Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Today Joel Carroll started his new weekly web comic, Topaz. Topaz is…
… a space trucker with a heart of gold, blasting from world to world, hoping to make the galaxy a better place. But trouble seems to follow her…
If this sounds like something you’d like, then check out Topaz by Joel Carroll.
Frank Frazetta died today. He was 82. Although Mr. Frazetta had been in failing health for many years, the news of his passing is shocking. Perhaps it’s because his paintings had such strength, such life. And perhaps because Frank Frazetta’s art has always have been a part of our lives. Mr. Frazetta’s art appeared on the cover of over 150 books and comics, as well as movie posters, album covers, comic book stories, newspaper strips and more. Equally as important are the number of artists and writers who have been influenced by Frank Frazetta’s talent. Thankfully, Frank Frazetta’s art will live on to influence future generations.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Frazetta’s family, friends and fans.
Gerardo Moreno sent in a photo of his latest Stallone piece — Sly from “The Expendables.” Well done, sir!
You can see more of Gerardo’s work at his site!
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.”
That’s the partial cover to Bullet in the Head #2 published by Dynamite. I’d actually meant to post about the series sooner, but it’s still not to late to get on board — the first issue won’t be out until June. Bullet in the Head was first published in France back in 2004. It went on to win “Best Story” at the Prix Saint-Michel comics awards. In 2009 the film rights were optioned by Warner Bros.
So, what’s Bullet in the Head about you ask? [And I’m glad you did.] Bullet in the Head is a crime noir about a pair of buddy cops, a pair of buddy hitmen, some femme fatales and a ever-increasing body count. Written by Matz, with art by Colin Wilson, the series is geared toward mature audiences.
You can read more about the series and see the first two covers here.
Hey SZoners! Mark from Hollywood Collectibles wanted us to get a heads-up…
The Rambo statue is now up for pre-order;
http://hollywood-collectibles.com/rambo_18.html
If your guys use the code “Rambo” at checkout, they will get a 10% discount!
How cool is it that the Rambo statue is once again created by Edinho Maga who was discovered here at the StalloneZone?
Thanks to Mark and the good folks at Hollywood Collectibles for giving us another discount. Remember that the last Rambo statue sold out quickly. So put in your order, or drop some hints for a birthday, Father’s Day or even Christmas gift!
As always, any SZoner who orders one and sends me a photo with it, will have it posted on the StalloneZone!
From the Hollywood Collectibles website:
RAMBO IV 1:4 SCALE STATUE
“Heroes never die……..they just reload”
Standing an impressive 20” tall including base (to top of head – not including bow), this Quarter Scale statue captures Rambo’s raw intensity, as the “boatman” reveals his true colors to the mercenaries he is accompanying.
Featuring an accurate likeness of Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo from the latest Rambo movie, this amazingly detailed statue portrays Rambo with his now iconic bow in hand, poised to dispense instant justice with another arrow!
This incredible piece of art is constructed from heavyweight polystone and then hand painted to the finest detail.Limited to just 500 pieces worldwide
There is no HCG Exclusive version of this piece. However if you like low serial #’s, we are reserving # 1 to # 100 for retail customers only. So the first 100 retail orders will receive the desirable low edition numbers!
Sculpted by Edinho Maga.
Painted by Dan “Danno” Cope.
Patrick Thomas Parnell created today’s sketch of Rambo. I first met Patrick at MegaCon earlier this year. I don’t think I’d ever even seen his art before. Patrick was doing these really cool, tall/thin color sketches for a reasonable price. I asked him if he’d be interested in doing a Stallone piece for my collection and he chose Rambo.
Pretty cool, huh?
I discovered this Captain American piece over at Bleeding Cool in a post called Put a Comic Icon on Your Wall. As Rich Johnston says, they’re “incredibly stylish” and “completely unlicensed” which means they may not be around for long.
I recently discovered the art of Michael Blaine Myers, Jr. through a post called Lost: The Saturday Morning Cartoon over at io9.com. As you’ve probably figured out already, Myers drew the cast of Lost [including the smoke monster] as they’d look in a Saturday morning cartoon. Cool idea and cool end result.
You can see more of Michael Blaine Myers, Jr.’s art here and here. It’s worth checking out!
This week we have a watercolor piece of Sly as Jack Carter by Fatima Camiloza. I saw Fatima’s art here and noticed that she was doing ten dollar 4″x6″ watercolor pieces. I liked Fatima’s art enough to give it a go and the piece above is the end result.
I’m extremely pleased to have a piece by Fatima in my collection… and perhaps there will be more in the future!
What with all the talk lately about James Brolin playing Jonah Hex in the up-coming movie and Darwyn Cooke providing the cover to Jonah Hex 56, I’ve been thinking about my favorite artists who’ve drawn the deformed gunslinger.
This is Howard Chaykin’s prelim for the cover of Jonah Hex #4 which was cover-dated February 2006. It’s interesting to note that this appears to be an older Jonah Hex than we normally see and the powerlines in the background would indicate that the story takes place later in Hex’s life. Chaykin said that…
“My inspiration for the image – and this is based on memory, as opposed to actually looking at the artwork in question – was a cover for a MAX BRAND paperback by an illustrator named Roy Andersen – who did a beautiful series of covers for Warner books back in the seventies or eighties…”
The artwork appeared in Rough Stuff magazine #4 and can be found in back issue bins in most comic shops.
The piece above by Darwyn Cooke accompanies the write-up for Jonah Hex #56 in the latest issue of Previews. Although Cooke is only providing the cover [Phil Winslade and others illustrate the tale by Justin Gray and jimmy Palmiotti], it may be worth the price of admission.
If you’re a Frank Miller completist, then you’ll want to pick up the first issue of Jurassic Park: Redemption since Miller provides the cover. The mini-series from IDW will run five issues and is written by Bob Schreck with art by Nate Van Dyke. Tom Yeates is also providing a variant cover to the first issue, so be sure to let your comic shop manager know which cover you’re after should you decide to get one.
Future issues will feature covers by Arthur Adams, Paul Pope, Bernie Wrightson and Bill Stout.
Re-imagined covers and posters are popular. Recently we checked out Laz Marquez’s cool redesigns of classic Hitchcock movie posters. Marquez followed that up with some re-imagined Stephen King book covers. Turner Classic Movies offered up some re-imagined classic/iconic movie posters that were also very popular.
Designer, Steven Finch recently posted five re-imagined Marvel comic series that he recreated as dime store paperback covers. It’s a cool idea and he promises more are coming.
Thanks to io9.com for the original link.
