At HeroesCon 2026, I commissioned Mark Stegbauer for two sketch cards: Sly Stallone as Marion Cobretti from Cobra and Stallone as Stanley Kowalski from Lords of Flatbush. This, in case you didn’t guess, is the Stanley Kowalski card.
Each August Mark does an Action Against Alzheimer’s art campaign. It’s a great way to pick up cool art and at the same time help a wonderful cause. Please consider watching for it (and participating if you can).
“That’s the whole thing. That’s the whole thing. You see, I don’t need a bike to go any place, Chico. To go places, I mean to really go places, you gotta have imagination.” – Stanley Rosiello
Frank Miller revolutionized comics with his groundbreaking art and writing. Hollywood called and Miller answered. Along the way there were personal struggles which Miller overcame.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Frank Miller is considered a living legend. This is his story.
Frank Miller created Sin City, my all-time favorite comic series. He also revolutionized comics with Daredevil, The Dark Knight Returns, Ronin, Batman: Year One and so many other stories. I’m glad he overcame his personal issues to see the love fans have for him.
Frank Miller: American Genius (2021) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Mike Ditka died today from natural causes. Mr. Ditka was 86.
Mike Ditka was born Michael Dyczko. His family changed their surname to Ditka because it was so hard to pronounce. Mike played three sports in high school where he excelled at football. After his graduation, Mr. Ditka was recruited by Notre Dame, Penn State, and Pitt. He planned to become a dentist.
Mike Ditka selected Pitt where he was again he was a three sport athlete: football, baseball and basketball. He started all three years in a variety of positions. Mike Ditka was selected as the team captain his senior year. He was also a unanimous first-team selection on the College Football All-America Team.
Mike Ditka was selected by the Chicago Bears fifth overall in the 1961 NFL draft. Mr. Ditka was selected as Rookie of the Year due to his success on the field. He would go on to make the Pro Bowl in each of the next five years.
Unable to reach a contract agreement, Mike Ditka was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles where he played for two years. Injuries plagued Mr. Ditka and after two years he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys. He played five seasons for the Cowboys before announcing his retirement as a player. At the time of his retirement, Mike Ditka’s 427 receptions were the most by a tight end in NFL history.
When Mr. Ditka announced his retirement, Dallas’ Head Coach, Tom Landry, immediately hired him as an assistant coach. Mike Ditka’s successful run with the Cowboys inspired him to express his interest in a head coach position with the Chicago Bears if it became available. It did and in 1982 Mike Ditka was hired to fill it.
In 1984, their third season under Coach Ditka, the Bears went to the National Championship. In 1985, the Bears compiled a 15-1 record and were Super Bowl Champions. Mike Ditka went on to coach the Chicago Bears through the 1992 season. After a four year break, Mike Ditka accepted the head coach position for the New Orleans Saints where he coached for three years. Mike Ditka then moved into broadcasting working for NBC, CBS and ESPN.
Mike Ditka was the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, Mike Ditka is easily my all-time favorite football coach.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike Ditka’s family, friends and fans.
At 11:20 a fairly well-dressed boozehound came staggering out of a bootleg-whiskey joint on Fourth Street.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Corey Bradford is a thirty-four-year-old ex-cop on a downnward spiral. His wife left him. Still no steady job. He drinks too much. All because he took a small handout from a gambler. It wasn’t a big bribe to cover up evidence. It wasn’t to let a hardened criminal walk. It was just a sweetener because Bradford was a decent cop. And it cost him everything.
Then one night Bradford, with just a couple of bucks to his name, headed to Grogan’s bar. Walter Grogan ran a nightly poker game in the back room and Bradford hoped to get in and get lucky. That all changed when two masked-wearing and pistol-carrying men busted in. They weren’t there to rob the game. No, they came to kidnap Grogan. Before they could Bradford stopped ’em cold.
Grogan was impressed. He knew Bradford’s reputation and now had seen him in action. So he offers Bradford a job. $15,000 if Bradford can find out who sent the kidnappers. Bradford accepts the job.
