Sign Me Up for The Eternal Prison

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Jeff Somers jumped to the top of my MUST READ AUTHORS list with his first Avery Cates novel, The Electric Church.  His second in the series, The Digital Plague was even better.  So you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to his third Avery Cates novel, The Eternal Prison.  Here’s what we have to look forward to:

Avery Cates is a wanted man. After surviving the worst bioengineered disaster in history, Cates finds himself incarcerated – in Chengara Penitentiary. As Chengara has a survival rate of exactly zero, the system’s most famous gunner must do some serious plotting. And a betrayal or so later, he achieves his goal. At a price.

All he has to do now is defeat some new personal demons, forge some unlikely alliances, and figure out why the people he’s killed lately just won’t stay dead.

Since The Eternal Prison won’t be out until this August, if you haven’t read the first two books now is the time to get on it.  If you’ve already read them,  you’ll have to be satisfied with hanging out at Jeff’s Blog or the official site for The Eternal Prison.

Bob May: RIP

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Bob May passed away today.  Many, if not most of you probably don’t recognize the name or face.  I know I didn’t right away.  The reason that I’m noting his passing is because he played an important role in one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid.  Bob May was the man in the robot suit on “Lost in Space.” Although it was Dick Tufeld who provided the robot’s voice, it was Bob May that made the robot move.  Together they created one of the most memorable tv characters of all time.

Bob May didn’t have a huge list of credits on the Internet Movie Database.  He wasn’t a household or name or have an instantly recognizable face, but he did play a part on one of my favorite shows as a kid and I didn’t want to let his passing go without mention.

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

Viking Crime Story?

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I love crime stories.  Movies, comics, novels, it doesn’t matter if it’s well done.  I’ve read modern crime stories, futuristic crime stories, but I’ve never read a viking crime story.  That’s about to change in April.  Check out what writer Ivan Brandon had to say about his project:

“VIKING is everything I love about crime fiction filtered through one of the most violent and fascinating periods of human history.  It’s been in the works for so long at this point that I’m overwhelmed to finally get to show it to people. The overwhelmingly positive response to the teaser alone has Nic and I humbled.”

I Die at Midnight for Free

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I’ve talked about what a great artist and writer Kyle Baker is many times.  On many occasions I’ve encouraged you to visit Kyle’s site.  Tonight, I’m going to once again suggest that you stop by.  If you do,  check out Kyle’s graphic novel, I Die at Midnight,

Kyle posted up the entire book which can be read for free, and told me:

I thought this might be a cool experiment, since I had the PDF anyway.  If people respond well, I’ve got about 20 books to follow it up with.  It might be nice to turn my site into a public library. We’ll see if people download it.   The fascinating thing about the web is the access to statistics. I’m often surprised at which posts get the most hits.   We’ll see if this is popular.

How cool is that?  Most folks would post up a preview and then try to get you to buy the book.  Kyle not only posts it up in its entirety, but talks about doing the same with his other books.

Kyle Baker is a great artist and writer — he’s a generous one as well.

Prison Break Canned

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I just read that FOX is cancelling “Prison Break.” I can’t say that I’m surprised or even too disappointed.  That might sound strange considering that “Prison Break” is one of my favorite tv shows.  (Stephen King said the same thing not too long ago in an issue of Entertainment Weekly.)  I’ve followed the show without fail from episode one, season one.  It’s still one of the first shows I’ll turn to when firing up the ole dvr.

So why am I not too disappointed that the show is coming to an end?  Well, I think that it’s pretty much run it’s course.  Truth be told, I wasn’t too sure that they’d be able to pull off a second season after breaking out of prison.  But they did.  The characters were interesting enough and the story moved fast enough that the twists and turns were a blast.  The third and fourth seasons have been more of the same… but lately the show seems to be heading to a conclusion.  And I have no problem with that.  In fact, I’ll be there watching until the very end.

Rambo Triumphant

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Today I received my limited edition, Rambo statue from the good folks at Hollywood Collectibles.  The statue was placed inside a molded styrofoam shell which was then put in a well designed packaging box which was then placed in a larger shipping container filled with packing nuts.  If you think I’m making too big a deal about how pleased I was with the secure packaging, then you don’t know my delivery guy.

