Ryan Cody & a Lord of Flatbush

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Ryan Cody is back with Sly from Lords of Flatbush.

Ryan is running an unbelievable sale where you get a free sketch with every purchase. That’s right. Buy Volume 1 of his sketchbook for five bucks and get a free sketch. Same if you buy Volume 2 or the Icarus Convention Issue.

I jumped on board for a sketchbook [accidentally ordered Volume 1 which I already had] and the Icarus convention issue [the sketch that came with it will be posted in the coming weeks]. Now I’m going back for Volume 2 and another Stallone sketch. Until then check out Ryan’s blog and his DA site.

Thanks to Ryan! – Craig

Fireworks Before & After UFC 137

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UFC 137 was last night and it turned out to be an interesting night of fights.  Let’s go right to my picks…

  • Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson –
    Prediction: Nelson wins by TKO.
    Result: Nelson won by TKO in round 3 making me 1-0 for the night.
  • Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
    Prediction: Mitrione wins by TKO.
    Result: Kongo won by unanimous decision making me 1-1 for the night.
  • BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
    Prediction: Diaz with an upset win.
    Result: Diaz won with a unanimous decision making me 2-1 for the night.

Final thoughts:

  • Brandon Vera showed a lot of heart in earning a close but unanimous decision [29-28 on all 3 judge’s cards] over Elliott Marshall.  What’s even more impressive is Vera did it with a broken arm.  For the record, I’m not a huge Vera fan.
  • Bart Palaszewski looked impressive in his KO victory over  Tyson Griffin.
  • Donald Cerrone was even more impressive in his submission victory over the very tough Dennis Siver.  When is Cerrone going to get a title shot?
  • A slimmed down Roy Nelson TKO’d  Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic right into retirement.  Does anyone really think we’ve seen the last of Cro Cop?  Do we now call him Roy Not As Big Country Nelson ?
  • Cheick Kongo handled Matt Mitrione and that really surprised me.  I wonder why Meathead didn’t go after Kongo?  Too much respect?  Was he worried that Kongo would Pat Barry him?
  • Nick Diaz whooped B.J. Penn right into retirement.  [Does anyone really think we’ve seen the last of The Prodigy?]  Diaz now has a title shot against GSP since Carlos Condit agreed to step aside.

    After his win last night, Diaz took the mic and called out GSP, saying GSP faked the injury that prevented him from fighting on the same card against Carlos Condit.  Diaz had been dogging GSP for some time now and apparently the strategy worked.  GSP asked Dana White for the chance to fight Diaz.  It looks like the fight will happen Super Bowl weekend.

    Love him or hate him, everyone has an opinion of Nick Diaz.  Perhaps Dana White said it best, “People love real fighters and this kid is a real fighter.”

 

UFC Predictions

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UFC 137 is tonight.  Let’s go right to my picks…

  • Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson – Nelson wins by TKO.
  • Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione – Mitrione wins by TKO.
  • BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz – The judges love Penn so I hope it doesn’t go to a decision.  Diaz with an upset win.

 

The Punisher in Name Only

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Deadline Hollywood announced today that FOX has a commitment for a tv series based on the popular Marvel comic book character The Punisher.   According to the article…

  • The Punisher is described as an hour-long procedural with a Marvel signature and a new take on one of the comic book giant’s iconic characters, Frank Castle, a rising star detective with the New York Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those the system has failed.

Let me break it to you gently, that ain’t The Punisher.  A “rising star detective” who moonlights as The Punisher?  Sheesh.   Why in the world are they calling the series The Punisher?  Why take one of comics’ most “iconic characters” and change what made him iconic?

The [real] Punisher drawing by Mike Zeck.

Fun and Games with Duane Swierczynski

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I’m a huge fan of Duane Swierczynski.  His novels are  fun, full of twists and never follow a familiar path.  Fun & Games is the first in his Charlie Hardie trilogy and although I just finished it a few days ago, I’m already chompin’ at the bit to read Hell and Gone.

Hardie makes his living as a house sitter.  There’s not a lot of dough in that line of work, but as an ex-cop with baggage, it’s been a good way to spend the last couple of years.  All that changes when Hardie finds a semi-famous actress hiding in the house he’s supposed to be sitting.  Is she crazy or could there really be a hit team coming to kill her and everyone in the house?

