links

Posted on by
I’ve updated my blog and artist links sections with a bunch of really cool sites. I’m sure that you’ll find at least a couple that you’ll bookmark for return visits. [Hopefully not at the expense of visits here.]

Joe Ain’t the Pitts

Posted on by
The Pitch: Updated Raymond Chandler meets Stephen King.The Overview: Vampyres live among us. The world doesn’t know that they exist, but they do. They can’t turn into bats or mist. Crosses don’t kill them; in fact bullets don’t either… usually. They’re strong; they’re fast and victims of a vyrus. Most are members of one of the many clans… safety in numbers and all that. Word is that a clan war is brewing, and that’s the least of Joe Pitt’s problems.The Good: Charlie Huston can write. Joe Pitt’s attitude [which is bad]. Stretch the midget vampyre. What Joe is willing to risk for Evie. The attack at the side show.

The Bad: The vampyre freaks. The side show. The beating Joe takes.

The Ugly: Joe Pitt’s vengeance.

The Summary: Half the Blood of Brooklyn is an excellent example of why Charlie Huston is one of my favorite writers. He’s created a world of vampyres that could exist outside my window NOW. The only caveat is that the books are best read in order: Already Dead; No Dominion; Half the Blood of Brooklyn.