Search Results for: darwyn cooke

Stark/Cooke: Parker Will Return in Slayground!

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I seldom run a straight press releases, but IDW’s announcement below is an exception:

San Diego, CA (July 20, 2013) – Darwyn Cooke’s acclaimed Parker series from IDW continues to expand with the classic Slayground. In this newest graphic novel, Parker is put to the test against crooked cops and sleazy gangsters after a heist goes south and he finds himself trapped in an amusement park closed for the winter, and embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse… a game that slowly starts to favor the mouse.

“A boarded up amusement park was an inspired setting for Parker,” said writer/artist Darwyn Cooke, “and Westlake made the most of it. A great story that I’m enjoying the hell out of adapting.”

Based on the influential novels by Richard Stark, AKA, Donald Westlake, Parker is a coldly calculating master criminal, one with a very rigid code. The IDW adaptations by Darwyn Cooke of The Hunter and The Outfit have received multiple Eisner and Harvey awards. The Score, released last year, is nominated for an Eisner Award at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con International. Slayground will be the fourth Parker adaptation in the popular and much lauded series.

Darwyn Cooke’s distinct style has made him a premier writer and artist in the comic book industry. A former animator, Cooke entered mainstream comics in 2000 with his critical hit Batman: Ego for DC Comics.

Donald Westlake, writing as Richard Stark, was the acclaimed author of the Parker series. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, as well as being named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, that prestigious societies highest honor.

THAT is awesome news.

I knew Cooke was working on Slayground, but I had no idea I could expect it for Christmas.

[Of course, if you’re looking for a great crime comic to read NOW, you can’t do better than theFREE webcomic Gravedigger by Christopher Mills and Rick Burchett.]

 

Cooke Knows The Score

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If you enjoy excellent crime fiction and/or great comics, then you’re probably well aware of Darwyn Cooke’s adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker novels.  So far there have been three – Parker: The Hunter; The Outfit and The Score.

Originally, the plan was for Cooke to adapt four of the Parker novels, but Cooke’s graphic adaptations have been so well received, and Cooke’s having such a blast, there will now be at least five!  Next up is The Handle which Cooke says he choose because “it’s an incredibly visual book. It concerns a casino on an island.”  The release date is scheduled for 2013 and I’d put my order in now if I could!

Darwyn Cooke recently spoke about his take on Parker at ComicCon and CBR.com was there.

Cooke, Stark, Parker: A Better Martini

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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]

Cooke, Stark, Parker & The Martini Edition

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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.

Preview of Stark/Cooke’s The Outfit

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Newsarama recently ran a six page preview of Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Outfit.  It’s the sequel to Hunter [also an adaptation of a Stark novel] and it…

…won the 2009 Diamond Gem Award for Original Graphic Novel of the Year, is nominated for a 2010 Eisner and was a New York Times bestseller.

If that doesn’t make you want to check it out, nothing will.

Mills Premieres Cooke’s Hunter

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Chris Mills made my day when he posted the cover above to Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s novel The Hunter.  If anyone is more excited about Cooke’s plans to adapt Stark’s work than me, it’s probably Chris Mills.  He is not only an author himself, but also an expert in the crime genre… and do I have to remind any ZONErs how much I dig Chris’ character Gravedigger?

Only One Cooke Needed

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Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite comic book creators. I was lucky enough to get a Stallone sketch from Darwyn at MegaCon 2007. It was the last sketch that he did on the last day of the show. Whew!

If you read this interview with Darwyn posted today at Newsarama you’ll begin to understand why he’s a fan favorite.

If you read Darwyn’s The New Frontier; Batman: Ego and Other Tales; or his take on Will Eisner’s The Spirit Volume I and 2 you’ll know why.

Heck, anyone whose favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz [my all-time second favorite movie] has got to be alright in my book!

Marco Finnegan Gets Carter

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That’s Marco Finnegan’s take on Sly as Jack Carter! When the opportunity came to get a sketch from Marco I jumped on it. Marco knows what to put in and more importantly what to leave out.  His art style reminds me of Alex Toth and Darwyn Cooke.

I first became aware of Marco’s art when he teamed with Ace Atkins on two Nick Travers graphic novels: Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Crossroad Blues.

I was already reading Ace Atkins novels, so I decided to seek out more of Marco’s art.  If you’re so inclined you can as well on his website or his Twitter.  Marco is currently the artist on 007, Dynamite Comics new James Bond comics.

RIP: Tim Sale

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Tim Sale died yesterday at the age of 66.  No cause of death was given.

Tim Sale is best known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb.  A few of the series that they created for DC include: Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, Superman for All Seasons and Catwoman: When in Rome.  For Marvel Comics, the duo created Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray and Captain America: White.

Mr. Sale is also known for his work with Darwyn Cooke on Superman: Confidential, Grendel with Matt Wagner and Deathblow with Jim Lee.  Any comic that Tim Sale worked on was worth picking up because of Sale’s unique spin on characters.  Tim Sale won an Eisner Award in 1999 in the “Best Artist/Penciller/Inker” category.  Tim Sale also provided art for the television series Heroes.

I was fortunate to meet Tim Sale a few times at conventions over the years.  In 2011, Tim Sale did a wonderful sketch for me at MegaCon. Tim said that he wanted to do Rocky from the first movie.  He chose to draw Rocky the loan collector who worked for his friend Gazzo.  Tim Sale also added his turtles Cuff and Link. My buddy, John Higashi was responsible for making it happen.  Thanks to John Higashi, I also attended a dinner with Tim Sale and other artists.

Tim Sale was an amazing artist.  By all accounts he was a kind and gracious man.  The number of news organizations reporting his passing and remembrances from people around the world is testimony to his impact.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tim Sale’s family, friends and fans.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call

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If like me, you’re a Darwyn Cooke fan… and if like me, you’re a Richard Stark fan, and if like me, you already own or have pre-ordered  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, then you’re going to love this post.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call has been announced for a September 29, 2020 release!  This oversized edition will contain…

Features more than 100 pieces of never-before-seen Parker art by Darwyn Cooke; a round table talk with Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Bruce Timm, and Scott Dunbier on Parker and Cooke; and a brand-new 17-page story by multiple Eisner Award-winning creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Darwyn Cooke crafted four universally acclaimed Parker graphic novels, adapted from the works of Richard Stark (A pseudonym for Donald Westlake), before his untimely death. This volume will be (along with the Martini Edition) the last word on Cooke’s brilliant Parker stories.

This edition is a loving tribute to the legacy of Darwyn Cooke and Parker.

If like me, then today you’re going to pre-order Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call and count down the minutes until its release.