The White Suits #1 / Z-View

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The White Suits is a four issue mini-series created by Frank Barbiere & Toby Cypress published by Dark Horse Comics.

Writer: Frank Barbiere

Artist: Toby Cypress

Mysterious killers dressed in white, they savaged the Cold War Russian underworld—then disappeared. Now they have resurfaced in New York, leaving a trail of dead mobsters. In this bloody wake, an amnesiac and an FBI agent search for the answer to a single question: Who are the White Suits?

The Pitch: “Mysterious hit men, a resourceful female FBI agent with a personal quest and a tough guy suffering from retrograde amnesia.  What do ya say?”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Sometimes you can tear a memory wide open.”

The Overview: The White Suits, mysterious hit men who took on the Russian underworld, have resurfaced in the US and are now going after American mobsters.  Sarah Anderson was a little girl when her dad disappeared along with The White Suits.  How and why is a mystery.  She’s now a FBI agent now and wants answers.  We also have a man with a violent past who suffers from retrograde amnesia.  The three are on a violent collision course.”

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

The Good

  • Frank Barbiere creates a story that moves.  He has a lot of ground to cover but it never feels like exposition.
  • The White Suits is a crime comic that encompasses a mystery or two or three but never at the sake of action.
  • Cypress’ art is loose and unique.
  • The black and white art with a splash of color works!

The Bad:

  • What happens to mobsters when The White Suits show up.
  • Cypress’ art is loose… and won’t be to everyone’s taste.

The Ugly:

  • Automatic weapons in a crowded night club.

I’m a sucker for crime fiction.  Especially well done crime fiction.  The White Suits qualifies on both counts.  Bring on issue 2!

Rating: 3 out of 5

Star Wars, Burger Chef, Mike Kott and Me

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Recently while cruising alone the virtual highway known as the internet I came across these three Star Wars posters.  They were available in the early 1980’s at Burger Chef when you purchased one of their meals.  I know this not because I read it in the poster descriptions but because I worked at Burger Chef in that same time period.

While the posters were popular, when the promotion ended we were left with several boxes of unsold posters.  My boss was at a loss.  He couldn’t send them back.  He didn’t want to throw them away.  He sure wasn’t going to give them away.

I had a friend named Mike Kott.  Mike and I played poker on a regular basis and shared a mutual interest in comic books, comic art, movies and the like.  Mike ran (and still runs The Intergalactic Trading Company).  I knew Mike would buy the posters if he could make a profit on them.

So I told my boss that I knew a guy who’d buy the posters if the price was right.  My boss figured that if he sold them at cost he’d be ahead of the game.  He told me the amount which was pennies per poster.

I contacted Mike and the deal was done.  My boss was happy and Mike was thrilled.  He even tossed me $100 for making the deal!  (Remember this was the early 80’s, I was working my way through college and working part time at Burger Chef.  100 bucks was big money… at least for me.)

Mike told me that he’d sell the posters for a few bucks a piece and though it may take him a while, he’d do more than alright on the deal.  I just checked and he still has a few of those posters available if you’re interested.

I know Mike said it might take him a while to sell all those posters, but I wonder if he thought that over 30 years later, he’d still have some in his inventory.

I have more Mike Kott stories that I’ll share… in the near future I’ll tell you about Mike Kott and the Burger King Star Wars posters.

Jeremy Treece’s Bad Rambo Quickie Bonus Sketch

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Jeremy Treece has created art for comic books, trading cards, animation and independent films. Last week I posted Treece’s take on Sly Stallone.

Today I want to share the quickie sketch that Jeremy drew on one of the backing boards sent to protect the art.  Gotta love it!

You can see more of Jeremy’s art here… and hopefully again here at the SZ in the future.

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.