Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
One of my all-time favorite series is The Shield.
So I was interested in which character The Shield Personality Quiz would give me. It’s rare that you hope to NOT be the main character.
As you can see I ended up with Curtis “Lemonhead” Lemansky. On The Shield he is one of the best you could hope for.
Undertow is an on-going series created by Steve Orlando & Artyom Trakhanov published by Image.
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Artyom Trakhanov
Atlantis is the world superpower, and Redum Anshargal is its worst enemy. If you want to break free of the system, he can offer you a place at his side, exploring the wild surface world in his watertight city barge The Deliverer. He and his hostage-protege Ukinnu Alal hunt the Amphibian, a legend that could be the key to an air-breathing life on land. But as they become the hunted, can Anshargal’s team survive long enough to turn the tables on the godlike beast they set out for?
The Pitch: ”Hey, the world needs a comic set in Atlantis featuring a fully developed world from issue one, with a story that expects a lot from the readers, doesn’t dumb things down and features art smart enough to match the story.”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “You can die right here or be reborn.”
The Overview: Ukinnu Alal was an Atlantean born to privilege. Growing up, Alal‘s potential friends had to be vetted before he could even meet them, Alal attended the best private schools. Upon graduation his marriage to a trophy wife and office job were pre-determined and waiting. It wasn’t until Alal joined the military that he was truly free.
We meet Alal in the middle of a terrible undersea battle against soldiers led by Redum Anshargal. Anshargal‘s troops are brutally slaughtering Alal’s Atlantean soldiers. Alal faces certain death. Anshargal appears and offers Alal a chance not only to live but to join Anshargal in a quest to break free from the yoke of Atlantis and explore the world above.
*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***
The Good
The Bad:
The Ugly:
I liked Undertow and have a feeling that it is going to just get better and better with each new issue. I want to know more about Redum Anshargal‘s back story. It will be interesting to learn why Ukinnu Alal was allowed to live and more importantly why Anshargal has brought him into his inner circle.
Rating: 3 out of 5
The White Suits is a four issue mini-series created by Frank Barbiere & Toby Cypress published by Dark Horse Comics.
Writer: Frank Barbiere
Artist: Toby Cypress
Mysterious killers dressed in white, they savaged the Cold War Russian underworld—then disappeared. Now they have resurfaced in New York, leaving a trail of dead mobsters. In this bloody wake, an amnesiac and an FBI agent search for the answer to a single question: Who are the White Suits?
The Pitch: “Mysterious hit men, a resourceful female FBI agent with a personal quest and a tough guy suffering from retrograde amnesia. What do ya say?”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “Sometimes you can tear a memory wide open.”
The Overview: The White Suits, mysterious hit men who took on the Russian underworld, have resurfaced in the US and are now going after American mobsters. Sarah Anderson was a little girl when her dad disappeared along with The White Suits. How and why is a mystery. She’s now a FBI agent now and wants answers. We also have a man with a violent past who suffers from retrograde amnesia. The three are on a violent collision course.”
*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***
The Good
The Bad:
The Ugly:
I’m a sucker for crime fiction. Especially well done crime fiction. The White Suits qualifies on both counts. Bring on issue 2!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Recently while cruising alone the virtual highway known as the internet I came across these three Star Wars posters. They were available in the early 1980’s at Burger Chef when you purchased one of their meals. I know this not because I read it in the poster descriptions but because I worked at Burger Chef in that same time period.
While the posters were popular, when the promotion ended we were left with several boxes of unsold posters. My boss was at a loss. He couldn’t send them back. He didn’t want to throw them away. He sure wasn’t going to give them away.
I had a friend named Mike Kott. Mike and I played poker on a regular basis and shared a mutual interest in comic books, comic art, movies and the like. Mike ran (and still runs The Intergalactic Trading Company). I knew Mike would buy the posters if he could make a profit on them.
So I told my boss that I knew a guy who’d buy the posters if the price was right. My boss figured that if he sold them at cost he’d be ahead of the game. He told me the amount which was pennies per poster.
I contacted Mike and the deal was done. My boss was happy and Mike was thrilled. He even tossed me $100 for making the deal! (Remember this was the early 80’s, I was working my way through college and working part time at Burger Chef. 100 bucks was big money… at least for me.)
Mike told me that he’d sell the posters for a few bucks a piece and though it may take him a while, he’d do more than alright on the deal. I just checked and he still has a few of those posters available if you’re interested.
I know Mike said it might take him a while to sell all those posters, but I wonder if he thought that over 30 years later, he’d still have some in his inventory.
I have more Mike Kott stories that I’ll share… in the near future I’ll tell you about Mike Kott and the Burger King Star Wars posters.
Listverse recently posted 10 Ancient Murder Mysteries that We’ll Never Solve.
The article is interesting reading for the not-faint-of-heart since it contains cannibalism, “ritual killings, revenge, rival culling, and genocide.” It is amazing how scientists can piece together so much information about events that happened so long ago.
Jeremy Treece has created art for comic books, trading cards, animation and independent films. Last week I posted Treece’s take on Sly Stallone.
Today I want to share the quickie sketch that Jeremy drew on one of the backing boards sent to protect the art. Gotta love it!
You can see more of Jeremy’s art here… and hopefully again here at the SZ in the future.
On February 24, 2014, The Playlist ran an article by Gabe Toro titled 12 Action Stars Who Still Kicked Butt After 60. The nicely written piece features Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Takeshi Kitano, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Trejo, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Christopher Lee and Sylvester Stallone.
Here’s a bit of what Toro had to say about Sly…
His Career Pre-60: Stallone rose to fame as the Italian Stallion, achieving immortality as “Rocky,” using the underdog sports story to launch an unmatched career in action films…
As Rocky, Stallone is slipping on a warm coat, and this is easily his most touching, low-key performance.
Emboldened by the success of “Rocky Balboa,” Stallone jumped at the chance to return to the world of leading men, uniting the shiniest action stars of yesterday by kick-starting “The Expendables” as a franchise, where Stallone would rub shoulders with legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.
Stallone remains in improbable action hero shape, ready to impress once again in this summer’s “The Expendables 3.”
I really enjoyed Toro‘s article and my only question is, “Why No John Wayne?”
The Halloween figures above are customs made by Dan Polydoris. Dan who runs the Chicago Toy Collector Blog explains how he made the figures…
Admittedly, Captain Kirk and Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard seem like an unlikely team. But they actually ended up being the perfect models for my new customs. Best of all, each one required very minor “plastic” surgery…
Myers is just Captain Kirk with a white face and new hair. He’s wearing a Planet of the ApesAstronaut outfit without the zipper. Loomis is just Boss Hogg with a goatee and a slight haircut (in the back). His trench coat is a modified Barbie trench made for 12″ figures.
Did you happen to catch Puddles: The Sad Clown with the Golden Voice when he sang on the Headline News Network?
You know there aren’t many performers I’d care to watch in concert, but Puddles’ show is one I’d go to.
Batman vs Terminator.
