Category: Books

Darwyn Cooke Takes on The Outfit

Posted on by

Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s classic crime novel The Outfit is now available.  In case you’re late getting in the game, The Outfit is Cooke’s follow-up to his award-winning adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Hunter.  Stark aka Donald Westlake gave his blessing to the original plus three additional adaptations.  In honor of the release of The Outfit Darwyn Cooke sat down for an in-depth interview with Tucker Stone for the Comics Alliance.  Here’s a taste:

Palance was Westlake’s only visual reference. When I changed Parker, the idea was always to use plastic surgery as a metaphor for his emotional regression. He’s meant to look like a rawer, more stripped down version of himself… His jaw, and most importantly, his eyes, are the same. The rest is meant to reflect a man drained of things like remorse and compassion. A loveless, unadorned man.

I’ve got two more of these books to do. My plan is to finish the fourth one for my 50th birthday… I can tell you that it’s not wearing on me, working on this character. I can see him being a part of what I do for a long time. Maybe not constantly, but he’s going to be there.

Again, this is the benefit of having a few exchanges with Donald. One of his concerns was that I understood that Parker doesn’t operate out of anger. He never commits a violent act out of anger. He does it because it’s the expedient thing to do. It’s the practical thing, a survival mechanism.

I could continue to pull interesting quotes from the interview, but why not just read it.  You’ll get insight into Cooke’s process in adapting the Stark novels, his [and Stark’s] take on what makes Parker tick, which crime movies were influences [and which modern crime classic Cooke thinks is over-rated], and so much more.  Congrats to Tucker Stone and Comic Alliance for a great read and thanks to Darwyn Cooke for bringing Parker back.

CBR.com also has a nice little interview with preview art from Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s The Outfit.

Ben Affleck’s Town

Posted on by

The Town is one of my all-time favorite crime movies.  Ben Affleck, as director and star, surrounded himself with a great cast [Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper] and terrific story [and adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves].

Part of the reason that I love The Town so much is that it feels real.  This was Affleck’s goal in both casting the roles and filming.  When casting the female lead, Affleck said it was really important…

…that she feel like a real person. If you dropped a very recognisable Hollywood whoever-it-is or starlet that everyone knows into that role, somebody who depends on a certain kind of acting that was sort of “recognizable”, the immediately the audience would know “Okay, it will be hard for her, but then she’ll come back and she’ll be winning and we’ll all go home happy” and it would allow the audience to feel comfortable…

Affleck believes that his decision to use security camera footage also helped with the feel that the robberies were real…

…The security camera footage, I wanted to use so that the audience would subconsciously feel as if it were more realistic. I think we’re actually used to seeing crime and violence through that prism, that 15 frames per second, no sound, black and white security stuff. So when you see that happen, “this feels real” and then you cut into the 35 stuff and maybe at some level in your mind you’re feeling like it’s more kind of authentic.

You can read more about Ben Aflleck’s contributions to the success of The Town at Bleeding Cool’s post.

Andrew Vachss’ Heart Transplant

Posted on by

Andrew Vachss has a couple of new books coming out later this year.  The Weight is a crime novel which is what most Vachss fans would expect.  Heart Transplant is something totally different.  It’s not a novel.  According to the product description it’s…

Neither a graphic novel nor a self-help book, it uses elements of both to reach parents and children alike… Heart Transplant is aimed at actually changing the way we deal with perhaps the most critical issue for children and parents alike today. To accomplish this mission, an entirely new genre was created.

As John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, “That’s a bold statement.”  Of course Andrew Vachss has always been a bold author.  If Heart Transplant sounds like something you’d like [and it definitely has a lot of experts endorsing it], then you can check out this preview to learn more.  Of course you can also go here to learn more and/or order it.

Victor Gischler… and Me

Posted on by

Last week I read a tweet from Victor Gischler (one of my favorite authors) saying that he was going to do a signing at Comic Central in Sanford, Florida.  I decided that when I got off work I’d drive over and see if I could get Victor to autograph a couple of my novels.  I’m really glad that I did.

Victor Gischler is a talented writer and an all-around great guy.  Not only did he autograph the four novels that I took over (Gun Monkeys; Pistol Poets; Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse and The Deputy — all highly recommended!), but he also posed for photos (I should have had my wife take a second shot since I appear to be sleep-standing), and spoke at length with each fan that came in.  It was very clear that Victor appreciated each person who came in to meet him.

It’s always nice when someone you admire for a skill (writing, drawing, etc.) turns out to be as nice as they are talented.

Heroes Con 2010, Part 5

Posted on by

I can’t think of a better way to jump start Part 5 of my 2010 Heroes Con report than with a photo of Dave Wachter holding a commission of Sly from The Expendables that he did for me at the show.  I first met Dave at Heroes Con 2009 and got a head sketch from him.  Since then I’ve been back for several other sketches.  As you can imagine, I hope that the one pictured won’t be my last.  You can bet I’ll post a scan of it soon so you can see it in all it’s glory.

Mick Foley was a guest at Heroes Con this year.  I took along my copy Have a Good Day so that I could get Mick to autograph it.  Mick was only going to be at the show on Saturday.  Since he’d never been at any convention I’d ever attended, I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd he’d draw.

