Z-View: The Cold Kiss by John Rector

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The Cold Kiss by John Rector.

 

Nate and Sara, on the run from their past, are driving to Reno.  When they’re approached at a roadside diner by a man offering $500 for a ride into Omaha, they can’t help but see it as a sign of blessings to come.

But in a few hours, that man is dead in their back seat . . . and he’s got a bag of money . . . more than either one of them know what to do with.

Forced off the road by a blizzard and trapped in a run-down motel, Nate and Sara make a life-altering decision that unleashes a nightmare.  Before they know it, Nate and Sara are fighting for their lives and forced to confront every bad decision they’ve made along the way.

For two young lovers who may have used up all their chances, this is a final trip down a dark tunnel that might lead them to heaven, but drags them through hell.

First, let me give credit to Eric Beetner whose 60 Second Review turned me on to The Cold Kiss.

Rector takes what could have been cliche –  nice young couple stumble on more money than they ever dreamed possible and their decision to keep it costs them more than they could ever have imagined.  

In fact their decision to keep the money is just the first of many that take them deeper and deeper into a nightmare that might only end when they are dead.

The Cold Kiss is for mature audiences due to violence. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

2014’s Top 100 Comic Book Artists

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CBR.com recently polled comic book fans to come up with 2014’s Top 100 Comic Book Writers and Artists.  Using just the artists on their list, as difficult as it was, I came up with my top ten..

10.  Tim Sale
09.  Mike Mignola
08.  Neal Adams
07.  Bill Sienkiewicz
06.  Alex Toth|
05.  Barry Windsor-Smith
04.  John Byrne
03.  Frank Miller
02.  Darwyn Cooke|
01.  Jim Steranko

The CBR list was created by fans, but I have to wonder how artists like Paul Gulacy, Mike Zeck, Eduardo Risso, Sean Phillips, Brian Stelfreeze, Marshall Rogers, Mike Golden, and Howard Chaykin didn’t make the cut.

Z-View: Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

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Code Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry.

 

For years the Department of Military Sciences has fought to stop terrorists from using radical bioweapons—designer plagues, weaponized pathogens, genetically modified viruses, and even the zombie plague that first brought Ledger into the DMS. These terrible weapons have been locked away in the world’s most secure facility. Until now. Joe Ledger and Echo Team are scrambled when a highly elite team of killers breaks the unbreakable security and steals the world’s most dangerous weapons. Within days there are outbreaks of mass slaughter and murderous insanity across the American heartland. Can Joe Ledger stop a brilliant and devious master criminal from turning the Land of the Free into a land of the dead?

 

The Good

  • Jonathan Maberry can tell a story!
  • Like all Joe Ledger novels this baby sucks you in and then never lets up.
  • The cast: Joe Ledger, Mr. Church, Samson Riggs, Aunt Sallie, Dr. Hu, Junie, and others — not only do they get their scenes but every character gets enough backstory to feel real.
  • We lose characters in every Ledger story – the losses hurt because of the great characterization and because Maberry creates a world where the good guys don’t always come out on top.  When someone is killed the loss is not only felt but can have ramifications throughout the series.
  • Maberry isn’t afraid to create a villain that is smarter than everyone.
  • A major scene unfolds at DragonCon.
  • Maberry creates a universe where events have ramifications felt throughout the world but he never loses sight of his plot and the writing never feels padded.
  • The scene when a team member is bit by a zombie, his suit torn and another team member points his rifle and demands to see the bite… tension, terror and sadness!
  • A villain with a unique motivation that doesn’t involve money, world domination or revenge.
  • The way Ledger turns a loss into a win.

The Bad:

  • Mother Night.
  • Zombies.
  • Berserkers.
  • Those that have to “burn to shine.”
  • Vice President, Bill Collins.
  • Artemisia Bliss.
  • The people close to Ledger who die this time out…

The Ugly:

  • What happens when Mother Night’s followers “burn to shine.”
  • Getting bitten by a zombie or attacked by a Berserker.
  • Trapped on a stalled subway car with one zombie, then two, then four…
  • Did I mention the people close to Ledger who die this time?

 Code Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel is for mature audiences due to excessive violence and sexual situations. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Adventures in Pulp – Four Free Webcomics Worth a Look!

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Adventures in Pulp is a cool site where you can find four free web comics:

Dick Ruby and the Little Green Men:  DETECTIVE NOIR MEETS INVASION SCI-FI in “Dick Ruby and the Case of the Little Green Men. It’s New York in the 1940s and private investigator Dick Ruby is on the trail of a missing person. A trail that leads to little green men from outer space.

Hawk and a Handsaw: ENTER A SUPERHERO INSANE ASYLUM in “Hawk and a Handsaw!” You’d have to be a little crazy to put on a brightly colored costume and fight crime, but how exactly would you know who is the real deal and who has simply latched onto the delusion of being a super powered being?

The Four Horsemen: THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING! A power-hungry Prince kills his father to steal the crown and kingdom. The only thing that can stop him, the Good Witch of the Dead Lands. Hiding in her place of power, she summons four warriors from across time and space.

Jigsaw World Daniel Gideon is not a hero. His marriage is on the rocks and he is failing at his job. He is not a happy-go-lucky hero ready to step up to save a patchwork planet. But he might be the world’s only chance. This bizarre world where dinosaurs evolved into a predatory sentient species. A world infested by alien parasites and an invading ecology. A world on the edge of war. A world on the edge of extinction. A Jigsaw World.

