Robbi Rodriguez’s Rocky

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I first saw Robbi Rodriguez’s art at a convention. Robbi was set up selling his sketches, and sketchbooks. I didn’t have a clue who he was, but I really liked his art. Since my sketch budget was already shot, I couldn’t hit Robbi up for a sketch. I decided if I ever saw him at another show, I’d definitely try to get on his list.

Lucky for me, Robbi was at this year’s Heroes Convention. Luckier, still was that he agreed to do a Stallone piece for me. I really love the loosenes of Robbi’s style. The kid is talented. You can see more of Robbi’s art here and hopefully again here at the SZ in the future.

Live & In Person

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I just want to remind everyone that at about 11am EST, John Beatty will be drawing live $10 head shots.  Not only can you watch as he creates ’em, you can even order your own to be drawn as you watch. I’ll be in the luxurious JBI studio to co-host the event.  It will be a blast.  Hopefully you can drop in, even if you don’t plan to order a sketch or five. I’m on board for at least two! Full details are here.

I also want to remind ZONErs that John and I will be guests at Tim Gordon’s November 7th TampaCon.   Tim’s Tampa show is always a blast and this one will be no exception.

Tim has put together an anthology Christmas comic with the proceeds going to charity.  John and I did a three page story for it [which John pencilled, inked and colored] and we’ll be there with about 2 dozen guests including:

Dark Horse Team Ups

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When most folks think of Adam Hughes, they usually think of the beatiful women that he draws.  Adam can draw anything well, but he’s so wickedly talented at drawing the ladies, that fans lucky enough to get a sketch from him usually opt for, you guessed it, a female character.   You wouldn’t immediately think of Adam illustrating Hellboy [although I’d love to see a full Hellboy story drawn by Mr. Hughes].

That is one of the things that made Dark Horse 20 Years such a cool comic.  In order to celebrate their second decade in publishing, Dark Horse Comics brought together over 35 of the most talented pencillers, inkers and colorists in the business to create 21 pinups for a comic that they sold for just 25 cents.  In addition to the Adam Hughes Hellboy, the issue contained:

  • Ghost by Art Adams & Michelle Madsen
  • Conan by Sergio Aragones & Tom Luth
  • Groo by Paul Chadwick
  • Concrete by Chris Warner & Dan Jackson
  • Black Cross [For the record, I really think it’s time for a new Chris Warner Black Cross mini-series] by Killian Plunkett & David Nestelle
  • Star Wars by Eric Powell
  • The Goon by Matt Wagner & Dave Stewart as well as many other characters & creators.

The issue makes a fun addition to any collection and the Adam Hughes Hellboy piece alone is worth more than the price of admission!

John Beatty Works to Get a Head

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My buddy, Big John Beatty, has decided to try something new. He’s going to be drawing ten dollar head sketches this Saturday on UStream. Folks will be able to watch and comment live as John draws. Fans wanting a sketch, will be able to order, paypall their payment and then watch as John draws it.  For full details, click here.

Big Beatty has asked me to co-host and I’m going to try and make that happen. It should be a lot of fun… especially if I’m able to get in an order for a Stallone sketch!

Steranko Speaks

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Jim Steranko [or simply Steranko as most folks know him] is quite a character.  In addition to being a groundbreaking artist, a writer, editor, and publisher, Steranko was also a singer in a rock band, a magician and escape artist.

Oh, the stories Steranko could tell.  Thankfully, he does [at least a few] in this nice little Q & A over at CBR.com.

Mike Zeck’s “Demolition Man”

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My buddy, Mike Zeck sent me the scan above as well as this one. That is of course, Sly in his role as John Spartan from “Demolition Man”. Here’s what Mike had to say about his involvement with DC’s “Demolition Man” adaptation:

DC asked for a pencil image of these two characters. I delivered, got paid, and that’s the total extent of my knowledge. No idea if they were ever used for anything, ever inked, or anything else.

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Interesting unseen art though for the ‘Zone‘.

I thanked Mike and said that I wondered how much Stallone-related art is out there that hasn’t been seen. I told Mike that when Joe Kubert was a guest at an OrlandoCon several years ago he told me that he had worked up some dailies for a potential “Rocky” newspaper strip that never sold. Mike wrote back to say that he’d been approached about samples for a potential “Rambo” newspaper strip, but because the pay was so low, he never got around to doing any.

At least we have these two previously unseen pieces of Stallone art to enjoy. Thanks to Mike for sharing.

