Archive for May, 2004
18 items.
I guess the problems going on over at buzzComix has yet to be resolved, but with the help of forumite JClark, we were able to work around the issue. That means you get a BRAND NEW incentive sketch when you vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix!
The top list was reset on Saturday, so Theater Hopper is no longer in the Top 10. To help motivate you a little bit, I’ve added this handy dynamic graphic that tells you EXACTLY where we stand.
Since you guys went all of last week without an incentive sketch, I wanted to make today’s offering extra special. So I drew a picture of a dog with my head on it. I figure it’s just surreal enough to believe. Check it out!
I plan on talking about Van Helsing all this week, so buckle up. I find the film very polarizing (as illustrated in today’s comic) and rich for mining comic-wise.
I think the premise is good. Take Dracula’s resident monster-killer Van Helsing and put him on the tails of other Universal Studio owned creepy crawlies like Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. If it’s a hit, he can go off to kill The Mummy or The Creature From The Black Lagoon! Really, the possibilities are endless.
But I cringe when I’m reminded that Stephan Sommers is the director. I know a lot of people liked The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (the first one at the VERY least), but as good as some of his shots look effect-wise, his movies lack any real creative soul. I look at all his spectacle splashed across the screen and think “HACK!” I hope Van Helsing proves me wrong. Hugh Jackman is too interesting an action hero to do him wrong.
For those of you who ordered t-shirts, I placed my order with Brunetto over the weekend. No E.T.A. on when they’ll be shipped, but I would like to think by the end of the month.
For those of you who missed the first round of pre-orders, the shirt is still available for those who would like to pre-order by May 31st. At that time, I’ll send out for another batch. I’m sorry that there isn’t a better system for me to utilize, but I can’t afford to sit on a bunch of product that may or may not sell. Pre-orders are the best way for me to produce shirts that I KNOW I’ll get paid for!
More later if I think of it. Sleepy now.
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May05
Today’s comic springs from truth, to a degree. It was actually ME who was in Toys R’ Us this weekend when I spotted this handsome fellow – a 12″ Deluxe Van Helsing figure. Not sure what’s going on with that expression. He looks a little more constipated rather than ready to vanquish evil.
Anyway, I saw this figure and I was trying to imagine who is buying them? The idea of Cami buying one for herself to swoon over was too funny to pass up. Combing its hair like a Barbie? C’mon!
If I recall correctly, Cami’s not much of a Hugh Jackman fan in real life. It’s understandable since her only context of the thespian is as Wolverine in the X-Men movies, which she doesn’t much care for. Getting her to see Van Helsing this weekend could be tricky, but I think the lure of an “event” movie will be enough to circumnavigate any hesitation.
Is it just me, or do these “summer” blockbusters seem to be coming earlier each year? If you went by Hollywood’s clock, summer starts sometime at the end of April. They must share the same timetable as the shopping malls that start celebrating Christmas in October.
That’s all for now. I’m tired. Like “dark-circles-under-my-eyes-since-5:00-P.M.” tired.
Later, cats.
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To help commemorate the movie I’ve been poking fun at all week, vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix to see a special incentive sketch – TOM HELSING!
So today’s the big day. The kick off to the summer blockbuster season. Van Helsing is in theaters today. And I’m really torn because that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movie comes out today, too!
Of course I’m kidding.
Practically everyone I’ve talked to says they’re going to see Van Helsing this weekend, which tells me that marketing did their job of bombarding us with advertisements. Good job, Madison Avenue!
But although I know a lot of people are going, not many of them seem to be excited about it. People are really holding their breath on this one, hoping it doesn’t suck. There’s a lot of weight on Hugh Jackman’s shoulders here. This is his first lead role.
I think we all recognize that Van Helsing will be a loud, abrasive, CG-heavy big, dumb action movie. And while the promise of seeing Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and The Wolfman in one picture at the same time is daring enough premise to grab our attention, I think the real reason butts will be in seats this weekend is to decide if Jackman’s charisma is large enough to carry this picture.
My odds are split down the middle – 50/50.
By the way, you might be wondering who that grinning buffoon is in the background of panel one? Well, that is our good friend MadMup who is a forum regular. He asked to be put in the comic, so I decided to oblige him!
Mup’s a great guy and a fantastic supporter of the comic. It was really the least I could do.
* THE REST OF THIS BLOG POST WAS LOST WHEN THEATER HOPPER MOVED TO WORDPRESS IN 2009 *
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I don’t know what to tell you about today’s incentive sketch. Let’s just say that it plays up my Midwestern roots. Vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix to reveal the big secret!
Cami and I had a really busy weekend, we barely had time to rest. Between driving two hours and back to Cedar Falls to watch my sister-in-law graduate from college on Saturday (by the way, thanks for dog-sitting Jared!) and doing the Mother’s Day thing on Sunday, it seems like we were coming and going every which way! Don’t even get me STARTED about the Survivor All-Stars finale!
But amidst all the chaos, we were able to sneak into Van Helsing. Well, not literally. We paid for our tickets and leant our dollar to Helsing’s $54 million take this weekend.
