Heroes More Than Ever!

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I’m always ready for Heroes. It’s my favorite comic con of the year due to it’s laid back atmosphere and the amount of talent that the show attracts. I didn’t think that it would be easy for Shelton to top last year’s guest list, but this year’s is mighty impressive! And I just found out that Dave [100 Bullets] Johnson, Rafael [Conan] Kayanan, and Andrew [Dusty Star] Robinson will be sharing table space alongside my best bud, “Big” John Beatty.

Yeah, I’m always ready for Heroes… and now more than ever!

A Better Criminal

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I’ve been digging Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips since the first issue. The second story arc [Criminal #6] has just started and it looks to be even better than the first! Since it has new characters and a new story, it’s the perfect jumping on point! Tracy Lawless is ex-military and AWOL. Already prone to violence, Lawless is after his brother’s killers and nothing is going to stop him from getting his revenge.
Brubaker and Phillips are responsible for one of the best comics published today and I can’t recommend it strongly enough to mature readers [due to the language and violence — you can probably tell that I edited out some language in one of the panels above].

Criminal #6 rates an A+

Captured by The Cloak

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My buddy, Bill Black, CCABW [Chief Cook and Bottle Washer] at AC Comics has decided to take the plunge and regularly produce movies based on his comic book characters. Bill has jumped in with both feet and fan reaction has been extremely positive. Bill is currently finishing production on The Blue Bulleteer: Captured by The Cloak.

Lost is Found

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This weekend my wife and I caught up on our “Lost” viewing… 5 episodes and the two hour season finale. It was a great way to end the season… some questions answered and new mysteries created. We’re excited about the show now that it’s found its way again. Too bad it’s such a long wait until it returns, but it is good news that they are now working towards a definite ending.

Rampage Melts the Iceman

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UFC 71 was an exciting card with more than a couple of upsets. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson kept his undefeated streak against Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell intact by scoring a first round TKO. Rampage was the aggressor throughout the round with both men willing to trade blows. Rampage landed a shot on the button and Chuck went down with Rampage right on him raining blows. The fight was stopped and rightly so. Rampage is the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. I was also looking forward to the fight between Karo Parisyan and Josh Burkman. I figured that Karo would win and he did fairly easily. Karo is a tough guy who irritates the crowd with his cockiness. I’d love to see him in a rematch against Diego Sanchez or perhaps even a title shot. The biggest surprise of the night was in the Houston Alexander / Keith Jardine fight. I figured Jardine would win fairly easily and that looked to be the case… for about 30 seconds. Jardine moved in and immediately rocked Alexander. The fight looked to be over quickly and it was, right after Alexander came back with a punch that stunned Jardine! Alexander then swarmed Jardine throwing punches from all angles and a knee to boot. Jardine was down and out.

So the string of upsets continues. It started with Hughes losing his title to St. Pierre, Franklin losing to Sylvia, Sylvia [the heavyweight] losing to Couture, St. Pierre losing to Serra and tonight Liddell losing to Jackson. Jackson’s next fight is against Dan Henderson. My guess is that Jackson will hope to be the underdog!

Raf @ Heroes

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I just found out earlier this week that my buddy, Rafael Kayanan, will be a guest at this year’s Heroes Con. I first met Raf about 30 years ago! He was just a kid wanting break in comics. Since then he’s gone on a successful career in both the comic and film industry.

Raf’s not only an extremely talented artist [as in creating artwork], but also a highly accomplished martial artist [as in can kick some butt]. In the comic field he’s worked on everything from Conan to Star Wars. In the film industry he’s done everything from storyboards and conceptual art to serving as technical adviser and fight choreographer on major films. You just know he’s got some great stories.

Raf will be at a table next to Big John Beatty. You just know that this is going to be THE place to be. Hope to see you there!

Iceman vs Liddell

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Chuck Liddell, the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has only lost three times in his career. He has avenged two of those losses and hopes to do it again this Saturday night when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The last time these two met, Jackson won fairly easily with a TKO in round 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fight ends in much the same manner as before… only this time with Liddell getting the victory!

Zombie Survival Guide

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Most ZONErs have a love for the zombie genre. We dig all things Romero. We can’t wait for each new issue of The Walking Dead. We knew about Zack Snyder [he directed the Dawn of the Dead re-make] way before 300. If you fall into this category [emphasis on gory], then you may want to check out The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks.

I say you may want to check it out because, unlike his highly recommended World War Z, the Zombie Survival Guide is just that… a survival guide. Where World War Z focused on well written stories of survival in a world of zombies, the Survival Guide is what it claims to be… a manual. There’s no doubt that it’s a cool idea. Brooks should be commended for creating a fun handbook for zombie fanatics. The guide is a well thought out and entertaining… manual.

I think that fans of the genre are going to really enjoy the ZSG, but I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that it’s a prequel to Brook’s highly rated World War Z or even a novel about zombies. It’s survival guide… a manual.

