We’re All Fans

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Duane Swierczynski is one of my favorite novelists. Recently Duane got the opportunity to write some comics… specifically the Punisher. In this interview he talks about his first experience with the Punisher:

“It was Steve Grant’s Circle of Blood epic from 1985, which opens with Frank in the slammer, squaring off against Jigsaw and his goons, and ends with a punch in the gut right out of a Mickey Spillane novel. I don’t want to ruin it for you if you’ve never read it, but man. That Jeep. Perched on the side of the bridge. In the rain. It doesn’t get any more noir than that.”Most ZONErs probably know that my buddies, Mike Zeck and John Beatty were the artists on Circle of Blood. So one of my favorite novelists is a not only a fan of comic books but also of two of my buddies. Stuff like that is cool.

Wanna Hear a Joke?

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Here’s three…

1] A guy shows up late for work. The boss yells “You should have been here at 8:30!” he replies: “Why? What happened at 8:30?”

2] Two cannibals are eating a clown. One cannibal turns to the other and asks, “This taste funny to you?”

And finally…

3] A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave.

The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, “Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?”

The first man approached him and said, “Sir, I don’t wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I’ve ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?”

The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, “My wife’s first husband.”

—–

OK… let’s hear yours.

Man Law for Clean House?

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This post will probably surprise many ZONErs who swing by here to read the latest manly post about movies [action, crime, horror], novels [tough guy authors like Huston, Vachss, Morrell], comic books [Sin City, Walking Dead, 100 Bullets] or sports [da Bears, UFC]. You see, I’ve been hooked on a tv show that I just discovered. It’s called Clean House.Yeah,
Clean House. It’s not about a bar-room brawler, or a mafia hitman. No… it’s about a team of “experts” that go into a house that’s cluttered beyond belief and whip it back into shape. They weed out stuff to sell, give away and even a few things to keep. They hold a yard sale and then take the money raised [plus a thousand bucks kicked in by the show] and redo several rooms in the house [while the home owners are sent away for the night]. The show concludes with the big reveal: we and the homeowners get to see what the Clean House experts have done. Usually the new digs are really cool.I’ve been DVRing the episodes and watching a couple a night. I can get through them pretty quickly and they are giving me some ideas about things to do around the Zablo estate. So, can we get a Man Law passed that Clean House is okay to watch?

Comic Artists and Professional Wrestlers

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Next Sunday, December 9th, my buddy John Beatty will be one of the guests at the Epic Comic Con in Orlando, Florida. He’ll be there along with a bunch of comic book artists, professional wrestlers as well as a couple of actors and authors. Talk about an interesting mix!

John will be sketching and signing autographs. I’ll be there hanging out as well. If you’re in the area, plan to drop on by!

Just Mist

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Going in, “The Mist” had almost all indications that it was going to be awesome. Frank Darabont [“The Shawshank Redemption“ “The Green Mile“] had written the screenplay and directed Stephen King’s novella of the same name. It was Darabont’s dream project and one of King’s most popular stories. The movie was well cast and early word was positive.

The Good: the story – a mysterious mist containing creatures rolls in to a small town forcing a variety of characters to take refuge in a supermarket; the interplay of the people as they slowly learn what is going on; the ending [which is different than King’s novella — and no, I’m not giving away either]; the meek store clerk, Marcia Gay Harden in her role as Mrs. Carmody.

The Bad: some of the CGI creatures; what happens to some of the characters; the ending [yeah, I know, I listed it under the good as well… more on that in a second]; Ms. Carmody.

The Ugly: what happens to some of the characters and the ending [more in a sec].

As you probably guessed the ending really has an impact. Although different than the novella’s [and praised by Stephen King], it just wasn’t the ending that I wanted. There’s no doubt that it works on one level, and could be justified as logical — but, and here’s the big but, it could just as easily be argued that it wasn’t logical and it doesn’t work. I give credit to Darabont for having the courage to go with his vision and perhaps it will grow on me as time passes.

