Heroes Con 07 Report

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Heroes Con 2007 was a blast. Rather than go into a lengthy con report, I thought I’d post up some pictures and my thoughts. Hope you enjoy them half as much as I did the show…

This is the crew that I hung with for most of the weekend. Starting at the left and working around the table, my oldest son Mike, “The James”, Raf Kayanan, John Beatty, Andrew Robinson, Matt, Lazenby and Hal. Getting together with these guys is always a blast. Raf, Beatty and Andrew were set up at the con next to each other [Bob McLeod, Derec Donovan and John Dell were also within reach] so it was a pretty hopping spot. Originally Dave Johnson was supposed to be set up in the same area, but unfortunately he couldn’t make it this year.

That’s Matt Fraction pictured above. He’s about to autograph my copy of Last of the Independents which I highly recommend! It was my first time meeting Matt who also writes the popular Casanova comic series.

Rick Remender not only autographed my Doll and Creature graphic novel [review coming soon], but did an amazing piece for my Stallone gallery. I’ll post it once it’s scanned. Rick said that The Last Days of American Crime is in the works. I can’t wait. Rick has so many irons in the fire with Fear Agent, Sea of Red, Strange Girl and more that I was starting to think that he’d never get to it.

Another first was meeting Kyle Baker. I’m a huge fan of Kyle’s work. You Are Here is one of my all time favorite graphic novels. Kyle signed mine and told me his an idea for a sequel. I truly hope that someday he’s able to do it. I also picked up Kyle Baker Cartoonist Volume 1 & Volume 2 and Nat Turner Volume 1 & Volume 2. I was also lucky enough to get a Rocky sketch from Kyle [which I’ll post later]. Kyle Baker is an amazing talent and it was a pleasure meeting him.

One of the best parts of each Heroes Convention is watching artists create pieces for the auction. That’s Craig Hamilton working on his “300” piece. Craig’s an amazing artist who puts some much thought into everything he does. One of the cool things about Craig’s painting is that it works both horizontally [as seen above] or vertically! Tony Harris worked on a wicked “Phantom of the Opera” piece, while Phil Noto brought Batman, Batgirl and Catwoman together as Andrew Robinson started “After the Parade” .

That’s Gus Vasquez and his lil cousin Rosario Dawson. [Yeah, Rosario Dawson as in “Sin City”, “Grindhouse”, “Clerks 2”, and a whole lot more!] Rosario and Gus were back as special guests of the show and also the auctioneers! They did a great job and a new record was set when Adam Hughes’ Star Wars painting topped out at $5K!


It was so cool just to spend the weekend among friends, many of whom happen to be talented artists. Andrew Robinson definitely falls into both categories. The drawing above and this one are just two pieces that Andrew had created for his latest sketchbook. I was also lucky to see an advance copy of Andrew’s new art book that will be coming from Alberto Ruiz’s Brandstudio Press. Andrew’s book is going to be a hot seller and I can’t wait to get my copy!

Raf and Alberto spoke and Raf may have an “art of” book coming soon. I can’t believe I didn’t get any pictures of any of the sketches Raf produced. I was just too in awe of his work since it had been so many years since I’d been able to sit and watch him draw. I did get this shot and this one of two Punisher sketches that Beatty worked up for some lucky fans.

I guess I was just too busy actually talking to friends [Gary McKee, Jason Walker, and Eric Layton to name just three] and saying “hi” to artists [Jeff Parker, Brian Stelfreeze, Cully Hamner, Adam & Alison, Casey Jones, Cliff Chang, Tommy Lee Edwards and so many others] that I didn’t take many pictures. I promise I’ll do better next year… but please understand, no one does it as well as Pat Sun.

I was able to get some great additions to for my Stallone sketch collection. That’s Mike Wieringo pictured above. Mike’s blog is regular reading for me, not only because of his great sketches, but because of his thoughts about each sketch. When I contacted him about a Rocky sketch he posted after seeing “Rocky Balboa”, he said I could pick it up at Heroes. Mike was also selling a sketchbook and with each book purchased fans got a free sketch. Talk about a great deal! I picked up a sketchbook and got Mike’s take on Jack Carter as a bonus. [I’ll post it soon.]In addition to the two sketches I got from Mike Wieringo, I also was able to get one each from Rick Remender and Kyle Baker. Andrew Robinson did a cool Rocky for me before arriving at the show. So did Andy Smith. Megan Ruiz [Alberto’s daughter — a true prodigy] came through with Rambo. I also was able to get on Robin Mitchell’s sketch list and come home with The Art of Robin Mitchell, Volume 1 and his take on Cosmo Carboni from Paradise Alley. I’ll post all of these sketches once I get them scanned.

If you’ve made it with me this far, then you know a good time was had by all. Thank you and good night!

Ultimate Fighter & Kimbo

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Last night The Ultimate Fighter Finale took place. There were several very good fights including Manny Gamburyan Vs. Nathan Diaz for the “title” and Jens Pulver fighting BJ Penn to settle an old score. Before we look at those fights, let’s check out the under card.

Cole Miller easily beat Andy Wang by a TKO at 1:10 of the first round. Miller is one of those guys that doesn’t look tough, but is.

Joe Lauzon is another kid who doesn’t look tough, but he proved otherwise when he beat Brandon Melendez with a rear naked choke at 2:09 of the second round.

Although Doug Evans seemed to easily win the first round, Roger Huerta won by a TKO in the second.

