20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture

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Entertainment Weekly.com listed their choices for the 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture. (Sadly the list is no longer available.) I decided to play along.  Just using their list, I came up with my top ten:

10.  Spider-Man: Who wouldn’t want spider-senses, be able to swing through the city, and girlfriends like Mary Jane Parker and Gwen Stacy?  I’m talking the comic book versions of course.

09.  Superman: When I was a kid I loved tv series.  The first movie with Christopher Reeves also rocked.  Everything after that — not so cool.

08.  Mad Max: If it wasn’t for Beyond Thunderdome, Max might have rated higher!

07.  Dirty Harry:  Who doesn’t love Clint as Harry Callahan?

06.  John McCane: Yippe-kiaaaaaa!

05.  Indiana Jones: Harrison Ford’s signature role is nerdy cool!

04.  Batman: So many versions [Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, Frank Miller, Adam West, Tim Burton’s, Christopher Nolan’s, etc.] and each one works.

03.  Jack Bauer: No matter how bad things get, Bauer stays cool.

02.  James Bond: Like Batman, so many versions, but Connery and Craig are the coolest Bonds.

01.  Captain James T. Kirk: Star Fleet Captain and ladies man.  Now THAT is cool.

Okay,  I played fair and used EW’s list… but what about John Rambo, Riddick, Marv from Sin City, and James West to name just a few who didn’t make the cut?

Viking #1 Sells Out

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I can’t wait to pick up my copy of Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein’s first issue of Viking.   If you feel the same, I hope that you’ve already put your order in with your local comic retailer.  If you haven’t you could be out of luck — at least if you’re hoping for a first printing.

What’s crazy about this unprecedented situation is that the comic hasn’t even reached stores yet and won’t until April 22nd.  It’s sold out at from Image Comics and the distributor.   Stores will still get the copies that they’ve ordered, but once they’re gone, they’re gone.  The good news is there will be a second printing.

Killer of Demons Kills

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The Pitch: “Frailty” plus a sense of humor meets comic books as presented by writer Christopher Yost and artist Scott Wegner.

The Overview: Dave Sloan wakes up to see actual demons from hell are living among us.  Only Dave can see them.  Well, that‘s not quite true.  The little heavenly cherub angel can see ’em and, between puffs on his cigar,  is telling Dave to kill them all.

The Good:  Wegner’s art works really well with Yost’s story.  Demons and humans, seen through Dave’s eyes as they go about their daily activities.  The ad for “Old Scratch.” The last page.

The Bad: What happens if you look like a demon to Dave.

The Ugly: The second issue isn’t available NOW.

The Summary:  Killer of Demons is a lot of fun.  Yost and Wegner have created a winner!

Six About Me

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I’ve been tagged by Rick at On My Mind.

The Rules
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Write six random things about yourself.
4) Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So here are six random things about me that you may not know:

1.  I’m a high school Assistant Principal.  My Principal and three Assistant Principals who work with me all graduated from the same high school!  One AP graduated in 74, the Principal in 75, another AP in 76 and me in 77.   So at one point we were all at the same high school as students with no idea that 30 years later we’d all be together again at another high school as administrators.

2. My wife and I met and began “dating” in junior high. I actually told one of my buddies “That is the girl I’m going to marry” the first time I saw her… and that was VERY unlike me.  We dated on and off through junior high and high school and then again when I was about to graduate from the community college.  We got married in 1980.

3. I once caught a guy who had robbed a motel. He was armed with a knife and the cash he’d stolen.  It’s a funny story that I’ll save for a future blog post.  [I also had a guy try to pull a gun on me but disarmed him.  — Another story I’ll have to share in a future blog post.]

4. Due to the popularity of my StalloneZone website, I was contacted by Sylvester Stallone and asked to run the Official “Rocky Balboa” movie blog. I agreed and my buddy, John Beatty, joined me in the project.

5. I am quoted as an “expert” in Jake Kalish’s book Santa vs Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights. If you’re so inclined, you can find me on page 235 weighing in on “Rocky vs Rambo.”

6. Although I’ve “met” the following celebrities Paul Newman, Sonny & Cher, Greg Allman, Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, James Brolin, Mike Singletary, Vince Carter, Antonio Tarver, Bobby Bowden, Buster Davis, and others… I’ve never met Sly Stallone.

Now here at the people that I have tagged.

John of John Beatty Art.com.  Although he’s my best friend since junior high, I have no idea if he’ll participate or not.  If he does, I can guarantee it’ll be worth reading.

Evan of Evan Bryce.blogspot.com.  Evan is one of the good guys… and an artist to watch!

Ivan from ThrillingDaysofYesterday.  Ivan is my go-to guy on old time tv and movies!

