Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Are you enjoying the American Vampire mini-series by writers Scott Snyder and Stephen King with art by Rafael Albuqerque?
If so (and even if you’re not), you might get a kick out of this post by Mark Doyle over at the Official Vertigo Blog. In it, Doyle takes us through the steps and changes that went in to the creation of the cover to American Vampire #3.
I am really not feeling the Predators poster above or this one here. First of all neither tag line works.
Above: “They are the most dangerous killers on the planet. This is not our planet.” Huh? Perhaps it would have been better had it read, “They are the most dangerous killers on our planet. This is not our planet.” And the tag line for the second poster, “Fear is reborn” is equally as bad. Does Adrian Brody look even the least bit scared? Nope. Worried? Nope. “Fear is reborn” indeed.
Let’s not forget the layouts on both. (Or better yet, let’s do.) Above: They look like a team with the leader being the huge shadow creature — is that a Predator? While the second poster makes it look like Adrian Brody is giving a Predator a piggyback ride.
I was really hoping for cool posters to go with a cool movie. Let’s hope that these are not signs of the movie to come.
How often do you get something good for free?
Well, if you’re a regular reader of Francesco Francavilla’s blog, pretty often would be the correct answer. So head on over and enjoy!
Dave Wachter and Jim Clark created a web comic, The Guns of Shadow Valley, which was recently nominated for an Eisner award. Although Jim’s name may be new to you, regular ZONE readers should know Dave’s because of my posts about the Stallone pieces he’s drawn for me.
At any rate, here’s an interview from the good folks at Fandomania with both Dave and Jim about their creation The Guns of Shadow Valley…
“Somewhere in the mysterious Shadow Valley lies a secret that could forever change the face of the frontier. To protect that secret, a posse of gunmen with special abilities must come together and defend against a tribe of ghostly warriors, an advancing army led by a deranged Colonel, and the perils of the valley itself.”
If you’re not a fan of Jonathan Maberry, it just means you haven’t read his action/horror novel Patient Zero. It’s been described as 24 meets Dawn of the Dead and it actually lives up to that hype on both counts. [Yes, it’s that good.]
Dark Recesses magazine has a very informative interview with Jonathan Maberry right here. My guess is if you’re already a Maberry fan, you’ll really enjoy it. If you’re not a fan, there’s a good chance that once you read the interview, you will be.
I’ve never been a fan of any of The Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but I have to admit I like this motion poster for the reboot.
IMPAwards.com scored a first look at the Japanese poster for Survival of the Dead. I like the perspective on the zombie girl’s hand, but everything else is pretty generic for a zombie poster. Oh yeah, the two dueling [?] guys at the top of the poster is kind of interesting.
You can see a zombified-huge version of the poster at IMPAwards.
A few weeks ago we took a look at some cool redesigns of classic Hitchcock movie posters created by Laz Marquez. Now Marquez is back with the same treatment for four classic Stephen King novels.
Thanks to Neatorama for the original link.
If the title [Hellboy in Mexico (Or a Drunken Blure] doesn’t suck you in, and the Corben cover doesn’t do the trick, then maybe the Dark Horse Comics summary will…
During the 1950s, Hellboy caravans across Mexico with a trio of vampire-killing luchadores, finding the undead; evil turkeys; a terrible bat god; and a little too much tequila.
Reuniting Mike Mignola and Richard Corben, the creative team behind the Eisner Award-winning miniseries Hellboy: The Crooked Man!
There’s also a variant Mignola cover. Make sure you let your local comic shop know you want a copy because this one shot is sure to go fast!
The Pitch: Cowboys and Vampires, oh and did I mention Stephen King wrote one of the stories?
The Overview: Two stories [one written by Scott Snyder and the other by Stephen King, both with amazingly good art by Rafael Albuqerque] combine to tell the tale of Skinner Sweet. In 1880, Sweet was an outlaw in the wild west. That was also the year that he became a vampire. Jump forward 45 years. A young woman named Pearl comes to Hollywood to make her fortune in the movies. Things are rough, but she has no idea how bad things can get until vampires are thrown in the mix, and I’m not just talking about Summer Sweet.
The Good: Both stories are excellent. The concept works. Rafael Albuquerque’s art is a joy. Love the characters, especially Pearl. Summer Sweet’s appearances in Pearl’s story is well done. I am looking forward to more about the vampires in Hollywood. Alburquerque draws a great western! Love the foreshadowing with the big, bald guy.
The Bad: Going to a Hollywood party hosted by vampires. Shooting a vampire and it only ticks him off.
The Ugly: What happens to guests at parties hosted by vampires. What happens when you tick off a vampire.
The Summary: I loved the first issue. Everyone involved did a bang-up job and I look forward to the second issue. American Vampire #1 is available now.
Earlier today AMC ordered six episodes of The Walking Dead based on Robert Kirkman’s comic series. Frank [The Mist; The Shawshank Redemption] Darabont is writing and directing the pilot for an October premiere.
The red band trailer for Survival of the Dead is now available.
I have mixed feelings about this poster for Predators. I like the idea and the black and white photography. I guess the two things that bug me most are: 1] The Predator’s arm seems pretty small and not near long enough and 2] The movie is called Predators — at least hint that there is more than one.
Maybe I’m just being too picky, because I think this movie is going to be a winner.
Want to see a huge version of the poster above? Then click over to IMPAwards and check it out!
Since I’ve been out of town at MegaCon, I may be a bit behind the curve on the news that the Predators movie site has gone live. There’s a gallery, a synopsis of the movie and some behind the scenes stuff introduced by executive producer, Robert Rodriguez. If you haven’t seen the site already, it’s worth a look… or two.
You’ve heard me sing the praises [well, write ’em anyway] of Jonathan Maberry before. If you read his first Joe Ledger novel, Patient Zero, then you’re a fan of his work. [If you haven’t read it, you should. Yeah, it’s that good great.]
Maberry’s second Ledger novel, The Dragon Factory, is now available. [Yes, I’ve already got my copy!] Maberry talks about Joe Ledger, and more in a great little interview over at StaticEchoes.com. Here’s a bit of what Maberry has to say:
I always loved the thinking hero, so Joe Ledger grew out of that; and I dug the concept of villains who were smart and devious, and who sometimes used the appearance of the supernatural as a smokescreen. In a lot of ways my villains owe more to the pulps than they do to, say, James Bond.
…the second Joe Ledger novel.. deals with geneticists using transgenic science for ethnic cleansing and to complete the Nazi Master Race program. Lots of monsters and mutations…
The Dragon Factory also has about twice the action –and Patient Zero had a lot—but I dial things way up in the second book.
You can [and should] read the entire interview by clicking here.
FilmFilia scored a first look a the red band trailer and some new posters for George Romero’s Survival of the Dead. Although I’m not feeling the poster or the trailer like I hoped I would, you know at some point I’m going to have to check out Survival of the Dead. I mean, c’mon, it’s George Romero and zombies. Which is, pardon the expression a No BRAINSer.
