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 Bruce Lee - High Kick
Bruce Lee - High Kick
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 Bruce Lee - Martial
Bruce Lee - Martial
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 Lost - Charlie (Advance)
Lost - Charlie (Advance)
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 Lost - Kate (Advance)
Lost - Kate (Advance)
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 Lost - Jack (Advance)
Lost - Jack (Advance)
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Who Will Show Up Next?
Saturday, August 27, 2005 8:38 AM

I really don't read comic strips much anymore.
You would think that I still would since I love the form
.It's just as I got older, I just found myself reading
fewer strips. One that I still take the time to check out
is Blondie.

It's hard to believe that Blondie celebrates it's 75th anniversary on September 8th. What's really cool
is that many comic strip creators are joining in on
the celebration by having their characters make appearances in the Blondie strip and vice versa.

Here Dagwood shows up to personally invite
Garfield to the party. Rose gets her invite. BC has
a subtle reference. Many characters decide to show up early for the party. The Wizard of Id plans to
attend. Dick Tracy is on a case but takes time to make mention of the event! Mutts' invitation arrives as even more guests arrive early. Dagwood sends the Wizard of Id
a gift. Beetle Bailey and Dagwood hang out playing poker. Mother Goose and Grim provide a witty set of directions to the Bumstread's. Dagwood drops off an invite for The Family Circus. The Wizard of Id decides on the perfect gift. Blondie shows up in Shoe's hangout. Even little Trixie is welcome. And of course there are many special guests showing up in recent Blondie strips.

If you like this kind of stuff, then keep your eyes peeled. The cross-overs will be going
on for at least another week. [A special tip of the derby to Mark Evanier for pointing out
all these great guest appearances!]


Tampa, Here I Come!
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 8:06 PM

This weekend I'm heading down to the
Tampa Comic Book and Toy Convention.
Tim Gordon puts on the show and it's ALWAYS a blast.

The guest list this time out includes: Cindy "Tron" Morgan, Marty "Green Lantern" Nodell, Ethan "Green Lantern" Van Sciver, Alex "Spider-Man" Saviuk, Pablo "Conan" Marcos, and many others. The second Tampa Indie Film Fest will also run during the show.

If you're in the area, you ought to join in on the fun!


MI 3 and Zero Chance of Failure
Monday, August 22, 2005 6:15 PM

Yep, you're looking at the first pic from
Mission Impossible 3 to show up on the web.

The Hollywood News has the honor of the scoop and a slightly bigger version of the
pic as well.

That's Kerri Russell alongside Tom Cruise... they look like a pretty good team and with JJ Abrahams [Alias and Lost] directing, it can't fail!

And speaking of things that can't fail, does anyone here remember when Coca Cola released New Coke? Talk about a big time mistake.

New Coke was promoted as being THE, well, new Coke. The idea was that New Coke would replace the traditional Coke. The powers that be thought that the hype and "new" taste would bring in more Coke drinkers without losing the faithful millions already drinking Coke.

Guess what? New Coke tanked. It was a long time before the Coca Cola Company tried "new" recipes. But things have changed. Now you can get Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Coke with Lime...

Last month Coke Zero was introduced. It's a diet cola with no caleries and no after taste. It's really good. For me, it's my new Coke.


I'm Glad That I Waited
Sunday, August 21, 2005 8:46 PM

From the title of this post, you might think
that I'm going to talk about the success of
"The 40 Year Old Virgin," but I'm not.

Instead, I'm here to talk down the "bare
bones"
dvd release of "Sin CIty." As most
of you know, I'm a huge fan of Robert
Rodriguez
, Frank Miller and especially the
Sin City series of graphic novels. The mix
of Rodriguez and Miller with one of the best
casts
in recent memory made Sin City a
must have for my dvd collection.

I thought long and hard about whether or not
to get the current "bare bones" edition and
finally decided to wait. I figured that the
deluxe edition would be out maybe as soon
as Christmas, I'd already seen Sin City twice
and would be taking a stand against this kind
of marketing.

Beatty bought his copy and really tempted me to break down and get one as well.

But ultimately I didn't. And in a weird way I felt like I wasn't supporting Rodriguez,
Mille
r and Sin City.

Yeah, I felt that way until I read that Rodriguez "openly loathes" the "bare bones"
edition. Rodriguez
even goes on to say, "I hate it when they do double-dip stuff, so I
don't put any extra **** on there at all so people will hopefully go, 'Ah, I'll just wait.'

So how long will we have to wait? "December [or] not too far afterwards" is the word
from the man himself.

Now you know why I'm glad that I decided to wait... and four months compared to
40 years is a piece of cake.