Brett Harris [writer] and Matthew Childers [artist] are the creative team behind all four strips.

  • I’ve read [and enjoyed] Dick Ruby and the Little Green Men.
  • Ditto for  Hawk and a Handsaw.
  • The Four Horsemen wasn’t my cup o’ Diet Coke, but I’m sure many folks will enjoy it.
  • Jigsaw World has the potential to be my favorite comic of the four.

Check ’em out.  My guess is, especially if you’ve read this far, you’ll find something at Adventures in Pulp that you’ll enjoy.

15 Things About “Payback” That You Probably Didn’t Know

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Sean Hutchinson and Mental_Floss present 15 Things About Payback That You Probably Didn’t Know.

Here are my three favorite things…

5. HELGELAND WAS INSPIRED BY GRITTY CRIME DRAMAS FROM THE 1970S.

He used films like The Getaway, Dirty Harry, and Charley Varrick for visual references. In fact, the restaurant that Stegman takes Val to is named Varrick’s as a nod to Charley Varrick.

11. HELGELAND WAS FIRED AS DIRECTOR BEFORE THE FILM WRAPPED PRODUCTION.

He and the studio disagreed over the original ending of Payback, and when a consensus couldn’t be achieved, Helgeland was fired. A new director was brought in to reshoot—these new scenes make up about 30 percent of the theatrical cut.

15. IN 2007, HELGELAND WAS ABLE TO RE-CUT THE FILM INTO HIS ORIGINAL VISION.

It was released as Payback: Straight Up—The Director’s Cut.

15 Fun Facts for “Young Frankenstein”

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Young Frankenstein, despite turning 40 years old this year, remains one of the funniest movies of all time.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the release of Young Frankenstein, Mental_Floss presents 15 Fun Facts for Young Frankenstein’s 40th Anniversary by Marc Mancini.

Here are my three favorite facts…

2. STAR AND CO-WRITER GENE WILDER CONVINCED BROOKS TO FORGO HIS USUAL CAMEO APPEARANCE

Like Alfred Hitchcock, Brooks usually gave himself a part in his own films, from Blazing Saddles’ loopy governor to the wine-selling Rabbi of Robin Hood: Men in Tights. These characters regularly broke the fourth wall and “winked” at the audience, something Wilder felt would clash with Young Frankenstein’s tone. So, as a condition of his taking on the lead role, Wilder made Brooks agree to remain off-camera.

However, the director did provide some howling

6. SEVERAL PROPS HAD PREVIOUSLY APPEARED IN THE MASTERFUL 1931 FRANKENSTEIN FILM

Taking his feature-length tribute to the next level, Brooks included much of the faux labequipment used in that earlier picture.

 

9. GENE HACKMAN SPECIFICALLY ASKED WILDER FOR A PART INYOUNG FRANKENSTEIN BECAUSE HE “WANTED TO TRY COMEDY”

According to the movie’s Blu-Ray commentary, Hackman—who’d been thrice nominated for an Academy Award (and won one in 1971)—learned about Young Frankenstein through his frequent tennis partner Wilder and requested a role. Ultimately, ‘Harold’—the lonely blind character he briefly portrayed—sparked one of the most memorable sequences in comedic history.

Z-View: Dead Body Road #6

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Dead Body Road is a six issue mini-series published by Image.

Writer: Justin Jordan

Penciler / Inker: Matteo Scalera

Colorist: Moreno Dinisio

There’s a man digging a hole in the desert. Let’s see just how many bodies will fit. Orson Gage’s bloody revenge saga ends here.

 

Dead Body Road #6  Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera continue to create a comic that consistently entertains.

The Good

  • Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera.  And when I say, “good” I mean great.
  • Justin Jordan’s message to the readers at the end of each issue.  Excellent feature!
  • Noir at it’s best.

The Bad:

  • Some people are going to be put off by the violence and profanity.
  • More people are going to be sad because the series ends here.

The Ugly:

  • Realizing “we wanted the wrong things” too late.

Dead Body Road #6  is a comic for mature audiences due to violence and language.  If you’re a fan of crime/revenge stories then this is for you.  

Rating: 5 out of 5

Dead Body Road is available in a Trade Paperback that collects all six issues.

 

30 Things You Might Not Know About “Die Hard”

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Jennifer Wood and Mental_Floss present 30 Things You Might Not Know About Die Hard.

Here are my three favorites…

5. CLINT EASTWOOD PLANNED TO TAKE A STAB AT THE PART.

Originally, it was Clint Eastwood who owned the movie rights to Nothing Lasts Forever, which he had planned to star in in the early 1980s. That obviously never happened.

7. BRUCE WILLIS WASN’T EVEN THE STUDIO’S THIRD CHOICE FOR THE ROLE.

If Die Hard was to be a success, the studio knew they needed a bona fide action star in the part, so they set about offering it to a seemingly never-ending list of A-listers of the time. Rumor has it that Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Charles Bronson, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Don Johnson, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Dean Anderson (yes, MacGyver!) were all considered for the role of John McClane. And all declined it.

9. BRUCE WILLIS WAS BARELY EVEN SEEN ON THE MOVIE’S POSTERS.

Because the studio’s marketing gurus were unconvinced that audiences would pay to see an action movie starring the funny guy from Moonlighting, the original batch of posters for the film centered on Nakatomi Plaza instead of Willis’ mug. As the film gained steam, the marketing materials were altered, and Willis was more prominent in the promos.