Marshall Rogers Week: Day 6

Posted on by

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 6 and we have for your viewing pleasure the cover to Mr. Miracle #24. It was the last of a six issue run that Marshall had starting in September 1977 and concluding in June 1978.

I’d been a fan of Jack Kirby’s Mr. Miracle comic when I was a kid and so it was very cool to discover that the series had been re-started with the same numbering and this new artist named Marshall Rogers.  It wouldn’t be long before Marshall would shoot to fame with his groundbreaking work [along with Steve Englehart and Terry Austin] on Batman.

You can probably guess the character that will bring to a close Marshall Rogers Week at the ZONE.  Tune in tomorrow and find out if you’re right!

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 5

Posted on by

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 5.  Today we have the cover to Marshall’s Strange portfolio which featured his orginal characters.  It was published in a limited edition of 1200 copies [I have #220] by Schanes & Schanes in 1979.   The cool thing about the portfolio was that it was all Marshall’s work.  He created the characters, he pencilled, inked and added the wash tones.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Marshall Rogers’ take on a classic Jack Kirby character.  It’d be a miracle if you couldn’t figure out which one.

Survey Says

Posted on by

Here’s a survey that was sent to me via my Facebook page:

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Diet Coke

2. Where was your profile picture taken? School

3. Can you play Guitar Hero? Never tried

4. Name someone who made you laugh today? John Beatty

5. How late did you stay up last night and why? 11:30… Watched “The Ultimate Fighter”

6. If you could move somewhere else, where would it be ? North Carolina / Tennessee area

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks? Yep.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you? My wife lives in the same house.

9. Do you believe ex’s can be friends? Maybe with each other.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper? It’s not a bad third or fourth choice.

11. When was the last time you cried really hard? Probably at my grandmother’s funeral

12. Who took your profile picture? A very brave photographer

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of? My niece and her newborn son.

14. Was today better than yesterday? Yep, but not as good as tomorrow.

15. Can you live a day without TV? Sure, but why deprive myself a little pleasure?

16. Are you upset about anything? Just the length of this survey

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Yep.

18. Are you a bad influence? Never. Seldom. Okay, maybe on a rare occasion.

19. Night out or night in? Mostly night in.

20. What items could you not go without during the day? Computer and cell phone.

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? My niece and her handsome newborn son.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say? “USATODAY: David Letterman reveals affairs, extortion attempt”

23. How do you feel about your life right now? I am blessed.

24. Do you hate anyone? Nope.

25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find? Nada.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? Without a doubt.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before? Yeah, but they were wrong about some other things, so take it with a grain.

28. What song is stuck in your head? “Some Like It Hot”… heard it on the way to work this morning at about 5:50am

29 . Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be? Anyone in a dream.

30. Wanna have grandkids by the time you’re 50? Fifty? LOL. If so, it had better happen within the next 20 days.

31. Name something you are doing tomorrow? Chaperoning at a homecoming carnival and a homecoming football game.

32. Do you think too much or too little? Too much about too little.

33. Do you smile a lot? Is all the time a lot?

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 4

Posted on by

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 4. Today we have one of my all-time favorite Marshall Rogers pieces. It was published as the front cover of The 1978 Atlanta Comics and Fantasy Fair program book and features Marshall re-design of DC Comics Blackhawk character. Although I’ve never been a Blackhawk fan, I would have loved to see what Marshall could have done with his version of the character.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look a some characters that Marshall created. Hope you can swing back by!

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 3

Posted on by

It’s Marshall Rogers Week: Day 3 and we have a pinup that Marshall pencilled and inked for Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan #44 [September 1979].  I’ve always really liked this pin-up.  Marshall didn’t draw Conan as the traditional musclebound brute.  I also liked the all black winged creatures.  It would have been interesting to see Marshall draw a Conan story — the younger Conan when he was a thief.   

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at a redesign on a classic DC character that Marshall did for a con cover.  It is one of my favorite Marshall Rogers pieces ever.

“The Crazies” Ain’t Bad

Posted on by

That’s the poster for the remake of George Romero’s “The Crazies”. While I’m a HUGE fan of Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”, I felt that “The Crazies” wasn’t in the same league. The idea did have a lot of potential though, so I’m hoping that the remake will be even better. As for the poster, it ain’t bad. Let’s hope we can say the same thing about the movie.

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 2

Posted on by

It’s Marshall Rogers Week: Day 2 and we have a pinup that Marshall penciled and inked. The piece appeared in Rampaging Hulk #2 cover dated April 1977.   Although Bloodstone is a pretty cool looking character, he’s never been a major player in the comics world.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at a character that has been a major player in the comics world, not to mention novels and movies — well, I guess I did mention it, but you know what I mean — at least you will if you come back tomorrow!

Marshall Rogers Week: Day 1

Posted on by

Marshall Rogers seemed to just burst on the scene with his work [along with Steve Englhart and Terry Austin] on DC’s Detective comic series featuring Batman.  Marshall, at about the same time,  did a couple of really well done issues of Mr. Miracle.   From there he went on to do Detectives, Inc., a graphic novel that he pencilled and inked [written by Don McGregor, his co-creator].  Other favorite favorite Marshall Rogers projects included the Demon with a Glass Hand graphic novel [with Harlan Ellison], his run on Doctor Strange for Marvel, his Strange portfolio, his Batman portfolio, and Coyote for Eclipse Comics.

The Batman pinup above appeared in Visions #2 which was a fanzine published in 1980.

Sadly, Marshall Rogers passed away in 2007 at the age of 57.   Luckily for fans, his work lives on.  Join us here tomorrow for Day 2 of Marshall Rogers Week at the ZONE.

Bill Marimon’s Jack Carter

Posted on by

Bill Marimon provides his take on Sly as Jack Carter. I’ve known Bill aka “The Raytrix” for years. He’s humble, funny, and a talented artist. Bill showed up on Saturday at Mini-MegaCon. He wasn’t set up as a guest, but I was able to persuade him to do a couple of Stallone sketches. This is the first. I’ll post the second soon. In the mean time check out Bill’s home on the web. There’s plenty there to hold you over.

John Beatty Week: Day 7

Posted on by

We come to the close of John Beatty Week with Day 7 and a piece that John did for a series he toyed with doing back in the early 80’s.  It was going to be a creator-owned series about a former soldier traveling through an apopalyptic future.  I really loved this piece and John allowed me to print it as the cover of a letter-zine [called ZONE] that I mailed out to friends back in 1985.

Click here to see a bigger version of the piece.

“Last Days of American Crime” Preview

Posted on by

I’ve been a fan of Rick Remender’s work for years.  It seems like I’ve been looking forward to his “Last Days of American Crime” for almost as long.   You can imagine how satisfied I am that it’s finally seeing print.  After looking at this preview, presented by the good folks at CBR.com, you’ll also know how excited I am that Greg Tocchini is on board for the art.  My guess is you’ll be excited as well.

John Beatty Week: Day 6

Posted on by

John Beatty Week: Day 6. Brings us the third and final portfolio piece that John created in 1978. Mike Zeck was a major influence on John’s growth as an artist, and Mike had recently done a really nice Sub-Mariner story, so…

Tomorrow, we’ll finish up John Beatty Week with a piece that John pencilled, inked and toned back in the early 80’s.