What did I think of the movie? Well, the comic addresses it for the most part. If you can suspend disbelief, you’ll have a grand old time. Of course, I don’t know how many people are going into movies that feature Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and The Wolf Man looking for high drama. Richard Roxburgh’s performance as Dracula early in the film sets the tone for what’s to follow. “Over-the-top” does not begin to describe it. Both Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones would have trouble keeping up with all the scene-chewing Roxburgh aspires to.
The film did little to change my opinion of Stephen Sommers or Kate Beckinsale. I still hate them both. But I walked out with greater esteem for Hugh Jackman. He’s really carving a niche in the action genre. The man just sells it.
I think fans of the classic Universal monsters won’t be grossly offended by the updates. The Wolf Man probably gets the most noticeable upgrade. Dracula loses a lot of his mysterious sex appeal as they try to graft some kind of occult-scientist persona onto him. Although he looks ridiculous (too many appliances attached to the body), Shuler Hensley as Frankenstein’s Monster probably comes off the best.
If you’d read reviews, pretty much all the criticisms are true. The movie is RELENTLESSLY loud. Sommers doesn’t give his audience a minute to catch their breath or process what they’ve seen. There is always something either flying at them, whizzing by or stomping about – the soundtrack the key offender among them.
Sommers is also highly derivative in his visual style. There are constant nods and outright thefts of other films. The Lion King, the James Bond franchise, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man – even Jackman’s performance as Wolverine in the X-Men films gets a nod.
The movie relies greatly on computer generated effects. I joked with Cami that probably 10% of the movie was actually filmed and the rest was a computer construct. CG is fine and dandy as an enhancement tool, but not when the majority of the action requires it. Giant battles with monsters that don’t exist carry no weight. You don’t care that someone is being thrown through a wall because, underneath it all, you know there is no real danger. You end up checking your watch and waiting to see who comes out on top.
But despite all its obvious flaws (and despite my better judgment), I think I had fun at this movie. Probably because my expectations were low. Sure my IQ may have dropped a couple of points, but that’s all part of a stupid Hollywood popcorn flick.
Will I see Van Helsing again? Probably not. I doubt if I will even rent it on video. But if you’re remotely curious, I suggest looking into it. Just suspend disbelief at the door!
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For those of you that like to read cool web comics, be sure to check out Orneryboy as it appears they are starting a regular update schedule again. Hooray!
Also be sure to checkout the newly reintroduced Aikida, back from a long hiatus.
Some people may ask what happened to Fenris’ other project, Pepperwood Comics. Well, it looks like that’s on the shelf for now. Which is a shame, because there was some great dramatic writing going on there. But it appears Aikida is the focus now, which I think is good because you can already tell Fenris is happy revisiting old friends!
Good luck on ya!
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Since my incentive sketch of Tom as a dog a week or so ago seemed to go over pretty well, I decided to flip the coin and do an incentive sketch featuring Cami as a cat! It doesn’t get any weirder than this! Vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix to see the results!
Today’s comic builds off Monday’s strip where Tom loses his sense of disbelief. People in the forums seemed to enjoy the metaphor, so I’m running with it! I have a storyline mapped out that will carry us through next week! I’m really excited about it because I usually don’t work this far in advance. I think you’ll enjoy the direction we’re going with this, so keep checking the site for the next installment and hang on for the ride!
It should go without saying, by the way, that since I’m tackling a more plot-driven storyline, I probably won’t be making fun of any of the more current releases like Troy and Soul Plane. Not in the comic, at least. Probably in the blogs, though.
You may have noticed the new ad on the right hand side of the comic today. It’s a status bar that reflects all the money the site earns from advertising, merchandise sales and donations. Why is it there? Because I’m trying to get to Wizard World Chicago this August and I need your help. Read here for the whole story. It outlines what I’m doing and why.
The short story is, Wizard World Chicago is one of the largest comic book and independent publisher conventions in the country. I think it would be a great opportunity to introduce Theater Hopper to new readers as well as say “Thank you!” in person to those of you that can make it out to the event! If there is anything you can do to help me meet my goal, you know I would appreciate it. Remember, there are always incentives for donating and we have some great merchandise in stock!
Thank you so much for your support. Today is my 275th strip. I would have never imagined getting this far without you. Let’s see if we can’t push our luck and go a little farther!…
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Nothing fancy with today’s incentive sketch. It’s not tied into any movie specifically. But I was sitting around trying to figure out what guise to throw my characters in and realized I hadn’t drawn myself as a pirate! So here you go – Vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix and see what Tom would look like as a pirate!
So we’re onto part three of our little “Suspension of Disbelief” storyline. Are you enjoying it so far? I know this is kind of outside what I normally do, but it’s nice not to try and come up with a joke at the last minute before strip day. Believe me, some of those comics in the archive reflect that poor planning.
The only problem with doing a more drawn-out story is that I can’t be as timely as I want to be. Troy comes out today and Shrek 2 hits theaters next Wednesday. I guess I’ll have to catch those flicks on the rebound if I want to make fun of them in the comic.
