Daddy weird, you guys. Daddy VERY weird.
Well, this is it. The end of an era. The culmination of over 10 years of work. The very last Theater Hopper comic.
Incidentally, it was Cami’s idea to bring the kids into the comic for the finale. I hadn’t considered it until she suggested it, but it was really the perfect way to end things.
Henry turns 6 years-old in February. Pearl just turned 3 in early December. It’s been a conscious decision of mine not to include them in the comic, even though people have asked me for years to introduce them.
Not to be selfish, but I didn’t want the comic to be about them. Ostensibly, when you introduce kids into the comic, it becomes a lot harder to place any focus on the adults without making them look self-obsessed at best, negligent at worst.
But, hey! Now that the comic is done, I can through those rules out the window, right? It was also a little bit of fun to brush up against the 4th wall one last time.
SAYING GOODBYE
I’ve been wrestling with this blog post for a while. I’ve kicked around versions of it in my head for weeks, started and stopped it a million times. Drafted and redrafted looking for something to properly encapsulate what I’ve accomplished with the comic up until this point.
Ultimately I decided to scrap that and speak from the heart. It’s served me well over the last 10 years. Why stop now?
In nearly every interview I’ve ever given over the years, I’ve frequently been asked the same question: “Why did you start Theater Hopper?” It’s not a bad question. It gives the rest of the interview context. But I always cringed at answering it because I thought it let people know right off the bat that I was a complete fraud.
A little pretext: You talk to some cartoonists and they talk about how drawing was ALL they ever wanted to do. They slugged it out for years drawing comics in their high school or college newspapers, fanzines and getting turned down again and again by the syndicates – never really finding success, but never giving up on the dream.
Now, I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I drew comics featuring my friends back in Junior High. But I never identified myself as “A CARTOONIST.” I was just a guy who liked to draw.
Theater Hopper was almost entirely a fluke. At the time I created it back in 2002, I was trying to teach myself web design. I figured I would be more invested in this process if I had a site that required content and upkeep.
At the same time, I was just starting to get into web comics. I discovered Penny Arcade in a copy of the Official Playstation Magazine. Discovering Penny Arcade led me to PvP. Looking at Jerry, Mike and Scott, I saw three guys who were a lot like me – regular dudes working day jobs looking for a way to be creative. I figured, “If they could do it, why not me?”
Fast forward 10 years later and I’ve had one of the richest, most unbelievable experiences that I could never have possibly hoped for.
I’ve met a lot of cool people through this comic. I’ve traveled the country visiting with them in person at conventions and I’ve traveled the world talking to with people online about it.
Most importantly, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve broadened my horizons through relationships that I didn’t expect a comic about movies to cultivate for me. I learned a lot about what makes other people tick. I learned a lot about my own shortcomings. I see people better now than I used to.
Maybe that’s a part of maturing. Maybe it’s inevitable for all of us. Certainly 35 year-old me is more wise than 25 year-old me. Just as 25 year-old me was better off than 15 year-old me. But I like to think Theater Hopper accelerated my understanding of the world a little bit.
To that end, I want to take a moment to thank some of the people I’ve interacted with over the years who helped Theater Hopper become what it. If I’m leaving anyone out, please know that it’s not intentional. There’s just a lot of ground to cover in 10 years!
THANK YOU
CARRINGTON VANSTON – You’d think if you were starting a movie comic about movies that you would stop to look around the internet and see if anyone else came up with the same idea first. Well, as the last 10 years of this comic can attest, I am an idiot. It wasn’t until months after I had established Theater Hopper that I came across Carrington’s Movie Punks. I wrote him an e-mail and begged forgiveness – not knowing that it was permissible to have more than one web site on the internet covering the same field of discussion. Thankfully, he gave me his blessing. Without that, Theater Hopper would have been over before it even started.
ZACH MILLER – After making amends with Carrington, I started to step out into the wider world of web comics. Zach Miller from No Pants Tuesday and Joe and Monkey was one of the first web comic friends I made. Zach was never shy about telling you his opinion and we ended up exhibiting at a lot of conventions together over the years. A great guy.
MITCH CLEM – If I remember correctly, Mitch (most famously of Nothing Nice to Say) was already in Zach’s orbit by the time I met him. We all started our comics at roughly the same time, so it seemed reasonable that we could help each other out. Like Zach, Mitch and I would exhibit at conventions a few times over the years – even though it was never really his scene. That said, I have probably never laughed harder in my life than the times I got to hang out with Mitch Clem.
You know the people in your life who you get along with instantly, absent any real knowledge of their background or personality? Mitch was one of those guys in my life. We just got each other’s humor really well… even if I did have a knack for annoying the crap out of him.
