Category: Crime

Eric Beetner Talks RumRunners, Writing Tips and More

If you don’t like Eric Beetner’s crime stories it just means you haven’t read one.  Give The Devil Doesn’t Want MeDig Two GravesA Bouquet of Bullets or any of Beetner’s other crime yarns a try and you’ll be sold.

Beetner also reviews crime novels from time to time and his reviews are short, entertaining and to the point.  Beetner has turned me on to some really good crime novels.

Beetner is also the subject of a short but informative interview by S.W. Lauden where I learned about Rumrunners and few crime yarns Beetner is cooking up for us.

Sherwood Texas #3 by Berryhill and Hillyard

Sherwood Texas is a five issue mini-series published by 12-Gauge Comics.

Sherwood Texas #3

Writer: Shane Berryhill

Artist: Daniel Hillyard

Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

 

It’s time to go on the offensive! Rob Hood and the Jesters hatch a plan to rob John Prince and free the kidnapped Mexican girls he and the Nobles have forced into their sex-slave business. Meanwhile, Maria puts her life on the line for Hood, doing everything she can to bring justice to the men who murdered his father.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Andrew Robinson’s cover [shown above] is the best of the five issues.
  • Daniel Hillyard’s art gets better with each passing issue.
  • “Are you confessing, LJ… or bragging?”  “No difference when it’s the Nobles who I’ve sinned against.”
  • “Well, well. Ain’t you the feisty one.” [And how that reverberates later in the issue.]
  • “Time to cowgirl up, Maria Hoyt” and the next page.

The Bad:

  • How a spilled drink can ruin a plan.
  • “Dear God in Heaven! ******’s BEEN SHOT!”

The Ugly:

  • The Nobles kidnapping girls for profit.

 

Sherwood Texas #3

Rating: 4 out of 5

Z-View: Sherwood, Texas #2 by Berryhill and Hillyard

Sherwood Texas is a five issue mini-series published by 12-Gauge Comics.

Sherwood Texas #2

Writer: Shane Berryhill

Artist: Daniel Hillyard

Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

 

ROB HOOD, shot and left for dead by members of the Nobles Motorcycle Club, has miraculously survived. After a year in hiding, Hood assumes the identity of a mysterious new member of the Jesters MC known only as “Loxley.” As Bike Week begins in Nottingham, Texas, the disguised Hood puts his plans for revenge into motion. Don’t miss the second installment of this bold re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend– only from 12-Gauge Comics!

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Andrew Robinson’s cover [shown above] is even better than last month’s.
  • Daniel Hillyard’s art.
  • Shane Berryhill story continues to update the Robin Hood mythos and add in a few twists.

The Bad:

  • The prospect’s odds of making it out alive — he’s in deep.
  • “Do you know who you’re stealing from?” Oh-oh!

The Ugly:

  • The Princess.

 

Sherwood Texas #2

Rating:

Z-View: Sherwood, Texas #1 by Berryhill and Hillyard

Sherwood Texas is a five issue mini-series published by 12-Gauge Comics.

Sherwood Texas #1

Writer: Shane Berryhill

Artist: Daniel Hillyard

Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

 

Re-imagining the legend of Robin Hood as a modern day Spaghetti Western, SHERWOOD, TX is set inside the world of biker gangs, drug wars, human trafficking, and revenge.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Re-imagining Robin Hood as a modern day tale told through motorcycle gangs.
  • Andrew Robinson provides the cover [shown above].
  • Daniel Hillyard’s art has a Brian Stelfreeze vibe that works.
  • “Well, well, Rob Hood, ain’t you the fiesty one.”

The Bad:

  • Disrespecting the Nobles.

The Ugly:

  • Breaking a pool cue on Little John and not phasing him.
  • Shot twice and left for dead.

 

Sherwood Texas #1

Rating:

24 Things You Might Not Know About “Goodfellas”

Adam D’Arpino presents 24 Things You Might Not Know About Goodfellas.

Regular readers know the drill: using just D’Arpino’s list, here are my three favorite facts…

5. The famous “funny how?” scene wasn’t in the script.

Maybe the most famous (and certainly the most quoted) scene in Goodfellas comes at the beginning, when Pesci’s Tommy DeVito jokingly-yet-uncomfortably accosts Henry Hill for calling him “funny.” In addition to being the driving force behind the scene on screen, Pesci is also responsible for coming up with the premise.

While working in a restaurant, a young Pesci apparently told a mobster that he was funny—a compliment met with a less-than-enthusiastic response. Pesci relayed the anecdote to Scorsese, who decided to include it in the film. Scorsese didn’t include the scene in the shooting script so that Pesci and Liotta’s interactions would elicit surprised and genuine reactions from the supporting cast.

8. Only five murders take place on screen.

Despite its reputation as a violent movie, the number of on-screen deaths actually portrayed in Goodfellas is a surprisingly tame five (Spider, Billy Batts, Stacks Edwards, Morrie, and Tommy), or 10 if you include the results of Jimmy Conway’s handiwork following the Lufthansa heist. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that violence, and the threat of violence, is a constant presence throughout the film. Still, compared to a body count of 214 in John Woo’s Bullet in the Head, released in the same year, or 255 in Saving Private Ryan, or even 24 in Scorsese’s Best Picture winner The Departed, Goodfellas isn’t terribly bloody.

13. The real life Henry Hill was just as surprised as you are that he never got whacked.

Henry Hill’s testimony against some of the most ruthless and powerful Lucchese crime family associates led to roughly 50 convictions, his stint in witness protection was short-lived, and as Hill learns from the very beginning, rule number one in the wiseguy world is “never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.” So why was Hill able to live to be a (relatively) old man and die of natural causes, instead of ultimately meeting a violent end like so many of his past associates?

