Category: Crime

“I Don’t Deal with Psychos.” by MARK Stegbauer!

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At HeroesCon 2026, I commissioned Mark Stegbauer for two sketch cards: Sly Stallone as Marion Cobretti from Cobra and Stallone as Stanley Kowalski from Lords of Flatbush.  This (obviously) is the Cobra card.  Sweet, right?

I will post the Lords of Flatbush card commission in the near future.

Each August Mark does an Action Against Alzheimer’s art campaign.  It’s a great way to pick up cool art and at the same time help a wonderful cause.

“I don’t deal with psychos. I put ’em away.” – Marion Cobretti

“Alien Nation” (1988) starring James Caan & Mandy Patinkin / Z-View

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Alien Nation  (1988)

Director:  Graham Baker

Screenplay: Rockne S. O’Bannon

Stars:  James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard, Leslie Bevis, Peter Jason, Jeff Kober, Roger Aaron Brown  and Brian Thompson.

Tagline: Los Angeles, 1991. They have come to Earth to live among us. They’ve learned the language, taken jobs, and tried to fit in. But there’s something about them we don’t know.

The Plot…

Three years ago aliens landed.  Since then these “Newcomers” have intigrated into society.  In L.A.,  Newcomer Sam Francisco has just been promoted to Detective.  Francisco is teamed with veteran cop Matthew Sykes.  It’s an uneasy alliance.

Francisco and Sykes’ first case is to look into the murder of Newcomer Warren Hubley.  Their investigation uncovers a conspiracy between wealthy politicans and influential newcomers.  At the heart of the cabal’s scheme is a newcomer secret that changes everything.

Prepare yourself… the aliens are here and all is not as it seems.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sam Francisco’s name in the original script was George Jetson.  That changed when Hanna-Barbera refused to license the rights.  Sykes’ calling Sam “George” was a in-joke.

James Cameron was credited as one of the writers in an Alien Nation early draft, but his name doesn’t appear in the movie’s credits.

Alien Nation spawned a tv series that ran for one season.  There were also five television movie spin-offs, comic books and novelizations.

Brian “Cobra” Thompson is the only actor to appear in both the feature film and the television series.

I like the poster for the film.  It doesn’t feature the movie’s stars.  Instead we get a tagline that sets up everything and cool art that looks like it could be a crime thriller (with aliens).

Alien Nation is a fun film.

Alien Nation  (1988) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” starring John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Victoria Moroles, Steve Buscemi, and Jamie Lee Curtis – The Trailer is Here!

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Check out the trailer for The Only Living Pickpocket in New York starring John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Victoria Moroles, Steve Buscemi, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

What a cast!  The trailer works.

Deal me in.

A love-letter to New York City.

Watch the official trailer for THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK.

Opens in NY & LA theaters October 23, nationwide October 30.

Directed by: Noah Segan

Starring: John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Victoria Moroles, Steve Buscemi, and Jamie Lee Curtis

Harry Lehman (John Turturro) is an aging pickpocket who plies his trade with ever-diminishing returns in a drastically changed New York. Wallets stuffed with cash have been replaced by easily canceled credit cards, and Harry struggles to make ends meet as he cares for his disabled wife, Rosie. When he unwittingly purloins and fences a valuable USB stick, Harry finds himself in a race against time to return the loot or face the rage of a vengeful crime family.

“The Deputy” starring Duke Nicholson​, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish, Stephen Dorff, Devon Ross, Julia Fox, and Billie Lourd – The Poster & Trailer are Here!

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Here are the poster and trailer for The Deputy.  

The film is based on THE DEPUTY by Victor Gischler.  I read the book when it first came out and loved it.  If Gischler’s name sounds familiar, you may remember that Fast Charlie, the film starring Pierce Brosnan, was based on Gischler’s novel GUN MONKEYS (which I thought was better than the film).

Here’s to hoping the movie is as good as the novel.

THE DEPUTY | Official Trailer | Starring Duke Nicholson

In Theaters & On Digital September 25
Film Page: https://wellgousa.com/films/deputy

Chief Kreuger (William H. Macy) assigns rookie Deputy Toby Sawyer (Duke Nicholson) to guard a dead body. But when the corpse vanishes, Toby launches a frantic search that unearths decades of small-town rot. Pressured to look the other way, Toby finds a lone ally in Deputy Amanda Jackson (Tiffany Haddish) and sets his sights to unravel a lethal web of corruption to clear his name in a town where secrets stay buried.

