Yesterday The Lord of the Rings Trillogy: Limited Edition DVDs landed on shelves. Apparently there was some great demand for another DVD collection of these movies that are no less than three years old. This time around, they compile the theatrical editions along with the extended editions. But for a limited time! This is what we call "quadruple dipping." Seriously, Peter Jackson is getting worse than that George Lucas fellow.

I’m not going to buy these DVDs. I was able to grab all three of the LotR Platinum Extended Collector’s Gift Set Editions from Deep Discount DVD in late spring for about tweny bucks a piece. Can’t really beat that deal. It cost as much as the newly collected trillogy and I got some cool statues out of it to boot!

Not too much else to report today. It looks like you guys are really responding to the Theater Hopper: Year One Labor Day Sale. Remember, all copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" are $15 through September 3! All proceeds go toward the production of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" to help shorten the pre-order period!

A few of you who pre-ordered the book earlier in the year have expressed dismay that you aren’t in the running for the lottery give-away of this fine, hand-crafted Truman doll made by my lovely wife Cami. Don’t worry. We’ve heard your plea. Cami plans on making 6 MORE DOLLS to be given away in a similar fashion when the pre-order for "Theater Hopper: Year Two" comes around. We’ve got our eye on September 6 to start taking pre-orders for the next book, so start saving your money now!

It appears that a bunch of the pre-orders of Year One are finally starting to make it to their new homes and I’ve been getting great feedback all week. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has written in with their kind words. People are telling me that they’ve been really impressed with the quality of the book. Several people have told me that they read through it all in one-sitting! They couldn’t put it down! Others still complimented the brand-new commentary on each strip and shared that they thought it added great value to the book.

However the most consistent feedback I’ve heard is how much my art has improved since the early days and those are the compliments I appreciate the most. I’ve really made an effort to grow and learn new things. I don’t feel like there has ever been a period that I could point a finger to and say "Here is where everything lept forward." I think it’s been a consistent evolution. For others to come back and say the same thing is very gratifying.

If you’ve gotten your copy of "Year One" and would like to share feedback, I strongly encourage you to do so. A few of you have given me GREAT ideas to incorporate into "Year Two." One friend mentioned that he missed not seeing the original publication dates of the strips. Another suggested that I create an index of all the movies discussed or parodied during the period the book covers. Both of these features will be included in "Year Two." So if you have thoughts, send them in.

Incidentally, I tried doing something new with the shading in today’s comic. I haven’t decided if it works or not, but I feel it cleans things up a little. I’ve also been lightening up my line work and have eliminated the heavier strokes from the left side of the characters. If you have opinions about these changes, I would love to hear them!

Talk to you guys soon! Spread the word about the book sale, won’t you?