Saturday rolled around and still no buzz about Mick being at the show.  Perhaps getting his autograph would be a piece of cake.  I went by the booth where Mick was going to sign and asked when he could be expected.  They said he had just arrived in town, was getting lunch and should be at the booth around 1:30.  They said if I showed up then, I’d be right on time.  I checked my watch and saw that I had time to run across the street, grab a bite and still be back before 1:30.

So that’s what I did.  In fact I got back about 1:25.  I headed over to get in line and was surprised to find Mick already signing.  I started back tracking the line which wrapped around a corner and then down a long aisle and then out of sight.  Before I had taken 3 steps I was stopped by a young lady working at the show.  She said, “If you’re wanting to get in line for Mick Foley, you’re too late.  The line has been capped.”

I was stunned.  She repeated herself.  I explained that I had checked at the booth and was told if I returned by 1:30 I would be okay.  She said the demand for Mick was more than anyone anticipated and the line was capped.  I thought about arguing my case, but realized it would do no good and it wasn’t her fault.  The line was huge, by far the biggest I’d seen at any show for any guest.

I hought, “Good for Mick Foley.”  I was happy that so many people wanted to meet him and get a photo or autograph.  Perhaps I’d meet him at another show.  How could I complain?  The day before I had gotten the most amazing sketch from Brian Stelfreeze for my Stallone art collection.  I’d also received a call from my boss saying that I was getting a promotion!  Heck, maybe I really would get a chance for Mick Foley’s autograph at another show… little did I know that my good luck wasn’t over (and I’ll tell you about that in another post soon)!

I wish I knew more about this piece.  It was donated to the HEROES CON art auction.  I don’t know the artist or who won the art, but I did think it was a pretty cool piece.  Hope you like it as well.

I’ll Take a Blood Oath!

Posted on by

Today while I was checking out Bookgasm.com, I came across a review of Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth.  I’d never heard of the book or author before, but the tag line intrigued me:

The Ultimate Secret.  The Ultimate Agent.  The President’s Vampire.

So I read a little further and was told…

Christopher Farnsworth’s book is an amalgam of the HELLBOY comic and the men’s adventure series THE DESTROYER.

The book sounded interesting and then I came across this trailer that made me want to learn a bit more.  So I went to the Amazon page and saw that it had 36 customer reviews with an overall 4 1/2 star rating and with no rating lower than a 3 [and only 4 of those]!   I’m putting Blood Oath on my To Be Bought List… or perhaps even my Father’s Day Request List [Hint! Hint! to my sons].

Preview of Stark/Cooke’s The Outfit

Posted on by

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.

24 Meets Dawn of the Dead

Posted on by

If you’re not a fan of Jonathan Maberry, it just means you haven’t read his action/horror novel Patient Zero.  It’s been described as 24 meets Dawn of the Dead and it actually lives up to that hype on both counts. [Yes, it’s that good.]

Dark Recesses magazine has a very informative interview with Jonathan Maberry right here.  My guess is if you’re already a Maberry fan, you’ll really enjoy it.  If you’re not a fan, there’s a good chance that once you read the interview, you will be.

Everyone Needs A Bullet to the Head

Posted on by

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.

Re-Imagined Marvel Covers

Posted on by

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.

The Big Bang by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins

Posted on by

The Big Bang: The Lost Mike Hammer Sixties Novel.

If you’re a Spillane fan, then we probably thought the same thing as we read the line above:  I want it now.  Although we’re going to have to wait a bit longer, at least we know the broad strokes:

Drawing on an unpublished partial Spillane manuscript dating from the ’60s, [Max Allan] Collins resurrects Spillane’s randy, two-fisted New York City PI, Mike Hammer…

From Max Allan Collins’ website:

In midtown Manhattan, Mike Hammer, recovering from a near-fatal mix-up with the Mob, runs into drug dealers assaulting a young hospital messenger. He saves the kid, but the muggers are not so lucky. Hammer considers the rescue a one-off, but someone has different ideas, as indicated by a street-corner knife attack.

With himself for a client, Hammer — and his beautiful, deadly partner Velda — take on the narcotics racket in New York just as the streets have dried up and rumors run rampant of a massive heroin shipment due any day. In a New York of flashy discotheques, swanky bachelor pads, and the occasional dark alley, Hammer deals with doctors and drug addicts, hippie chicks and hit men, meeting changing times with his timeless brand of violent vengeance.

The Big Bang is available for pre-order now.

Elmore Leonard Feels Justified

Posted on by

TVGuide.com just posted a piece titled Elmore Leonard: Justified Gets It Just Right.  I’m happy that Elmore Leonard, who wrote the novella that the series is based on, is as happy with the show as the rest of us [on the night it premiered it ranked No. 1 on cable in overall viewers and in its time slot beat the broadcast networks among men 18-to-49].  I was was even happier to learn that…

…Leonard has begun work on a new Raylan Givens story which he hopes might inspire plots for the show’s second season, if FX renews the series… And if they don’t, Leonard says he will pen a couple more Raylan stories and publish a collection.