Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I had the good fortune to meet Ray-Anthony Height at MegaCon this year. I was talking with a con buddy who had a table near where Ray was set up and I saw him knock out one cool sketch after another. It didn’t take long before I checked to see if Ray would be interested in doing a Stallone sketch. He was, and created the nice Rocky piece that you see above.
You can see more of Ray-Anthony Height’s art here and here. And if you’re so inclined, tell him I sent ya!
When I was a little kid first reading comics, one of my favorite characters was the Rawhide Kid. In 2003, Marvel decided to bring back the Rawhide Kid in a mini-series called Blaze of Glory. It was supposedly a humorous take on the Kid as being gay. I said “supposedly humorous” because I didn’t read it.
Marvel is bringing back that Rawhide Kid in a new mini-series called The Sensational Seven. Although the change in the Rawhide Kid’s character still bugs me, I might give this series a shot. Written by Ron Zimmerman with art by Howard Chaykin the story will bring together some of the most popular Marvel western characters along with real western legends.
When Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil Earp are taken prisoner, The Rawhide Kid sets off to rescue them. Along the way he meets up with The Two Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Red Wolf, Doc Holiday, Annie Oakley, Billy the Kid and others.
If this sounds like something that you’d like, then you might want to check out Zimmerman’s interview at CBR.com where he talks about his plans for the series.
Here’s a pencil sketch of the The Hulk for a Marvel trading card set. It was drawn by Andrew Robinson and appeared [in much smaller form] in Rough Stuff #4 [April 2007]. Yep, the same Andrew Robinson who drew The Punisher and Nick Fury cards. Here’s what Andrew said about the piece:
“I think this is the only time [for publication] that I’ve drawn the Hulk, and man, did I have a good time.”
Looking at the drawing, I can’t help but smiling. The funny thing about the Hulk is that I’ve never really cared for the character. Outside of his “guest appearances” to fight Ben Grim or Spider-Man, or the X-Men, I probably have read less than a handful of Hulk comics. The best of those being Hulk drawn by Jim Starlin and Alex Nino in the Hulk’s own magazine. But, although I’m not a fan of Hulk stories, I am a fan of Hulk drawings. Perhaps it’s because there are so many ways that artists can draw him. Andrew Robinson’s take is one of my favorites.
Now THIS is an Iron Man 2 poster that works… and there’s no Iron Man in sight. You can see a larger version at IMPAwards.com.
Vin Diesel recently posted the art above on his facebook page. It’s pre-production art for the proposed sequel to Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. Man, I hope Riddick gets made!
I like paradoxes. You know, a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction. Perhaps the simplest paradox is…
This statement is false.
If the statement is false, then it is in fact a true statement thus making it false. Huh? Exactly.
Another paradox…
God is all powerful and can do anything. God could even create a rock so heavy that he couldn’t lift it.
If God couldn’t lift the rock, he isn’t all powerful… and if he couldn’t create the rock, then he isn’t all powerful. But suppose God could create a rock so heavy he couldn’t lift it… then the fact that God couldn’t lift it would mean he wasn’t all powerful. And if he could lift such a rock would mean that he wasn’t powerful enough to create a rock he couldn’t lift.
There are also a lot of movies [The Terminator, Back to the Future, 12 Monkeys, etc.] that involve time travel paradoxes. So, I’m pretty familiar with a lot of different types of paradoxes. I’d never heard of the Pinocchio paradox until I stumbled across it at Neatorama. I got a kick out of it. I hope you did as well.
Earlier today, Patrick Sauriol of Coming Attractions posted a very positive script review of David Twohy’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking. According to Sauroil, Twohy has created a script that acknowledges all that happened in The Chronicles of Riddick and yet takes Riddick back to the type of character he was in Pitch Black.
From all that Sauroil writes, Twohy has crafted the perfect return for Vin Diesel as Riddick. The only thing that I would suggest is to change the title of the new film from The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking to Riddick.
As promised, here’s a pencil sketch of the Nick Fury for a Marvel trading card set. The art is by Andrew Robinson and appeared [in much smaller form] in Rough Stuff #4 [April 2007]. Here’s what Andrew said about the piece:
“Nick and the commandos in one war and I was in another, the battle of tangents. In this case I used Photoshop after finishing the sketch, to cut out background figures and move them slightly to avoid bad tangents. For example Nick’s right arm seems to be leaning on a commando’s back. So to correct this bad tangent, I just moved the background figure to the left.”