That evening Bradford is picked up by Detective-Sergeant Henry McDermott. McDermott runs the Night Squad, a team of cops working the night shift who target and take down the city’s worst. The Night Squad’s tactics are brutal and extreme. They get the job done. McDermott wants Grogan behind bars. Walter Grogan runs the part of town known as The Swamp. Grogan has his fingers in everyt illegal racket there. But he’s too smart to get caught.
So McDermott offers Bradford a chance at redemption. If Bradford works undercover and gathers evidence to bring Grogan to justice, he can get his badge back. Refuse and the Night Squad will target him. Bradford accepts.
Bradford is playing a dangerous game. Working both sides against each other can get him dead.
And someone besides Bradford knows the score…
+++
David Goodis takes us on another journey to the seedy side of town. I’m surprised NIGHT SQUAD was never adapted into a movie. It would have made a good one.
Richard Pace says he loves drawing Hellboy. I hope he likes drawing him as much as I enjoy the end results. This piece is so subtle. The demons are smug in their belief that they’ve got the drop on Hellboy, but we can see HB smiling as he slowly draws his pistol.
Director: Michael Friedman(Eps. 1-3; 7-8); D.J. Caruso (Eps. 4; 6); Robert McLachlan (Ep. 5);
Teleplay: Taylor Sheridan(Eps. 1-8)
Stars: Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodriguez, Jill Wagner, Dave Annable, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Thad Luckinbill, Hannah Love, Ian Bohen and Elizaveta Neretin.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
When Joe McNamara is kidnapped, her team must figure out who took her and locate them before Joe is taken out of the country to a certain tortuous death.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Season 3 ups the stakes. Each episode amps up the tension and the mystery behind Joe’s kidnapping.
Kyle played by Thad Luckinbill has become a favorite character. He could lead a spin-0ff series.
Screenplay: Alberto Marini, Miguel Ángel Vivas; based on Y pese a todo by Juan de Dios Garduño
Stars: Matthew Fox, Jeffrey Donovan, Quinn McColgan
Tagline: When the undead can evolve…no one is safe.
The Plot…
The zombie apocalypse came. Jack, his pregnant wife Emma and their friend Patrick were part of a two bus caravan trying to get to a safe zone. When the convoy was overrun by zombies, Emma was bitten. The baby was saved, but Emma died.
Jack and Patrick and baby Lu found refuge in a small remote deserted town.
Nine years passed. The climate changed. Now it is perpetual winter.
Jack and Lu live in a house with boarded windows and security fencing. Patrick lives next door with his dog. Jack and Patrick are no longer friends and they rarely interact. Although they haven’t seen other people or zombies for years, Lu is safer with both men close.
They believe the zombies died off due to the cold. They’re soon to find out, they didn’t die out… they evolved.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Extinction’s opening is awesome. It’s everything you’d want. Quick concise character developement, tension, suspense and horror. It then becomes more of a character study until the end when we get the zombie attack we’ve been waiting for.
Eva Marie Saint died yesterday from natural causes. Ms. Saint was 102.
Eva Marie Saint graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio where she studied acting. While there Ms. Saint was a member of Theta Alpha Phi, the theater honorary fraternity. She also earned the lead in the stage production of Personal Appearance.
Eva Marie Saint began her career as a page for NBC. A role on the television show Campus Hoopla followed. Eva Marie Saint appeared in Life Magazine twice before becoming a star. The first time was in a photograph in an essay about television. The second time Ms. Saint was profiled as a struggling actress trying to make it.
Eva Marie Saint began getting roles and good notices for her acting. In 1954, Ms. Saint won the Outer Critics Circle Special Award for her Broadway role in The Trip to Bountiful. In 1955, she nominated for her first Emmy Award for “Best Actress In A Single Performance” for her role on The Philco Television Playhouse production of Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky. She won another Emmy nomination for the 1955 television musical version of Our Town. In between, these two awards Eva Marie Saint co-starred with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. This role won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Eva Marie Saint’s career spanned 75 years on stage, television and feature films.