If my description makes Fun & Games sound like your typical ex-cop coming to the aid of a hot but endangered woman, let me assure you that it’s not.  Give  Fun & Games a read and if you don’t like it I’ll buy ya a Diet Coke or a Mocha Frappe.  If you do like it, you owe me nothing.   Deals don’t get much better than that, amigo.

So why do I have “A Texan’s Motto” post card along with my praise for Fun and Games?  Read on, friend.

In the interest of full disclosure [and the fact that I’m always happy to hear from people whose work I admire], I want it to be known that received a post card from Duane Swierczynski this summer.  He sent a personalized card to all of his fans who had pre-ordered Fun & Games.

How do I know it was personalized?  Well, do you think he wrote every fan of his calling them a fellow Stallone fanatic?  Yeah, I didn’t think so either.

How do I know Duane Swierczynski is a Stallone fan?  Well, Duane is from Philly and everybody there [or from there] loves Sly.  Oh, and Mr. Swierczynski used a couple of quotes from Sly as chapter headers.  Only a true fan would go THAT far.

Ryan Cody Faces Jack Carter

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This week Ryan Cody is back with Sly from Get Carter.

Ryan is running an unbelievable sale where you get a free sketch with every purchase.  That’s right.  Buy Volume 1 of his sketchbook for five bucks and get a free sketch.  Same if you buy Volume 2 or the Icarus Convention Issue.

I jumped on board for a sketchbook [accidentally ordered Volume 1 which I already had] and the Icarus convention issue [the sketch that came with it will be posted in the coming weeks].  Now I’m going back for Volume 2 and another Stallone sketch.    Until then check out Ryan’s blog and his DA site.

Thanks to Ryan!  – Craig

Traveling the World w/ Rocky

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I recently heard from Cynthia Shomberg…

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Hi Craig,

Hope all is well with you and that you had a great summer.
This link is about a story of a couple who sold everything to travel the world in one year.  The fun thing about all this is that they are taking their ROCKY sculpture with them to be photographed with them at their various destinations.  It’s a great story!  Hope you will be able to post it on your website.
Also, there is going to be a “ROCKY Event” at the Philadelphia Museum Steps this Saturday and Sunday.  The main event will be a race up the famous steps at 11:00AM on Sunday the 16th, as well as a “Rocky” Look Alike Contest following the run to celebrate “Rocky” movie 35th Anniversary.   Hopefully, your website can spread the word.
Thank you once again,
Cynthia
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It’s always nice to hear from Cynthia.   That is a cool story about the couple who sold everything they owned to travel the world with their Rocky statue.  We’ll have a report in the coming weeks about the Rocky events going on in Philly this weekend. – Craig

Working w/ Sly on Bullet to the Head

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On October 13, 2012, Collider.com posted an interview with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje currently co-starring in The Thing and soon to be seen with Sylvester Stallone in Bullet to the Head.  Here are some tidbits from the interview about working with Sly…

  • How much fun was it to face off against Sylvester Stallone for Bullet to the Head?

AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE: It’s one of those parts that you just relish in your career. I grew up watching Rambo and Rocky, and all of those movies, so you have a surreal moment, even as an actor, when you’re in front of these guys, whether it’s DeNiro or Stallone. You have a moment like, “Geez, that’s Sylvester Stallone,” and then you have to snap out of it and get back in the pocket of the character. But, it was a real treat, not just because you’re working with somebody that you grew up watching, as a kid, but also because he’s a great guy. He’s just a professional. He’s a straight-shooter, and it was fun to work with him. You go to work and there’s no pretense, or anything else going on, on the set.

The experience was just made better because of (director) Walter Hill. They have a working relationship together, but he’s a legend in his own right, as well. I was sandwiched between these two old-school legends, and I learned a lot. You also realize why they got to where they’ve gotten to because they’re very driven, ambitious and fearless. I really enjoyed it, and I loved the character that we created. Walter and Sylvester really wanted something different, and you always get that, if I’m going to play the character.

The character was written as American, but we changed it slightly, to an African who came to America. Also, we made the guy a cripple. That just gave it an added, twisted dimension. It was just fun because to actually get to create a character in a big studio movie is rare, and they went for it. Christian Slater was in it, too. It was just a good cast and a good movie. With a title like Bullet to the Head, you know what to expect, and it will deliver, trust me.