Jeremy Treece Rocks Rambo

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Jeremy Treece has created art for comic books, trading cards, animation and independent films. Not too long ago, Jeremy was sketching live on U-Stream in a marathon session. My buddy, John Beatty called me to say that he’d ordered a couple of pieces for me. The first was his take on a young Rambo. [JB also requested a Barney Ross of The Expendables and I ordered up a Jack Carter — they’ll be posted in the future.]

You can see more of Jeremy’s art here… and definitely again here at the SZ in the future.

The Urbanbarbarian Speaks

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One of my favorite artists, Dan Panosian is featured in an interview with Chris Arrant over at Newsarama.  Here are a few quotes from the Dan…

  • Dave Johnson, Jeff Johnson and I started Drink and Draw in early 2005 and it’s taken off like Fight Club around the globe. There are literally Drink and Draw Chapters all over the country and all over the world. It’s amazing.
  • Comic Twart is a real honor to be a part of and a great excuse to draw some eclectic/off beat character studies.
  • The Retro 70’s Luke Cage/Iron Fist pin-up/pitch you mentioned was something I really wanted to see Marvel do. I wrote a very fun script for what could be a four issue limited series and I was genuinely thrilled by the tons and tons of re-posts across the internet clamoring for it to happen.
  • I got into the comic business because I loved the Conan comic book so much. Even my website, www.UrbanBabarian.com is a homage to Conan…  I’m drawing issues 9-10 of Conan: Road of Kings written by Roy Thomas for Dark Horse. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am. It’s a dream of mine to work on this book.

Dan also discusses his start in comics, how he hooked up with Image in the early days, what he was doing when he “disappeared” from comics, his work on video games and a character called Duke Nukem, and much, much more.

Captain America Poster… Blues

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This is the first thing relating to the new Captain America movie that I’ve seen that I haven’t really liked.  This poster could have been so much better… the Red Skull should have looked more menacing… Cap should have looked bigger/broader and in a more action pose… Dum Dum Dugan should have been much bigger…

The good news is the poster may not be up to par, but the movie looks to rock.

EGG: Hard-Boiled Stories #1

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Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #1 is a rare find in comics these days.  First of all, it’s an anthology.  Second, every tale is excellent in both story [all written by Eric Skillman] and art [Jorge Coelho, Joe Dellagatta, Dan Duncan, Jhomar Soriano and Connor Willumsen].  Let’s look at the issue…

These Kids Today by Eric Skillman and Connor Willumsen kicks off the issue with a three page story that packs a gut-punch ending.  A somewhat older [wiser?] guy decides to hook up with a young babe who’s mad at her boyfriend and looking for a good time.  Needless to say, good times ensue… for a bit.  I didn’t see the ending coming and that made me love it all the more.   I really liked how the line art and colors worked on this story.

Our second tale, Below the Fold teams Eric Skillman with Jorge Coelho in an eight page story about a reporter who needs to break a major story in order to keep her job.  Her luck turns when she discovers information that would save her career… but cost her much more.

Next up is Eric Skillman and Jhomar Soriano teaming to bring us Uninvited, a three page tale of suspense.  Kate Carville is the lead prosecutor against a mob boss in a trial set to start the following morning.  Kate is home alone prepping for the case when she hears someone in her house.

As I was reading this short tale I was thinking that I’d really like to see Skillman and Soriano team for a graphic novel.  I was thrilled to learn that they did [Liar’s Kiss] and that it would live up to my high expectations [future review coming].

The Real Thing [by Eric Skillman and Dan Duncan] explores what happens when a con man set to score big discovers that a female con artist is also working the same guy.  Can they trust each other so that everyone, except the mark, comes out ahead?

Our final tale is Spared by Eric Skillman and Joe Dellagatta.  It’s every woman’s nightmare to be traveling alone on a deserted road and for the car to breakdown.  That’s exactly what happens to Kristen.  Perhaps things are looking up when a stranger stops to help.  Perhaps not.  I foresaw a couple of different endings to this tale, but not the one that Skillman and Dellagatta delivered.  THAT is the sign of good storytelling.  Special props for the coloring of this story as well.

So there you have it.  Five excellent crime stories by Eric Skillman and five talented artists.  If you’ve read this far, then  Egg: Hard-Boiled Stories #1 should find a home in your collection.