First, I have to give a shout out to Jackson Ferrell over at This Week in Webcomics who gave me an idea too good to pass up for today’s comic.
Last night, over Twitter, I talked about how I needed to brainstorm ideas for Monday’s comic and was not really interested in doing a comic about New Moon (although I knew I kind of had to). Jackson suggested doing a comic specifically about my disinterest in the film and our conversation evolved into what you see today.
Twitter is great for batting around jokes or story ideas, especially when you’re stuck. In the past, I would have been very uptight about integrating anyone else’s ideas into the comic. But a good idea is a good idea and I’m not going to turn it down because I didn’t come up with it whole cloth.
If anything, my exchange with Jackson actually gave me a jumping off point to do a whole week of comics around New Moon. All it took was a little push in the right direction. So, thanks, Jackson!
So, as you know, New Moon comes out on Friday and I am as non-plussed about it as I was when Twilight came out a year ago. I’m just not in the target demo (as today’s comic plainly illustrates.)
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I had an epiphany about Twilight that I shared last year. My attitude is basically “good for them.” Girls SHOULD have a franchise like this that they can geek out over. I mean, Harry Potter was close to becoming that franchise. But it was really more for kids and had a wider appeal. Twilight is a film franchise that (to my knowledge) is pretty much exclusive to teenage girls.
I mean, I know older women who like the books and movies, too. But that’s a case of arrested development no dissimilar from my own fascination with all things Star Wars or Iron Man.
That’s why I’m happy something like Twilight exists for the ladies — because it makes me look less weird.
Ever since the dot com boom, people have said that the geeks have taken over. But let’s face it, we’re all geeks. Every jock that has the ritual of going to a sports bar each weekend to keep track of his favorite team and favorite players, knows all the clubhouse drama and can rattle down the stats of any team from any era? Total geek. Mr. Money Guy who is on top of the stock market, monitoring the ups and downs of business? Total geek. Top Chef watchin’ foodie that has 5 or 6 restaurants they have to go to before they die and can name 10 celebrity chefs? Total geek.
THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS! This is what living in a technological society has afforded us – free time to care about these trivial things. Only in the past was it consider odd to devote any attention to these peripheral interests because it mean you didn’t conform to societies expectations of school, marriage, work, breed, eat, sleep, die. People used to pursue their interests at the exclusion of acceptance in society.
Maybe we’re all becoming cut off from each other. Maybe we’re all standing in the center of our own little pockets of “ME.” But I don’t think so. If you love sports or money or food or robots or vampires, why SHOULDN’T you be allowed to pursue your interests and be excited about them? We should all be so lucky, right?
So, girls, go crazy for Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. You deserve it!
What about the rest of you? At what level is your interest / anticipation for New Moon? Is anyone here planning on camping out to get tickets? What about midnight showings? Share your New Moon love in the comments below!
I’m just gonna be over hear reading production reports from Iron Man 2 in the meantime…
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Wow, out of left field–a smart and insightful look at modern society! I had never thought of it in that way, Tom (everyone is a geek), but now that you say it I agree completely! I’m still not sure I’d want to go tell the Jock at the sports bar that he’s a geek, but your point still stands. I think the term “geek” is usually associated with techie stuff…but, as you alluded to, even the line that defines “techie” is becomign blurred. How many Wall Street buffs wouldn’t know the first thing about playing Assassins Creed, but could fly circles around a gamer on a real-time stock tracking site? And I know personally that when it comes to Fantasy Football, I am totally lost…yet I could tell you the stats and vehicles of my favorite WRC teams. Tom, you’ve really stepped in some truth here, and I’m impressed.
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Thanks, Bobby.
Usually when people tell me I’ve stepped in something, it isn’t a compliment!
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When you talk about the characters in ACC needing to be more cartoony, I think you’re experiencing the “uncanny valley.” In a nutshell, the theory is that the closer that a simulated person gets to actual person (be it a robot or picture), the creepier they look.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
It’s an interesting theory, especially with the recent advancements in animation. To me, it kind of explains why the humans in _Up_ feel “right”, even though the characters in a ACC may be more accurate.
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Glad I could help, Tom. I like how the finished product turned out. Thanks for the link to TWIW, too!
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I don’t have any real desire to see New Moon. I watched Twilight with the help of rifftrax and beer and even then it was only barely stomachable. That being said, I just recently entered a relationship with a serious Twilight fan, so it may happen anyway.
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I’m no Twihard, but I read the books (I bought the first one just to see what all the hype was about, then I just got sucked in), but I’ll probably see New Moon. Not this weekend, since I actually want to avoid the masses of teens and tweens, but I plan on seeing it. I fully know that it’s going to be overdone and melodramatic, but that’s what I expect.
That being said, it says that you’re male on your driver’s license. Did you really need to double-check?
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This comic made me LOL.
I’m a 17 year old girl, and find the films of poor, poor quality… they couldn’t even come up with good eye candy except for Taylor Lautner ;]
At least Star Wars and Iron Man were well made films worthy of peoples attention! lolololololololol.
