Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
This is the teaser poster for Otis Frampton’s new sci/fi action web comic ESCAPE FROM PLANET NOWHERE. Starting this Sunday [March 7th] a new page will be uploaded every week. Since I’m a fan of Otis’ art and I love good science fiction/action stories, dropping in each week will be a no-brainer for me. I bet you’d dig it too!
The new season of The Ultimate Fighter premieres on March 31, but you can get a sneak peak at those competing for the contract by clicking here.
The Pitch: Darwyn Cooke [artist] teams with Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti [writers] for the 50th issue [a double-sized extravaganza] of Jonah Hex.
The Overview: Hex and a female bounty hunter named Tallulah have found that working together has benefits… their relationship has become more than just professional. After a night spent together celebrating a huge reward, Hex wakes up alone. Determined to find Tallulah and the reason she left, Hex accepts a bounty mission to bring in 50 criminals. Fifty bounties is a huge burden, but it’ll be easier than accepting what he learns about Tallulah.
The Good: Darwyn Cooke’s art. The story by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti. Tallulah is a cool character and the perfect love interest for Hex. The reason Tallulah left. Fifty bounties for the 50th issue was a nice touch.
The Bad: What happens to those hunted by Hex or Tallulah. Hex’s attitude after Tallulah leaves. What happens along the way and when Hex finds her.
The Ugly: Jonah Hex.
The Summary: Jonah Hex #50 is a great read. The story has twists that will surprise even the most jaded comic reader. It’s a double-sized issue and presents a complete story, so even the most casual comic reader can enjoy it. It’s definitely worth searching out.
I always enjoy a good mash-up. Especially one as well done as this Avatar/Pocahontas job. Thanks to Otis Frampton for the link.
Mike Torrance pencils, inks and colors. Mike regular posts a sketchcard idea contest at Retro Cowboy Productions and his Deviant Art site. Here’s how it works, Mike posts a subject and the first one to make request which fits the theme is the winner! This is the second time I’ve won [the theme this time: 80’s Action Heroes — the first time I won: Detectives].
Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable. Check him out.
Earlier in the week, Frank Mir made comments that caused a lot of controversy in the mixed martial arts world. Of course saying…
I want to fight Lesnar. I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries.
… is bound to stir things up. It wasn’t too long before UFC President Dana White responded to Mir’s comments by calling Mir…
a [expletive] idiot!
White went on to say…
I have never heard something so unprofessional and idiotic in my life.
Of course when the guy who writes your paychecks is upset with something you’ve said, it’s probably a good idea to apologize. Which is what Mir did…
“I would like to apologize to Brock Lesnar, his family, the UFC and the UFC fans for my stupid remarks…
So things should have died down, but then a reporter asked Shane Carwin [Mir’s next opponent] to comment on Mir’s tirade against Brock. Carwin hadn’t seen or heard the interview, but had this to say…
…I can tell you that ANY athlete wishing death upon a competitor is either a terrible human being or mentally unfit to fight…”
After that things quieted down… until a Sports Illustrated reporter spoke to Mir about the controversy his comments caused. Mir admitted he was surprised to be called to the carpet…
I’ve heard people say that this is to the death. I’ve heard people say about an opponent, ‘I’m going to kill him.’ I heard Brock say he was going to put his hand up my rear end to pull out a horseshoe. I didn’t hear anyone get too upset about that.”
The SI reporter went on to say that recently fighters like BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell and even Brock Lesnar have said that they wanted to kill or murder their opponents. So why the continued fuss over Mir’s comments?
Even Brock Lesnar didn’t seem to understand the controversy and told a Sporting News Reporter…
“It was out of line, but in the fighter’s mentality, I don’t want to go in the Octagon and kill somebody but I want to do whatever I can to win. Maybe that’s what he was saying…
So now things will, uh, die down, right? Oh, oh, maybe not because Brock added…
“I’d really like to fight Frank Mir again … Hopefully he gets past Shane Carwin so I can give him another beatdown. For a guy to take an ass-whipping like the last one I gave him and for him to keep running his mouth, I’ve just got laugh. … I don’t know what I’ll have to do to shut him up.”
Well, at least Brock didn’t say he’d have to kill him.
Two days ago I posted about Frank Mir saying he wanted to break Brock Lesnar’s neck and he hoped that Brock would be the first to die in the octagon. I predicted that a Mir apology would be coming soon. I was right.
Yesterday I posted that Mir had issued an apology. I predicted that all would be forgiven until the time that Mir and Lesnar fought for a third time. I was wrong.
When Shane Carwin was asked about Mir’s comments said the following:
“I did not see the interview so I can’t comment on what he [Mir] might have said. I can tell you that ANY athlete wishing death upon a competitor is either a terrible human being or mentally unfit to fight…”
Considering that Mir is Carwin’s opponent next month at UFC 111, Carwin didn’t lay it on too thick.
Yesterday I predicted that Frank Mir would say that he was sorry for his comments that he wanted to break Lesnar’s neck or for him to be killed in the octagon. Later that afternoon Mir released the following statement:
“I would like to apologize to Brock Lesnar, his family, the UFC and the UFC fans for my stupid remarks,” said Mir. “I respect Brock, all the other fighters, and the sport of mixed martial arts. I’m sorry that I stepped out of line.”
