HeroesCon 2014!

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If all went as planned, Doralya and I will be arriving in Charlotte today for our annual trip to HeroesCon.  It’ll be nice to get away for a “long” weekend… especially since I’ll be spending it at Heroes.   There’s always plenty to do.  Look at the guest list and schedule of events and you can see I’m not kidding.

Hope to see you there, but if you can’t make the show, don’t worry, I’ll post a full report later in the week.

[And Chris, remember: No parties!]

 

Rest in Peace: Casey Kasem

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Casey Kasem died today.  Mr. Kasem was 82 and had been in failing health for some time.

Mr. Kasem was best known as the host of his American Top 40 Countdown which appropriately enough counted down Billboard’s best selling records each week.  Casey Kasem also did voice work for commercials, and cartoons (most notably as the voice of Shaggy on the long-running Scooby Doo series).

I was a big fan of the Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 Countdown when I was a kid.  In the last few years I made rebroadcasts of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 Countdown: The 70’s a part of my Sunday morning routine.  I listened to it as I updated the StalloneZone.

Casey Kasem usually ended his show by saying, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”   Sage advice from a man who did just that.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Casey Karem’s family, friends and fans.

The Infinite Jukebox

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Have you seen The Infinite Jukebox?  The Infinite Jukebox is an app that let’s you play your favorite songs on an infinite, ever-changing loop.  

How does The Infinite Jukebox work?  I’m glad you ask and we’ll let the folks at Infinite Jukebox answer…

How does it work? – We use the Echo Nest analyzer to break the song into beats. We play the song beat by beat, but at every beat there’s a chance that we will jump to a different part of song that happens to sound very similar to the current beat. For beat similarity we look at pitch, timbre, loudness, duration and the position of the beat within a bar. There’s a nifty visualization that shows all the possible transitions that can occur at any beat.

Some songs work better than others.  So far my favorite is Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean.

Z-View: The Mercenary Sea #4 by Symons and Reynolds

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The Mercenary Sea is an on-going series created by Kel Symons & Matthew Reynolds published by Image.

Writer: Kel Symons

Art and Colors: Matthew Reynolds

MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN” Stranded in a Chinese fishing village, Jack and company must rescue the British spy “Top Hat,” who’s been captured by Japanese soldiers.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • I like the cover.
  • I like how Reynolds used color and outline for Evelyn’s hair.
  • “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
  • Four issues in and this really feels like an old time serial.  Well played, Symons and Reynolds.

The Bad:

  • What happens when you appear to have the upper-hand and get overconfident.  “Whoever you are, you’re out of ammo.” Yeah, that may be true, but…
  • When shrapnel makes a mess of your insides.

The Ugly:

  • Not a thing with this issue!

The Mercenary Sea  should appeal to all who old time action and adventure.

Rating:

Z-View: The Crow Pestilence #3

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The Crow: Pestilence #3 is published by IDW.

Writer: Frank Bill

Artist: Drew Moss

Colorist: Oliver Lee Arce

Cover Shown: James O’Barr

Salvador heads to the Midwest to search for the men who murdered his family, only to find them involved in trafficking drugs…and humans. As The Crow watches, guiding him, he begins to exact his revenge. But why is one of the gang members speaking with the police?

 

.

The Good

  • J. O’Barr‘s cover.
  • Frank Bill throws in a surprise on the last page that really sets up the next issue.
  • Drew Moss’ art.

The Bad:

  • Some people will be put off by the violence and profanity.
  • Bill fleshes out the supporting cast but I want to see more of Salvador [The Crow].

The Ugly:

  • The Crow is a violent comic but this issue is especially rough.

The Crow: Pestilence #3  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

The Package by Elliot Blake & Alexis Ziritt /Z-View

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The Package is a graphic novel created by Elliot Blake and Alexis Ziritt published through Kickstarter and available on Comixology.

Writer: Elliot Blake

Artist: Alexis Ziritt

Cover: Alexis Ziritt

 

Hitman Fred Cutler is sent to Mexico by his boss to retrieve a package. The package never arrives, but hired killers do. When Fred comes to, he discovers a bomb has been sewn into his chest. And if he wants to live, he’s going to have to kill his boss, L.A.’s most notorious gangster, Rafi Vega.

The Good

  • I love the cover by Alexis Ziritt.
  • Elliot Blake has created an excellent revenge story with a couple of unexpected twists.
  • The pinups by Emma Rios, Andrew Maclean, Robert Wilson IV and Eric Bonhomme.
  • The running gun battle when hitmen show up in Mexico.
  • I could easily see this very cool graphic novel turned into a very cool movie.
  • The price.

The Bad:

  • When you don’t know enough to get quiet around Rafi.
  • What happens when you keep “testing” Charlie.
  • Waking up a few days after being shot to find a bomb has been placed into your chest.
  • Nearly everyone — definitely all the major players in this tale.
  • It’s too bad some people may be put off by the roughness of the Ziritt’s art.  For me, it works — gritty art to compliment a gritty crime story.

The Ugly:

  • When Fred finds out what the package is.

The Package  is a comic for mature audiences due to profanity and violence.  If you’re a fan of Sin City; Dead Body Road, Criminal and Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, then you’ll dig The Package.