Although I’m glad that I saw “The Mist” it just missed getting a solid recommendation from me. It definitely has kept me thinking about it. And maybe that’s the best recommendation a movie can get.

RIP Evel Knievel

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Robert Craig Knievel aka Evel Knievel died today. He was 69 years old. Many of you younger ZONE readers may not remember Evel, but my guess is you know something about this outrageous daredevil whose biggest claims to fame came from unsuccessful jumps.

In 1965, Knievel led a group that he named Evel Knievel’s Motorcycle Daredevils. They would travel from town to town performing typical motorcycle stunts of the era: riding wheelies, driving through fire walls and jumping things. Knievel had a knack for self-promotion and a talent for jumping his motorcycle over things. In 1966 he began touring alone and his jumps continued to become bigger.

On New Year’s Day in 1968 he failed in his attempt to jump the fountains at Caesar’s Palace. Although the jump nearly killed him, it also launched him in to popular culture history. In the years to follow there would be more jumps, astronomical paychecks, tv and movie appearances, Evel Knievel toys and collector cards and an ever growing legend. Most kids my age went through a period when they considered Evel Knievel to be “the man.” He was outrageous, traveled where he wanted, had tons of money and beautiful women and risked his life doing what he wanted.

In 1974, Knievel was paid $6 million dollars by ABC for the rights to televise his attempt to jump the Snake River canyon in a rocket-motorcycle. I remember watching the show live and my total disappointment when the chute malfunctioned almost immediately. Although Knievel continued to make big jumps and big money, I had lost interest. Knievel retired from big jumps in 1976, but continued touring into the 1980’s. He had been in failing health in recent years.

In 2006, Evel was quoted as saying, “No king or prince has lived a better life.” Evel lived his life doing things his way and for a several years he was as popular as any rock star. It’s hard to imagine that a guy who jumped his motorcycle over things could have had such an impact on popular culture, but Evel Knievel did.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Soloman Kane

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ComingSoon.net scored a first look at the Soloman Kane poster above. Kane was created by Robert E. Howard [the pulp writer best known for Conan].Raf and Chris Mills are our experts on Soloman Kane. My experience with Soloman Kane is from a couple of Marvel comics [written and drawn by the great Howard Chaykin] from the 70’s… and maybe a story or two from one of the Marvel Conan or Savage Sword black and white mags. I enjoyed the character enough to read those stories when I came across them, but never felt compelled to seek out more. Maybe this movie will change that.

Children of Men

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I’d wanted to see “Children of Men” for sometime now. Last night I got the chance. Wow! What an amazing movie. Set twenty years in the future at a time when there have been no babies born into the world for 18 years. It’s a bleak, repressive, dreary and totally believable future.

Clive Owen plays Theo a normal man suddenly thrust into a role that possibly entrusts him with the future of humankind. Although Owen gets top billing [along with co-stars Julianne Moore and Michael Caine], it truly is director [and co-screenwriter] Alfonso Cuaron who is the star of this movie. His vision is so truly realized that we feel as if we are in the center of this nightmare world. His use of handheld cameras, long continuous shots, and harrowing set-ups leaves viewers on the edge of their seats and breathless.

The Good: Cuaron’s direction; sudden twists; Michael Caine’s character; Owen’s first escape with the woman; how/why Owen avoids execution in the city; Owen’s resolve to get to the woman despite the war raging around him; the Gypsy woman; the refugees’ and soldiers’ reaction to Owen leading the woman out of the building; ALL of the background details [kept in the background] that make the future despair seem so real; the fact that Owen isn’t a super hero and never picks up a gun — he’s a normal man who rises to the occasion.

The Bad: a world without children… the scene with the empty elementary schools and playground… that such a world of despair could be so believable

The Ugly: People wounded/dying from the battles.

Children of Men is an amazing film.