Is That Snake Plissken?

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Here’s another item from the ZONE vault… at first glance it appears to be a publicity shot of Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken from John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York.” But it’s not… not really.   The photo is actually a pre-production still meant to help nail the look for Snake Plissken.

Look closer and you’ll see that Kurt has a snake tat on his arm — in the movie he had a huge snake tat on his stomach.  Also Kurt’s arm isn’t as big as it was in the movie — he hadn’t yet pumped up for the role.  Even though this photo of Snake isn’t quite the Plissken of the movie — it shows that Carpenter had a handle on the character’s look from early on.

Mike Zeck’s Hulk

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After all that talk yesterday about how cool Mike Zeck’s Hulk and frontpieces were, I decided to dig into the ZONE vault and see what I could come up with.   So today we have a Mike Zeck frontpiece that appeared in The Hulk magazine #14 dated April 1978.

A couple of interesting tidbits:

The frontpiece originally was published flipped horizontally so that the Hulk’s left hand appeared to be in a fist [to the viewer’s right].  Because it was flipped, Mike’s signature appeared to be SECK.  So, 31 years later, I post the art the way Mike meant it to be seen… but unfortunately my scan cuts off his signature… : (

I may be remembering wrong, but I believe the taxi driver is meant to be Mike Zeck his own bad self.

FX Photos

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That’s me and horror host Lon Midnight at the FX show on this past weekend.  I’m the mug on the left.

One of the fun things about comic conventions is the number of people who show up in costume.  Here are pictures of a few.  John Beatty posted some nice photos of some of the artists at the show.

As you look at the photos sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s in costume and who’s simply dressed as they usually do!

Jeff Warmester’s Rocky

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I first discovered Jeff Wamester on his ComicSpace page.  I really liked Jeff’s art and thought his concept pieces for a futuristic bounty hunter graphic novel had a ton of potential.  I’ve continued to follow his postings at DeviantArt.

When Jeff recently offered his sketchbook [along with a free headsketch], I immediately put in my order.  Jeff was quick to respond that he got my request.  The sketchbook arrived in no time at all and was securely packaged.  [If you had a mail carrier like mine, you’d appreciate that!]  The sketchbook rocks and contains a nice cross section of Jeff’s work.  I’m not sure if it’s still available, but if so, you can’t go wrong by ordering one.

UFC 97 Results

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Sometimes, it’s not if you win or lose, but HOW you win or lose.  The results of the co-main event fights at tonight’s UFC 97 prove the truth of that saying.

Chuck Liddell was knocked out in the first round by Shogun Rua.  The fight didn’t last long, but was fast paced with both fighters throwing bombs.  Liddell was pressing the action and landing some good shots.  At one point Rua almost put in Liddell in a leglock, but Chuck escaped and continued to move forward.  Suddenly Rua landed a hook and Chuck went down.  Rua followed and started dropping hammerfists until the ref stepped in to stop it.  Although Liddell lost, the crowd was still cheering him when he returned, beer in hand to watch the main event.  Later it was announced that Chuck Liddell was retiring.

Anderson Silva, on the other hand, easily defeated Thales Leites in a fight that should have exciting.  Both men are skilled martial artists and were fighting for the title.  The fight went the distance and before the first round was over, fans were booing.  Leites had no intention of standing and trading punches with Silva so he would intentionally drop to his back each time it looked as if a serious exchange was about to take place.  For his part, Silva refused to go to the ground with Leites.  Imagine watching THAT for five rounds.  Silva ended up with the unanimous decision and a recording breaking streak of wins… a many, if not most of the fans in attendance booing him.

Liddell has had a great career.  He’s still a fan favorite and will continue to work with the UFC even if he never steps into the octogan to fight again.  If  Liddell did decide to fight again, fans would turn out knowing that win or lose, they’d see a plenty of action.   Silva is perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.  Despite the longest win streak in UFC history and being the Middleweight champ, it’s going to be hard to get fans excited about his next fight because sometimes it’s not if you win or lose, but HOW you go about doing it.

UFC Predictions

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Just a quick post before I head off to bed to get a few hours of sleep.  John Beatty is picking me up at 7am for our trip to FX.  It should be a fun couple of days.  Then on Sunday I’m meeting up with Rob Smith to catch up on the latest news of his travels and art.

