“Damsel in Distress” – A Bill Black Short

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Damsel in the Dark  is a short [less than two minute film] that is a lot of fun — moody, great soundtrack and reminds me of the shorts that used to accompany episodes of Night Gallery. 

And I’d give it all that praise even if it wasn’t created under the direction of my ole buddy, Bill Black.

Hey Bill!  If you do a sequel I want to play C.Z. Pickens.  EZ’s brother.

Z-View – Criminal Macabre / The 30 Days of Night: Final Night #1 by Niles and Mitten

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Criminal Macabre / The 30 Days of Night: Final Night #1 is part of a four issue mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics / IDW Publishing.

Writer:  Steve Niles
Artist:  Christopher Mitten
Colorist:  Michelle Madsen
Cover Artist:  Justin Erickson


In this epic crossover with IDW, Steve Niles’s greatest characters come together in a final showdown.

Cal McDonald only wanted a beer, but what he got was a jaded federal agent and a story about vampires up in Barrow, Alaska. There’s a new vamp in LA, and he’s hell bent on escalating his attacks. When Mo’Lock’s sometimes ghoul-friend is murdered, Cal’s on the hunt . . . for Eben—the longtime protagonist/antagonist of 30 Days of Night.

 

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

The Good:

  • Steve Niles and Christopher Mitten are worth the price of admission.
  • “Been a while.”  “I’ve been busy fighting everybody.”

The Bad:

  • Barrow Alaska – Hometown buffet for vampires.
  • Vampires seem to be gathering forces…
  • “The fall of Los Angeles begins.”

The Ugly:

  • “Blaargh!”
  • What was done to Shaw’na.
  • Lord Westminster aka John.

Criminal Macabre / The 30 Days of Night: Final Night #1

Rating:

Z-View – Criminal Macabre / The Goon: When Freaks Collide by Niles, Powell and Mitten

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Criminal Macabre / The Goon: When Freaks Collide is a one-shot published by Dark Horse Comics.

Writers: Steve Niles, Eric Powell
Artist: Christopher Mitten
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Cover Artist: Fiona Staple

Cal McDonald, the drug-fueled paranormal private dick, goes head to head with Lonely Street’s zombie-pulverizing Goon, in a weird in-between world full of monsters, horror, and humor!

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

The Good:

  • Nice cover by Fiona Staple.
  • Chris Mitten‘s art is a treat.
  • Having Steve Niles and Eric Powell co-write their creations is a plus.
  • “Talking like that just makes me want to kill you twice.”
  • “Don’t touch me. Seriously.”
  • The guest appearance on the last page.
  • Bonus pinup by Ben Templesmith.

The Bad:

  • When you say, “Hey Mo, Check it, The Little Rascals did steroids like Carrot Top” to the Goon and Frankie.
  • “This is a LOT more than I expected.”  “Yep. Me too.”

The Ugly:

  • Wooden stake to the eye.

Criminal Macabre / The Goon: When Freaks Collide

Rating: 5 out of 5

Z-View: Bullet to the Head #6 by Matz and Wilson

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Bullet to the Head #6 is part of a six issue mini-series from Dynamite Comics. Originally printed in France as Du plomb dans la tête (which roughly translates to Lead in the Head), the story was later optioned and adapted into a Sylvester Stallone movie.

Written by Matz
Art by Colin Wilson
Colors by Chris Blythe
Letters by Colin Wilson

The final chapter of the critically acclaimed masterpiece arrives this November! All of the violence, mayhem, and carnage of the previous issues come together in an intensely suspenseful and violent issue. Written by Matz and drawn by Colin Wilson (Ed Brubaker’s Point Blank), enjoy the exciting conclusion of the best crime noir masterpiece in today’s comics!

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

  • The art by Colin Wilson and colors by Chris Blythe continue to impress.
  • Carlisle: “You can’t go home Kate…”  Kate: “Until when?”  Jimmy: “Until we kill them all.”  Carlisle: “Don’t worry Kate.  He’s just kidding.”  Kate: “They asked for it.”
  • “I don’t regret a thing.”
  • “Don’t move, Jimmy.”  “I look like I’m going anywhere?”
  • Matz provides a punchline to a running joke and it works.
  • Matz also ties up the mini-series with an ending that not only satisfies but leaves the door open for a sequel.

The Bad:

  • “I’m bleeding out.  I won’t make it.”

The Ugly:

  • Eating your gun as a way out.

Bullet to the Head #6 is for mature audiences due to violence, adult language and situations.

Rating:

Z-View: Bullet to the Head #5 by Matz and Wilson

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Bullet to the Head #5 is part of a six issue mini-series from Dynamite Comics. Originally printed in France as Du plomb dans la tête (which roughly translates to Lead in the Head), the story was later optioned and adapted into a Sylvester Stallone movie.