In the most controversial fight of the night, Gray Maynard and Rob Emerson’s bout was labeled a “No Contest”. Maynard dominated the first round and looked to end things in the second when he picked Emerson up and slammed him to the mat. Emerson was already in pain and the slam was sure to end it. When they hit the mat, Emerson tapped and the fight was over… except for the decision… which was ruled a no contest. Here’s why: when Maynard drove Emerson to the mat, he also slammed his own head into it and knocked himself out! The decision was that since neither man was able to continue, the fight was ruled a “No Contest”.

In a post fight interview Maynard tried to argue that he wasn’t out, but simply tired. This was patently NOT THE CASE. Maynard was knocked senseless by his own slam and to argue otherwise [especially as the video of him with his eyes rolled back and then waking up and trying to raise up but instead falling over] was ridiculous. I do think that an argument could be made that since Emerson tapped before it was clear that Maynard was out, he should have won. Maynard was dominating and had he not knocked himself out would have won.

Manny Gamburyan Vs. Nathan Diaz was somewhat anti-climatic. Gamburyan won the first round despite repeated efforts by Diaz to gain a submission. The second round ended abruptly when Gamburyan shot in for a takedown and dislocated his own shoulder! [At least he didn’t knock himself out.] Diaz was awarded the “title” of the Ultimate Fighter for season five and a six figure contract with the UFC.

The final fight of the night was Penn vs Pulver. Penn had won in their previous meeting five years ago. There had been bad blood between them since. That all ended when BJ Penn submitted Pulver with a rear naked choke at 3:12 of the second round. Both Penn and Pulver congratulated each other on a tough fight and even agreed to work together in the future. I was glad to see that their feud had ended. I like both of these guys and couldn’t decide who I would pull for. Ultimately, I like that Penn won and things were settled.

Season Six of the Ultimate Fighter is set to have Matt Serra and Matt Hughes as opposing coaches and we can be sure that they’ll fight in the finale.

In other MMA news: last night Kimbo Slice easily won his mixed martial arts debut against 46-year old former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer. Kimbo submittd Mercer with a guillotine at 1:12 into the first round. Kimbo then issued a post fight challenge to “Tank” Abbott to fight on September 14th. Kimbo is best known for his extremely popular “underground” fights that began appearing on You-Tube. It will be interesting to see how Kimbo does when he meets an real MMA fighter.

Simmons Doesn’t Kiss Up

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Although I wouldn’t call The Henry Rollins Show a favorite, I do find myself occasionally tuning in to listen to his rants and his guests. Rollins is extremely opinionated and vocal. The episode today, which featured Gene Simmons of Kiss was particularly interesting because Rollins and Simmons came off as polar opposites.Rollins gives off a working class vibe. Each week he is dressed in t-shirt and jeans and his set has the abandoned warehouse look. It’s obvious that Rollins cultivates the “I’m just an everyman” appeal. Simmons on the other hand, never backed away from how rich he is and that he doesn’t care about how Kiss is perceived. He was cocky, but honest in all of his responses. When Rollins questioned him about how Kiss has merchandised everything from Visa cards to caskets, Simmons stopped him short with his response. Simmons said that ALL bands sell t-shirts and once you cross that line into merchandising it’s no longer about the music. It’s about making a few extra bucks. So why do people get upset that Kiss has optimized their merchandising power? LOL!

Now I’m not a Gene Simmons or Kiss fan [although I did like their song “Beth”], but I have to admit that I found Simmons and his “this is who I really am attitude” interesting. I know that Simmons has his own show on A&E and I’m not intrigued enough to start tuning in. I just wanted to give him props for his honest answers and not “kissing up” or coming across as another “everyman.”

 

Trouble is Their Business

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Variety has announced that Frank Miller is set to adapt Raymond Chandler’s “Trouble Is My Business” for the big screen with Clive Owen taking on the starring role of Phillip Marlowe. The hope is that this will kick off a series of films with Owen returning in each as the classic PI.Miller and Owen worked together on “Sin City” and so their re-teaming seems a natural. Owen was quoted as saying: “Frank Miller knows more about noir than anyone I have ever met, and clearly the writing of Raymond Chandler has been an enormous influence on his life and his work. Miller adapting Chandler seemed like a perfect match.” I couldn’t agree more.

Back in the ZONE

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Ah, it’s good to be back home again from a well-needed family vacation. Part of the trip was spent at Heroes Con where I was able to hang with friends I see way too rarely, pick up some new Stallone sketches and relax. Heroes Con is always a great show and I’ll post up my con report later this week… but now on to other blogworthy topics!

HERE is Crimeland

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Crimeland is a graphic novel by writers Felipe Ferreira & Ivan Brandon and artist Rafael Albuquerque that you might want to pick up. I’m putting in my order for a copy. If the story seems familiar it’s because I first told you about the comic HERE and then HERE and even provided a link to a preview of the book HERE.

Jericho to Rise Again

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It looks like CBS will bring back the recently canceled “Jericho” thanks to thousands of calls, messages and even shipments of nuts from fans of the show. “Jericho” fans arranged for a delivery of 50,000 pounds of peanuts to CBS’s New York offices. In the season finale, a character replies “Nuts!” to a demand that the town of Jericho surrender or be slaughtered. Since the show was canceled, fans of the show joined together and created a concentrated effort to bring the show back. There efforts look to have paid off since a source close to the production has been quoted as saying a decision to bring the show back at least for a midseason run, is imminent.
So Chad, is it ok to stop calling shenanigans on CBS?

Rate Yourself

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I know that all ZONErs are intelligent, perceptive and alert. Want to see just how intelligent, perceptive and alert you are? Watch the amazing color changing card trick and rate yourself!