Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Did you know that Fantagraphics is posting all issues of their long-running magazine, The Comics Journal [which started as a newspaper adzine called The Nostalgia Journal] online? Do you even care? If you do care, then click over and take a walk through comics history.
I really like this Reservoir Dogs piece by Tim Doyle. It is just one of seven images that Doyle created for Spoke Art‘s Quentin vs. Coens art show which will run from April 7th through April 9th at the Bold Hype Gallery, 547 W 27th St, 5th floor, NY, NY. You can see more of Doyle’s images and learn more about the art show by clicking over to SlashFilm.
This past weekend I traveled to MegaCon with my buddy, John Beatty. We always have a blast at the show and this time was no exception. I didn’t take many photos, but I did get a shot of me with these two ladies. They were busy every day of the show posing with fans. I have no idea what they were there promoting… but like most everyone else I ended up getting a photo with them.
One of the best things about going to MegaCon is meeting up with folks I seldom see. That’s Alberto Ruiz in the photo above with a Steampunk Poison Ivy. [I think that Ivy has hypnotized Alberto!] It had been a couple of years since I crossed paths with the mighty talented Mr. Ruiz. I also got to hang a bit with John Higashi, Mike Zeck, Bob McLeod, Mike White, Gene Gonzales, Ron Salas, Dan Panosian, Dave Johnson, and many others. I owe special thanks to John Higashi for “introducing” me to Tim Sale [John works with Tim at his table keeping the commissions flowing].
That’s Alberto [well, his hand, anyway] in the photo above sketching for a fan. John was also sketching and I watched him kick it on a couple of Star Wars pieces and a Black Knight piece. Who knows what I missed when I was out talking with artists and getting a few sketches of my own [which I will post in the coming weeks].
If you follow comics at all then you may have heard about the controversy with one of the artists at the show. Rob Granito was set up at the show selling “his” art when a piece about him was posted at Bleeding Cool. The article exposed that Granito was copying other artists’ work and selling it as his own. In addition Granito was shamelessly taking credit for the work of others in order to help promote his copied artwork. One of my con buds, Matt Crews [be advised that Crews uses adult” language… a lot], actually went over and engaged Granito in conversation about “his art” and professional credits all the while videoing the conversation. A Rob Granito is a Fraud Facebook page went up. Granito was contacted by convention promoters and informed that he was no longer welcome at their shows.
In summary, MegaCon was another fun and entertaining show for all… well maybe all but one.
The other day when I said I loved everything about the poster for The Big-Bang. Today I’m saying that I love everything about the trailer for “The Big Bang” which is brought to us from the fine folks at SlashFilm.com. I’m hoping the day will come when I can say that I love everything about “The Big Bang” movie.
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, my buddy, John Beatty and I are going to be in Orlando hanging out with several thousand other like-minded folks. Yep, it’s time for MegaCon. John is going as a guest of the show and I’m going as his guest. That means while John is sketching for fans, I’ll either be hanging at his table keeping the fun at it’s maximum level or I’ll be visiting with other artists/friends looking to get a sketch or two for my Stallone Sketch theme collection.
If you’ve never been to MegaCon, you’re missing out. There’s something for everyone. There are celebrity guests, comic book creators, dozens of artists sketching for fans, panels, gaming, and more. If you’re in driving distance of the show, come on down. If not, there’s always next year. Hope to see you there!
Now THIS is a movie poster. I love everything about it: the old-time look [dig those creases], the design, the colors, the typeface. Then you’ve got Antonio Banderas playing some hard case firing off his 45. And let’s not forget that Delroy Lindo and Sam Elliott [love his look in that small photo] make every movie a little better.
Yeah, this poster rocks.
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Here’s a match made in, uh, heaven… Stephen King has confirmed to EW.com that he is in talks to script an episode of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead. Man, I would love to see that happen. King and The Walking Dead’s executive producer, Frank Darabont, have a history of working together to create top notch entertainment [The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist] so odds are this will all work out. I, for one, couldn’t be happier.
I had the good fortune to get this cool sketch from Craig Rousseau back in 2009 when I purchased one of his sketchbooks. It was a great deal, because with each sketchbook, Craig included a free headsketch.
Last night, UFC 128 took place and these are my predictions and the results:
Final thoughts:
Hey, if you’re an early-riser, I’ve got a site that you might want to check out. It’s called Morning Brew Art and it was created by my best bud, John Beatty. Each weekday morning at 5:30 am EST, Big John goes live on U-Stream to create a piece of art that he wants to draw – no commissions or sketch requests — just something that John has a desire to create. This frees Big J up to go as loose or as crazy as he wants. So far the results have been impressive and my guess is that things are only going to get better.
Here’s another cool aspect of Morning Brew Art – the pieces that John creates each morning are available for purchase. If you decide to buy the piece while John is still drawing it, the price is even lower. So if you’re up early, why not plan on having your morning brew with a little art?
Dylan Dog looks like it might make for a fun evening. Dylan Dog first appeared as an Italian comic book series. Dark Horse Comics publishes it in the US. Oh, and if you’d like to see a monster-sized version of the poster, you can thanks to the good folks at IMPAwards.
On Saturday night, UFC 128 will air on pay-per-view and the card looks to be a good one from bottom to top. So, if you’re interested, this is who is fighting and who I’m predicting to win.
I was going through the vault and I came across this caricature that my buddy, Jim Ivey, did of me a couple of years ago. Jim is a political cartoonist, author, publisher, teacher, owner/curator of one of the first galleries featuring cartoon art in the world [The Cartoon Museum], World War II vet and self-professed mellow curmudgeon. I’ve always loved the simplicity of Jim’s art… even when dealing with a subject as complex as me.
Bruce Timm is one of those guys that can do it all including the drawing above. Timm is a writer, penciler, inker, character designer, animator and more. This and a lot of other cool Bruce Timm artwork was published in the July 2006 issue of Rough Stuff. I’d say that this piece alone is worth the cost of what a copy of the issue would probably set you back.
Dave Wachter joins us this week with his take on Sly from Copland. I’m a huge fan of Dave’s art and own several pieces [and hope to get more in the future]. He’s a tremendous artist, but more importantly an all-around decent guy. You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig
