Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The original “Planet of the Apes” is still one of my all-time favorite movies. Unfortunately, as with most movie series, the sequels got progressively worse. And let’s not even talk about the Tim Burton remake.
So, with that said, I have no idea how good the new “Apes” movie, “Rise of the Apes” will be. I do like the concept art that I’ve seen, so maybe there is hope for a return to greatness.
That my friends, is a beautiful Mike Zeck piece that he did for the December 1977 issue [#140] of The Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector. Mike was a regular contributor to the RBCC back in the day and a major reason to pick up the fanzine.
Drive-ins may have gone the way of VHS tape, but drive-in movies keep getting made. I’d love to see “Stake Land” as part of a horror triple feature at a local drive-in. Guess I’ll just have to wait for Netflix.
The great news is you don’t have to wait if you want to see a drive-in screen-sized version of the poster thanks to the fine folks at IMPAwards.com.
Sly Stallone as Barney Ross from The Expendables by Ron Salas. Obviously I’m a huge fan of Ron’s art. Of course when he does pieces like his take on Sly from “The Expendables” who wouldn’t be? You can check out more of Ron’s art here.
Most of you probably recognize Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike from Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. The artwork is part of Spoke Art‘s Quentin vs. Coens art show which will run from April 7th through April 9th at the Bold Hype Gallery, 547 W 27th St, 5th floor, NY, NY. You can read more about the show and see more art over at /Film.
Want to hear about the best deal in comics today?
It’s Matthew Warlick’s 2011 Sketchbook. Longtime readers will remember when Matthew drew Jack Carter and videoed the process. Ah, but I digress, you want to hear about the great deal Matthew is offering on his sketchbook. Okay, here’s the skinny. The sketchbook is 48 pages for five bucks, PLUS you get a free quickie sketch in the back of the book!
How can you beat that? You can’t. My sketchbook came today with a drawing of Rocky. [I’ll post it soon.] As they say on tv, get your orders in quick, because this deal is too good to last long!
If you’re a fan of crime stories, boy have I got a good one for you. Written by Don [Savages] Winslow with art by Sean [Criminal] Phillips, it’s called Sunset on Sunset and appeared in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times Magazine. Although Sunset on Sunset is only 8 pages long, it packs a whallop.
[Via IFanboy]
Tim Sale did this wonderful wash piece for me at MegaCon last weekend. Tim said that he wanted to do Rocky from the first movie with his turtles Cuff and Link. Excellent choice and a very, very cool piece. Thanks to Tim and John Higashi for making it happen. – Craig
Earlier today I posted about Hunter: The Martini Edition which will combine The Hunter and The Outfit into an oversized 9×13 package with 65 pages of additional material [344 total page count] for a very reasonable $75.00 price tag. At Wondercon, today, the cover of the edition [shown above] was previewed. In addition, Scott Dunbier, the editor of the project said that Hunter: The Martini Edition will…
“contain both of the graphic novels that Darwyn did — both of them were pretty widely acclaimed. It’ll have a number of illustrations, sketchbook material, a lot of cool little extras. One of the best is, it’ll actually have an original eight-page story that will only be available in this Martini Edition.”
Now, more than ever I think that IDW should print up an edition of extras for those of us who have supported the books from the start.
[Via CBR.com]
If you missed out on Darwyn Cooke’s two best-selling, award-winning adaptations of Richard Parker’s Stark novels, you’re in luck. This July, IDW is publishing them together in a deluxe format they’re calling Parker: The Martini Edition. The new edition will combine The Hunter and The Outfit into an oversized 9×13 package with 65 pages of additional material running the total page count to 344. It is set to retail at $75.00.
While I’m happy that the books are doing well enough to warrant the special treatment, it bugs me that fans who bought the original editions from the start will miss out on the bonus materials. I understand that in order to make the “special edition” special, bonus materials are needed. I guess it’s a catch-22, but wouldn’t it be nice if IDW published a “bonus materials only” special for folks who had supported the books from the start? They could even do it in the same format as The Man with the Getaway Face and I’d love it. Plus it would be another revenue source to help support the production of the next Cooke/Stark Parker graphic novel.
I really like this Reservoir Dogs piece by Tim Doyle. It is just one of seven images that Doyle created for Spoke Art‘s Quentin vs. Coens art show which will run from April 7th through April 9th at the Bold Hype Gallery, 547 W 27th St, 5th floor, NY, NY. You can see more of Doyle’s images and learn more about the art show by clicking over to SlashFilm.
This past weekend I traveled to MegaCon with my buddy, John Beatty. We always have a blast at the show and this time was no exception. I didn’t take many photos, but I did get a shot of me with these two ladies. They were busy every day of the show posing with fans. I have no idea what they were there promoting… but like most everyone else I ended up getting a photo with them.
One of the best things about going to MegaCon is meeting up with folks I seldom see. That’s Alberto Ruiz in the photo above with a Steampunk Poison Ivy. [I think that Ivy has hypnotized Alberto!] It had been a couple of years since I crossed paths with the mighty talented Mr. Ruiz. I also got to hang a bit with John Higashi, Mike Zeck, Bob McLeod, Mike White, Gene Gonzales, Ron Salas, Dan Panosian, Dave Johnson, and many others. I owe special thanks to John Higashi for “introducing” me to Tim Sale [John works with Tim at his table keeping the commissions flowing].
That’s Alberto [well, his hand, anyway] in the photo above sketching for a fan. John was also sketching and I watched him kick it on a couple of Star Wars pieces and a Black Knight piece. Who knows what I missed when I was out talking with artists and getting a few sketches of my own [which I will post in the coming weeks].
If you follow comics at all then you may have heard about the controversy with one of the artists at the show. Rob Granito was set up at the show selling “his” art when a piece about him was posted at Bleeding Cool. The article exposed that Granito was copying other artists’ work and selling it as his own. In addition Granito was shamelessly taking credit for the work of others in order to help promote his copied artwork. One of my con buds, Matt Crews [be advised that Crews uses adult” language… a lot], actually went over and engaged Granito in conversation about “his art” and professional credits all the while videoing the conversation. A Rob Granito is a Fraud Facebook page went up. Granito was contacted by convention promoters and informed that he was no longer welcome at their shows.
In summary, MegaCon was another fun and entertaining show for all… well maybe all but one.
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, my buddy, John Beatty and I are going to be in Orlando hanging out with several thousand other like-minded folks. Yep, it’s time for MegaCon. John is going as a guest of the show and I’m going as his guest. That means while John is sketching for fans, I’ll either be hanging at his table keeping the fun at it’s maximum level or I’ll be visiting with other artists/friends looking to get a sketch or two for my Stallone Sketch theme collection.
If you’ve never been to MegaCon, you’re missing out. There’s something for everyone. There are celebrity guests, comic book creators, dozens of artists sketching for fans, panels, gaming, and more. If you’re in driving distance of the show, come on down. If not, there’s always next year. Hope to see you there!
Now THIS is a movie poster. I love everything about it: the old-time look [dig those creases], the design, the colors, the typeface. Then you’ve got Antonio Banderas playing some hard case firing off his 45. And let’s not forget that Delroy Lindo and Sam Elliott [love his look in that small photo] make every movie a little better.
Yeah, this poster rocks.
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I had the good fortune to get this cool sketch from Craig Rousseau back in 2009 when I purchased one of his sketchbooks. It was a great deal, because with each sketchbook, Craig included a free headsketch.
