Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The image above is an enlargement of a panel from Aliens/Predators: The Deadliest of the Species #5, by Chris Claremont [writer] and Eduardo Barreto [artist]. It’s a shot of a Predator’s trophy wall. It’s obvious at this size that the trophies consist of an alien, Wolverine’s hand, Batman’s head, and the heads of other heroes. Writers and artists regularly throw in little extras, or Easter Eggs, for observant readers.
I love stuff like this.
The on-set photos of Vin Diesel as Riddick just keep coming and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
Lance Sawyer makes his third [and hopefully not last] appearance, this time with his take on Sly as Jack Carter from “Get Carter.” I’ve been a fan of Lance’s art for a while. Recently I had a chance to purchase a few sketches from him and I could not be happier in how they turned out!
If you’d like to see more of Lance’s art, you can right here.
Last night UFC 143 was held. Let’s take a look at the results of the three top fights:
Josh Koscheck defeated Mike Pierce via Split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Thoughts: Koscheck is perhaps the most disliked fighter in the UFC. Koscheck, the self-proclaimed “most hated guy in MMA knows it, and loves to get the crowd riled up and booing. Split decision wins make it even easier for fans who already don’t like Koscheck to have another reason to hate him.
Fabricio Werdum defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thoughts: I’m glad to see Nelson getting in better shape. He came in 20 pounds lighter than his previous fights. As for Werdum, perhaps a battle with Frank Mir should be next.
Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Thoughts: Condit came in with a perfect game plan consisting of lots of leg kicks and movement. He stuck to it and pulled off the upset victory and won the UFC interim welterweight championship. After the fight Diaz claimed he was done with MMA. My guess is that he’s not. It was his first loss after 11 straight wins in a four year period. Diaz is just 28 years old and love him or hate him, people enjoy watching his fights. He’ll be back.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my favorite regularly published comic series, The Walking Dead. Thanks to Image’s release of two teaser posters, we can remedy that right now. If you like the tv series, my guess is you’ll love the comic series.
It feels like it’s Riddick week here at CZ.com. Bleeding Cool posted some interesting news from the latest Riddick press release. In addition to listing recently added cast members, they also posted a plot summary:
I think that Vin Diesel may be as excited about bringing Riddick back to the big screen as we are to have him back. This is the third photo that Diesel has recently posted on his Facebook page. You can see all three there.
If you’re planning to see Mel Gibson’s next actioner Get the Gringo when it’s released then you’re going to have to live in driving distance of Austin, Texas [or one of ten other cities] or be a DIRECTV subscriber. You see, Mel has decided to roll the dice and see how the video on demand market treats him [and his production company].
If you’re already reading Fatale by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips then you might want to skip this post. If you’re not reading Fatale, or it sold out before you could get your mits on a copy, then you’re in luck. Fatale 1 and 2 have gone back to press, so there will be copies for you to jump on board to read the story of…
You can read more at CBR.com’s coverage of the story.
Coming Soon scored a shot of Vin Diesel on set and in character as Riddick.
This week we have Sly from Cop Land by Tom Hodges. I discovered Tom’s art through his DA site. I saw that Tom was going to be drawing live on UStream so I commissioned several sketches which will be posted in the coming weeks. Tom still draws regularly on UStream and it’s always a blast watching him sketch and interacting with the crowd.
Last night UFC on FOX featured what should have been three very good fights. And that’s what they were. Good fights. None rose to greatness, but that happens sometimes. Let’s take a look at them and my predictions:
Demian Maia (15-3) vs Chris Weidman (7-0)
Prediction: Weidman scores the win.
Result: Weidman defeated Maia via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Making me 1-0 for the night.
Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) vs Michael Bisping (23-3-0)
Prediction: Bisping in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
Result: Sonnen defeated Bisping via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) making me 1-1 for the night.
Rashad Evans (21-1-1) vs. Phil Davis (9-0)
Prediction: Evans scores the win.
Result: Evans defeated Davis by Unanimous Decision (50-45,50-45,50-45) making me 2-1 for the night.
Final Thoughts
* Weidman took the fight on 11 days notice and had to lose over 30 pounds to make weight. So I wasn’t shocked when Weidman began to gas out late in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. I was surprised that Maia gassed as well. Conditioning could have been the difference in the fight and it wasn’t.
* Hats off to Weidman for taking the fight on short notice and winning!
* I thought Bisping won the fight. By my scoring he won the 1st and 2nd rounds and lost the 3rd. I wasn’t alone in thinking that. Seems that even Sonnen felt it could have gone that way. Unfortunately, the judges felt differently.
* Rashad Evans dominated Phil Davis in every round and every aspect of the fight. Hats off to Sugar Rashad. His next fight is going to be for the title against Jon “Bones” Jones and should be a great battle.
Hey, here’s a recent photo of Sly that was sent to me yesterday from a source that wanted to remain anonymous. That’s an unusual request, so I cleared it with Sly and he was cool with me posting it. And yes, the photo was taken this week. Yes, Sly has found the fountain of youth — and it consists of discipline, diet and time in the gym!
Tonight the UFC on FOX features what should be three very good fights. Let’s take a look at them and my predictions:
Demian Maia (15-3) vs Chris Weidman (7-0)
Thoughts: Maia is the BJJ expert and Weidman is known for his superior grappling. Weidman could be at a disadvantage since he took the fight on two weeks notice and had to drop over 30 pounds. Still , Weidman is favored.
Prediction: Weidman scores the win.
Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) vs Michael Bisping (23-3-0)
Thoughts: This is the fight that I’m most looking to seeing. Sonnen totally dominated Anderson Silva when they fought. Who else do you see doing that? The winner of this fight is supposed to get a shot at Silva and the title. I’d love to see a Sonnen / Silva rematch. Sonnen is going in as a HUGE FAVORITE against Bisping. Although I think that Bisping is under-rated, and everyone is picking Sonnen, I’ve got a crazy feeling that we may be in for a HUGE UPSET.
Prediction: Bisping in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
Rashad Evans (21-1-1) vs. Phil Davis (9-0)
Thoughts: Evans and Davis are both excellent wrestlers, with perhaps Davis getting the edge. Evans has the better stand-up. The winner of this bout should get a shot at Jon “Bones” Jones and the title.
Prediction: Evans scores the win.
This is the trailer for The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe! It looks interesting, but not as cool as the poster. [And I’m still hoping for a big-screen version of The Hunter by James Byron Huggins starring Sly Stallone.]
