Heroes Con 2010, Part 3

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Can you believe it’s already time for Part 3 of my report on HEROES CON 2010?  So today we kick off with a photo of Andy Kuhn.  Andy’s blog is a daily stop on my internet travels.  I love his bold sense of design and unique art style.  I was fortunate to get a sketch from Andy at Heroes — he riffed on Sly as Jack Carter and I plan to post it soon.

I first met Chris Stevens at a con last year.  Chris was there as a fan although his work had been making a big splash over at Deviant Art.  When I heard that Chris was going to debut his first sketchbook at Heroes this year, I knew I had to get one.  I pre-ordered and Chris even included a headsketch of Sly as Jack Carter.  [As you probably guessed, I’ll post it in the near future.]

You’re probably wondering why Laura Martin, the best colorist in the business, is in such a great mood.  You would be too, if you were so good at your job that if someone looked up what you do, there’d be a picture of you.  Don’t believe me?  Click on this link: Best Colorist in Comics.

What’d I tell you?

Jay Potts Takes On Jack Carter

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Jay Potts, the creator of the very hip blaxplotation web comic World of Hurt, worked up a Jack Carter sketch for me. Yeah, he definitely caught the tough guy image that Jack Carter projected!

Before you click over to Jay’s web comic, be advised that World of Hurt is suggested for MATURE READERS due to violence, profanity and a bunch of other stuff that can be found in the best blaxplotation movies.

Heroes Con 2010, Part 2

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Okay, here we are with Part 2 of my report on HEROES CON 2010.  No, that’s not Lois Lane posing with Superman.  It’s actually John Beatty’s wife, Bella. You gotta give her credit since she made the drive up with John and me.  Surviving THAT trip would take superhuman effort on the part of anyone.

That’s Bella posing with The Black Panther and Captain America.  Or maybe it’s them posing with her.  You can make that call.

Take a close look at the photo above.  Why does Ron Salas have the surprised look of someone who just sat in something?  Now swing your sights over to Joel Carrol.  Why does Joel have the satisfied smile of a man thinking “mission accomplished”?

Again, you make the call.

Heroes Con 2010, Part I

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It’s hard to believe that HEROES CON 2010 was three weeks ago.  Usually within the week following HEROES, I post my con report and photos.  Of course, most years, the con is held later in the year and so when I return home I still have at least a week of vacation left.  This year HEROES was held earlier in the month and I didn’t have the luxury of vacation when I returned home.

Enough with the excuses.  In an effort to get my con report and photos up before next year’s HEROES CON, I will post three pictures a day along with some comments.

That’s Chris DiBari.  He’s worked on some pretty neat comics including adaptations of The Warriors and The Crazies (especially cool since Chris is a big movie buff).  Currently Chris is working on the very well received western comic Pale Horse.  Chris is also a Stallone fan and he did a cool take on Sly from Nighthawks which I will post in the near future.

That’s Jay Potts, the creator of the very hip blaxplotation web comic World of Hurt.  As you can see from the photo above, Jay rocked a Jack Carter sketch for me.  I’ll post a scan soon.

What’s More Suprising?

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Today’s post is about a few things; one of which you may find surprising.  But first, some introductions, the handsome fellow on the left is professional wrestler [and best selling author] Mick Foley aka Mankind, Cactus Jack, etc.  The lady on the left is Linda McMahon, wife of billionaire and WWE owner, Vince McMahon.  There will be another post, later this week, about Mick Foley.  Today’s post concerns Linda McMahon.

Last year Linda McMahon stepped down as CEO of the WWE.  It wasn’t part of a storyline or a gimmick to do with the professional wrestling company. Ms. McMahon decided to run for the US Senate.  Really.  Here’s her website.  I kid you not.  Kinda surprising, right.

Today TVGuide.com posted a piece on Ms. McMahon’s campaign ad that calls professional wrestling,,,

“a soap opera that entertains millions each week”.

TVGuide says that in the ad Linda McMahon…

…lets it slip that the wrestling “isn’t real.”

The article goes on to say…

That sound you hear is grown men all over the country weeping.

Will someone please send Gina DiNunno, the author of the article, word that pro wrestling fans have known for years that professional wrestling is scripted.  Make that decades.  If this was the 1950’s, 60’s or even the 70’s, perhaps some fans would think that pro rasslin’ was real, but c’mon, let’s get, uh, real.  Professional wrestling is scripted.  Anyone who doesn’t know that probably doesn’t have the intelligence to read the TVGuide article.