The “Saul Bass-inspired” Tron credits has folks talking. Steve Kasansza posted a link to an equally “Saul Bass-isized” opening sequence for Lost.
If you’re an MMA fan, then you’re probably aware of the controversy surrounding Anderson Silva’s unanimous decision win over Damian Maia. Dana White has repeatedly apologized for Silva’s performance and went on to say:
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed in the ten years of being in this business.”
This is the third performance by Silva that has resulted in the same type of clowning and showboating. Some are blaming the lack of competition for Silva in the middleweight division. Others say Silva has an obligation to be serious and to finish fights. Here’s my take on the situation:
So what’s next for Anderson Silva? Some say GSP. Dana White said he’s not interested in that fight. Chael Sonnen says he’d like a shot at Silva. Michael David Smith at MMAFighting.com thinks Silva should move to heavyweight and give Frank Mir a try. I wonder if Mir would want the opportunity? I really don’t care who Silva fights next as long as he gives it his best and leaves the showboating behind.
Jon Riggle is back, this time with his take on Sly from Demolition Man having a bit o’ rat. Jon is an illustrator and photographer. He also created the Sci-Fi comic strip Sonic Jack and is available for commissions. You can see more of Jon’s art here and here.
Thanks to Jon and John Beatty for the gift.
Here’s a pencil sketch of the Punisher for a Marvel trading card set. The art is by Andrew Robinson and appeared [in much smaller form] in Rough Stuff #4 [April 2007]. Here’s what Andrew said about the piece:
“When I think of the Punisher I see him as being very stoic. For this composition I was inspired by the propaganda posters of WWII. The straight lines in his form help define his defiant attitude as he pulls a ‘John Wayne’ in the midst of enemy fire.”
If you’d like to see the finished card, then click here. We’ll be back tomorrow with another of Andrew’s card pencils.
UFC 112 is now history. Here are the results and my earlier predictions:
Prediction: “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” wrecks “Da Spyder.” Munoz win by TKO.
Result: Munoz won by TKO due to strikes in round 2 which makes me 1-0 with a perfect call of TKO.
Prediction: Hughes win via unanimous decision.
Result: Hughes wins by TKO due to strikes in round 3 at the 4:40 mark. Although that keeps me perfect at 2-0, I missed calling how the fight would end. If only Gracie could have held on for 20 more seconds!
Prediction: “The Prodigy” knows “The Answer” to defeating Edgar. Penn win via submission.
Result: Edgar defeats Penn by unanimous decision to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion! What an upset. Hats off to Edgar for find “The Answer” needed to beat “The Prodigy.” That knocks me down to 2-1.
Prediction: Silva wins by KO.
Result: Silva defeats Maia with a lackluster performance but a unanimous decision and retains the UFC Middleweight Title. Although I was wrong about how it would end, I did pick Silva and so I end the night at 3-1 or 75%.
Silva clowned and danced and was warned by the ref in later rounds to mix it up. Yet, Silva was content to stay on the outside and pick his shots. Maia, for his part, tried to make the fight competitive and continued to swing for the fences for all the good it did. Dana White was very upset by Silva’s performance and told the press:
“… what a disgrace the main event was… To end it the way that we did was an embarrasment for me, the UFC, the Fertittas and the UAE… I’m so blown away and disgusted and saddened… I don’t know how yet, but I will make this up to the fans… ”
According to Steve Cofield of YaHoo Sports
White also said Silva may be the first UFC champ to fight on the non-televised prelims in the future.
While 75% ain’t bad, I bet I feel better about my wins than Silva does his.
UFC 112 takes place later this afternoon live from the Concert Arena in Ferrari World on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. There are four fights that interest me and here are my predictions:
Prediction: “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” wrecks “Da Spyder.” Munoz win by TKO.
Prediction: Hughes win via unanimous decision.
Prediction: “The Prodigy” knows “The Answer” to defeating Edgar. Penn win via submission.
Prediction: Silva wins by KO.
We’ll know the results later today. They’ll be posted here tonight or tomorrow.
Mitch Byrd provides today’s art. Like yesterday’s piece, it comes from Sketch magazine #37.
