Sylvester Stallone: 5 Awesome Performances and 5 That Sucked.

On February 1, 2013, WhatCulture! posted Sylvester Stallone: 5 Awesome Performances and 5 That Sucked.

  • According to WhatCulture! 5 that were Awesome: Rambo [First Blood and sequels], John Spartan [Demolition Man], Gabe Walker [Cliffhanger], Freddy Heflin [Cop Land], and Rocky Balboa [Rocky and sequels].
  • Their Choices for Not-So-Awesome: Judge Dredd [same name], Ray Quick [The Specialist], Marion Cobretti [Cobra], Jack Carter [Get Carter], and Joe Bomoski [Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!].

To Awesome I would delete Spartan and Walker to make room for Jack Carter and Deke Dasilva [Nighthawks].  To Not-So-Awesome I would delete Carter and add Nick from Rhinestone. – Craig

5 Essential Sylvester Stallone Films

On January 30, 2013, AZCentral.com posted 5 Essential Sylvester Stallone FilmsTheir choices [with embeded trailers]:

  1. Rocky
  2. First Blood
  3. Cop Land
  4. Rocky Balboa
  5. The Expendables
While it would be hard to argue with their list, I think I would pair Rocky/Rocky Balboa and First Blood / Rambo.  This would open up two slots and I’d add: Get Carter and Nighthawks. – Craig

Robin Holstein Got Carter

I met Robin Holstein for the first time at Heroes Con in 2011.   I’d see a bit of Robin’s art online and so I made sure to swing by his table and meet him. After talking to Robin a bit, I decided to commission a Stallone sketch from him.

Robin came up with this sketch. Upon seeing it, I immediately asked if he had room on his list for another piece — my buddy, LittleJohn312 was with me and he also asked to get on Robin’s list. Lucky for us, Robin was able to fit us both in.

This piece you see today is my second piece by Robin. If want to see more of Robin’s art, you can at his site.

Kyle Holtz Really Gets Carter

When I learned that Kyle Holtz was taking on some mail order commissions, I just knew I had to try and get on his list.  I was able to and Kyle agreed to give me his take on Sly as Jack Carter.

This is the piece Kyle created.  I think Kyle did an amazing job.  I love everything about this piece.  Unfortunately, it was lost in the mail.  I have hope that it will eventually turn up.  Thankfully, Kyle sent a scan before mailing the art.  When Kyle learned that the piece never arrived, he agreed to redo it.

Knowing how much artists hate to redraw something, and because I thought Kyle totally nailed this piece, I asked if I could upgrade to a larger piece.  Kyle agreed.  So Kyle is going to create a new Jack Carter drawing.  My hope is that this piece will eventually turn up.

If you’d like to see more of Kyle’s art, click on over to his Facebook page.

Mike Henderson Gets Carter

This week we have Mike Henderson and his take on Sly as Jack CarterMike is a freelance artist who has worked for DC, IDW, Marvel, and Nike to name just a few.  I saw Mike would be a guest at Heroes Con and really liked his art [especially a Conan piece that he drew following Frank Frazetta’s death].  

I met Mike at Heroes and set up a commission for the Jack Carter sketch posted today.  My son, [also named] Mike, was with me at Heroes and knew how much I liked the Conan piece.  Heroes was in June.  In October, my son gave me a birthday gift — yep, the Conan piece by Mike Henderson!

You can see more of Mike Henderson’s art at his blog.

Doug Dabbs Knows Jack


Doug Dabbs makes his first, but not last, appearance in our Stallonezone Gallery.  I first met Doug in 2011 at Heroes Con.  I was heading out from the show and saw his art.  If there had been time, I’d have got a sketch on the spot.

I told Doug I would get a piece from him in 2012 and I did.  Two in fact.  This piece is Doug’s take on Sly as an older, but still tough, Jack Carter.  He also did an equally cool riff on Barney Ross from The Expendables. I’ll post it soon.    – Craig

Alexis Ziritt Gets Carter


Alexis Ziritt makes his third [and hopefully not last] appearance in my Stallone Theme Sketch Collection. Alexis is the co-founder of Fistful Apparel and the indie comics co-op Calavera Comics. When I saw that Alexis was taking sketch card commissions, I decided to get on board for a couple. I asked Alexis to pick two from Jack Carter, John Rambo and Cobra. Alexis liked the theme and decided to do all three.

You can see more of Alexis’ art here.