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!