The Zombie Survival Guide rates a C+.

Autos from Alex

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One of the cool things about the internet is that it allows people who would otherwise never meet to become “friends.” Let me give you an example.

Alex is from Belgium and regularly visits the StalloneZone and my blog here. Alex sent me a surprise “snail mail” package. In it were three autographed photos:

  1. Laura Harring is an actress who played in seven episodes of “The Shield” as well as a ton of other stuff
  2. DJ Caruso directed four episodes of “The Shield” as well as one of my favorite movies, “The Salton Sea” as well as many other tv shows and feature films
  3. Actor, singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson co-starred with Sly in “Eye See You,” Mel Gibson in “Payback”
Alex sent these items to me out of pure kindness… all the way from Belgium. I’ve never met Alex, but only a friend would be so nice… thanks to the internet. And a bigger thanks to Alex!

John Rambo Trailer Premieres

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I seldom overlap StalloneZone and ZONE posts. This is just cool too not to:

Ain’t It Cool News scored 3 minutes and 29 seconds of premiere footage of “John Rambo.” Although it is amazing… it is exciting… it is NOT for all ages. Sly assembled the footage to show overseas distributors.

Click HERE or HERE to see it. Big props to Harry at Ain’t It Cool News for getting the ball rolling!

It’s a great time to be a Stallone fan! – Craig

Animal Factory Quinella

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Ron Decker was on top of the world. Barely old enough to be considered an adult, yet he had it all — money, cars, a woman, and a thriving drug business. Thriving that it until he was busted. Suddenly it was all gone. What didn’t go to his lawyers was taken by his girl and soon enough she was gone too.

Decker ends up in San Quentin where he’s got a shot at getting out in two years if he can stay out of trouble. Trouble is, he’s young and not built for prison. Now he’s surrounded by hardened cons who can’t be trusted. A race war is brewing and Decker realizes that he’s in way over his head. When a powerful older con offers his friendship, Decker isn’t sure how to react. One wrong move and his two year stint will become a death sentence.

Animal Factory was written by real-life ex-con Eddie Bunker who not only wrote several critically acclaimed books [No Beast So Fierce and Education of a Felon, to name two], but also had a career as an actor.[probably best known for his role as Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs].

Interestingly enough, the book was also made into a movie starring Edward Furlong, Willem Dafoe, Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke and Eddie Bunker and directed by Steve Buscemi.

Animal Factory the book rates a B
Animal Factory the movie rates a C+

"28 weeks later" Rates…

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I loved “28 days later.” So when “28 weeks later” was announced, along with the fact that the original writer [Alex Garland], the original director [Danny Boyle] and the original cast were not returning, I felt we might be in for a letdown.

“28 weeks later” has an ambitious screenplay by Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Jesus Olmo and Enrique Lopez Lavigne. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo takes the director’s chair and does an admirable job of retaining the feel and style of the original. Robert Carlyle [who is always good] is the biggest name actor in the new cast although many will recognize Harold Perrineau, from “Lost” in a small but important role.

Spoilers will follow…

The movie opens with perhaps the best scenes in the film. A band of survivors [including a husband and wife who hope that their children are still alive] have barricaded themselves in a remote farm house. As they settle down for dinner, it is obvious that their situation is wearing them down. When a child is heard yelling to be let in the house, the theme of the movie comes into play… who/how many will you sacrifice to save yourself? There’s hesitation, but they let the boy in and soon enough all of the “infected” that were chasing the boy, are breaking into the house. They succeed and the survivors run and fight for their lives. A horrible moment occurs when the husband makes it to the window and his wife hesitates so that she can bring along the boy. A group of infected get between them and the husband is faced with a choice: try to save his wife and the boy or himself. He chooses to save himself. The last image that he sees as he runs from the farm house is of his wife being pulled from the window.

The husband makes his way to safety and is part of a group brought in to repopulate London. The virus is gone, and the military are everywhere insuring a quick end should it return. And return return it does…

The Good: “28 weeks” retains much of the feel of “28 days.” Robert Carlyle. Jeremy Renner who almost steals the show in his role as Doyle. The way that the virus is brought back into play. The infection spreading through the crowded underground safe haven. No one is safe… no one! The potential for “28 months later!”

The Bad: The way that Robert Carlyle is always able to find the survivors who are on the run. The killing of Jeremy Renner’s character.

The Ugly: The helicopter taking out “the infected” with it’s blades and not crashing.

“28 weeks later”

Rating:

Black Cherry

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Doug TenNapel created the Earthworm Jim video game and is the genius behind Nickelodeon’s Catscratch cartoon series. TenNapel has also written and illustrated five graphic novels. I’ve never played the video game, watched the tv show or read any of his graphic novels. 
That’s about to change. TenNapel has a new graphic novel, Black Cherry, coming out in July.
It’s for mature audiences. If you’re so inclined, you can order it HERE.