Written by Matz
Art by Colin Wilson
Colors by Chris Blythe
Letters by Colin Wilson

The penultimate chapter of the critically acclaimed masterpiece arrives with Bullet to the Head #5! All of the violence, mayhem, and carnage of the previous issues come together in its most horrifyingly bloody issue yet! Written by Matz and drawn by Colin Wilson (Ed Brubaker’s Point Blank), Bullet to the Head distinguishes itself as the best crime noir masterpiece in today’s comics!

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

  • The art by Colin Wilson and colors by Chris Blythe continue to impress.
  • Matz creates one of my favorite covers ever.
  • “Who do you think you are? A cop?”  “Don’t insult me.”
  • “Single or double?”  “Double. –” “–Single.”
  • “Be careful.” “It’s too late for that.”
  • “For a guy who can’t sleep, you’re doing okay.”

The Bad:

  • What happens when you don’t tell an angry cop with a gun to his head who killed his partner.

The Ugly:

  • Thinking you’re well hidden in a trash dumpster… when you’re not.

Bullet to the Head #5 is for mature audiences due to violence, adult language and situations.

Rating:

18 Things You Might Not Know About “Silence of the Lambs”

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Mental_Floss presents 18 Things You Might Not Have Known About Silence of the Lambs.

Here are three of my favorites…

1. IT’S THE THIRD FILM TO EVER WIN ALL OF THE “BIG FIVE” OSCARS—BEST PICTURE, ACTOR, ACTRESS, DIRECTOR, AND SCREENPLAY.

The other two were It Happened One Night in 1934, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975.

2. GENE SISKEL GAVE IT A THUMBS DOWN.

Siskel infamously didn’t see what all the fuss was about, dismissing the movie as a “star-studded freak show” on TV and writing that Lambs was “a case of much ado about nothing.” The Oscars, and Ebert, disagreed.

7. SEAN CONNERY WAS THE FIRST CHOICE TO PLAY LECTER.

Connery read the script and found it “revolting.” Daniel Day-Lewis and Derek Jacobi were also considered.

Z-View: Bullet to the Head #4 by Matz and Wilson

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Bullet to the Head #4 is part of a six issue mini-series from Dynamite Comics. Originally printed in France as Du plomb dans la tête (which roughly translates to Lead in the Head), the story was later optioned and adapted into a Sylvester Stallone movie.

Written by Matz
Art by Colin Wilson
Colors by Chris Blythe
Letters by Colin Wilson

The crime noir masterpiece continues, written by Matz and drawn by Colin Wilson (Ed Brubaker’s Point Blank)! The book centers on a pair of assassin buddies and a pair of cop buddies, with a body count that grows as the story progresses and each pair trying to figure out what is happening! In this 4th issue of the award-winning crime saga, the violence intensifies and with a pulse pounding last page!

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

  • The art by Colin Wilson and colors by Chris Blythe continue to impress.
  • The hitman and the cop deciding to join forces.
  • “A killer… and he knows that I know?”  “Yeah.”  “I think I’m going to scream.”
  • “How much do you trust him?”  “As much as I trust you.”

The Bad:

  • Another cover made by enlarging and combining panels from the interior art.
  • “For crying out loud!  They didn’t wait up?!”
  • Picking up a hitchhiker who happens to be a hit man… who isn’t fly at all.

The Ugly:

  • Set up for a hit and taken out with a tire iron.

Bullet to the Head #4 is for mature audiences due to violence, adult language and situations.

Rating:

15 Quirks of U.S. Presidents You Didn’t Learn in School

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Mental Floss presents: 15 Quirks of U.S. Presidents You Didn’t Learn in School.

From their list here are three of my favorites…

3. CHESTER A. ARTHUR’S RUMMAGE SALE

You couldn’t call Chester A. Arthur the sentimental type. The 21st president was happy to hand over wagonloads of White House furniture—the former belongings of his long line of esteemed predecessors dating all the way back to John Adams’s term—to the highest bidder. Rumor has it he only snagged $8,000 for the priceless haul.

6. MARTIN VAN BUREN’S LOADED ARGUMENTS

Seemingly of Monroe’s school of thought, Martin Van Buren was known to bring a pair of loaded pistols to Senatorial assemblies, just in case an argument became too heated.

7. BENJAMIN HARRISON’S LIGHT TRAUMA

Benjamin Harrison, whose presidency was the first to oversee a White House wired with electricity, might be commended for embracing scientific progress … if it weren’t for the desperate fear of light switches that kept him from ever actually utilizing this new technology.