According to Hill, he had absolutely no idea. In 2010, he told the Telegraph, “It’s surreal, totally surreal, to be here. I never thought I’d reach this wonderful age,” and hypothesized he was still standing simply because “there’s nobody from my era alive today.” Following his death in 2012, The Guardian hypothesized that bureaucratic disorganization in the organized crime world or fame might have kept Hill standing.

Click here for the full list.

Source: Mental_Floss.

 

Who Killed the Black Dahlia? A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect!

Who Killed the Black Dahlia?  A Look at the Most Compelling Suspect by Cheryl Eddy is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in the 68-year-old unsolved case.

Here are a few tidbits….

It was 68 years ago this week that the body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found mutilated and sliced in half in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Newspapers would give the victim of this crime an unforgettable nickname: the Black Dahlia.

Clearly, someone so maniacal would be easy to track down, right?… Clearly not.

Last year, retired LAPD detective turned private investigator turned author Steve Hodel made a splash with fresh evidence in the case against his late father, Dr. George Hodel…  Hodel believes his father killed Short in the basement while the rest of the family was out of town, having confirmed the dates aligned with Short’s murder…(and his father) was actually on the LAPD’s shortlist after the crime…

Source: i09.

Gravedigger by Mills and Burchett Going to Action Lab Entertainment!

Chris Mills announced this week that Gravedigger, the brilliant crime comic that he does with Rick Burchett will begin appearing from Action Lab Entertainment‘s Danger Zone later this year.

Regular readers know that I am a huge fan of both Mills and Burchett [separately] and Gravedigger is one of my all-time favorite comic characters.  Hopefully Action Lab will get enough sales of  two existing Gravedigger sagas – The Scavengers and The Predators to call for a nice hardcover and more Gravedigger yarns.

You can believe that I will keep you posted.

“The Expanse” Trailer — Starring Thomas Jane

I just heard about The Expanse — a ten episode series starring Thomas Jane.  Here’s how the Syfy Channel describes it…

A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expansefollows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

This hour-long, ten episode series is based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Abraham and Franck will be show producers.

Count me in.

Z-View: Men of Wrath #3 by Aaron and Garney

Men of Wrath is a five issue mini-series created by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney published by Marvel.


Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Ron Garney

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

Ira Wrath is ready to pull the trigger on the last remaining member of his family, and bring the story of his bloodline to a violent end.

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Ron Garney’s art.
  • Love the cover!
  • “I still never seen no ocean.”
  • “Now tell me little lady… was I lyin’ then?”
  • “Wasn’t always a preacher. Not in Phu Bau in ’68.”

The Bad:

  • Ira Rath is so bad he is willing to kill his own son for money.
  • It’s a long time since ’68.

The Ugly:

  • The history of the Rath family.

 

Men of Wrath #3 is for mature readers due to mature language and violence.

Rating:

Z-View: Men of Wrath #2 by Aaron & Garney

Men of Wrath is a five issue mini-series created by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney published by Marvel.


Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Ron Garney

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

Dig deeper into the bloodstained history of the Raths, an Alabama family caught in a generational cycle of violence. Are all members of this clan of killers cursed to live and die by the sword, or can one of them break the chain?

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Ron Garney’s art.
  • Milla does an especially nice job of coloring the night scenes.
  • “I’d much rather bury one body than two.”
  • “Kid… I’m sorry.”

The Bad:

  • Catching rabies.
  • How Reuben Rath can earn some extra money.
  • The cover shown above is boring.

The Ugly:

  • Being put down like a dog… a “bad dog.”

 

Men of Wrath #2 is for mature readers due to mature language and violence.

Rating:

Darwyn Cooke’s Revengeance

Darwyn Cooke’s Revengeance has been announced and I can’t wait…

REVENGEANCE is a psychological thriller with darkly humorous overtones. When Joe Malarky is faced with a criminal tragedy, he sets out to make things right on his own. What follows is Joe’s odyssey through the underside of the city and the madness that seems to drive his crazy world. REVENGEANCE takes place in Toronto in the mid-eighties and is part crime story, part psychotronic melodrama, and a wholly fond look back at the author’s hometown.

If Revengeance sounds like your cup of Diet Coke then let your local comic dealer know to order you a copy!

Source: Almost Darwyn Cooke.

Z-View: Shaft #1 by David F. Walker and Bilquis Evely

Shaft is an on-going series published by Dynamite.  Shaft created by Ernest Tidyman.

Writer: David F. Walker

Artist: Bilquis Evely

Colorist: Daniel Miwa

Cover Shown: Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz & Ivan Nunes

Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine with all the chicks? Shaft! Created by author Ernest Tidyman, and made famous in a series of novels and films, iconic hero Shaft makes his comic book debut in an all-new adventure. He’s gone toe-to-toe with organized crime bosses, stood up to the cops, squared off against kidnappers, and foiled assassination attempts. But who was John Shaft before he became the hardboiled investigator with a reputation as big as New York City itself?

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

The Good

  • Ernest Tidyman’s John Shaft gets his own comic!
  • 10 Cool Variant Covers: Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz & Ivan Nunes’ cover [shown above] is my favorite followed by covers created by Sanford Greene, Francesco Francavilla, Matt Haley, Michael Avon Oeming and Ulises Farinas.
  • Love the art by Bilquis Evely.
  • Daniel Miwa’s colors compliment Evely nicely.

The Bad:

  • Juius Tate and Knocks Persons.

The Ugly:

  • What happens when you don’t take a dive ordered by Junius Tate and Knocks Persons.

 

Shaft #1 should appeal to fans of the Shaft movies and is for mature audiences due to adult language.

Rating: 5 out of 5