Stallone Gets “No Rest for the Wicked”

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Sly Stallone is set to star in a remake of No Rest for the Wicked. The original was an award-winning film made in Spain.  In a recent interview Stallone described No Rest for the Wicked…

  • “…a wonderful film that was done in Spain, No Rest for the Wicked. It’s hard-core, in the Bad Lieutenant mode…”

Sly will play…

  • Burned-out cop Santos Trinidad who visits a lonely nightclub for a last drink. After a seemingly trivial incident with the owner, he ends up shooting him, his bodyguard and a waitress in a fit of rage. Only one witness escapes with his life. Santos destroys all evidence linking him to the shooting and tries to track down the witness. In the process, he uncovers an Islamist cell planning a terrorist attack.

All I want to know is where is the line to buy a ticket?

The Rock Heads to “Ciudad”

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Dwayne Johnson has signed to star in the big screen film adaptation of the upcoming graphic novel, Ciudad [co-written by Anthony and Joe Russo and Ande Parks]

Johnson will play a “black market mercenary” hired by a drug lord to rescue his kidnapped daughter in one of the most “dangerous and corrupt cities in the world.”

All I want to know is where is the line to buy a ticket?

 

Walter Hill, Not Stallone is Cutting Bullet to the Head

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Recently there has been quite a bit of speculation that Sly Stallone was going to oversee a final edit on Bullet to the Head. That’s just not the case.

Sly has sent word to the StalloneZone and wants it to be known that he is…

  • “not recutting Bullet to the Head. Bullet to the Head is absolutely Walter Hill’s movie and Walter Hill is cutting it.”


Sly has asked that fans not buy into the rumors.

Tom Hodges Draws First Blood

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This week we have Sly as Rambo by Tom Hodges. I discovered Tom’s art through his DA site. I saw that Tom was going to be drawing live on UStream so I commissioned several sketches which will be posted in the coming weeks. Tom still draws regularly on UStream and it’s always a blast watching him sketch and interacting with the crowd.

Davy Jones: R.I.P.

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Davy Jones died today from an apparent heart attack at the age of 66.

Davy Jones was, of course, a member of The Monkees.  Davy was the first Monkee to be chosen due to his years of showbiz experience. It’s a little known fact that Davy Jones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show the same night as The Beatles made their historic appearance… Davy was there performing with the Broadway cast of Oliver!

The Monkees [Davy Jones, along with Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork] took the world by storm in 1966.  The group was hand-picked by Screen Gems in an effort to create a tv show about a group of young musicians.  Lightning struck and the group not only had a hit tv series but became one of the biggest selling bands of the 60’s.  In 1967, The Monkees sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.  The Monkees even appeared in a feature film called Head that was co-written by Jack Nicholson!

I was a huge Monkees fan and like many kids my age [7], Davy was my favorite Monkee.  I collected their albums, trading cards, comic books and magazines.  I had a model of The Monkeemobile.  I even followed The Monkees after Peter, then later Mike, quit the band.  I was always happy to see Davy pop up on tv [“Love American Style”, “The Brady Bunch”, etc.] or in a stage production or on one of the many reunion tours The Monkees did over the years.  Sadly, I never got to see them perform live.

I recently watched two Biography specials.  One was on The Monkees and the other focused on Davy Jones.  Davy seemed happy with his life and ever-grateful for his fans.  Not too long ago Mark Evanier posted a piece that supported Davy’s kindness and appreciation to his fans.  Davy Jones was that rare entertainer who could sing, dance, and act… and who never took his talents or his fans for granted.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Tales of MegaCon 2012: Morning Funnies

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The photos today are of folks who came in costume to MegaCon 2012.  They have nothing to do with the following post other than the fact that the nonsense I’m about to tell you took place at  MegaCon 2012.

If you’ve been following my previous posts about MegaCon 2012 [Paul Gulacy and Mitch vs BIG RUSSIAN GUY] then you know I spent most of the weekend hanging out with my buddy, John Beatty.  John was a guest of the show, and had a table where he sketched and signed autographs for fans.

On the way to the convention Saturday, John and I decided to swing by McDonald’s for a breakfast to go.  The McDonald’s was packed and the drive-through closed for construction.  So, I ran in and got our breakfast while Beatty circled the lot for a parking spot.  Soon enough I had our orders and we were on our way to the show.

We ended up parking in a lot next to the convention center even farther out than on Friday.  The difference this morning was that there were bicycle-rickshaws that would ride you over to the convention center for five bucks a head.  Since I had my convention bag full of reference, sketchbooks, a camera plus a small cooler with drinks and snacks for Beatty and I, I thought the bike-shaw was a good idea.  Beatty had his drawing board and bag of art supplies, and so he agreed.