Robert Rodriguez-O-Rama
Thursday, August 18, 2005 7:11 PM

Robert Rodriguez talks about his favorite films,
why we'll never see another Spy Kids movie, why
Stallone
would make a great Batman, the role that
he had planned for Mickey Rourke in From Dusk Till
Dawn
and a whole lot more an interview HERE.

And in the Robert Rodriguez interview HERE you'll
learn about the casting and storyline for Sin City 2
[and maybe 3], the double feature that he's doing
with Quentin Tarantino, and the part he had planned
for Quentin in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and even
more!

That should hold you over until next time!


Like Cheap Whiskey, Very Nasty and Satisfying
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 6:27 PM

Today while surfing the net I came across a couple of items that should interest most ZONErs.

The first is that several authors [including Stephen King, John Grisham, Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, Michael Chabon and others] are participating in an auction for charity where the winning bidders will get to name a character in each author's novel. How cool is that? For more details click HERE.

The second item of interest is directly related to the first, in that Stephen King's particpation in the auction involves a new novel titled Cell. King describes Cell as "a violent piece of work, which comes complete with zombies set in motion by bad cell phone signals that destroy the human brain. Like cheap whiskey, it's very nasty and extremely satisfying." Stephen King and zombies! Count me in.

And come to think of it... maybe I should take a shot at the auction as well. A zombie named "Big Beatty" is just too cool not to give it a go.


Worth a Watch? You Be the Jury!
Monday, August 15, 2005 7:49 PM

A few weeks ago, Chris Mills listed some movies that aren't on dvd, but should be. I, the Jury starring Armand Assante as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer was one of them.

I couldn't agree more. I saw the movie when it was first released and loved it.

I wish I was writing to say that Assante's Hammer has finally made it to dvd, but I'm not.

Instead I'm writing to say that you can see it on the FOX Movie Channel this month. I, the Jury isn't a classic or for everyone. But if you're a fan of Spillane, Assante, or Barbara Carrera then... you might want
to give it a go.

I know I will.


A Decade Later, Your Words Still Sting
Sunday, August 14, 2005 9:00 AM

Mike Hoffman is an artist who has strong opinions. Unfortunately most of what he posts are attacks on other artists that he considers hacks, no-talents, etc. Hoffman has been ranting about many of the biggest name artists in the comic business for several months now. Not only does he denegrate their talents, but at the same time he puffs up his own.

And it's not that Hoffman lacks talent. He's very good at what he does. And what he does is paint and draw in the style of Frazetta. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. Like anything, it is what it is.

Hoffman's style has stirred up a lot of debate among fans and pros alike. Some love it, some hate it. At any rate, everyone has an opinion. And you know how opinionated Big Beatty is. Well, it seems that at some point in the last ten or fifteen years, Beatty said something that got under Hoffman's skin. Well... it finally worked its way out in a a recent rant posted on his website:

And then there's "Big" John Beatty, who went into a blind fury over my artwork way back in the 1990s. I'd post a pic of this moron here, but a Google search turns up almost nothing on this clown. Great career as an "inker" ya got going there, John!

John got wind of Hoffman's comments and responded:

I've had a great career as an "inker" and enjoyed it for many years...now I've moved on to doing other work, which is of no interest to you, or many others so, I'll leave it at that.

You're a scary talent that comics and illustration will lose, but I'm sure your life, as mine, will continue on and hopefully for the better, as I can see staying in the business you are in is making your life practically unbearable...according to what I read in your weblog.

Your a great humorist and I enjoy your rants very much...really...I figure you are working towards a new career goal in commentary, instead of art for your future?

Anyway...big "ups" for the mention and for the memory that I must have left on you since you've been stewing about it since 1990. Finally got the balls to come out and say something in 2005?

I know that someone must scan all of your email due to the fact that you must have thin skin or something, so if this never does reach you, that's fine too.

Have a great life outside of the USA and I hope this means that there really will be a "Hoffman International" once you and the family are outside of the country?

That is if you ever really leave instead of just talking a lot about it?

Best wishes-
-John

I wonder what Beatty said that's been bugging Hoffman for all these years...

I wonder if this is the last we've heard from the two of them...

But most of all I wonder if this means that I'll never get a Hoffman Stallone sketch for my gallery.


Maybe 2005 Just Got A Little Better
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 5:21 PM

2005 has NOT been the greatest year for movies.

Sure there was Sin City, and War of the Worlds. And yeah, King Kong is coming. Heck, even The Transporter 2 and The New World might be good... but the year overall has been pretty blah.

So in a year like this, when a movie comes in under the radar and looks to be a winner, ya just gotta love it.

A History of Violence could be THAT movie. Take a look at the one sheet that was just released. Check out the trailer and clip -- heck look all over the official site.

Maybe 2005 just got a little better.