I will, however, be putting money in the pockets of those responible for this series of shambley films. *embarrassment* =D
Taylor Lautner is just too good-looking. Gah.
Am muchly looking forward to this weeks comics..
Love x
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Tom: Love the comic (especially panel 3) and your blog was incredibly insightful. My only qualm is with the “arrested development” comment. I don’t consider myself developmentally arrested because I like Twilight, Star Wars, or the Muppets; I consider myself open to new sources of creativity. Whether that be classic novels, comic books, tween fiction, or cinema: if it is creative, I want to see/read/experience it.
I am a fan of the Twightlight series, eventhough I like my vamps non-glittery, but I am going no where near a showing this weekend because I would actually like to hear the dialogue and not some squeeing tween. The Twighlight movie was a disappointment but New Moon previews have revived my hope for the franchise (a new director can do that). I am very interested to see how the writers/director handle the non-chapters (if you’ve read it you will know).
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Daze, don’t feel too guilty. Taylor Lautner IS good-looking.
What that says about me, I’m not too sure.
Wren, I didn’t mean “arrested development” to come off an insult. But you kind of have to agree that Twilight’s target audience are probably teenagers, right?
I mean, I’m a guy in his 30’s who still reads comic books and I catch flack for it, but I don’t particularly care if someone else has a problem with it.
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I pretty much have the same view of Twilight as you Tom. Let them have it and go crazy, although I long ago learned to contain my nerd excitement I do find it highly amusing to see my girlfriend geek out over it. I love that third panel, because the id isn’t enough he has to actually look in his pants to make sure, made my morning.
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If I had room for it, I would have had Tom fart, then blech just to triple and quadruple confirm it.
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I realize I’m about the direct opposite of the main Twilight demographic, but I still just can’t comprehend it’s appeal. All other things aside, there’s a large amount of abuse and obsessive stalking in the romance aspects of the story. Considering how key said aspect is to the whole thing, seems like that would be a turn-off for most.
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Actually, after reading this: http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html it seems like Twilight is quite dangerously misogynistic Mormon Slashfic….
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Relaxing dragon makes a good point. I didn’t see it when I was reading the books, but as I described the events to my husband he noticed it right away. Edward is abusive and controlling. I enjoy Jacob.
I am going to see New Moon at midnight, and the theater here is showing Twilight right before. Figured it would be good to see them back-to-back, even tho I already saw Twilight and did not like it.
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I am a 27 y.o. female and as I am partially unemployed my job Thursday consists in sitting in line to get good seats for the movie. Yes I know there are other things I could, scratch that, SHOULD be doing with my free time, but I can’t help it. My friends as I have camped out for every single big sci-fi/fantasy movie since we were in high school, and why break tradition. It’s like a mini Con for us (we have dressed up in the past), and we love it. And we plan on doing this for as long as we can. We are unabashedly forever 17 year olds. Except now we can drink legally.
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I liked the comic, but I’d like to respectively disagree about it’s good for female teens have Twilight to geek over. I have (unfortunately) attempted to read the books and read up on the characters and Twilight is very insulting and damaging to teen girls I believe.
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And Slave Leia in a metal bikini hasn’t ruined sexual expectations for a generation of men?
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I am not a teenager (turned 30 in Sept.) but I plan to see it but not until it comes out on video so I don’t have to hear people talking throughout the movie except my toddler. I prefer the books but I do like the eye candy especially Peter Facinelli. I do have an interest in love stories. Favorite series is Inuyasha and favorite movie is Howl’s Moving Castle. I usually get my geek on with Harvest Moon video games. Also I can somewhat relate to Bella. The way she feels about Edward is how I feel for my first love and how she feels about Jacob for my current love.
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I have absolutely 0 interest in seeing New Moon. I have a lot of friends though (I’m a jr in college) who are going to the midnight showing. Luckily, I made plans to see my favorite artist (Amanda Palmer) Friday so I won’t have to deal with hearing everyone go on and on about the movie.
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I haven’t heard a lot about/ paid attention to New Moon but that thing about everyone being geeks was cool. I often hope everyone has at least one Thing that they are a giant fan of.
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We have one cinema in town that does midnight showing. Of it’s eight screen four have allready sold out for a midnnight showing and they are planning on selling a fifth.
My friends and I have began to throwup at the sight of the trailers.Especially at 2012 last night where the trailers were more clips from the film that just lasted for ages.
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Just an observation – if your birthday is 12/21/1977, you’ll actually be 35 on the day the world ends (if Roland Emmerich and co. are correct)
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MATH! My one, true arch nemesis. We meet again!
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Emmerich is basing his belief on the Mayan calendar, which ends on 12/21/2012. However, the calendar is a cycle. That’s like saying the world ends every New Year’s Eve. Silly Damien, apocalypse theories are for Christians.
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i just wanna say that i’m a teenage girl and i think twilight is a wet dream on paper. a married mormon woman’s wet dream about 17 year olds. its nasty. i’m not wasting money on that