Category: Crime

There’s a Killer on the Road

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A passerby found the severed head on Feb. 10, wrapped in two plastic bags and stuffed inside a backpack in Barstow, Calif. Authorities still haven’t identified the victim or her killer, but the circumstances point in a particular direction

So begins Blake Morrison’s article on highway serial killers for the USAToday.  According to Morrison…

,…In the past four decades, 459 deaths and 41 attempted homicides are believed to be linked to serial killers who are using the nation’s highways to find and dispose of their victims.

Although the story has the makings of a very creepy movie or novel, it’s even more frightening to imagine that it’s true.  You can read the full article and check out how many “highway killings” in each state are thought to be the work of serial killers by clicking here.

Darwyn Cooke Takes on The Outfit

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Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s classic crime novel The Outfit is now available.  In case you’re late getting in the game, The Outfit is Cooke’s follow-up to his award-winning adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Hunter.  Stark aka Donald Westlake gave his blessing to the original plus three additional adaptations.  In honor of the release of The Outfit Darwyn Cooke sat down for an in-depth interview with Tucker Stone for the Comics Alliance.  Here’s a taste:

Palance was Westlake’s only visual reference. When I changed Parker, the idea was always to use plastic surgery as a metaphor for his emotional regression. He’s meant to look like a rawer, more stripped down version of himself… His jaw, and most importantly, his eyes, are the same. The rest is meant to reflect a man drained of things like remorse and compassion. A loveless, unadorned man.

I’ve got two more of these books to do. My plan is to finish the fourth one for my 50th birthday… I can tell you that it’s not wearing on me, working on this character. I can see him being a part of what I do for a long time. Maybe not constantly, but he’s going to be there.

Again, this is the benefit of having a few exchanges with Donald. One of his concerns was that I understood that Parker doesn’t operate out of anger. He never commits a violent act out of anger. He does it because it’s the expedient thing to do. It’s the practical thing, a survival mechanism.

I could continue to pull interesting quotes from the interview, but why not just read it.  You’ll get insight into Cooke’s process in adapting the Stark novels, his [and Stark’s] take on what makes Parker tick, which crime movies were influences [and which modern crime classic Cooke thinks is over-rated], and so much more.  Congrats to Tucker Stone and Comic Alliance for a great read and thanks to Darwyn Cooke for bringing Parker back.

CBR.com also has a nice little interview with preview art from Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Outfit.

Ben Affleck’s Town

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The Town is one of my all-time favorite crime movies.  Ben Affleck, as director and star, surrounded himself with a great cast [Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper] and terrific story [and adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves].

Part of the reason that I love The Town so much is that it feels real.  This was Affleck’s goal in both casting the roles and filming.  When casting the female lead, Affleck said it was really important…

…that she feel like a real person. If you dropped a very recognisable Hollywood whoever-it-is or starlet that everyone knows into that role, somebody who depends on a certain kind of acting that was sort of “recognizable”, the immediately the audience would know “Okay, it will be hard for her, but then she’ll come back and she’ll be winning and we’ll all go home happy” and it would allow the audience to feel comfortable…

Affleck believes that his decision to use security camera footage also helped with the feel that the robberies were real…

…The security camera footage, I wanted to use so that the audience would subconsciously feel as if it were more realistic. I think we’re actually used to seeing crime and violence through that prism, that 15 frames per second, no sound, black and white security stuff. So when you see that happen, “this feels real” and then you cut into the 35 stuff and maybe at some level in your mind you’re feeling like it’s more kind of authentic.

You can read more about Ben Aflleck’s contributions to the success of The Town at Bleeding Cool’s post.

5 Days to Die

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I’m a sucker for good crime noir.  So when I heard about 5 Days to Die by Andy Schmidt [writer] and Chee [artist], I knew I hard to get my order in.   5 Days to Die is the story of…

…Detective Ray Crisara, who suffers a tragic car accident [an attempted hit?] that shatters his family and puts enough shrapnel in his head to give him a five-day life expectancy… And he’s got to choose between being with his family or finding and stopping their potential killer!

If this sounds like something you’d like, then get your order in to your local comic shop.  Want to know more about the series?  Then check out Noir Meets 24 in 5 Days to Die, posted by the fine folks at Neatorama.com.

Something About Faster…

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That’s the poster for Faster.  While I like the concept and, if push comes to shove, would have to say that I like the poster, something seems off.  Something about the Rock’s arm is bugging me… I think.  I really can’t put my finger on it and THAT is bugging me.

