Have you ever wondered what it would be like to kiss Victor? Click on this link, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics and find out!

As I've stated before, I'm kind of dragging all of the characters out of mothballs for this last story line to give them their time in the sun. Today it's Victor's turn.

Victor was a character that I created as an antagonist for "the gang" and he was supposed to be an imposing monster - a mountain of a man who said very little, but who had a very black and white view of the world. Most of that has been retained over the years. As you can see from today's comic, I think I've drawing Victor larger than usual. Mostly because I just like toying with the perception of him.

But what gave Victor dimension was a guest comic drawn by Brandon J. Carr several years back that suggested that Victor was dangerously enamored with Tom. I thought it was an interesting wrinkle in the character and decided to carry it forward as far as I could.

I've always been very careful not to exploit Victor's sexuality - especially when he's depicted as aggressive or imposing in a different context. He's an extreme character, of course. But that's where a lot of interesting comedy comes from. Just know that it's all very well intentioned and I hope to have depicted Victor with some dimension. I think you'll see that as the aftermath of today's comic plays out in later strips.

LIVE-BLOGGING THE OSCARS

I wanted to give everyone a head's up that I, Brandon J. Carr and Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies will be live-blogging the Oscar's Sunday night. We generally have a very effective comedic rapport with each other on Twitter, so we decided to try to apply it to something in real time that everyone else can enjoy along side us.

We're running the session through Cover It Live, which is a fun little widget that allows moderators to talk and other people to submit comments in real time. Set your bookmarks now. The fun will take place this Sunday at 7:00 PM CST at http://oscars.alloftheawesome.com. You can enter your e-mail address into the widget today and be sent a reminder just before we go live. It should be a lot of fun!

THE FAREWELL TOUR

You might have noticed that I've put two banners at the top of the page. One of them is linking back to the announcement that I made back in January that I'd be ending the comic this August. It's been about a month and I'm still getting messages from people who said they just heard the news. So I wanted to make sure the news didn't get buried and people were up to date.

I'll admit that it kinds of stings a little when people bring it up only because it throws me back to that moment in time when I was seriously questioning whether or not I was doing the right thing. That malaise was captured perfectly in the video I posted the day after I made the announcement, if you ask me.

The other thing I will mention is my Farewell Tour Fundraising Drive. I decided at the last minute that I need to try to go to as many conventions here in the midwest as possible before I close up shop in August. So I snagged myself a booth at the last minute and will be appearing at C2E2 April 13 - 15. I've also got my eye on Minneapolis Spring Con in May (if they'll return my e-mails) and possibly Chicago Comic Con in August.

That last one is kind of funny, because it will actually take place 3 days after I end the comic. IRONY!

Anyway, going to shows costs money. Hotel reservations, table reservations, food, gas... it adds up quick. And since I wasn't planning on attending any shows until just recently, I'm not sitting on very much discretionary cash.

That's where you come in. I'm not asking for much. I'm just asking you to consider buying something in the store. If you already own a bunch of Theater Hopper merchandise or can only afford a dollar or two, I'm also taking donations.

Donate what you think is fair. Five dollars... one dollar. Whatever you can spare. All of it helps. If I've made you laugh at all in the last 10 years, now would be the time to kick in on that front. My goal is to get out and meet as many of you as I can before my time is up so I can thank you in person. You can help make that happen. Who knows? We might raise enough money that I can fly somewhere further than the Midwest! Somewhere I've never been before. That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?

I'm just asking you to consider it.

Thanks for your patience and support. I'll see you next week!