Ok. Nice apology. All is forgiven… at least until Mir and Lesnar meet in the cage for a third time. Then you know it will become a point of contention and another way to hype the fight.
Frank Mir is one of my favorite mixed martial arts fighters. I like him because he’s talented, has a great work ethic, is intelligent, speaks his mind and came back from a devastating motorcycle injury that would have retired lesser men. So it disappoints me to report that Mir said in an interview…
I want to fight Lesnar. I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries.
Of course the comments Mir made were extreme. I get that Mir doesn’t like Lesnar. Without a doubt Lesnar’s antics after winning the second fight with Mir [getting in his face, yelling at him, etc.] fueled Mir’s dislike. But did Lesnar’s childish taunts warrant Frank wanting to break his neck or hope that Lesnar becomes the first to die in the octagon? Of course not.
As you can imagine, Mir’s comments didn’t go over well with most fans and definitely ticked off UFC president Dana White who responded to Mir’s comments with:
“Mir is a [expletive] idiot! I have never heard something so unprofessional and idiotic in my life.
While it’s true that Dana White has made his share of unprofessional comments, it doesn’t change the fact that Mir joined the club with his rant. But Frank Mir is no idiot. In fact, he comes off as a pretty intelligent guy. He’s no thug.
It’s been announced that Mir will issue a statement later today. My guess is that Mir will say that he’s sorry for the comments that he made and that he really doesn’t want to break Lesnar’s neck or for him to be killed in the octagon. I have no doubt that is the truth.
I also have no doubt that Mir really wants to fight Lesnar for a third time. And that’s just another reason that Frank Mir is one of my favorite fighters.
And now.., I give you, Newsarama’sTony Harris Week: Day Five!
This month’s Previews featured a full page ad for a new printing of Steranko’s classic Chandler: Red Tide. Originally published in 1976, Chandler: Red Tide is sometimes referred to as the first graphic novel. At the time it was published, Steranko called it an illustrated novel. I think a more accurate description is the one used by Dark Horse in the press release:
After emerging as Marvel Comics most controversial superstar, Jim Steranko tackled his greatest artistic challenge: creating an entirely new medium, the visual novel -not an illustrated novel or novel-length comic book, but a seamless fusion of interdependent graphic and prose narratives forming a powerful and original new method of telling stories.
But why stop there? Let’s go on… Chandler: Red Tide is an…
… artistic tour-de-force, Red Tide is hard-boiled detective fiction in the bare-knuckle tradition of Hammett, Cain, and Chandler, as well as the dark, atmospheric milieu of film noir.
Although I own an original printing that’s been in my collection since it was first published, I will be picking up the Dark Horse edition since it…
has been remastered with state-of-the-art digital colors by Eisner Award-winner Dave Stewart, in a collector’s quality hardcover edition.
Jonathan Maberry has a nice interview with bestselling author F. Paul Wilson that sadly is no longer online. Wilson writes about a character called Repairman Jack that Wilson describes as…
…an urban mercenary in Manhattan, a self-made outcast who lives in the interstices of modern society. A ghost in our machine: no official identity, no social security number, pays no taxes. He has a violent streak he sometimes finds hard to control. He hires out for cash to “fix” situations that have no legal remedy.
If this sounds like something you’d like then you can learn more about Repairman Jack and F. Paul Wilson here.
This week we have Casey Jones’ take on Sly as Rocky. This was done last year when Casey was sketching for charity at MegaCon. It’s my second and hopefully not last piece from Casey who always does great work. Check out the label on Rocky’s gloves for an additional bonus. You can see more of Casey’s art here and here.
UFC110 was Saturday night, so let’s take a look at the fight results and my picks:
Minotauro Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez – My pick: Velesquez by decision. The result: Velesquez wins by KO in the 1st keeping him undefeated. I’m not sure if this says more about where Velesquez or Big Nog. [[My picks 4-3]
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva – My pick: Silva via TKO. The result: Silva wins by close decision; 29-28 on all 3 judes’ cards. Good for both fighters! Even though he lost I underestimated Bisping. [My picks 3-3]
George Sotiropoulos v. Joe Stevenson – My pick: Stevenson by submission. The result: Sotiropoulos wins every round on all judges’ cards. This does not bode well for Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. [My picks 2-3]
Keith Jardine v. Ryan Bader – My pick: Bader by KO or TKO. The result: Bader wins by 3rd round KO. [My picks 2-2]
Stephan Bonnar v. Krzysztof Soszynski -My pick: Soszynski by decision. The result: Soszynski wins by 3rd round TKO due to a bad cut. [My picks 1-2]
Brian Foster v. Chris Lytle – My pick: Foster by decision. The result: Lytle wins by 1st round submission due to a knee bar. [My picks 0-2]
Goran Reljic v. C.B. Dolloway -My pick: Reljic by decision. The result: Dolloway wins by close [29-28 all all judges’ cards] decision. [My picks 0-1]
Can’t let the day slip away without mentioning Newsarama’sTony Harris Week: Day Four!