A bike-shaw rider pulled up and asked us if we wanted a ride.  We said we did.  He said he could take us both at the same time.  Cool.  I climbed in with my two bags and McDonald’s Sugar-Free Vanillia Iced Coffee with non-fat milk.  I had taken a sip and it was perfectly made.  I couldn’t wait to get to the convention table to drink it with my McSkillet steak burrito. Once I was settled in the bike-shaw, John came on with his art board, art bag and McDonald’s Mocca Frappe.

As the bike-shaw driver started to get us moving, the bike and then ric-shaw started to shake back and forth.  My iced coffee went flying and landed spilled across the parking lot.  The driver apologized.  Beatty and I repositioned our gear and the guy started off again.

It was slow going… at first.  Then the driver got his momentum and we’re were going at a fast clip.  Which was fantastic until it came time to make a fairly tight curve.

Have you ever tried to stop a loaded locomotive?

Apparently neither had our driver.  The bike went up the curb and the ric-shaw lurched as Beatty and I came out of it.  Surprisingly, Beatty never lost hold of his frappe.  The driver again apologized.  We straightened out the bike-shaw, pushed it around the curve and re-loaded.  Soon we were on our way and arrived at the convention center without further incident.

A short walk and we were at our table – ready for our breakfast burritos.  John still had his frappe and I could drink a Diet Coke from the cooler.  I asked John for my burrito.

He said, “Didn’t you get the bag out of the back seat?”

“Uh, no.  You put it there.  I thought you got it.”

Beatty wasn’t sure if I was messing with him.  I wasn’t.  Our breakfast was sitting in the back of his Charger… and neither of us were going back for it.

The next day Beatty and I hit the McDonald’s again for breakfast.  This time we got a MUCH closer parking spot and walked in to the convention.  We ate our breakfast at the table and all was great…or so I thought.

After I ate, I decided to walk around and talk to some artists.  When I got back, Beatty wasn’t at the table.  I asked Bob McLeod, who had the table next to us, where John was.  Bob started laughing and said, “You don’t know?”

“No, I really don’t.  What’s so funny?”

“John finished his breakfast and decided to get started on a sketch.  When John opened his art bag, he realized he had his clothes bag and his art supplies were in the bag in his car.”

At least we were parked close by.

Dan Panosian Gets Carter Again!

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This is Dan Panosian‘s second appearance in the StalloneZone sketch gallery. His first was a drawing of Jack Carter that he gifted me at an FX Convention in Orlando.

Dan is a big Stallone fan and really gets the Jack Carter character. I love Dan’s art and hope this won’t be the last piece to go in my collection.

Check out more of Dan’s art here and here. Plan to spend some time, because everything he draws is worth a look!

Tales of MegaCon 2012: Mitch vs BIG ANGRY RUSSIAN GUY

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Yesterday, I promised a  MegaCon 2012 story about John “Hex” Carter. So, on the off-chance that’s why you’re back, here it is.

Hex was set up at MegaCon 2012 three tables south of John Beatty and I.  As you can see from the photo, Hex is a big guy.  When in character, as he was for MegaCon, Hex speaks in a deep, booming Russian voice.  Imagine a mean, angry Cossack’s thunderous voice and then think a little scarier.

The other guy in the photo is Mitch Hyman.  Mitch is a funny guy. If he heard me say that, Mitch would say something like, “Yeah, but looks aren’t everything.”  Mitch is a much smaller guy than Hex.  Oh, and Mitch had never met or even seen Hex before.

So it’s early on Saturday and Mitch is telling Beatty and I one of his many humorous stories when Mitch says something about his Russian grandma’s beard — and follows that up with something to the effect of, “You know all Russian women have beards.”

I say, “Hey Mitch!  You better be careful what you say about Russian women and beards.”

Mitch questions a look at me and says, “Yeah?  Why’s that?”

Perfect, he’s given me my in.  “Because if the BIG RUSSIAN GUY hears you, he might take offense.”

Mitch cracks a smile, thinking I’m joking and replies, “Let him take offense.  I’ll kick his *** if he doesn’t like it.”

“Really?”

Mitch replies, “Really” and looks at me like it’s my move.

So while returning Mitch’s stare, I yell: “Hey BIG RUSSIAN GUY!”

On cue, Hex rises to his full height, raises his arms in the air and yells in that booming, scary Cossack voice: “Vhat?”

The look on Mitch’s face is priceless.  There is no way that Mitch  believed that there was a Russian around, much less a BIG RUSSIAN GUY who might be angry about his comment.  Mitch immediately says to me, “Don’t get me in trouble with this guy.”