This post isn’t about any of that though.  Instead I thought I’d give you my picks for Saturday’s UFC event.  So right to the point: Silva will defeat Leites in what should be a very technical fight, and Liddell will win against Shogun.  Yeah, that’s right don’t count out the Iceman.

Now for some zzzzzzzs!

Star Trek Me

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When I was a kid I loved the original Star Trek series.  [Who am I kidding?  I still enjoy it.]  When we’d play Star Trek I always wanted to be Spock.  I had the haircut and even asked my mom if I could get my ears fixed like his.  Thankfully she didn’t give in on that.

I’ve never watched any of the Star Trek spin-offs.  It was just the original series for me.  I am going to check out the Star Trek re-boot since it features the original characters.  Still, it will be strange seeing someone else playing Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew.  Although it won’t be as strange as the photo above with me as Spock, John Beatty as Kirk and Jim Ivey as a Romulan warrior.

100 Bullets Hits 100

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100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso has consistently been one of the best comics published each month during it’s 100 issue run.  I’m sorry to see it end, but 100 Bullets was designed to go for just 100 issues.  And it did.  And with the same creative team [including Dave Johnson‘s magnificent covers] in every issue.  CBR.com has a spoiler heavy review right here.

I’m going to miss my monthly 100 Bullets fix… but have to admit I am looking forward to whatever Azzarello, Risso and Johnson do next.

Chris Lopez & FX Countdown

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Today’s Stallone sketch is by Chris Lopez.  I love his work, but Chris’ website disappeared years ago and unfortunately I have no idea what happened to him.

Chris Lopez is a very talented artist who used to run SpaceBop.com. I sent Chris an e-mail praising his work and the next day this digital sketch and explanation appeared in my e-mail:

“The Lords of Flatbush is one of my favorite flicks. So I figured I’d do one of Stanley. I loved the scene with him in the pigeon coop, or when he goes to buy the engagement ring and gets pressured into buying the more expensive one. Oh yeah, swinging around 2 football helmets!!! Classic stuff.

So anyway, here it is. I hope you like it. I really had fun doing it. I tried not to fall back on the stereotypical Sly caricature features (eyes, lip) and give him a more realistic approach.”

That was about eight years ago. I lost track of Chris when SpaceBop.com went offline. [There is a site with the same name now, but it’s not Chris’.] Periodic searches for Chris on the internet haven’t turned him up.

Maybe one of you know him??

We’re less than a week away from FX and the fever is growing.  I had breakfast yesterday with Big John Beatty [who else has a milkshake with a sausage & cheese omelet?] and he’s ready to rock some sketches.  LOL.  Mike Zeck is putting us up for the weekend.  Too bad we can’t get Mike to join us for some FX fun.  Mike, like Bella [John’s wife] and Doralya [my wife] will probably enjoy the quiet while Beatty and I are at the show.

 
  • Mood:  Sunny Mood
  • Listening to: Smiling Faces by The Undisputed Truth
  • Reading: Patient Zero by Jonathon Mayberry
  • Watching: Pitch Black
  • Playing: Dead
  • Eating: Easter Dinner soon!
  • Drinking: Diet Coke

Be Careful How You Say It!

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The first vanity plate that I can remember seeing in person was “Smooth1.” It belonged to my buddy’s sister.  At that time, about 30 years ago, vanity plates were pretty rare.   These days they’re fairly common and most are along the lines of — “Gr8 1”—  “2Fast4U” — “I C U 8 1 2.”

Sometimes people like to slip in profanity or double entendres and so states have to carefully review all vanity plate requests.  Unfortunately for Kelly Coffman-Lee her request for a Colorado vanity plate was denied.    Coffman-Lee is a vegan who loves tofu.  She covers her car with bumper stickers promoting her lifestyle and decided to take it to the next level and get a personalized plate.  Her request to have the message “I LOVE TOFU” was denied because to fit the plate it would read “ILVTOFU.”

FX is a Week Away!

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We’re a week away from FX International.  My buddy, John Beatty will there as a guest along with other comic book artists, movie and tv celebs and thousands of fans.  I’ll be hanging out at Big John’s table on Friday and Saturday as he autographs and sketches.  [Oh, and if you plan to get a sketch from John be sure and print out his Big Beatty Stimulus Bucks Coupon!  It will get you five dollars off any sketch purchased!]

Speaking of sketches, I’ll be hoping to get a few more additions to my Stallone theme, as well as a couple of autographs.

Drop me a comment if you plan to attend.  A fun time will be had by all.