So what’s more surprising:

  1. Linda McMahon is running for the US Sentate
  2. Linda McMahon called professional wrestling a “scripted soap opera”
  3. TVGuide and Gina DiNunno think that Linda McMahon’s statement is a “Shocker”

My vote is for #3.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale Results

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Last night SPIKE TV featured The Ultimate Fighter Finale. Here are my predictions along with the results:

Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito vs. Jamie “chosyn-1” Yager.
Prediction: Attonito by decision.
Result: Attonio won by ref stoppage due to punches in the second.
My Record for the Night: 1-0

Spencer “The King” Fisher vs. Dennis Siver.
Prediction: Fisher with a fairly easy win.
Result: Silver won by a unanimous but close decision.
My Record for the Night: 1-1

Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Aaron “The A Train” Simpson.
Prediction: Simpson with the tough decision win.
Result: Leben wins via TKO in the 2nd
My Record for the Night: 1-2

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine.
Prediction: Hamill by KO.
Result: Hamill wins a close contest by majority decision.
My Record for the Night: 2-2

Court “The Crusher” McGee vs. Kris “Savage” McCray.
Prediction: McGee will once again find a way to win.
Result: McGee won via 2nd round submission (choke)
My Record for the Night: 3-2

Final Thoughts:

  • I don’t see Yager with a sustained career in the UFC.  When he is pressured he folds.
  • Although I think the Leben/Simpson fight was stopped early, Simpson was in trouble.  Leben, is not one of my favorite fighters, but the kid is tough.
  • Hamill didn’t look great in his win.  Of course he had a staff infection and broke his hand in the first round.  Both Hamill and Jardine will be back.
  • McGee and McCray put on a good fight.  It will be interesting to see where their careers take them.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale

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Tonight SPIKE TV will broadcast The Ultimate Fighter Finale.  Here are my predictions:

Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito vs. Jamie “chosyn-1” Yager. I’m not a Yager fan.  I think if Anttonito can get past Yager’s kicks and pressure him, Yager will fold.
Prediction: Attonito by decision.

Spencer “The King” Fisher vs. Dennis Siver.
Prediction: Fisher with a fairly easy win.

Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Aaron “The A Train” Simpson. I’m not a Leben fan, but he is tough and is probably favored.
Prediction:  Simpson with the tough decision win.

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. This should be a good fight.  I like both of these guys.  Jardine will try to stick and move and stay away from Hamill’s power punches and takedowns.  I think that eventually Hamill will tag Jardine and it will be lights out.
Prediction: Hamill by KO.

Court “The Crusher” McGee vs. Kris “Savage” McCray. Again we have two likeable guys facing off.  Both have found ways to win when the going got tough.  This should be a good scrap.
Prediction: McGee will once again find a way to win.

I’ll Take a Blood Oath!

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Today while I was checking out Bookgasm.com, I came across a review of Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth.  I’d never heard of the book or author before, but the tag line intrigued me:

The Ultimate Secret.  The Ultimate Agent.  The President’s Vampire.

So I read a little further and was told…

Christopher Farnsworth’s book is an amalgam of the HELLBOY comic and the men’s adventure series THE DESTROYER.

The book sounded interesting and then I came across this trailer that made me want to learn a bit more.  So I went to the Amazon page and saw that it had 36 customer reviews with an overall 4 1/2 star rating and with no rating lower than a 3 [and only 4 of those]!   I’m putting Blood Oath on my To Be Bought List… or perhaps even my Father’s Day Request List [Hint! Hint! to my sons].

Chris Mills Spruces Up Atomic Pulp

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My internet buddy [which means I’ve never met him in person], Chris Mills has retooled his main website.  It will serve as a hub to his other internet joints.  If you click over to this post about the new Gravedigger graphic novel, you might notice that the bad guy that gets the drop on Digger resembles someone we all know and love.  We’ll at least my dog loves me… I think.

Chris Mills is a great guy.  Swing by and show him some love.

Lurking Under Life

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If you’re a regular ZONE reader, then you probably know that my buddy, Bill Black, is not only a comic publisher, but also makes low-budget horror and super hero movies.  The digital age has allowed more and more folks to make and market films.

I was recently contacted by Steve Kasansza, a regular reader of my StalloneZone site.  Steve and some of his buddies made a horror film called Lurking Under Life.  You can check out the trailer here and their website here.  If you like what you see you can get an autographed dvd copy of the film and a whole lot more.  This looks like a pretty good first film and I look forward to seeing the whole movie!

Fighting Over the Sons

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If you’re a reader of this blog, there’s a real good chance that you’re a fan of Sons of Anarchy.  I’ve been talking up the show since the first ads for it started appearing almost two years ago.  It was an interesting take on an outlaw motorcycle club created by Kurt Sutter who I knew from his work on The Shield [another favorite series of mine].  The show has gained a solid following is in line to win some awards.

Kurt Sutter should be on top of the world, but he’s not.  In fact, he’s more than a bit upset.  Chuck Zito has filed a lawsuit with the claim that the Sons of Anarchy was based on a pitch that he gave for a show based on an outlaw motorcycle gang.

Normally Zito is a pretty intimidating guy.  He’s an outlaw biker, has done time, worked as a bodyguard and even knocked out Jean Claude Van Damme [okay, maybe that’s not so tough], but still. Sutter’s not the least bit impressed and instead has taken Zito to task point by point.  You can read it here if you don’t mind a bit of profanity.

Predators: 74 Shots

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Film Filia scored 74 new photos from Predators.  I’ve been looking forward to this sequel.  My guess is that a lot of the folks that thought that Adrien Brody wouldn’t be convincing as a tough guy able to go toe-to-toe with a predator will change their opinion after seeing the still above and the other 73 here.