Z-View: Chambers by Locher & Rossi

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Chambers is a graphic novel published by Arcana

Writer/Creator: Wes Locher

Artist: Kristian Rossi

Narcotics Officer Denis Chambers comes from a family of law enforcers. Now, someone is picking them off one by one, and she’ll have to figure out who’s taking an axe to her family tree before it’s too late.

Denis Chambers is a cop marked for execution by the same powerful men who killed her father [who was also a cop].  Normally killing a cop brings the entire police force into play to find the killer(s)… but what happens when the killers are cops?

Denis Chambers finds herself in a race against time to discover who is trying to kill her and her brother.  Who can she trust?  How deep does the corruption run?  Is her partner in danger or part of the conspiracy to kill her?

 Wes Locher hits all the right marks as he moves us through Denis Chambers’ story.  She’s tough, and despite being outmanned and outgunned she keeps plowing forward.  This is classic noir with a great ending.

Kristian Rossi’s art does a serviceable job of telling the story.  I’d have liked to have seen Rossi’s art without the color.  At times Rossi’s art has a glimmer of an Eduardo Risso [and we all know what a Risso fan I am], influence.

Chambers  is a comic for mature audiences and not kids.  If you’re a fan of crime comics, pulp fiction, and noir, then Chambers  is worth a look.

Rating: 3 out of 5

20 Surprising Things About National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

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If you read 20 Surprising Things You Might Know About National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation…

… You’ll learn, among other things…

  • The connection between the Griswald’s, Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, Kurt Russell in Overboard and the Bewitched tv series.
  • Why Cousin Eddie clicks his tongue when he eats.
  • Who is on the cover of the People magazine that Chevy Chase reads in bed.
  • Where you can score Christmas Vacation swag.
  • Cousin Eddie’s ties to Rocky Balboa.

Source: Uproxx.

Comparing Marvel’s Remastered ‘Miracleman’ to Eclipse Original

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There’s a little bit of a controversy brewing over Marvel’s reprinting of the Miracleman series originally published by Eclipse.

The hubhub is because of the remastered coloring on the latest version.  It’s not going to look like the original colors when reprinted.

Most will argue it will look better.  Traditionalists will argue that it shouldn’t change.

Marvel’s way of thinking is making the colors look better will increase sales.  Those who are fans of the original series will probably buy it either way [enhanced coloring or not], but new readers may be put off by the original colors and pass.  So the thought process becomes do what will increase sales.

I probably first became aware of this mindset when Ted Turner started colorizing old films that held the rights to.  Turner did this to increase ratings when he aired the colorized movies and to increase video sales.

George Lucas made changes to his Star Wars films enhancing special effects and making it clear that Han didn’t shoot first.

Enhancing effects on the original Star Trek tv series was also done to help the show remain popular in syndication.

I’ve always figured as long as the originals are still available in their original form, then what’s the harm of an “enhanced” version?

“Farewell, My Lovely” – Pulp Writer, Jim Thompson’s Only Acting Role

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I’m sure you’re aware that this version of Raymond Chandler’s classic  Farewell, My Lovely  has an all-star cast that includes Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony Zerbe, Harry Dean Stanton. Jack O’Halloran, Joe Spinell, and Sylvester Stallone. Did you know that it also features pulp writer Jim Thompson in his first and last acting role!

“The Saviors” by James Robinson & J. Bone

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I am really looking forward to The Saviors by James Robinson and J. Bone.  

James Robinson describes The Saviors as…

…an alien conspiracy horror comic where an innocent, naive slacker discovers, completely by chance, an alien infiltration of the human race. In the course of eluding the aliens and finding other people aware of the infiltration, he becomes more of a hero and less a helpless young guy with no clue.

Robinson sites his influences for The Saviors…

…combine the spooky, creepy aspects of pulps stories, the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie and the short-lived The InvadersTV show from the 1960s. I try to combine that with, at the same time, the idea of these somewhat human looking aliens can when the situation requires transform into really monstrous creatures like in John Carpenter’s The Thing. Real big monster horror, which thinking about it is the other end of the spectrum from Invasion of the Body Snatchers in terms of 1950s alien horror films.

Couple Robinson’s story with J. Bone’s art and how can we not have a winner?  I pre-ordered as soon as I heard about the series and can’t wait to get the first issue in my mitts.

If you want to know more about The Saviors [and see additional J. Bone art for the series] you can thanks to Newsarama.

R.I.P. – Tom Laughlin

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Tom Laughlin’s family announced via his website that Mr. Laughlin passed away on Thursday.  Mr. Laughlin was 82.  Tom Laughlin was a writer, director, producer and actor.

Best known for his role as Billy Jack, Laughlin played the character in four films.  Billy Jack was a half-white/half native American, former Green Beret solider looking for a peaceful way through life who more often than not found himself in violent situations not of his making.

Although Tom Laughlin has over 35 acting credits it was Billy Jack that made him an international superstar.

Laughin first played the role in the 1967 film The Born Losers.  Billy Jack found himself the only person willing to make a stand against a violent motorcycle gang.

In 1971, Laughlin returned as Billy Jack in the film of the same name.  This time out Billy Jack finds himself going against corrupt city officials, including cops as he tries to find justice for a rape victim and protect the students of the Freedom School.

The Trial of Billy Jack was released in 1974.  After his release from prison Billy Jack returns to the Freedom School only to find things are worse than ever.  Corrupt cops and politicians decide to put a permanent end to Billy Jack and the school.

In 1977, Billy Jack Goes to Washington received a couple of showings but was never given a widescreen release.

After the Billy Jack series Tom Laughlin starred in The Master Gunfighter and played a few small roles, but he never found another character that resonated with the viewing public like Billy Jack.

How could he?  Billy Jack had become an American icon and Tom Laughlin was Billy Jack.

Tom Laughlin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Delores [who co-starred in the Billy Jack films], his three children, and his five grandchildren. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers or gifts, please make donations to: Friends of Pine Ridge in Tom’s honor or the Alzheimer’s Foundation in honor of  Delores Laughlin.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Laughlin’s family, friends and fans.

Has the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island Been Found?

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It is one of our oldest mysteries…

It’s a mystery that has intrigued Americans for centuries: What happened to the lost colonists of North Carolina’s Roanoke Island?…

The settlers, who arrived in 1587, disappeared in 1590, leaving behind only two clues: the words “Croatoan” carved into a fort’s gatepost and “Cro” etched into a tree.

 Theories about the disappearance have ranged from an annihilating disease to a violent rampage by local Native American tribes. Previous digs have turned up some information and artifacts from the original colonists but very little about what happened to them.

Until now…

You can read the full article at National Geographic: Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?