Let’s just hope the movie doesn’t bug me.  You wouldn’t like me when I’m grumpy.  ; )

Want to see a bigger version of the poster? Sure you do.  So go over to IMPAwards and check it out.

The Not So Last Days of American Crime

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It’s hard to believe that I first posted about Rick Remender’s The Last Days of American Crime nearly seven years ago.  At that point it was just an idea that RIck had for a cool crime comic.  Nearly seven years later came the addition of artist Greg Tocchini and a company interested in publishing it.  The rest is, as they say, just the start.

Although The Last Days of Crime is coming to an end, there are still more stories to tell.  As Rick Remender told CBR.com:

“Once you read the first trade, you see how those rules work. The API broadcast is a ticking clock that everyone is going to be reacting to in the United States. People who have bad things they need to get out of their systems of revenge trips or whatever they need to take care of, they’re going to be out doing those things and people who are just regular family folk are going to be inside their houses with doors boarded up and a shotgun pointed at the window. In America, there’s 500 million potential stories for what’s happening the two weeks before American Crime is put to a halt. To that end, I’ve got a revenge story that I like quite a bit. I want the next volume to be quite a bit different from this one…”

If you’ve been reading the comic series, my guess is you’ve enjoyed the ride.  If you somehow missed it, check with your local comic shop to see if back issues are available or pre-order the trade paperback now!

Oh, and don’t miss the interview with Rick conducted by the fine folks at CBR.com.

Cully Sees a Whole Lot of Red

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Recently Cully Hamner posted the cover above that he did as one of the four Red movie prequel comics.   While I’m happy [especially for Cully] that Red was turned into a movie and that it has Bruce Willis [Bruce Willis!] in the title role; I was really hoping that the film would be a faithful adaptation of the comic series.  Instead, we’re going to get a movie inspired by the comic series.  And while the comic was more action/adventure, the film looks to be action/comedy with an emphasis on the comedy.

The movie may work.  But work or not, it won’t change how the Red graphic novel rocks.

Cody & Sable Tried Blackmail

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Over at Ryan Cody’s Blog, he talks about a pitch for a comic series that he and writer, Mark Sable made last year.  Cody says…

The idea behind Blackmail was that a vigilante and a crime boss face off against each other from behind masks, only to be best friends in real life. It was all about hidden lives, sacrifice and of course, Blackmail.

I wish someone had picked up the series, because I would have enjoyed seeing how the story played out.  You can read more about the pitch and see preview pages over at Ryan’s blog.

Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer Returns!

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When Dave Stevens passed away last year, many thought that we’d never see another new story featuring his creation The Rocketeer.  IDW has just announced that they will publish a four issue mini-series featuring Stevens’ Rocketeer with new stories and art by some of the most talented people in the industry.  Folks like…

…Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Michael Golden, Gene Ha, Michael Kaluta, Garry Leach, Bruce Timm, Bill Willingham, and… pin-ups by Geoff Darrow, Art Adams, Jeff Campbell, Mike Mignola and others…

For full details click over to CBR.com’s post on the topic!

Heroes Con 2010, Part I

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It’s hard to believe that HEROES CON 2010 was three weeks ago.  Usually within the week following HEROES, I post my con report and photos.  Of course, most years, the con is held later in the year and so when I return home I still have at least a week of vacation left.  This year HEROES was held earlier in the month and I didn’t have the luxury of vacation when I returned home.

Enough with the excuses.  In an effort to get my con report and photos up before next year’s HEROES CON, I will post three pictures a day along with some comments.

That’s Chris DiBari.  He’s worked on some pretty neat comics including adaptations of The Warriors and The Crazies (especially cool since Chris is a big movie buff).  Currently Chris is working on the very well received western comic Pale Horse.  Chris is also a Stallone fan and he did a cool take on Sly from Nighthawks which I will post in the near future.

That’s Jay Potts, the creator of the very hip blaxplotation web comic World of Hurt.  As you can see from the photo above, Jay rocked a Jack Carter sketch for me.  I’ll post a scan soon.

Chris Mills Spruces Up Atomic Pulp

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My internet buddy [which means I’ve never met him in person], Chris Mills has retooled his main website.  It will serve as a hub to his other internet joints.  If you click over to this post about the new Gravedigger graphic novel, you might notice that the bad guy that gets the drop on Digger resembles someone we all know and love.  We’ll at least my dog loves me… I think.

Chris Mills is a great guy.  Swing by and show him some love.