The statue, about 12 inches tall, is a thing of beauty.  Sculptor,  Edinho Maga shows Rambo standing triumphant.  Each statue was hand painted by Dan Cope who did a wonderful job.  Hollywood Collectibles always turns out quality items and this Rambo statue  is no exception.  Although this piece is sold out, there are other Rambo collectibles,  Rocky items,  and many other movie collectibles as well.

I want to thank Mark from Hollywood Collectibles.  Mark contacted me once I had posted photos of Edinho’s work on the StalloneZone.  Mark was impressed.  I put the two into contact with each other and the rest, as they say, is history.  Throughout the whole process Mark kept me informed on the statue’s progress.  It was also Mark who made it possible for SZoners to get a discount if they ordered a statue.  Mark and Hollywood Collectibles have been great to deal with.  I hope that future Stallone projects are given the same treatment.  I could say more, but it’s time to go clear off a place on the mantle for my Rambo statue.

The Inside Straight Man

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When I was in college I played a lot of cards.  A whole lot.  We had friendly games at least once a week and sometimes [quite often] more than that.  There are many stories that can be told and have been told about those games.  Some of those tales have reached legendary status among those of us that were there… and our friends subjected to our “war stories.”

But I had no idea that Jim Ivey aka the “Inside Straight Man” was so well known!

Jack is Back!

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“24” is back tonight with a two hour premiere!  I’m really looking forward to the return of Jack Bauer.  “24” is one of the few shows that I have watched from the first episode without missing a single show.  I’m ready for the streak to continue.

My New Hangout

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I’ve got a new hangout on the net. Surprisingly, it’s at DeviantArt.com.

My buddy, John Beatty recently got a spot there and started posting his art.  Naturally I swung by.  I was surprised to see how many artists [and friends] hang out there.  I wanted to leave some comments, and decided to open an account — it’s free.  Then John suggested I post up some of my Stallone drawings in a gallery.  I did.  Next thing I knew I had friends and artists leaving me comments.

So why not drop on by and check it out.  I’m slowly getting my collection up, but I can guarantee you’ll find plenty of cool stuff to check out if you look around.

I Don’t Draw ‘Em

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I’m not an artist, but I’ve always loved art. I believe that comic books were the start of it all. Like most kids of my generation, I loved comic books. Unlike most, I never outgrew them.

In junior high I met John Beatty. He was also into comic books and original art. He wanted to be a comic book artist. During our high school and my college years, Beatty and I spent a lot of time at Jim Ivey’s Cartoon Museum. Jim’s was THE place for comics and original art. We also started attending conventions. I was in college and Beatty had become a comic book artist.

I sold off my art collection when I was ready to graduate college. I kept just one piece, a Paul Gulacy commission of Sylvester Stallone [my favorite actor]. Over the years some of my artist friends gifted me pieces of Stallone art. When my sons were in their mid-teens we started attending comic conventions. I realized that getting sketches of Stallone from my favorite comic artists was a perfect mesh of my hobbies.

So, no, I don’t draw ’em, I just collect ’em.

Mood: Joy
Listening to: 70’s Music
Reading: The Wildwood Boys by James Carlos Blake
Watching: “Serenity”
Playing: Internet Hearts
Eating: Wings
Drinking: Tea

Rare Bruce Lee Interview!

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Kliph Nesteroff is going to make many ZONErs happy when they click on this link to see a rare interview from 1971 with Bruce Lee.  The videos run about 26 minutes total and are worth every second.  Lee talks about:

  • his fighting style of no style
  • his work on “Green Hornet”
  • the celebrities he trained [Steve McQueen was the best fighter]
  • his breakthrough on “Longstreet”
  • the new American tv series he was set to star in [Although it’s not covered, the series eventually went to David Carradine and the title was changed from “The Warrior” to “Kung Fu”]
  • and more!

It was great seeing Bruce Lee in a new interview.  He was an amazing talent and died way too young.  I think it’s time for another viewing of “Enter the Dragon.” What better way to honor his memory than to enjoy his ultimate performance?