Tampa, Here I Come!

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I’m looking forward to next Sunday!

Why, you ask? Because I’ll be attending the Tampa Comic Book and Toy Convention!

I really enjoy going to Tampa Con. Tim Gordon, who runs the show, is one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. Although he’s in charge of making sure that all of the fans, pros and dealers are happy, and runs tables of his own, Tim always makes time to talk to fans and make sure that everything is going “just right.”

Since Tampa Con isn’t one of the huge events like in San Diego or Atlanta, there’s more time for fans and pros to interact. Guest for next Sunday‘s show include Ethan Van Scriver [one of DC‘s rising stars — he’s being compared to Brian Bolland, which is quite a compliment in itself!], Alex Saviuk, John Beatty, Austin Janowsky, Mark and Stephanie Heike, as well as other artists. Marc Macaulay who has had roles in “The Punisher,” “Monster,” and “2 Fast 2 Furious” will also be on hand. Heck, you’ll even be able to get your picture taken with “Robocop” if you want!

If you’re within driving distance, come on by. I’ll be hanging out at Big Beatty‘s table trying to keep him in line. And I can use all the help I can get!

Hoping for a Happy Ending for Mike Tyson

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Mike Tyson, once the most feared fighter in the world, and a 9-1 favorite was knocked out in the fourth round by British heavyweight Danny Williams.

Yeah, Tyson‘s 38 years old. And yes, Williams outweighed Tyson by over thirty pounds. And it’s true that Tyson won the first three rounds on ALL of the judges‘ score cards. Tyson‘s people are already blaming the loss on a knee twisted in the first round.

Perhaps they didn’t see the flurry of punches Williams unleashed on Iron Mike in the fourth round which left him sitting on the canvas bloodied and beaten.

I was pulling for Tyson. I always seem to be pulling for him.  Sometimes I’m not sure why.

Mike Tyson had it all and blew it. From what I’ve read and seen of Mike, I doubt if I’d like to hang around with him for very long. Still he intrigues me. Tyson has a vast knowledge of boxing and a love for the sport and it’s history. He WAS the baddest man in the world until he hooked up with Don King. It’s like the storybook tale of a kid born with everything against him who overcomes it all… and then loses it

I guess I just keep hoping for a happy ending.

Pleasant Nightmares!

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Sammy Terry returns!

If you grew up anywhere in the midwest from the early 60’s to the mid 80’s you probably made a habit of tuning in on Friday [and later Saturday] nights to watch Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater. Sammy would introduce horror movies and return with commentary after each commercial break. Sammy was one of the first “horror hosts” and definitely had one of the longest running shows.

If you grew up watching Sammy and would love to see him again, or if you never had the chance and want to see what he was all about…

Sammy will have his first official Sammy Terry Live Webcast will be on Friday, July 30th from 9:00 pm to 9:15 pm. The Sammy Terry chat will start at 9:15 pm and run to 10:00 pm. I plan to tune in, and if you love horror movie, hope that you can make it as well.

Until then… I wish you all… “Pleasant Nightmares.”

Transformed by Dance

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One of the funniest [and coolest] things that I’ve seen lately has to do with Transformers.

Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either… Transformers!

Even if you’re too old or young to have played with them, you’re probably aware of ’em. They were toys in the shape of cars, trucks, and just about anything that with a few twists could be, uh, transformed into something else.

At any rate I discovered the link while checking out Dean Trippe‘s new blog… click on THIS LINK and check out the coolest Transformer ever.

And I swear on all that is good… Big Beatty used to dance just like that!

I Want "Sin City" Now

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I can’t wait to see Sin City on the big screen.

Frank Miller.

Robert Rodriguez.

Mickey Rourke.

Bruce Willis.

Jessica Alba.

Rosario Dawson.

Benicio Del Toro.

Michael Clarke Duncan.

Josh Hartnett.

Michael Madsen.

Clive Owen.

Nick Stahl.

Elijah Wood.

Whew! This baby is gonna rock.

Don’t believe me? Read this interview with Robert Rodriguez [brought to us by Quint at AICN] and you’ll be a believer! Man, I can’t wait…

Buried Secret Goes to Far

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The Sci Fi channel has, for weeks, been advertising an “unauthorized documentary” [some even called it a “disturbing expose” ] about M. Knight Shyamalan. The story was that M. Knight first cooperated, but then tried to shut it down when producers delved too deeply into his personal life. The documentary advertised that it would present a “buried secret.”

I’ll be the first to admit that the documentary sounded interesting, but something about it just didn’t seem right. My wife speculated, a couple of weeks ago, that M. Knight was probably behind the whole thing… and it turns out she was right.

Today the Sci Fi cable network and parent company NBC Universal acknowledged that the documentary was really part of a “guerrilla marketing” hoax that went too far. It seems that “a number of entertainment journalists…” were left “…grumbling after they were duped…”

I watched the special and it was so obvious that the doc was set -up, that anyone who is upset because they were duped should be upset with himself for being so gullible.

Cool Stuff from the Sky Captain

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The Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow site is starting to make available more and more cool stuff to get us all psyched for the movie.