Ignoring Mitch, I instead point to him and yell to the BIG RUSSIAN: “This guy says that all Russians are…”

Mitch quietly says to me, “Zablo, don’t get my butt kicked.”

I continue: “...SISSIES!”

With that Hex, in character roars: “RUSSIANS are not SISSIES!” and he begins stomping down to our table.  Mitch goes paler, if you can believe that.  Hex stomps down to the table.  For a split  second Mitch stands frozen in his spot staring up at the huge angry Russian. Then we all have a good laugh and I get them to pose for photos.

Tales of MegaCon 2012: Paul Gulacy

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Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I was at MegaCon 2012 with my buddy, John Beatty.  [That’s not John Beatty with me in the photo above.  No, that’s John “Hex” Carter.  Hex was seated a couple of tables down from Beatty and I.  You’ll hear more about Hex tomorrow.]

MegaCon was a lot of fun.  Of course how could it not be?  Beatty’s table was seated next to Bob “The Hardest Working Con Sketch Artist in the Business” McLeod.  I was able to pick up sketches from several artists [which will be posted in the coming weeks] for my Stallone sketch collection.  Beatty and I had a fun time hanging out with John Higashi.  I met several new artists and got to see several old friends/artists.  All in all it was a cool weekend that produced a couple of funny stories that I’ll share in posts this week.  Although this story isn’t funny, it is pretty neat.

Paul Gulacy was a guest at MegaCon 2012.  I first discovered Gulacy’s art when I was in junior high and he was working with Doug Moench on their classic run on Master of Kung Fu.  Paul Gulacy quickly became my favorite artist.  A few years later I began collecting original art and Paul was still my favorite artist.  I had acquired a few sketches by him and somehow got his phone number.

I called Paul and the conversation went well and I commissioned him to do a Bruce Lee piece for me.  We began to talk fairly regularly.  Paul was always entertaining.  In addition to being a talented artist, he is a great impressionist able to sound exactly like Brando, Eastwood, Stallone and so many others.  Paul did a Stallone piece for me… followed by a Sabre commission.

I finally got to meet Paul in person in 1980 at a comic convention in Atlanta.  Paul invited me to sit behind the table with him as he autographed and sketched for fans.  So there I was with Paul Gulacy, Mike Grell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Pat Broderick, Bob McLeod and other artists.  A fan about my age was making his way down the row getting autographs from all of the artists.

When he got to me, he looked at the program and then asked, “Who are you?”  I said, “Oh, I’m nobody -” Paul spoke up saying, “This is Craig Zablo.  He’s a friend of mine.”  As you can imagine, I couldn’t stop smiling all weekend.

 As I moved through college and got ready to enter the “real world” I decided to sell off my comic art collection so I wouldn’t have to work during my senior internship.  I found myself reading fewer comics and had lost touch with Paul.  The one piece of art that I did keep was the Stallone commission that Paul did for me.

Fast forward 28 years to MegaCon 2012.  I hadn’t spoken to Paul since the early 80’s, but I wanted to go up and re-introduce myself and thank Paul for being so cool to a young fan.  I wanted Paul to know that I still had my Stallone piece and that allowing me to sit with him while he sketched was a convention memory that still brings a smile.

I found Paul’s table.  The show hadn’t started yet, but already a fan was speaking with him.  When their conversation finished, I stepped up.  I said, “Good morning.  My name is Craig Zablo – ”  Paul immediately said, “Wow!  We’re going back in time.”  I could see the wheels spinning as Paul tried to place me.  I was surprised and said, “You remember me?”

Paul said, “Youngstown, right?”

“I used to call you when you lived in Youngstown – “

Paul said, “I did the Stallone piece for you.”  I was amazed that he’d remember.  We had a nice conversation and Paul introduced me to his wife. I thanked Paul for the great memories and art.

So now I had two great con memories of interactions with the talented Paul Gulacy… and MegaCon 2012 hadn’t even officially started.

Ken Garing’s Planetoid

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Until I read this article at iFanboy, I didn’t know anything about Ken Garing’s comic Planetoid.  If this…

  • PLANETOID #1
  • Written and Drawn by Ken Garing
  • 32pages/ full color
  • Silas, an ex-soldier turned space pirate, finds himself stranded on a mysterious planet in alien territory. As he explores the long-abandoned industrial ruins of the planet’s surface he will have to fend off rogue mechanical creatures, roving cyborg militias, and a hostile alien military with a bounty on his head. With a small survival kit, Richter (a computerized assistant built into his space suit), and one really powerful gun, Silas will have to rely on resourcefulness and bare-bones survival tactics in order to stay alive and ultimately unlock the secrets of a planet where survival is a luxury and escape an impossibility.

… sounds like something you’d like, then get your order in now!