Dave Wachter & Stanley Kowalski from “Lords of Flatbush”

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Dave Wachter returns with his take on Sly from the Lords of Flatbush. I met Dave a few years ago and became an instant fan. I wasn’t the only one to discover Dave’s fantastic sketches! How can you not like a great guy who is a terrific artist?

At HeroesCon this year I asked Dave to do Sly from his first major movie, the Lords of Flatbush and another piece of Sly from his latest film, Bullet to the Head. Next week, you’ll see Dave’s take on Sly as Jimmy Bobo.

Until then, you can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig

Raymond Chandler’s Little Known Cameo in “Double Indemnity”

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Double Indemnity is one of my favorite noir movies.  I’ve seen it a bunch of times.

Raymond Chandler, who wrote just seven novels, is one of the founding fathers of modern detective fiction.  I’ve read a lot of Chandler and knew he co-wrote the screenplay [along with director Billy Wilder] adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel of the same name.

Until recently I didn’t know that Chandler had a cameo in Double Indemnity.  What makes this an even greater find is that there are no known film or television interviews with Chandler!

 

Thanks and a tip of my fedora to Adrian Wootten and The Guardian.

Chris Schweizer Presents Charles Bronson as Wolverine

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This piece was originally posted at  iFanboy as one of their choices for Sketches of the Week.

Cool idea.  Cool exection.

Franchesco Francavilla was listed as the artist.  No surprise there.  Franchesco does neat pieces like this all the time.

Funny thing is, Franchesco wrote in to say he didn’t draw it.  Chris Schweizer did.

 iFanboy corrected their post.  The one thing that didn’t need to be changed is that Bronson as Wolverine is worthy of Sketch of the Week honors.

Chris Flick asks, “Why isn’t Stallone in The Avengers”

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Chris Flick of Capes and Babes makes his second appearance in my Stallone Theme Sketch Collection.  I had the good fortune to sit with Chris, LittleJohn312 and Patricia at last year’s Heroes Con Drink and Draw event.  What a great evening!  Ah, but I digress…

Chris Flick worked up this cool sketch of Sly wondering why he was invited to be an Avenger.  You can learn more about Chris as well as check out his popular Cape and Babes webcomic.



Steven Grant and the Making of “Two Guns”

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Steven Grant is a writer than I’ve written about many times.

Grant is the co-creator of Damned with Mike Zeck.  Grant is also the writer of the first Punisher mini-series [which took the character from a second-tier guest star to one of the most popular Marvel characters of all-time] as well as the best Punisher stories ever told.

Grant is also the creator [along with artist Mataes Santolouco] of the comic mini-series Two Guns.  As, you’re probably aware, Two Guns is now also a movie starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.  Grant has written an interesting article that he calls Temporary Madness: Lessons Learned from Watching “Two Guns” Get Made.  You can read part one here and part two here.

Thanks and a front row seat to Two Guns for CBR.com.

 

Stark/Cooke: Parker Will Return in Slayground!

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I seldom run a straight press releases, but IDW’s announcement below is an exception:

San Diego, CA (July 20, 2013) – Darwyn Cooke’s acclaimed Parker series from IDW continues to expand with the classic Slayground. In this newest graphic novel, Parker is put to the test against crooked cops and sleazy gangsters after a heist goes south and he finds himself trapped in an amusement park closed for the winter, and embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse… a game that slowly starts to favor the mouse.

“A boarded up amusement park was an inspired setting for Parker,” said writer/artist Darwyn Cooke, “and Westlake made the most of it. A great story that I’m enjoying the hell out of adapting.”

Based on the influential novels by Richard Stark, AKA, Donald Westlake, Parker is a coldly calculating master criminal, one with a very rigid code. The IDW adaptations by Darwyn Cooke of The Hunter and The Outfit have received multiple Eisner and Harvey awards. The Score, released last year, is nominated for an Eisner Award at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con International. Slayground will be the fourth Parker adaptation in the popular and much lauded series.

Darwyn Cooke’s distinct style has made him a premier writer and artist in the comic book industry. A former animator, Cooke entered mainstream comics in 2000 with his critical hit Batman: Ego for DC Comics.

Donald Westlake, writing as Richard Stark, was the acclaimed author of the Parker series. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, as well as being named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, that prestigious societies highest honor.

THAT is awesome news.

I knew Cooke was working on Slayground, but I had no idea I could expect it for Christmas.

[Of course, if you’re looking for a great crime comic to read NOW, you can’t do better than theFREE webcomic Gravedigger by Christopher Mills and Rick Burchett.]

 

Simonson Returns to Thor [But It’s Not Your Daddy’s Thor]

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Walt Simonson is returning to a character that he made famous – THOR!  

Hold on there, Kimosabe.  You see it is not the Marvel Comics version of Thor that we’re talking about now.  In fact, as Simonson points out, this take on Thor has to be different than Marvel’s.

And it will.

As Simonson explains…

Thor will be more a wild god of the north. The situation in which he finds himself in “Ragnarök” is quite different from the space the Marvel comic inhabits. It’s a different world and a different time. My Thor is almost a raging god, so it’s quite different from the Marvel character in vastly different circumstances.

 

Do You Plan to Travel “Dead Body Road”

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I’m diggin’ that crime comics are taking off.  Dead Body Road by Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera premieres in November.

Dead Body Road is a six issue mini-series that tells the story of an ex-cop named Gage who is killing those he feels are responsible for his wife’s death.  According to Jordan it’s a modern-day western, crime thriller, with noir sensibilities.

Can I put in my order now?

Thanks and a quickloader to CBR.com.

[And if you’re looking for a great crime comic to read NOW, you can’t do better than the FREE webcomic Gravedigger by Christopher Mills and Rick Burchett.]