Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Until I saw this trailer yesterday before seeing “District 9,” I hadn’t heard anything about “Law Abiding Citizen.” Heck, it wasn’t until about halfway through the trailer that I even recognized Gerard Butler. Although the concept is a bit far-fetched, the trailer makes “Law Abiding Citizen” look like it will be a fun ride.
And who doesn’t like a fun ride?
Sticking with RBCC #145 from 1978 and yesterday’s Mike Zeck front piece post, we have the letters column header created by John Bolton. Love the side glance the Spirit gives to the arm coming over the tombstone. Is he about to meet a reanimated corpse decades before the zombie craze swept the world [like a zombie virus]?
ComingSoon.net scored the first look at the new “Zombieland” poster.
“Nut Up or Shut Up” indeed.
Digging around in the ZONE vault and we find a Mike Zeck front piece for RBCC #145 from 1978. Mike was a regular contributor to the RBCC fanzine and he wasn’t alone. Many folks who went on to have successful careers in the comics field were proud to have their art appear in the pages of RBCC. In this issue you could see the early work of Bob Layton, John Bolton, Dennis Fujitake, David Michelinie, Fred Hembeck, Don Rosa, and Kerry Gammill.
Two ads for fanzines caught my eye: the first, for Fandom Playhouse talked up “the fantastic work of Mark Chiarello” — who at that time was an 18 year old kid with a dream; and the second for a fanzine called Grymalkin which featured the work of Neal Adams, Frank Frazetta, John Byrne, Mike Nasser, George Perez, Don McGregor and many others. [I may still have some of the art pages from it somewhere in the ZONE vault…] Grymalkin sold for the outrageous price of a buck-fifty postage paid.
Man, do I wish I had a time machine.
This trailer for “Lawman” looks interesting enough to make me tune in.
One of my favorite crime comics is Gravdigger: The Scavengers by Chris Mills and Rick Burchett. Long time ZONErs have heard me sing its praises many times. I’m happy to report that the long awaited sequel, a graphic novel titled Gravedigger: Hot Women, Cold Cash is coming out in early 2010.
Chris has posted six pages of preview art on his blog. Check it out, and you might notice that one of the characters looks a bit like someone you may recognize… and I ain’t talkin’ about Lee Marvin. If you like what you see [with a story by Chris Mills, and art by Rick Burchett and Fred Harper is there any way you couldn’t?], then let your local comic shop manager know you’ll be ordering one. I know I will.
Newsarama.com is running a 14 page preview of issue one of “28 days later.” If you liked the movie, you’ll probably dig the comic. Check out the preview and see what you think!
Variety announced today that AMC is…
“close to finalizing one of the richest development deals ever with [Frank] Darabont to write and direct a series adaptation of the Image Comics graphic novel series ‘The Walking Dead,’ penned by Robert Kirkman.
As a reader who has been with the series since issue one, and who still reads it immediately after getting home, you’d be right to say I’m thrilled. This has the potential to be really, really good.
The Pitch: Final Destination meets Left Behind.
The Good: the idea that a troubled little girl from 50 years in the past could have left a code that predicts major disasters — the plane crash — the train wreck.
The Bad: just about everything that happens after the mysterious strangers begin to show up — the “aliens/angels” — the ending.
The Ugly: Trying to make sense of the movie.
In Summary: The Knowing is about a person given advance knowledge of major disasters. The movie is a jumbled mess. If someone asks for a recommendation for it, Knowing what I do now, I would advise him/her to avoid THAT disaster.
Rating: 1 out of 5
If you enjoyed “The Crow” comic book series or movie, or you’re a James O’Barr fan, then you might want to check out this excellent profile posted by the fine folks at CBR.com. Heck, you’ll even learn what O’Barr did with all the money he made from “The Crow” movie… and my guess is you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Matthew Warlick is a studio mate of my buddy Evan Bryce. Matthew is also freelance illustrator, art director and comic book artist based in Dallas, Texas. Matthew contacted me to say that he’d been talking to Evan and wanted to work up a Stallone sketch for the SZ. We exchanged a couple of e-mails and soon enough, Matthew sent in his very, very cool take on Jack Carter.
How could it get any better than that, you ask? And I’m glad you did because Matthew created a video of himself inking the piece. I love the art and the video is the icing on the cake. You can check it out here. You can also see more of Matthew’s art at his website and artblog.
BIG THANKS to Matthew for sharing his talents and to Evan for talking up the SZ. Hopefully we’ll see more from Matthew in the future!
UFC 101 was had two fights I was interested in and surprisingly I went with the underdog in each fight. While I know that the race doesn’t always go to the strongest or the fastest, that IS the way to bet. Fortunately for me, I had no bets on either of the fights.
Anderson Silva was a huge favorite to keep his winning streak alive and retain his title. I thought that Forrest Griffin. would give him a tough time and maybe, just maybe find a way to win. Silva was just too skilled and won by KO in the first.
BJ Penn was favored to beat Kenny Florian, despite Florian’s six fight and three year undefeated streak. Penn is called the Prodigy, and for good reason. He was able to win by forcing Florian to tap by way of rear naked choke in the fourth.
Yeah, I knew the odds were against me big time and like most long shots they didn’t pay off. Luckily, I didn’t have to either.
Sketch Society is back, baby! This Saturday [August 8th], we’ll be at the Java Junction in Holly Hill, Florida [Daytona Beach area] starting at 10:30. I plan to be there for about three hours, but folks come and go as they please!
If you’re able to make it, bring your art supplies and be ready for some fun. Hope to see you Saturday!
UFC 101 is Saturday night and if I’m going to see the fights it’ll be at a local joint. That’s because there are really only two fights on the card that I care about, but they should both be excellent.
Anderson Silva is a 3 to 1 favorite to keep his nine fight winning streak alive when he faces off against Forrest Griffin. Although Silva is the more polished fighter, you can be sure that Griffin is going to go in swinging and try to wear down Silva over the course of the fight. Silva is perhaps the best pound for pound fighter in mixed martial arts, but I’m going to go for the big upset and take Griffin.
BJ Penn is favored to beat Kenny Florian, despite Florian’s six fight and three year undefeated streak. Penn is called the Prodigy, but again, I’m going with the underdog and picking Florian.
Yeah, I know. Odds are against me big time this weekend.
You know, if someone had asked me about “The Vampire’s Assisstant” before I saw the trailer, I’d have said it’s based on a book geared to teenagers and will probably do well with the younger teenage crowd… and no, I have no desire to read the book or see the movie.
After seeing the trailer, and I still can’t believe I’m about to write this, “The Vampire’s Assisstant” looks kind of interesting and fun. Am I wrong?