Cami has no interest in seeing Troy and I have to admit I’m not that psyched about it, either. The cast is impressive – Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Peter O’Toole (and directed by Wolfgang Peterson). But frankly, after Gladiator won that Best Picture Oscar in 2001 over Traffic, I’ve kind of lost interest in the “swords and sandals” epics… Best of luck recuperating that $200 million dollar budget, though!
Be sure to check out the forum. We’re playing out weekly community game – The Friday Five. I ask everyone the same five questions. You answer them. Simple really. If you’re not a member of the forum community, now is a good time to check it out. The Friday Five is a really easy way to get to know everyone quickly!
I also want to take time to point out our latest sponsor, Who Gives A Shirt? – quite possibly the greatest name for a small business I’ve yet to come across. If you haven’t guessed already, they specialize in apparel. If you mention Theater Hopper in your order, you’ll get a special discount! How big of a discount? Click on the link to find out!
I also want to say thank you to all the individuals who have been buying advertising, merchandise and especially those who have been donating in an effort to help me boost my Wizard World Chicago Fund. The little status bar I have there really isn’t as pathetic as it looks. I’ll probably updated it sometime later this afternoon.
I spoke to Mitch Clem of Nothing Nice to Say and Barrett’s Lament. He’ll be at Wizard World Chicago as well. We’re trying to arrange it so we can have our booths next to each other on Artist’s Alley. It’s a pretty big event they’re organizing, so we’ll see how that pans out. If that doesn’t work, there’s always the Minneapolis FallCon – which I plan on returning to this year AND I plan on taking more pictures!
That’s about it for now. Have a great weekend! See you here Monday for the continuation of our story!
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Whoops! I just found out that I linked our ad to Who Gives A Shirt? incorrectly. If you click on the links in the previous post, they won’t take you to the special Theater Hopper discount page. The problem has been correct on the main ad and you can check out the real deal here.
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May17
I did something a little different with today’s incentive sketch. Instead of posting the roughed, pencil blue-line… I decided to try my hand at sketching in ink. I turned out kinda okay. It’s supposed to be me dressed up as one of the soldiers from Troy. I don’t know how accurate it is, as I don’t plan on seeing Troy ever. But if you vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix, you can judge for yourself.
I guess despite all of the negative previews, Troy did okay business this weekend. I have a felling it’s going to drop off dramatically with the coming of Shrek 2 on Wednesday.
I have a very weird bias when it comes to Shrek. I didn’t want to like the first film when it came out. I thought it was okay, but it was a little too slick for my tastes… a little too proud of itself. It took too much glee at poking holes in the Disney tradition. When I watched the movie a second time on DVD, I was thoroughly disgusted by it and haven’t watched it since.
I think there might still be some holdover grudge from when Shrek won the very first Best Animated Picture Oscar when Monster’s, Inc. so CLEARLY should have won. I mean, for Sully’s fur ALONE, they should have won. I should mention that I’m a hard-core Pixar freak.
But now I’m hearing news that Shrek 2 is actually BETTER than the original. I can only imagine they’ve grown more comfortable with the character and are animating him better, too. I’ll admit that Antonio Banderas’ turn as Puss-In-Boots looks utterly hilarious. Too bad they still have Mike Meyers doing his Fat Bastard-cum-“If It’s Not Scottish, It’s Crap” voice work…
I hope you’re enjoying the continuation of last week’s storyline. I know it may seem like I’m drawing out the idea that Tom will now fall for any hair-brained scheme put in his path, but there will be a payoff soon. I promise.
Hey, have you notice that I’ve updated the Wizard World Chicago Fund status bar? You guys really heeded the call and I thank you! That little build up in cash all came from advertising and merchandise sales AS WELL AS some very generous donations! I even received one the “old fashioned” way – through SNAIL MAIL!
You guys rock. I’m one-fifth of the way toward the goal. I’m really starting to look forward to August.
By the way, I’m going to start producing small, black and white booklets of my favorite Theater Hopper strips. I plan on giving them away at the convention so people will remember to visit the site when they get home. It’ll be a real D.I.Y. effort. Xerox, saddle stitch, a wink and a smile. If you have opinions on which strips should be included, you can leave your thoughts in the forum.
Once I have a few whipped up, they’ll become one of the new donation incentive instead of the desktop wallpaper. You can get your hands on this little collection before everyone else! I’ll be sure to let you know when they’re back from the printer.
I also want to mention that we’re still taking pre-orders for another batch of t-shirts. If you’re thinking about getting one, now is a good time!
Lastly, be sure to check out our latest sponsor Syntax Error Comics – a great 3-D comic that has advertised with us before. It’s one of my personal favorites. The technical aspects are done very well, but what keeps me coming back is the writing.
Thanks again to those of you who have contributed to the Wizard World Chicago Fund. I sincerely appreciate it!
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You know you’ve really “made it” in web comics when your merchandise starts showing up on fictional characters like in today’s Aikida. You’ll notice that the lead character is wearing the ever-classy “Pimp Tom” t-shirt. And believe me, there isn’t any more valuable real estate in web comics.
If “Pimp Tom” is good enough for Aikida, isn’t it good enough for you?
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