Some of Eva Marie Saint’s television performances include: A Christmas Carol; Kraft Mystery Theater; The Chevrolet Tele-Theater; Lights Out; Suspense; Actor’s Studio (4 episodes); The Clock (3 episodes); Buck Rogers (3 episodes); The Prudential Family Playhouse (2 episodes); One Man’s Family (12 episodes); City Hosital; Man Against Crime; A Trip to Bountiful; The Web (2 episodes); Martin Kane, Private Eye (40 episodes); Studio One (3 episodes); Goodyear Television Playhouse (2 episodes); The Philco Television Playhouse (5 episodes); Producer’s Playhouse (2 episodes); The First Woman President; How the West Was Won (4 episodes); The Love Boat (2 episodes); Love Leads the Way; Fatal Vision; A Year in the Life (3 episodes); Breaking Home Ties; Moonlighting (6 episodes); American Masters; Titanic (2 episodes); Fraiser and The Legend of Korra (5 episodes).
Some of Eva Marie Saint’s feature film appearances include: On the Waterfront; A Hatful of Rain; Raintree County; North By Northwest; Exodus; All Fall Down; 36 Hours; The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming; Grand Prix; Superman Returns and Mariette in Ecstasy.
My favorite Eva Marie Saint roles are in On the Waterfront and North by Northwest. She was so good in both (and everything she did).
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Eva Marie Saint’s family, friends and fans.
Marjoe Gortner died on October 2nd from congestive heart failure.
Marjoe was born into a family that had a long line of preachers. His father, Vernon Gortner, was a third-generation Christian revival preacher. Marjoe’s name was a combination of the biblical names Mary and Joseph. As a small child Marjoe had the ability to mimick adults. They trained him in what to say and what gestures to make as his spoke. Marjoe’s parents had him ordained at the age of four. Marjoe became a hit on the revival circuit.
As an adult Marjoe came forward to decry his days as a child preacher. Marjoe exposed the lies, fake “healing” items, and scams perpetrated on the unsuspecting public. Marjo went so far to participate in Marjoe, an exposé documentary which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The success of the documentary opened opportunities for Marjoe to act. Marjoe began his acting career in 1973 with a role in the pilot for Kojak. For the remainer of his career Marjoe acted on television and feature films.
Some of Marjoe Gortner’s television performances include: The Marcus-Nelson Murders; Barnaby Jones; Medical Center; Police Story (2 episodes); Viva Knievel; Laugh-In (2 episodes); Fantasy Island (2 episodes); The A-Team; Matt Houston; Streethawk; Otherworld; Airwolf; T.J. Hooker (2 episodes); Hotel; Half Nelson and Falcon Crest (17 episodes).
Some of Marjoe Gortner’s feature film appearances include: Earthquake; Bobbie Joe & the Outlaw; The Food of the Gods; Starcrash; American Ninja 3: Bloodhunt and Wild Bill.
I first became aware of Marjoe Gorter in the movie Earthquake. He played a psycho Nationalguardsman. His most famous role was probably in Bobby Jo & the Outlaw. He played the outlaw and Bobbie Jo was played by a pre-Wonder Woman Linda Carter.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Marjoe Gortner’s family, friends and fans.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is teaming with James Patterson to co-author THE PROTECTOR. Here’s the scoop…
The world’s bestselling author and the global icon, actor, former governor, and seven-time Mr. Olympia are co-authoring a new novel.
Father Viktor Brennan is a parish priest. He’s also The Protector.
At Saint Dominic’s in East Los Angeles, Father Viktor Brennan — a spiritual leader with a murky past — builds a soup kitchen, and a gym with a boxing ring. He is determined to protect his flock from both moral and physical harm, and to keep his new congregation safe from gang violence.
LAPD Detective Sandra Reyes’s beat covers the same local territory, and she’s strictly by the book. Reyes is keeping a wary eye on the new priest—and both she and Brennan are watching a kingpin known as Cera.
When an innocent victim is caught in murderous crossfire—and as revenge becomes a conversation with God—will good win out over evil?
THE PROTECTOR drops on October 4, 2027. Pre-orders are available now.
Here’s another gem from the vault. It’s of me as a werewolf as visualized by Chris Flick. Note the Stallone/Rambo reference.
