12 Action Stars Who Still Kicked Butt After 60

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On February 24, 2014, The Playlist ran an article by Gabe Toro titled 12 Action Stars Who Still Kicked Butt After 60.  The nicely written piece features Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Takeshi Kitano, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Trejo, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Christopher Lee and Sylvester Stallone.

Here’s a bit of what Toro had to say about Sly…

His Career Pre-60: Stallone rose to fame as the Italian Stallion, achieving immortality as “Rocky,” using the underdog sports story to launch an unmatched career in action films…

As Rocky, Stallone is slipping on a warm coat, and this is easily his most touching, low-key performance.

Emboldened by the success of “Rocky Balboa,” Stallone jumped at the chance to return to the world of leading men, uniting the shiniest action stars of yesterday by kick-starting “The Expendables” as a franchise, where Stallone would rub shoulders with legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.

Stallone remains in improbable action hero shape, ready to impress once again in this summer’s “The Expendables 3.”

I really enjoyed Toro‘s article and my only question is, “Why No John Wayne?”

Halloween Starring Captain Kirk & Boss Hogg

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The Halloween figures above are customs made by Dan Polydoris.  Dan who runs the Chicago Toy Collector Blog explains how he made the figures…

Admittedly, Captain Kirk and Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard seem like an unlikely team. But they actually ended up being the perfect models for my new customs. Best of all, each one required very minor “plastic” surgery…
Myers is just Captain Kirk with a white face and new hair. He’s wearing a Planet of the ApesAstronaut outfit without the zipper. Loomis is just Boss Hogg with a goatee and a slight haircut (in the back). His trench coat is a modified Barbie trench made for 12″ figures.
You can read the full construction explanation here.  Well done, Dan!
Source: Chicago Toy Collector and Retroist.

Remember When Dan Brereton Won the Russ Manning Best New Artist Award?

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I’ve been a Dan Brereton fan since I first saw his work in The Black Terror.  [Someone should publish a nice trade edition of The Black Terror, but we’ll save that for another post.]

Here’s a cool ad congratulating Brereton for winning the 1990 Russ Manning Award for Best New Artist.  [And I have to say, I’ve always loved that Black Terror drawing.]

I’m (Almost) Set for MegaCon 2014

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I’m set for MegaCon.  

I’ve got my hotel booked and my con passes purchased.  

Now all I have to do is sort through the Comic Book Guests and Artist Alley lists to decide who I will I try to get a Stallone sketch from.

Then I need to try to find out their sketch prices and see how it fits my budget.

Then I need to update my reference for artists.

Then I need to pull together the items I need for autographs.

Then I need to check out the panels, to see which I plan to attend.

Oh, and I should probably look at the Media Guests just to make sure there’s no one I’d like to see.

Okay, maybe I’m not quite set for MegaCon, but I do have my hotel booked and con passes purchased.

Z-View: The Mercenary Sea #1

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

Writer: Kel Symons

Artist: Matthew Reynolds

Action and adventure set in 1938—The South Seas. Japan has invaded China. War in Europe is imminent. Ex-bootlegger Jack Harper captains The Venture, a refitted German U-Boat, with a crew of expats, mercenaries and treasure hunters. They do whatever it takes to stay afloat, often running up against pirates, headhunters, spies, and soldiers. They’re always one step away from the greatest score of their lives…or their certain demise.

The Pitch: ”Hey, someone in comics should do a pulp action comic, you know a real throwback about a ragtag group of mercenaries led by an Indiana Jones-type who loves adventure and righting wrongs.”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Nice work if you can get it”

The Overview: Jack Harper is the leader of a group of mercenaries who make their living searching out adventure and taking jobs that bring them into contact with pirates, cannibals, treasure and the occasional job that pays real money.

In the first issue we meet Jack Harper (romantic adventurer) and his crew…

  • Wulf Renner, a former German U-Boat captain with a mysterious past
  • Jarreau, a former French Legionnaire and resident cook
  • “Smokestack” Jackson, a heavyweight contender framed for murder and on the run
  • Toby, who used to work for mobsters
  • Milton Weatherborne III aka as “Doc” a disgraced British Army surgeon who lost his medical license and a patient when he operated while drunk.
  • Samantha, the team’s mechanic and daughter of a moonshiner Jack used to work with

*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***

The Good

  • The logo for The Mercenary Sea is one of the best in recent memory.
  • Love the cover.  Nice design, colors and execution.
  • Matthew Reynolds‘ art.  It’s got an animation feel to it that I like.  I first became aware of Reynolds’ art on an independent comic called Marlow.  I liked Reynolds‘ art then and he’s improved a lot.
  • Kel Symons introduces a fairly big cast, backstory and lays the groundwork for adventures to come without sacrificing a fun story.
  • Special kudos to Matthew Reynolds‘ coloring of the issue!
  • The first issue ends on a cliffhanger!  (As it should considering it’s source material.)

The Bad:

  • While I like Reynolds‘ art I think he overuses silhouettes and blurred backgrounds.  It’s not that I don’t like those techniques but if used too often they can lose their impact.

The Ugly:

  • Harper and his crew run into a tribe of cannibals in the jungle.  There’s a set-up and payoff on some humor that works.  I think it might have worked even better had the cannibal tribe (especially the chief) look like cannibals.  The cannibals looked more silly than scary.  So yeah, this “ugly” is that they weren’t “ugly” enough.

I look forward to the next issue of The Mercenary Sea.

Rating:

 

Additional Source Material: CBR.com Interview with Symons & Reynolds.

Alfred Hitchcock or Saul Bass: Who Directed the “Psycho” Shower Scene?

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Who directed the Psycho shower scene?

Most folks would say, “Alfred Hitchcock” since Hitchcock is the director credited with directing Psycho.  Add to the fact that Hitchcock says he directed the scene and it would seem like case closed.

Ah, but things are seldom that easy, are they?

You see Hitchcock hired Saul Bass, the famous graphic artist, to storyboard the shower scene.  And Bass was on the set for the seven days it took to shoot the scene.  And Bass claims he directed the scene.

Vashi Nedomansky lays out a case to show that whether or not Bass directed the scene…

…it’s quite clear that the Saul Bass storyboards were followed explicitly to create the indelible images that made this spectacular scene.

Nedomansky’s Who Directed the PSYCHO Shower Scene? should be required reading for all movie fans.

Well done, Vashi.