Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Ernest Tidyman’s novel Shaft. The book introduces us to black private eye John Shaft as he is hired by Harlem crime lord, Knocks Persons, to locate and rescue his kidnapped daughter who has been grabbed by the Mafia to force Persons to relent in a turf…
Tag: David Walker
Shaft 2019 style – a wasted opportunity
Four years ago it was announced that New Line had secured the rights from Warner Brothers to make a new Shaft movie. For fans of Ernest Tidyman’s hero and the original 1970s movies this was a welcome surprise. The key question was how would New Line treat the property? Gradually news filtered out that the…
Shaft released theatrically in USA today
Today sees the release of Tim Story’s version of Shaft. The director noted for his Ride Along films has controversially adopted a similar action-comedy-buddy movie tone which is completely out of kilter with Ernest Tidyman’s creation. Reviews of the movie have been mixed and the aggregator sites suggest an average rating of around 5 out…
Samuel L Jackson: “I told them that you can’t make John Shaft a comedic character.”
In a recent interview reported on People.com Samuel L Jackson talked briefly about the latest Shaft movie. It was originally reported that the film would be an Action/Comedy. This caused much disappointment and anger amongst fans of the original books and films, myself included. In the interview about the dynamics in black films Jackson says: “When…
Shaft’s 2017
Well, here we are again. Another year on and it seems to have gone so quickly. At this time last year I gave a summary of activity in the world of John Shaft. It came at the end of an exciting two years, which saw the publication of two original comic books as well as a…
Graphic Novel Review – SHAFT: IMITATION OF LIFE (2017) by David F. Walker/Dietrich Smith
SHAFT: IMITATION OF LIFE by DAVID F. WALKER/DIETRICH SMITH (2017, Dynamite, 104pp) ∗∗∗∗ Blurb: After a high-profile case puts him in the headlines, private detective John Shaft is looking for something low profile and easy that will keep him out of the spotlight, out of danger. Shaft takes a missing person case that proves to be more difficult…
Shaft: Imitation of Life nominated for Diversity Award
It was announced today that Shaft: Imitation of Life has been nominated for the 2017 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity. Written by David F. Walker with art work by Dietrich Smith and featuring the eponymous black hero, the comic also tackled issues of the exploitation of homosexual males in early 1970s New York. The comic…
Shaft: Imitation of Life TP cover
Dynamite are now trailing the trade paperback release of Shaft: Imitation of Life, due out on 21 February 2017. The cover art is the same as for issue 1 of the original 4-part run.
Shaft: Imitation of Life set for trade paperback release in February 2017
Amazon has a listing for the 96-page trade paperback publication of the 4-part comic book Shaft: Imitation of Life. The book, written by David F. Walker with artwork by Dietrich Smith is set for publication on 21 February 2017. The blurb reads: After a high profile case puts him in the headlines, private detective John Shaft is…
Dynamite reprint of Tidyman Shaft originals commences
In May 2014 Dynamite Entertainment announced it had purchased the literary rights to Ernest Tidyman’s creation John Shaft. The purchase was prompted by comic book writer and author David F Walker, who was given responsibility of writing new Shaft adventures in both comic book and prose forms. The result was the brilliant comic Shaft: A Complicated…