Chris Flick is a professional illustrator, cartoonist, caricaturist, web and graphic designer. He created the webcomic Capes & Babes featuring Roy the Werewolf. All 1,200+ strips are available at capesnbabes.com. If you prefer hardcopies, Chris has collected the strips into trade paperback books and created three all ages coloring books available on Amazon.com.
Chris attends several conventions throughout the year where he primarily draws caricatures of people as werewolves and other monsters, sells mash-up posters, coloring books, stickers and so much more.
Stars: George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere and Colleen Dewhurst .
Tagline: In the tradition of Hemingway and Bogart.
The Plot…
Harry Garmes was a getaway driver. And a good one. But he left his life of crime years ago. After his son died. And his wife left him. Now Garmes lives alone in a small fishing village in southern Portugal.
When Garmes is unexpectedly offered a job, he accepts it. Garmes is to drive Paul Rickard, an escaped convict, across the border. Garmes wasn’t expecting Rickard to show up with his girlfriend.
Or that he would fall for her.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The Last Run had a troubled production. The original director was John Huston. Huston and George C. Scott repeatedly clashed. Within a few weeks, Huston walked. Richard Fleischer came on as director. The original leading lady, Tina Marquand, was replaced with Trish Van Devere. Despite these problems and more, the film finished one week and just $30,000 over budget.
Colleen Dewhurst and George C. Scott were married during the production of The Last Run. Dewhurst completed her scenes and returned to the US. As production continued George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere fell in love. After filming completed Scott divorced Dewhurst and married Van Devere.
George C. Scott said he made this film because it felt like something Bogart would have done. It does have an “old time” feel.
Sylvester Stallone and Rocky fans have to love the love that Rocky is getting for the 50th anniversary of the film’s release. Check out these trailers as we get ready to see the original film back in theaters!
Struggling Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa has a chance to become a somebody when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed come up with the Bicentennial gimmick of fighting a sure-ringer and easily winning the bout himself. But someone forgot to tell Rocky, who trains earnestly. And in the climactic fight sequence, the “Italian Stallion” gets his wish: to go the distance…against all the odds!
Rocky 50 will also feature an exclusive look at the widely-anticipated biographical feature film, I Play Rocky, a Baha Fireside Production from Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Academy Award®️-winning director Peter Farrelly (Green Book, There’s Something About Mary), alongside an introduction from the I Play Rocky cast.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rocky, The Italian Stallion returns to the big screen worldwide this November.
Get tickets now for @fathom_entertainment screenings in the US from 7-11 November, featuring an exclusive look at I Play Rocky and limited-edition concession vessels at select participating sites: https://www.fathomentertainment.com/r…
UK & International screenings begin 6 November. Check local listings for tickets and showtimes.
Celebrate 50 years of an underdog legacy! Enjoy this look back at the most iconic moments from the Rocky and Creed film series, honoring five decades of heart, grit, and glory.
Rocky™ (1976)
Directed By: John G. Avildsen
Written By: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith as Mickey
Rated PG Rocky is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
Rocky II (1979)
Written and Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith as “Mickey”
Rated PG ROCKY is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms
Rocky III™ (1982)
Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Written By: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith as Mickey
Rated PG Rocky is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
Rocky IV™ (1985)
Directed By: Sylvester Stallone
Written By: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Brigitte Nielsen, Dolph Lundgren as Drago
Rated PG Rocky is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
Creed (2015)
Directed By: Ryan Coogler
Screenplay By: Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington
Story by: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Anthony Bellew
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality CREED is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
Creed II (2018)
Directed By: Steven Caple Jr.
Screenplay by: Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone
Story by Sascha Penn and Cheo Hodari Coker
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, with Phylicia Rashad and Dolph Lundgren
Rated PG-13 for sports action violence, language, and a scene of sensuality CREED is a trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
Creed III (2023)
Directed By: Michael B. Jordan
Screenplay By: Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Story By: Ryan Coogler and Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad
Rated PG-13 for intense sports action, violence and some strong language
Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital platforms.
I’ve been a Seth Damoose fan since I first saw his art. Way back in 2017, Seth announced he was taking a few mail order commissions. I made the list with a request for Jack Carter and John Wick. Seth rocked the drawing! In addition he sent the sketch above as a bonus thank you!
