More Art from Heroes

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Mike Wieringo is one of the nicest and most talented artists you could ever meet. Soft spoken and humble, but oh man, what an artist!

Mike did this drawing of Rocky Balboa for his blog [which I read daily and suggest you do as well]. Mike knew about my Stallone art collection and told me it was mine for the asking when I commented about it.

Check out Mike’s Blog when you have some time to spend. You’ll be amazed and impressed with the amount that he’s posted [but his insightful comments will also be part of what brings you back].
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My buddy, Andy Smith whipped up this cool rendition of Rocky Balboa. Andy is mostly known for his penciling and inking work for DC and Cross Gen comics. But I like to tell people is that when it comes to dynamic drawing, Andy wrote the book. You see, he truly did. Really! You can check it out HERE! You can also check out Andy’s site by clicking HERE. – Craig
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Mike Wieringo’s drawing of Jack Carter is one of my favorite pieces from this year’s Heroes Con. I not only love the look and attitude of the piece, but I was able to watch Mike sketch it!

Mike was selling his latest sketch book and if you bought a copy, Mike threw in a head sketch for free! Talk about a great deal. I was worried that because Stallone isn’t a character that Mike had drawn repeatedly, it might be more difficult and therefore he might decline my request. Boy, was I wrong. Mike proceeded to sketch it out in no time and like I said, he really captured the look and attitude of Sly as Jack Carter.

In my previous post, I suggested you check out Mike’s Blog. I should have remembered to tell you about where you can buy Mike Wieringo original art. Now you have all the facts and links you need.

Enjoy!

 

Shatner’s Raw Nerve

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William Shatner, one of the stars of ABC’s “Boston Legal” [which is on my “Must See TV” list] has agreed to host a celebrity-interview show for the Biography Channel. “Shatner’s Raw Nerve” will be a 30 minute showcase for Shatner to interview guests ranging from politicians to actors [now there’s a stretch]. So how will this differ from other interview shows? William Shatner “will explore life’s most intriguing questions and unearth his guests’ strange and unknown stories.” Thirteen episodes have been ordered and will begin airing in 2008.

I gotta tell ya, I’ll tune in just to hear Shatner’s view on things. So beam me aboard.

Matt Wagner’s "Z"

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What do you do?… when one of your favorite comic book creators [Matt Wagner] loves a character [Zorro] so much that he contacts the company that has just gotten the rights to said character [Dynamite – the same company bringing us Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name] and offers them his services as cover artist for the series?What do you do?… when the company [Dynamite] counters with an offer for the creator [Matt Wagner] to not only provide the covers, but to come on board as the art director for the series and to write the first storyline?

Give up?

Here’s what you do: 1] You post the info on your blog. 2] You post a link to Matt Wagner’s website where they can see the full Zorro drawing that he did long before learning about the new gig. 3] You tell your local comic shop owner to keep his eye out for the new Zorro series coming from Dynamite and Matt Wagner and 4] You promise to quit asking so many questions.

I Say Crimeland, You Say Rumble in La Rambla

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve been talking up Crimeland for over a year. Of course when I first wrote about it, it was called Rumble in La Rambla and was to be a mini-series. I thought it sounded great and was on board. I knew we were in for a fun ride.

Unfortunately the mini-series was delayed. When we next heard about Rumble in La Rambla it had turned into a graphic novel with a new name [Crimeland] and a new publisher [Image]. It still had the same story by Felipe Ferreira and Ivan Brandon with art by Rafael Albuquerque. So all things considered, this worked out to an even better deal for us readers!

Return of the Man With No Name

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The Man with No Name aka Clint Eastwood’s character from “A Fistful of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More,” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is finally making his way to comics. The new series will be published by Dynamite and written by Christos (Stormwatch PHD, Annihilation Conquest: Quasar) Gage with an artist to be picked later. Done correctly, this could be a very cool comic with appeal to everyone from teenagers to retirees. John Beatty [because of his love for the films and not because he’s my best friend] would make a great inker on the series. Let’s continue the dream and get Mike Zeck to do the covers [and I can’t even imagine in a dream that he’d take on the interior art as well]. So who should pencil the series?

Art from Heroes Con

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I finally got a chance to post up some of the art that I picked up at this year’s Heroes Con. Let’s take a look…Sly Stallone by Rick Remender. I’ve been a fan of Rick’s work for years. He’s that rare talent that can write and draw and he does both very well. Check out his bio and you’ll be amazed at all of the cool things that he’s worked on. Check out his site and you’ll become a fan [if you’re not already]. Now if Rick could just find time to get around to The Last Days of American Crime!

Rambo by Megan Ruiz. Can you believe that Megan just turned 14 and she can already draw like that? Of course her dad is Alberto Ruiz so we know where she gets her talent. Not only can the young lady draw, but she is one of the nicest and most polite people you’ll ever meet. It was a true pleasure to get a drawing from her.

Cosmo Carboni by Robin Mitchell. I discovered Robin through Alberto’s site and Robin’s blog. I dug his art enough to pick up his first art book and was thrilled to get an original sketch from him. Robin has a second art book out and you can get both HERE.

