Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Newsarama has a brief interview with writer Glen Brunswick about his upcoming miniseries, Killing Girl which hits the stands next week. Brunswick teamed with artist Frank (Rocketo) Espinosa to create a series that is worth a look.
We’ve been talking about “Shoot ’em Up” since it was just an interesting idea waiting to happen. It’s been cool keeping tabs as the movie was announced, stars were named, it began filming and moving closer to its premiere. Now the official website is open. And we’re another step closer to September 7th!
Hard to believe, but that’s a photo of me that appeared in 1980 on the inside front cover of Bill Black’s Fun Comics #1. Although it was 27 years ago, it seems like yesterday… ok, maybe not really yesterday, but definitely not 27 years ago.
OrlandoCon 1980. Bill Black, Jim Ivey, and Mike Kott were all friends of mine [still are in fact] and the main men behind OrlandoCon. That year Jock Mahoney was the media guest of honor.
Jock had a long, successful career in movies and on tv. He started out as a stuntman, but soon was playing the lead as The Range Rider, Yancy Derringer, Tarzan [in 3 movies], and in so many other roles. Jock was also Sally Field’s stepfather!
Because of my connections with Bill, Jim and Mike, I was able to appear on stage with Jock when he did some demonstrations of how fights are filmed for movies. Jock was a great guest. He even posed with Bill and his wife Rebecca for the fumetti below. Hard to believe that it was done over 1/4 century ago…
ComicBookResources.com has an interesting little piece on George “Night of the Living Dead” Romero. Be advised that the article does contain some words that would earn it an “R” rating if it was a movie!
Tom Snyder, best known for his late night talk show, Tomorrow (which aired at 1am after The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), died yesterday at the age of 71.
Younger ZONErs may not know of Tom Snyder, but I fondly remember staying up late to catch his show during the summer when I was in junior high and high school. At the time, Snyder seemed like no other talk show host on television. His sets were minimal, but his guests and topics more than made up for the lack of showbiz glitz. He was cool, but not hip. Most of all, Snyder seemed like a real guy, not a tv show host. I enjoyed the hours I spent watching his programs and the memories that remain.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.
And speaking of Steve Niles [as we just were], he must be absolutely loving how the movie adaptation of his classic “30 Days of Night” graphic novel is coming along. Over at the “30 Days of Night” movie website, they’ve just added an “R” rated trailer and additional scenes from the movie. This is NOT appropriate for all ages, but those who are of age and enjoy this type of movie are going to dig it.
Wolfman vs Dracula.The title alone should be enough to get people to pick up the comic. Throw in Frank Frazetta and Steve Niles and you should be guaranteed a winner. Of all of the comics that will be in Frazetta’s Universe, this was the one that immediately sprung to mind as the one that I’d want to see.
We have over 2 million people locked up in US prisons. Conditions are usually tough. Gangs, violence and drugs are rampant. Everyone cries out for a solution and yet no one really knows what should be done… until now.
It seems that a prison in the Philippines has a program that all inmates enjoy and participate in. I give you the 1,500+ inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines in their version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Greg Rucka, one of my favorite novelists, has announced that he’ll be writing a new detective series called Stumptown that takes place in the same world as his novels!Although Rucka has been writing award-winning [Whiteout — soon to be a major motion picture] and fan favorite comics [Queen & Country, Gotham Central, etc] for some time, it is his five Atticus Kodiac novels [Finder, Keeper, Smoker, Shooting at Midnight, and Critical Space] that put him on my “must buy” list.
Rucka has a new Atticus Kodiac novel, Patriot Acts, coming out next month. It’s already on my pre-order list!
Over at The Big Heat rates an A
When I was a kid, I loved “Dark Shadows”. For a time it was one of my favorite shows. Barnabas Collins was the man!
Johnny Depp has just signed to play tv’s coolest vampire in a movie version of “Dark Shadows”. Depp is an excellent choice and here’s to hoping that the big-screen versions of Barnabus and “Dark Shadows” live up to the legacy started on the tube.
ComicBookResources.com posted a report today that Image comics will be expanding their take on “Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer” into several series based on other Frazetta paintings. As I read the piece, I started thinking, this could be very cool if done correctly. Then I read…
“The Silver Warrior” is a four-issue mini-series by Fotos, Nat Jones and Joshua Ortega. One-shots include Rick Remender on Frazetta’s “Creatures,” “Swamp Demon” written by Joshua Ortega, Steve Niles handling “Dracula Meets The Wolfman,” and Mark Kidwell doing the same for “Dark Kingdom.”
Nearly four years ago issue #1 of The Walking Dead hit the stands. I bought it and really dug both the art and story. I soon discovered that I wasn’t alone. A lot of people were buying and loving it!
Before long The Walking Dead was my favorite comic. After the first six issues, artist Tony Moore left the regular art chores and Charlie Adlard took up the slack. The book remained my favorite regularly published comic.
Each month The Walking Dead was the comic that I most looked forward to reading. From time to time, I’d talk up the series so that ZONErs who’d never heard of it would have a chance to jump on board. Robert [creator of The Walking Dead] Kirkman’s interview at Newsarama.com reminded me that I hadn’t crowed about The Walking Dead in a while.
So I decided to remedy that with this post.
The Walking Dead Book 1 [Collects the first 12 issues in an affordable hardcover] A+ rating
The Walking Dead Book 2 [Collects the second 12 issues in an affordable hardcover] A+ rating
Today I thought we could take a look at Six of the All-Time Best Movie Fights. First, some parameters… let’s limit the fights to people [no King Kong vs T-Rex], let’s limit the special effects [no Neo vs Agent Smith], and let’s try to limit the weapons.5. Nada [Roddy Piper] vs. Frank [David Keith] in They Live
4. Chaney [Charles Bronson] vs. Jim Henry [Robert Tessier] in Hard Times
3. A Number 1[Lee Marvin] vs. Shack [Ernest Borgnine] from Emperor of the North
2. Rocky Balboa [Sylvester Stallone] vs. any opponent in Rocky – Rocky Balboa
1. Lee [Bruce Lee] vs. everyone from Enter the Dragon
So what did I forget?
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are tearing it up with their series, Criminal. I know I’ve mentioned my love for their work a time or two, but it was Phillips’ stunning cover above that reminded me to spread the word a bit more. And don’t forget to pick-up the monthly issues or the first trade paperback.
You’ll be glad you did.