In addition to the cool movie poster shown to the left, JoBlo.com has six others that are just as cool. [Well… most of them are.]

JoBlo also has several images from the movie.

The official site has a new trailer, which looks even better than the teaser did.

There’s also a cool clip of an undersea battle available at Apple’s trailer site for Sky Captain.

I really don’t know how Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is going to do at the box office, but I do know that I can’t wait to see it.

Land of the Dead Dawns

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The cheers that you’ve been hearing may be from horror fans around the world.

It’s been announced that George Romero is finally going to get to see his fourth “Living Dead” movie make it to the big screen! Written and directed by George his-own-bad-self, it’ll be titled Land of the Dead. [Leaving behind the “time” theme of Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead.]

In this one, the zombies have overrun the world and the few people still alive are forced to live behind fortified skyscraper walls. Only now the slow-moving brainless zombies are starting to change…

The film is set to begin production in October.

Not Your Father’s Ringo

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Since many ZONErs are comic fans, you probably already know who Mike “Ringo” Wieringo is. For those of you who don’t…

… Mike has worked for Marvel, DC and Image Comics. He also is co-creator of the Tellos comic series with writer Todd Dezago. Mike is currently teaming with writer Mark Waid on Marvel Comics‘ Fantastic Four which continues to receive rave reviews.

What’s really cool, in addition to the comic work that Mike‘s doing, is that he has his own website. There you’ll find a bio, a gallery, and a bunch of other neat sections… but my favorite is Mike’s blog which he has been updating regularly of late.

I’m about to drop him a line and let him know how much I’m enjoying his art updates. Check out his site and you may want to do the same!

Another Welcome Rain

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Critics have praised Barry Eisler‘s first two novels, Rain Fall and Hard Rain, calling Japanese-American John Rain, the cynical, romantic, conscientious assassin, “one of the most memorable characters in recent thrillers.”

Yeah, I’d go along with that.

In fact Eisler‘s two novels featuring John Rain have been some of the best novels that I’ve read in the last few years.

So you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to his latest, Rain Storm.

And if you’d like to take a look, just click HERE.

A Peek at Peak

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Bob Peak. You may not know the name but I’d guarantee you know his work.

I just spent another session at his web site [always longer than intended]. I’ve seen most of his paintings many times before, but there’s just something about them that calls you back.

Peak was called the “Father of the modern movie poster” and I’ll bet that you’ll agree that at times his paintings were better than the movies they were promoting. Peak also did dozens of Time and TV Guide covers…US postage stamps… and examples of his paintings hang in the Smithsonian.

If you’d like to check out his work, click HERE. But don’t be surprised if you stay a little longer than anticipated.

Knowing Too Much…

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As most of you know, Michael Mann and Tom Cruise are teaming on Collateral.

It’s the story of a hitman [Cruise] who hires a cab driver [Jamie Fox] to drive him to five locations in one night.

What the driver doesn’t know [at least at first] is that a hit is taking place at each stop.

The initial teaser trailer was released a few weeks ago, and while it looked interesting, I wasn’t completely sold.

The full trailer is now available, along with some more stills from the film. I’ve got to admit that NOW the movie is starting to look better. The producers have to walk a thin line in how much they show though… they need to show enough to get interest up, but if they give away too much, then no one will want to see the movie.

Knowing too much can be a bad thing. If you don’t believe me, just ask the taxi driver.

Jeb Misses the Mark

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Since my blog is geared towards fun stuff, I usually don’t discuss politics too much. But this story was just too good not to mention.

Florida’s Governor, Jeb Bush, was speaking to a group of 200 honors students and opened it up for questions. An 18 year old student asked the Governor if he could answer an FCAT Math Question.

FCAT is the test that students are required to pass in order to get a diploma. And while I think the idea of FCAT is a good one, I do have some problems with the way its implemented… but I digress.

According to the article, “the governor gave a steely grin and then stalled a bit. “The angles would be … If I was going to guess … Three-four-five. Three-four-five. I don’t know, 125, 90 and whatever remains on 180?”

As you’ve probably already figured out, the answer was wrong.

Does that mean that the Governor is stupid? No. Does it mean that he shouldn’t be allowed to be governor? No. Does it mean that he couldn’t pass the test? No.

I don’t think that we should judge a person on the basis of one test. But that’s what they do with the FCAT.

July is Big Beatty Month

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July looks to be a good month for Big John Beatty.

The first issue of the two issue story in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtes is out now. Big John provided the inks over Rick Remender‘s pencils to Steve Murphy‘s story and Scott Cohn kicked in some beautiful tone work to top it all off!

I’d NEVER bought an issue of TMNT before and had it not been for the really nice job these guys did I would have let this issue sit as well. Heck, their work together is so nice, I’d have bought it even if Big J wasn’t my buddy and I wasn’t a fan of Rick‘s work. Check it out and you’ll become a fan too!

And if the issue of Tales of TMNT wasn’t enough, John has started his weekly blog. This time out he talks about Southern Comfort… and it ain’t what you’re thinking.

Finally, the Big B has started accepting commissions again. He took a few before Heroes Con and really enjoyed doing them.

Like I said, July looks to be a good month for Beatty… I wonder what August has in store…