Creepiest Lines in Cinema

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Hollywood.com recently posted their choices for the 25 Creepiest Movie Lines in Cinema. You know me, so using just their choices here are my TOP TEN:

  • 10.  “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” — Psycho (1960)  Combine that line and Anthony Perkins’ stare and you’ve got Creeepy with a capital C.
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  • “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”— The Silence of the Lambs (1991)  Follow that with Anthony Hopkins making a sucking sound and you’ll get goosebumps.
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  • “I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply…evil.” — Halloween (1978) That line hints at the scares to come.
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  • “I see dead people.” — The Sixth Sense (1999)  The catch phrase of that years
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  • “It’s people! Soylent Green is made out of people! They’re making our food out of people…” —Soylent Green (1973)  Not just creepy, but shocking to the 14 year old seeing the movie for the first time.
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  • I can’t lie to you about your chances, but…you have my sympathies” — Alien (1979) How can THAT line not creep you out?
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  • “There’s nothing to be afraid of. They were right. It’s painless. It’s good. Come. Sleep.” — Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)  It was creepy to hear when I was twenty watching the remake in a theater, but even creepier when I was a little kid up way late watching the original presented on”Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater” on a little black and white tv!
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  • “I want you to make a choice… Let the game begin.” — Saw (2004)  Yeah, and Ms. Streep thought she had a tough choice.
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  • “They’re heeeeere!” — Poltergeist (1982) Hearing that makes the small hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
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  • “Have you checked the children?” — When a Stranger Calls (1979) That line creeped me out years before I had kids.

Lists are subjective, but how did my favorite creepy line, “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” not make the cut?

“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week: Day 7

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“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week [written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton]: Day 7 @ the ZONE. Today is the last day of our tribute to Smith, Dixon & Brereton’s Black Terror story so I thought it fitting that our last piece of art be the final page of the mini-series.

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If you’ve enjoyed this week’s posts, then tell a friend or seven.  If enough people [re]discover The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit, perhaps we’ll someday get a trade edition, it so richly deserves.

The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week: Day 6

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“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week [written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton]: Day 6 @ the ZONE.  Today’s art is from issue 2 [art by Dan Brereton].

All week long I’ve been yappin’ about what a great series this was.  Hopefully, from the quotes and teaser art, you’re interest has been piqued enough to either pull out your copies and re-read the dang thing, or if you’d never heard of it until this week, to round up a set for yourself.

If you’re already a fan, then why not drop Beau Smith, Chuck Dixon and Dan Brereton a line and let them know.  Better yet, why not e-mail Todd McFarlane [who holds the rights to the comic] at Spawn.com Publishing and suggest they give the series the reprint it deserves!

“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week: Day 5

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“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week [written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton]: Day 5 @ the ZONE.   Today’s art is an extremely rare piece by Dan Brereton from a 1988 issue of The Comic Shop News.   It appeared with an article about “the return of a Golden Age hero” [The Black Terror] scheduled to appear in Total Eclipse #3 [a company crossover book] “who will then move into his own title in 1989“.

It’s interesting to note that the article said that “The Black Terror” would be co-written by  Beau Smith and Chuck Dixon [it was] and “illustrated by two artists new to Eclipse, Dan Brereton and Brandon Peterson” [it wasn’t].  Dan Brereton did all of the art chores.  I e-mailed Brandon to find out what happened and here is his response:

“I was given a tryout just out of High School by Beau that Beau liked, but Eclipse wanted one artist on the series and that was Dan, which was the very right decision to make at the time.”

So that’s one small mystery solved, but here’s another: Who is the the character standing beside The Black Terror in today’s art?  I believe it is Beau Smith’s comic alter ego.   Beau, am I mistaken?

“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week: Day 4

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It’s Day 4 of “The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week @ the ZONE.  You may be getting tired of hearing that “The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton is one of the best comic stories ever.  But it’s true.

Today’s post is a very loose, and rarely seen sketch of The Black Terror drawn by the series award-winning artist, Dan Brereton.  Today’s quote by Beau Smith [who came up with the concept for the series and co-wrote it] talks about the psychological terror that runs throughout “The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit”:

“Books like Batman, Punisher, and Moon Knight bring you the hostile side of violence.  The Black Terror brings you one step further – into the brutality of the mind.”

If The Black Terror sounds like something you’d like, then track down some issues and give it a go. If you’re already a fan, then why not drop Beau Smith, Chuck Dixon and Dan Brereton a line and let them know. Better yet, why not e-mail Todd McFarlane [who holds the rights to the comic] at Spawn.com Publishing and suggest they give the series the reprint it deserves!

“The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week: Day 3

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Day 3 of “The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit” Week @ the ZONE brings us a very rough sketch by Dan Brereton that appeared in Comics Scene #5.  For those coming in late, “The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit”  was written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton.  Smith & Dixon’s writing combined with Brereton’s art to produce one of the best comic stories ever.  [Please note I didn’t limit my praise to just crime comics.]

Here’s how Beau Smith described The Black Terror in the Comics Scene piece:

“He’s going to be what characters like Wolverine or Batman could never be due to licensing and being on every kid’s lunchbox.  He is going to be the scariest thing – the boogeyman to crime… All they know about him is he gets the job done, he doesn’t get caught, and their people usually get hurt along the way.”

If The Black Terror sounds like something you’d like, then track down the three issue mini-series and give it a go.  If you’re already a fan, then why not drop Beau Smith, Chuck Dixon and Dan Brereton a line and let them know.  Better yet, why not e-mail Todd McFarlane [who holds the rights to the comic] at Spawn.com Publishing and suggest they give the series the reprint it deserves!