GORDON McALPIN – Most people who read Theater Hopper probably read Gordon McAlpin’s Multiplex. It makes good sense. Both of our comics are about movies to an extent, so we just kind of fell into each other’s orbit. We solidified our association when we teamed up with Joe Dunn (more on him in a second) to form The Triple Feature podcast.
Gordon has always been the pragmatic smartass pal that I’ve turned to bounce idea off of. Gordon has a real knack for storytelling and knows how to take a good idea and make it great. He’s always been an excellent friend and confidant. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t have turned Charlie and Jimmy over to his care. Look for them to show up in Multiplex in 2013!
JOE DUNN – I know of no other artist more prolific, amazing and humble as Joe Dunn. A large collection of his work can be seen at Digital Pimp Online, but the guy has been everywhere the last few years. I consider him to be one of my main artistic inspirations. Much like Mitch Clem, Joe is one of those guys that I’ve been fortunate enough to just click with. We’ve shared a hell of a lot of laughs together.
C2E2 in Chicago this year was my last convention. I’m not sad about leaving the insanity of the convention circuit behind. But I am sad that I won’t get to hang out with Joe Dunn again anytime soon. The man is awesome, sincere and a great friend.
COMRADE F, DAVID BUIST, TYLER MARTIN, PHILIP HOFER – Each of these guys had a hand in developing the back-end systems that kept Theater Hopper up and running over the years. They were frequently the recipients of panicked e-mails when I had touched something on the server that I wasn’t supposed to touch. Their insights and service were invaluable to the growth of the site over the years and I appreciated each of them for their hard work.
BRIAN ARNOLD – Much like the gentlemen listed before him, Brian was integral to the success of Theater Hopper behind the scenes. He provided hosting and support, coding knowledge and expertise and all around awesomeness. More than anyone else, I have leaned on Brian for his help and he has never asked for anything in return. As I’ve gotten to know him over the years, we’ve come to learn that we have had many similar experiences and share a philosophy about life that you don’t find too often in others. We joke that we are almost like brothers. The bottom line is that Theater Hopper could not have existed for as long as it did without him.
THE THORUM – When Theater Hopper first started out, it has a forum community much like every other site did at the time because – hey – that’s what you did. Over the years, people came and went, but there was always a core group that kept the conversation lively and fluid. They came to christen our forum the “THourm,” and we were a happy little family.
As the site began to grow, I was unable to dedicate as much time as I had previously to the community. To be completely honest, I flaked out. When the THorum was attacked by a particularly nasty hack, it pretty much ended things for good. I tried to reignite the THorum a couple of times later on, but the spark wasn’t quite there. By that time, social media had come along and online conversations started happening in different places.
However, there are still people from that core group that I talk to almost every day. People like MadMup, Andelyn Harrison, Frogglin, bd, JClark, Meags, ADSquirrel, abe, Angela Elmore, Bishma, Scootles, Charley and more. If I’m forgetting any of you, please forgive me. I’m trying to keep a lot of names straight in my head right now!
The point is, these are the people who first came to support Theater Hopper and they are people I still talk to a decade later. I feel very fortunate for that. If I could give each one of them a Golden Danza, I would.
I know that means nothing to the rest of you, but that’s kind of the idea.
MY FAMILY – This kind of goes without saying, but what kind of monster would I be if I didn’t thank my wife Cami and our two beautiful children Henry and Pearl for supporting my dream the last 10 years?
The extraordinary late nights, the groggy mornings, they frayed patience and short tempers. The sacrifices I made pursuing this dream were very real to my family. I think it would be over-dramatic to say they suffered for it, but it wasn’t always fun. Especially those long weekends away when I was at some far-flung convention.
Now that it’s done, I feel confident that I’ve created a body of work that does them justice. I know that I’ve accomplished something real when my 5 year-old son Henry looks over my shoulder at the comics I’ve drawn and starts to create his own comic strips. He has a love for art that I’m not sure I had cultivated they way he has at such and early age – and I can’t wait to see where that takes him.
Cami, in particular, deserves a lot of credit. She’s been my sounding board when I’ve been frustrated or dejected. She’s been patient and understand when she really didn’t have to be either of those things. She saw what Theater Hopper meant to me and gave me support. I’m beyond lucky to be married to her and make every effort to tell her that often. I only hope she realizes how deep my well of appreciation and love for her actually goes.
WHAT’S NEXT
Since announcing that I was ending Theater Hopper in January, several people have written to me and asked me what’s next.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I should say first of all that – just because I’m ending the comic – doesn’t mean I’m going away completely. I’ve been online too long now to quit cold turkey, so you can find me in all of my usual haunts.
Drop me a line on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tombrazelton. I’m always down for a little conversation.
You can also stay up-to-date on what I’m working on by checking out the Theater Hopper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theaterhopper. Yeah, I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to maintain a Facebook page for a comic that doesn’t update anymore, but I’ve got a good thing going there. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been transitioning the page as a hub for me to share cool movie-related things I find.
