Shambling soon on a TV near you...

I'm lousy at getting information out there in a timely manner. For example, at the simplest, I have been meaning to write up and recommend The Walking Dead comic book, and talk about collecting comic art, since I first started this blog. Since that time, about 40 more issues have come out, and the book has gone from incredibly popular to mega-super-popular. (Those are my estimates; industry standards may actually label it ultra-super popular). On top of that, it's now being adapted to the small screen on AMC. Given that creator Robert Kirkman wanted to essentially tell in comic form a "zombie movie that never ends" (because when a typical zombie movie ended, he always wondered what happened next to the characters)... given that, a series is a natural way to develop the story. Given that AMC is creating the best dramas on TV now - Mad Men and Breaking Bad - I am really looking forward to the series.

So - I'm way late for any of the above to be news to Walking Dead fans, but I think I'm first with an image of the director Frank Darabont with the comic book (above). I'm not a friend of his, but I could claim to be an acquaintance. We have mutual friends in common, and I often would be at the same events - usually at or related to the legendary Creature Features store in Burbank. I would never expect him to know my name, but the few times we've run into each other he has recognized me slightly, enough to let me say hi and remind him who I am. The last time I saw him was just a few days after he was pegged to direct The Walking Dead series, in The House of Secrets comics in Burbank. He was buying every copy of The Walking Dead available for reference, and he graciously let me take this photo provided I promise not to put it online until a date was announced. I assume he meant a shooting date, and since they're now shooting and it's been announced to air in October, I think I'm safe running it now. Permission is granted to reproduce anywhere provided you leave the copyright notice attached, and please (if possible) link back to this site.

Walking Dead was such a good comic it got me into collecting original comic art much more than I had before. Buying the art for pages is a curious thing to collect: it's taking something you already own and bought for a few cents (a page of a comic) and buying it again, for much, much more money. I got interested in the book just about as issue #24 was on the stands, and it was a great time to buy up some really good pages - like above from Issue 19, the first I bought - for a good price.

One danger of buying online of course, is having a one of a kind piece damaged. I got page 2 of issue 2 - the only piece I ever saw from Tony Moore's original 6 issues at an affordable price, and a great full page splash of main character Rick. It was in Canada, and it arrived, as you can see to the right - with a hole all the way through the outer cardboard, a layer of inner cardboard, an envelope,

and the ART ITSELF. I promised myself I wouldn't write negative opinions here, but I have to tell you, when I tried to file an insurance claim with Canada Post, they eventually just stopped answering my phone calls. Thanks, Sandro...

The funny thing is, I got this for such a good price, it's still a good price even with the damage, and it will display just fine. Oh well.

Starting next Monday, this blog will be updated regularly every Monday and Thursday, with each Monday entry being Big Bang Theory themed until I run out of topics. Thanks for reading!

He Was Legend

In memory of Charlton Heston, who passed away this weekend, I'm sharing this copy of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend that was (obviously) published contemporaneously with the release of Heston's The Omega Man in 1971. Despite bearing the imagery of the film, with Heston toting a nifty automatic rifle / flashlight combo he whipped up himself, this book has the full text of Matheson's original - not an adaptation of the movie.

I like every version of this story: the book, the film Last Man on Earth (Vincent Price 1964), Omega Man, and of course, Wil Smith's latest version which goes back to the original title. Omega Man and the latest are probably the best known incarnations of the story, and have some similarities in style. Both study the hero, Robert Neville, as he speeds around the city alone during the day (Los Angeles in Omega, New York in Legend). (This is one of the best things about each, if you ask me. It's fun to see Heston drive around streets I've come to know in Los Angeles, and also amazing to see Smith alone in a post-plague New York City. the first was achieved by shooting dowtown L.A. early on weekend mornings, and the latter by a combination of amazing CGI and some traditional filmmaking tricks as well).

I'm keeping this one short (still off the DSL here) but I will take a moment quickly to recommend the "special alternate" version of "I Am Legend" included on the DVD; it's somewhat more satisfying - and more like Matheson's original - than the theatrical cut.

If you're keeping score at home, this was in my closet in the Thin Mints box labelled "James Bond books." I reread it after I pulled it down. Also, this counts as the first item in my collection of "zombie" stuff. Although none of these versions are technically zombie stories, they do have that feel, and are said to have inspired George Romero when he filmed the first Night of the Living Dead.