Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
With just two crime / noir novels (Hell on Chruch Street and The Posthumous Man) to his credit, Jake Hinson has made a name as a new author to watch. Both novels were well received by fans and critics alike and get my highest recommendation. (I liked Hell on Church Street a bit more than The Posthumous Man, but they are both excellent reads so why quibble?)
Darwyn Cooke’s two graphic novel adaptations of (Donald Westlake aka) Richard Stark’s Parker novels have been resounding successes with fans and critics alike. So it only made sense that a third adaption, Slayground would be coming at Christmas.
Recently Cooke, the estate of Donald Westlake and publisher IDW announced…
For the first time, the Parker novels will be published in a deluxe, hardcover format, and with Cooke designing the series, as well as providing stunning color illustrations to accompany Westlake’s (AKA, Richard Stark’s) crime classics! The first book, The Hunter, will arrive in the first half of 2014. Additional editions will be released in chronological order thereafter.
I can not wait!
Source: Sequential Highway
In honor of the release of Gravity, Popular Mechanics posted 10 of the Most Dangerous Space Walks Ever Done. Here are just a three of tidbits…
#10. Hubble Repair: …Had anything gone wrong, the astronauts would have had no refuge or hope of rescue…
#9. Gonna Need a Bigger Door: In the early days of the space race, no one knew for sure what was required for space walks beyond a spacesuit. One thing that’s nice to have: a hatch that’s big enough to accommodate a suit that expands when no longer being squeezed by outside air pressure. In 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov almost paid for that oversight with his life when he couldn’t get back inside his Voskhod spacecraft after his historic first space walk…
#7: Sasha, I Don’t Think…: Decompression is a space station astronaut’s worst nightmare. The nightmare came true in 1997 when an out-of-control Progress cargo ship slammed into space station Mir, punching a hole in the module it struck. With alarms blaring, cosmonauts Michael Foale and Sasha Lazutkin had to use the only tool they had at hand—a kitchen knife…
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back! Mike has given us his take on Sly from Cop Land.
You can see more of Mike’s art at his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
The big news for Steranko fans (and fans of classic comics) is that two Artist Editions featuring the work of the legendary Jim Steranko are planned.
The first Steranko Artist Edition will be Steranko Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the first twelve Steranko stories that appeared in Strange Tales (#151 – 162).
The second Steranko Artist Edition will be Steranko Nick Fury and Captain America, and will package the remaining Steranko Nick Fury stories from Strange Tales (#163-168), Nick Fury: Agent of S..H.I.E.L.D. (#1, 3, and 5) and Steranko’s three issues of Captain America (#110, #111, and #113).
Thanks to Sequential Highway
The New York Comic Con had a panel to celebrate 10 Years of the Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were there to answer questions and CBR.com has the report!
In honor of The Twilight Zone’s 54th anniversary, Flavorwire presents their choices for 10 of the Best “Twilight Zone” Episodes.
The Flavorwire list isn’t bad. My top two favorite TZ episodes align with Flavorwire’s first two picks (Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and To Serve Man) and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street and The Invaders would also make my top ten.
Well played, Flavorwire, well played.
There’s a new Crow mini-series coming in 2014 and it won’t be for the faint-of-heart.
The Crow: Pestilence will be written by novelist Frank Bill, the author who exploded on the crime fiction scene with a brutal one-two punch: his short-story collection, Crimes in Southern Indiana followed by his debut novel, Donnybrook. Bill will be joined by artist Drew Moss (interior art) and Crow creator, J. O’Barr (providing covers).
For the full story check out CBR.com’s The Crow Rises Again…
Here’s a really well done video summation of Breaking Bad. BEWARE SPOILERS!!
Matt Wagner fans are going to be excited to hear that Wagner is writing and drawing a three issue (48 pages per) prestige mini-series featuring a cross-over between The Shadow and Wagner’s creation, Grendel.
As excited as his fans may be, Wagner may be even more excited…
“Ever since the smash success of my two previous crossover events (with Batman), I’ve had many offers over the years to see Grendel cross blades with a varied host of other characters,” comments Grendel creator, Matt Wagner. “But none of those opportunities ever excited me as much as this possibility. I’ve been a huge fan ofThe Shadow for many, many years and my love of the character finally saw fruition when I got the chance to literally re-define his origins by writing The Shadow: Year One for Dynamite. To have the chance to both write and draw The Shadow facing my own creation is something of a dream come true! It’s also adds yet another instant classic to my long legacy of Grendel projects with Dark Horse Comics.”
Click over to Sequential Highway for the full report.
Here’s a pinup from 1974 by Howard Chaykin of his Cody Starbuck character.
I’m a Chaykin fan and had never seen this pinup until today. So a big thank you to Character Model for the post!
Recently Ray-Anthony Height offered a special deal on his commissions and I jumped on board. Ray killed it with his take as Sly as Jack Carter! – Craig
Zombie fans are gonna love this.
Starting in January 2014, Marvel Comics is going to publish Empire of the Dead, a 15 issue series written by George “Night of the Living Dead” Romero with art by Alex “Batman” Maleev.
Romero likes that comics have no budget restrictions on special effects…
“It’s a comic book, which means we don’t have to go out and shoot the stuff,” says the Night of the Living Dead filmmaker, who wrote a 300-page Empire screenplay that is being put to page by Marvel and artist Alex Maleev. “You can let your imagination run wild and do pretty much anything you want, assuming it’s within the bounds of decency.”
Thanks and an extra “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” to USAToday and CBR.com.
Would you like to see an animated gif of the first and last appearance of every major character on Breaking Bad?
Sure, you would.
Gerardo Moreno is back with his new Double Impact 2 piece. You can see more of his art here at Gerardo’s site.