Directed by Matt Sukkar
Starring Duke Nicholson​, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish, Stephen Dorff, Devon Ross, Julia Fox, and Billie Lourd

NIGHTFALL (aka THE DARK CHASE) by David Goodis / Z-View

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NIGHTFALL (aka THE DARK CHASE) by David Goodis

First sentence…

“It was one of those hot sticky nights that makes Manhattan show its age.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Jim Vanning is a wanted man.  The cops want him in regard to the theft of $300,000.00.  The crooks involved in the theft want Vanning as well.  Problem is, Vanning can’t remember exactly what happened.

Vanning knows a man was killed during the robbery.  Did he kill the guy?  Was he part of the robbery crew?  Was he an innocent that got caught up in the theft?   He knows he had the $300,000.00 in a satchel at one point.  Now he doesn’t know what happened to the loot.

Vanning is tired of running.  It’s just a question of who or what is going to get to him first… the crooks… the cops… or his memory.

+++

NIGHTFALL was also released under the titles CONVICTED and THE DARK CHASE.  It was also adapted into a feature film under the Nightfall title in 1957.  It was directed by Jacques  (Cat People; Out of the Past; Night of the Demon) Tourneur and starred Aldo Ray, Brian Keith and Anne Bancroft.

Rating:

Sly Stallone is Jack Carter by David Lapham!

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David Lapham is an Eisner Award-winning​ comic book creator best known for his independent crime series Stray Bullets.  When Lapham offered a headsketch special, I thought he’d be a great choice to draw Sly Stallone as Jack Carter.

Lapham’s response was immediate and positive.  So much so that I asked about a second sketch – Sly as Rocky Balboa.  Lampham again quickly responded that he was up for it.  I immediately sent a paypal for the amount requested and a few bucks more.  He emailed a “thank you” and that was the last I heard from him for four years.

Every so often, for the first couple of years, I sent an e-mail to see if he was okay or going to do the sketches.  No response ever came back.  Then in February of this year, I was surprised to get an e-mail from Mr. Lapham apologizing for his lack of communication.  He said that he wanted to get the art to me.  This week (six months later) the sketches arrived.

I don’t know what the hold-up was.  I’m just happy to have the sketches and hope Mr. Lapham is doing well.

“Slayground” (1983) starring Peter Coyote / Z-View

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Slayground  (1983)

Director:  Terry Bedford

Screenplay: Trevor Preston; based on SLAYGROUND by Richard Stark

Stars:  Peter Coyote, Mel Smith, Billie Whitelaw.

Tagline: Welcome to Your Funeral

The Plot…

Stone is a career criminal.  He’s ready to walk away from his next planned armed robbery because his regular getaway driver is unavailable.  Stone’s partner has another wheelman for the job and convinces Stone to go through it.

Big mistake.

The new driver is inexperienced.  During the getaway, he causes a crash that kills a nine-year-old girl.  The girl’s father is a millionaire.  He hires a hitman to find and murder the men responsible for his daughter’s death.

The killer is relentless and the girl’s father has money to pay whatever the cost.  When Stone learns there is a price on his head, he goes on the run.

But there is no where he can hide.  The killer is closing in.

Stone… welcome to your funeral.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Slayground is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake).  Except for the title, little else from Stark’s novel makes it onscreen.

When the film was released I thought it was another killer at a carnival movie.  Years later I learned it was based on the Parker novels by Richard Stark.  So I gave it a go only to find out it had little to do with the Stark’s novel.  Meh.

Slayground  (1983) rates 2 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone is Jack Carter by Andy Fish!

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Andy Fish is is a freelance artist and writer.  Fish’s clients include DC Comics, Warner Bros. Animation, Dark Horse Comics, Archie Comics, Papercutz Books, Chartwell Books, Quarto Publishing, McFarlane Press, Warner Licensing, Marvel Comics, Penguin Random House, Makimono Entertainment as well as hundreds of freelance illustration projects, graphic design projects, packaging, character design, movie and TV storyboards and much more.

I got this sketch of Sly Stallone as Jack Carter at a HeroesCon.  The scan doesn’t do the original justice.