Darwyn Cooke’s Big Update

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Yesterday Darwyn Cooke wrote a guest article for Jimmy Palmiotti’s blog and gave us quite an update!  Here are a few highlights:

  • Darwyn is providing covers for The Last Resort which he describes as a “Horror/Comedy… kind of a cross between an Irwin Allen picture and some of the great serials that you’d get back in the day from Heavy Metal.”  It’s written by Jimmy Palmiotti and will be published by IDW this summer.
  • Darwyn is designing and contributing color for the dustjackets on The Complete Torpedo Collection, the five volume set which for the first time ever collects the entire Sanchez Abuli and Jordi Bernet classic series.
  • Our buddy, John Highashi got a shout out for his bowling prowess!
  • Darwyn’s friend Calum Johnston hosts “Almost Darwyn Cooke’s Blog” which provides updates on what the main man is working on.  Until yesterday I didn’t know this blog existed and now it’s on my must read list.

Speaking of must read — if you want to check out Darwyn’s entire guest article, then click here.

Maberry & Patient Zero

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I’m currently about halfway through Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry and I’m totally diggin’ it.  The story reminds me of something that you’d get if you combined the best of Charlie Huston, Lee Child, Steve Niles and Duane Swierczynski.  Yeah, it’s THAT good.

Maberry has a blog where you can learn more about him and Patient Zero [and it’s sequels — I can’t wait!], read interviews, reviews and more.

20 Before You Die

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Yahoo posted their list of 100 Movies to See Before You Die.  Using just their list I give you (in alphabetical order) my list of 20 Movies to See Before You Die:

  • Blazing Saddles (1974)
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
  • Casablanca (1942)
  • Die Hard (1988)
  • Double Indemnity (1944)
  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
  • Enter the Dragon (1973)
  • The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather II( 1974)
  • Goodfellas (1990)
  • Jaws (1975)
  • King Kong (1933)
  • The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  • The Matrix (1999)
  • Psycho (1960)
  • Pulp Fiction (1994)
  • Rocky (1976)
  • The Searchers(1956)
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  • The Usual Suspects (1995)
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Thanks to Control Central for the idea.

“The Wrestler” Wrestles

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Last night Mickey Rourke was ringside for Wrestlemania 25.  As you can imagine, Rourke got some ring time and even laid the smackdown on Chris Jericho.  Sounds like fun.

Of course some folks will probably bash or at least question Rourke’s participation in “rasslin’.”  Not me though.  I say if Mickey Rourke wants to get in the ring and have some fun, more power to him.  The only thing that would have made it better is if he’d have won the Oscar!

“28 days” Again

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I’m a fan of “28 days later” and its sequel “28 weeks later” so I was happy to read Boom Studios announce that a new comic series will premiere in July bridging the events between the two movies.  Although a creative team has yet to be announced, this project sounds like it could be a winner.  Especially if the art for the new series is as good as the cover above.

Gary McKee and Jeff Wamester

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Today I posted a quick sketch that I got from Gary McKee in 2007. Gary, Jason Walker and Mike Torrance were offering free head sketches to anyone who purchased their sketchbook. That’s always an enticing deal!

In fact Jeff Wamester just made the same offer and being a fan of his work, I couldn’t pass it up.  Here’s the link if you’re interested, but check to make sure he still has sketchbooks available! [link]

  • Mood:  Satisfied
  • Listening to: September by Earth, Wind and Fire
  • Reading: Patient Zero by Jonathon Mayberry
  • Watching: Apocalypto
  • Playing: with your emotions
  • Eating: Scallops & Artichoke-Mushroom Pasta
  • Drinking: Diet Coke

WWE Hall of Fame

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Although I loved professional wrestling when I was a kid back in the 60’s and early 70’s, I haven’t regularly watched it since my sons lost interest more than a few years ago.  Still, I enjoy seeing clips of old matches/interviews and reading biographies of professional wrestlers.  You wouldn’t believe some of the stories — and that’s just the ones that they’ll share!

Last night the WWE Hall of Fame Inductions included “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ricky “”The Dragon” Steamboat, “Cowboy” Bill Watts, Dory and Terry Funk, announcer Howard Finkle and the Von Erich family.

Here’s a bit of trivia:  Did you know that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is set to co-star with Sly in The Expendables and Terry Funk had featured roles in Sly’s Paradise Alley and Over the Top?

Baseball Cheers

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My nephew, Josh Gonzaga, plays college baseball for the East Tennessee Buccaners.  Today they had a doubleheader against North Florida in Jacksonville.  Since Josh was starting pitcher in the second game, the family decided to drive up.  When I say family, I mean family.  In attendance were Josh’s mom, dad and brother Justin, my nephew Joey and his wife, my wife, my son Mike and his girlfriend Erin, and Grandma Peggy.

Now the one thing you have to know about Grandma Peggy is that she has little interest in sports and knows even less about them.  You could tell her that the pitcher just threw for three touchdowns and she’d not question it.  You could say that the batter just earned a TKO and she’d believe you.  Grandma Peggy was just there because Josh was playing and she loves being with her family.

As the game got underway there were the normal cheers.  “Go Bucs!”  “Give him your best pitch!”  “Great pitch, Josh!”  “Battle back, kid!”  “Come on blue, get in the game!”  There were also a few new [at least to me] cheers: “Hey Blue, I thought only cows slept standing up!”  “Hey Blue, don’t be chicken to call a foul (fowl)!” As the game tightened up and got down to the middle innings it seemed that everyone in the family was cheering something.  And that’s when Grandma Peggy yelled:

“That batter swings like a pole dancer!”

Everyone in the family suddenly got quiet and all eyes went to Grandma Peggy who was proudly smiling.  “Uh, mom, what does that mean?” I asked.  “I don’t know, I just thought it sounded right” came her response.  We all busted out laughing.  For the rest of the game, every so often, you’d hear someone yell, “That batter swings like a pole dancer!”

So if you’re ever at a baseball game and you hear that cheer… remember you read it here first at the ZONE!  [Take THAT, Joey!]

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.