Rocky Balboa by Kyle Baker. Kyle Baker is an amazing talent with a wicked sense of humor, mad drawing skills, storytelling that just sucks you in… let’s simplify life and call him a genius. Check out Kyle’s site and you’ll get a taste of what I’m talking about.

Rocky Balboa by Andrew Robinson. Andrew Robinson is an artist’s artist. When he starts to draw or paint, other artists gather round. I met Andrew years ago through my good buddy John Beatty. It was obvious then how much talent Andrew possessed… and he just keeps getting better and better. Andrew will have an art book coming out soon. Save some coin, because it’s a “must have” item. Until then, here’s a link to his site to hold you over!

Get Funnier [Hopefully]

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I was never a HUGE fan of “Get Smart”. Sure, it had it’s moments, and I can see where “Get Smart” could really work as a movie.

Despite the fact that “Get Smart” has been well cast with Steve Carell [Maxwell Smart], Anne Hathaway [Agent 99], Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson [Agent 23] and Alan Arkin [The Chief], I’m not convinced that it’s going to be a winner. This teaser trailer didn’t change my mind [although I did chuckle at “You did underestimate me and the element of surpraaaahhh – ”

 

Trailers From Hell

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What do you call a website that features Hollywood directors like Joe Dante, John Landis and others commenting about classic [and not-so-classic] trailers as they play?

How about Trailers From Hell? You can go there is you click HERE.

UFC 73 Summary

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Alright, let’s take a look at the results of last night’s UFC 73: Stacked.

The first fight of the night was Heath Herring Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. I thought that this would be one of the easiest picks of the night. Although I was correct that Nogueira would win, it wasn’t easy. From the start Nogueira had his way, taking Herrring down and peppering him with blows. Herring managed to get to his feet, but it appeared to be just a matter of time since Nogueira was stalking him and landing punches and knees at will. Suddenly Herring landed a wicked head kick and Nogueira was down and nearly out. Herring was too cautious about going to the mat after Nogueira and this gave Nog additional time to slowly stand up. Time ran out before Herring could close the deal.

Round Two started and Nog was still wobbly. Herring, perhaps fearing that Nog was trying to lure him in, elected to stay back and it wasn’t until Nog regained composure and started pressing the fight that any real exchanges took place. Nog takes Herring down and lands some punches. Herring gets to his feet and Nog starts stalking him again.

Round Three is more of the same. Nog takes down Herring who escapes and then is stalked by Nog. The fight ends and Noguiera wins a decision. Herring did much better than I would have guessed. In fact he could have won the fight in the first round had he not been overly cautious. That will probably haunt him for quite a while. I do think that Herring’s showing was good enough to get him another top fight in the UFC.

Hermes Franca Vs. Sean Sherk was the best fight of the night. It went five full rounds and although Sherk dominated throughout the fight, Franca was never out of it. From the opening it was action with Sherk going in for a takedown and Franca countering with a guillotine choke. Sherk escapes and the fight is on. Each round went pretty much the same way, Sherk would shoot in, Franca would land a huge knee [that would have knocked out most fighters] and Sherk would shake it off and dominate from the top position. Sherk wins a unanimous decision and looks amazing doing it.

Rashad Evans Vs. Tito Ortiz was probably the most anticipated fight of the night. Tito begins with a quick takedown but is unable to do any real damage. Rashad gets up and the two exchange blows without either gaining much. Tito does get cut, but it appears that it’s from a fingernail. Round one ends with the nod to Tito.

Round Two is more of them going at each other without either gaining the upperhand. Near the end of the fight Rashad goes in for a takedown and Tito grabs the fence [for the second time] to avoid going down. Tito is penalized a point as Rashad finally gets Tito to the mat. Tito reverses and gets Rashad in a guillotine choke. Although Rashad is in trouble, time runs out. Since Tito lost a point, I call the round even [and later I learn the judges do as well].

Round Three starts and although Tito begins to press the fight, it appears that he’s gassed! Late in the round it is obvious that Rashad is in much better condition and he begins to take the fight to Tito. Rashad gets a big takedown and begins raining huge elbows on Tito. Luckily for Tito the bell sounds to end the round which goes to Rashad.

According to my scorecard the fight should end in a draw. I’m wondering if the judges feel the same… but they do and the fight ends in a draw. I’m sure that this will lead to a Ortiz vs Evans II.

Nate Marquardt was a huge underdog against Anderson Silva. I felt that if Marquardt could avoid Silva’s knees he would win. I was wrong. Marquardt was able to take Silva down, but couldn’t gain enough of an advantage to do much. After they were stood up, Silva clocks Marquardt who immediately tries for a takedown. Silva cracks him again with a right and Marquardt goes down to the mat and the fight is stopped. Silva wins via technical knockout.

UFC 73 provided us with 4 good fights. I don’t know who is out there that will beat Sherk or Silva. Herring isn’t done in the UFC and Nogueira isn’t the invincible warrior that we were led to believe. Neither Tito nor Rashad convinced me that they’re ready for a title shot.

Next up is UFC 74 which pits Randy Couture against Gabriel Gonzogna and George St. Piere facing Josh Koscheck on August 25th. You just know we’ll be talking about that as the fight date gets closer!