Chris from Atomic Pulp and Other Meltdowns.  Chris is an editor and writer.  He also created one of my favorite crime comics Gravedigger: The Scavengers.

Rob of Rob Smith Jr.com.  I’ve known Rob since high school.  He’s a political cartoonist, art collector, and all around great guy.

Ed of Hall Toons.blogspot.com.  Ed is a political cartoonist who isn’t afraid to take a stand.

Mike Torrance, FX w/ Beatty & Killer of Demons

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Today I posted a sketch that I got from Mike Torrance back in 2007.  Mike, Jason Walker and Gary McKee had joined together to create a sketchbook and they were offering free head sketches to anyone who purchased one.  Talk about a great deal!

The FX Convention is a week closer.  Man, I am so looking forward to the down time.  It’ll be great to hang with my bro, John Beatty.  He’s a blast to be around — you never know what he’s going to say or do — and he’ll be sketching too.  John has created his own Big Beatty Stimulus Bucks Coupon which gives fans a discount on any art purchased from him.  If you’re going to be at FX, drop me a line.

Anyone reading Killer of Demons by Christopher Yost and Scott Wegener?  It’s a lot of fun and even better than I thought it would be… and I thought it would rock.

2 Comments
:iconjohnbeatty:
Mood: Optimism*johnbeatty Mar 29, 2009

I’ll be watching you at the FX-Show, too! My eyes are always on you…:eyepopping:

-John

Reply

:iconcjz:
Mood: Joy~CJZ Mar 29, 2009

LOL!… Remember the quote: “If you can see me, it means I can see you. If you can’t see me it means I could be about to attack!”

Oh, sorry… that’s not me the quote is about, it’s Chuck Norris!

We’re going to have fun at the show, Mr. Beatty!

– Craig

Reply

  • Mood:  Joy
  • Listening to: My Life by Billy Joel
  • Reading: Batista Unleashed by Batista
  • Watching: Hell’s Kitchen
  • Playing: Fast and Loose
  • Eating: Salsa, Ham & Cheese Omlette
  • Drinking: Diet Coke

Remembering Dan Seals

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I just read today at Ivan Shreve’s blog that Dan Seals has died after a long bout with cancer.  If you didn’t recognize the name, perhaps you knew him better as “England Dan” of the popular 70’s recording duo England Dan and John Ford Coley.

Between 1976 and 1979, England Dan and John Ford Coley had six top 40 singles [“I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You,:” “It’s Sad to Belong,” “Gone Too Far,” “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again,” and “Love is the Answer”] with four hitting number one on the charts.

Dan Seals’ older brother, Jimmy Seals was half of the extremely popular recording duo Seals and Crofts.  Not wanting to cash in on his brother’s name, Dan went with his nickname, “England Dan” which was given to him as a child because of his love for The Beatles.  In 1980, England Dan and John Ford Coley broke up, and Dan went on to have a successful career as a country singer.

Although I’m a huge fan of England Dan and John Ford Coley [I almost posted a link to this video less than a week ago], I didn’t know about Dan Seals’ country career.  After seeing/hearing his cover of “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” I’ve decided that I’m going to have to correct that.

Our thoughts and prayers go out the family, friends and fans of Dan Seals.

Are You Ready for Red?

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I’ve been singing the praises of the Warren Ellis/Cully Hamner mini-series for years.  It’s got a cool story and great art by Cully.  Red has even been optioned for the big screeen.

So why am I writing about Red today you ask? (And I’m glad that you did.)  Because on June 9th, for the first time ever, it will be released as a standalone graphic novel!  It will also include the Warren Ellis’ script to the first issue and never-before seen development art by Cully!  You can pre-order your copy by clicking here.

A Whole Lot of Walking Dead

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If you’re a Walking Dead fan… or if you’ve been waiting for the right time to jump on board one of the best regularly published comics in recent history…  or if you’ve been hoping to score some back issues but just can’t find them or they’re too expensive… then you may want to pre-order a copy of The Walking Dead: Compendium One.  This big boy is 1,088 pages reprinting The Walking Dead issues 1-8 in one massive trade paperback edition.

Talk Like William Shatner Day!

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Today is William Shatner’s birthday.  He’s 78.  Wow.  Hard to believe that Captain James T. Kirk is pushing 80.  Denny Crane, yes; Captain Kirk, nope, not possible.  But it is.

So in honor of the Shat’s birthday, I suggest we all participate in the first annual TALK LIKE WILLIAM SHATNER DAY!  Not to worry, here are instructions on how to talk just like Willam Shatner.  Once you’ve listened and learned, jump right in.

Oh, and… Happy… Birthday! [SHORT INHALE and SHARP BREATH] Mr. Shatner!