Whether that be the occasional picture or an article about the state of Hollywood that I have to comment on, you can find it there. Every now and again, I throw an old Theater Hopper comic from the archive into the mix to keep things interesting. I update there pretty frequently, so if you aren’t following the page already, now is a good time to check it out.
And, of course, you can always e-mail me at theaterhopper@hotmail.com. All of my e-mails are being forwarded to one account these days, so I see everything still being sent there.
Now let’s get to the meat and potatoes…
THEATER HOPPER eBOOKS KICKSTARTER
One of my greatest accomplishments with Theater Hopper in the last 10 years is fundraising and producing three print collections of my work. Theater Hopper Year One, Two and Three were great experiences for me and I really appreciate the people who helped support my dream of seeing Theater Hopper in print.
By my work is not done.
Now that the comic is over, I’m shifting my sights to producing SEVEN NEW BOOKS – Theater Hopper Year Four through Ten. The only hiccup is this: Since I’m not producing the comic anymore and I won’t be going to conventions to sell them, producing printed editions is out of the question.
So where do I turn? I’ve decided instead to produce the new material as eBooks. The up front costs are lower, the storage problem is no existent and I can sell them in perpetuity on an as-needed basis.
The books will be very much like the print edition. Each comic from each year will be presented along with commentary. So the books will provide readers with unique insights into the history of Theater Hopper and how I developed the comic. You’ll learn what jokes work, what strips bombed and what I learned along the way.
Since I don’t have a lot of experience producing eBooks, I plan on turning the production over to a company called Graphicly. They’ll be able to take my spreads and convert them into practically ever eBook format known to man. These books will work on the Kindle Fire, iPhone + iPad, NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, NOOK Touch, Android Tablets, Android Phones and the Kobo VOX Reader. Turning production over to Graphicly will allow me to focus on the content and produce books faster.
Of course there is a cost associated with this service and that is why I am crowdfunding through Kickstarter.
You guys might remember that I raised funds for Theater Hopper – Year Three through Kickstarter and we made goal. I needed $3,500 to produce a print run of 500 books.
For the Theater Hopper eBooks, I’m asking for $3,000 to pay for the production of SEVEN NEW BOOKS. I think that’s a far better deal, don’t you?
Check out the campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tombrazelton/theater-hopper-ebooks. Watch the video, listen to my pitch, read the story about the project and check out the rewards. Once the project goes live, I’ll update the campaign page with information each week. I’ll also be posting updates to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, so that’s another way you can stay up-to-date.
I think this goal is very reasonable and – with your help – we can make short work of it. Once completed, it will help to ensure that Theater Hopper can be enjoyed by existing fans and potential new fans that haven’t even discovered the comic yet. It’s a way for the comic to live on.
I’ll add here (only because others have asked about it) that it is my plan to keep this site up and running, fully in tact, until I am unable to afford hosting. Hopefully that will be a very long time. So if you ever want to come back and visit the archives, they’ll be here for you.
Last but not least…
MIDWESTERN NICE
I’ve kept this pretty close to the vest, but I DO have a new project that I will be working on in the future. It’s called MIDWESTERN NICE. Click that link and you can visit the new site.
What is Midwestern Nice? I can’t go into details other than it will be a very personal project and I think you guys will like it. But the time isn’t right to unveil it right now.
Instead, what I think is best at the moment is for me to decompress a little bit, hopefully start working on the Theater Hopper eBooks in the near future and then reveal Midwestern Nice when I have it set up exactly as I like it.
Sign up for the mailing list and I will keep you up to date on all news related to my new project. I won’t be hitting you with a ton of e-mails, so you don’t have to worry about it right away. But it’s a good way to stay connected.
THE END
And that, my friends, is how they say “is that.”
I’d like to thank everyone who has visited the site in the last 10 years, who has offered criticism and feedback and who has taken the time to share their thoughts and ideas with me. It has not gone unnoticed and I have made every effort to engage with you where I could. I’ve been the richer for it.
I think I’m at a point where the full reality of ending Theater Hopper hasn’t sunk in – despite the fact that I gave myself a year to make peace with it. But I know – should I go off the deep in in a few weeks from despair and regret – you guys will still be out there and I’ll calm down a little bit.
Like I said, I won’t be going too far. But for now, this is… the end.
With thanks.
Sincerely,
Tom Brazelton
THEATER HOPPER
2002 – 2012
Is that what your life was like before Pearl and I were born?
Pretty much, Henry.
Did you really dress up in ALL of those costumes?
Well, I TELL people that it was a comical exaggeration...
But do you want to know the truth?
I TOTALLY dressed up in all of those costumes for real.
You're WEIRD, Daddy!
DADDY, WEIRD!
THE END.
I will miss Theaterhopper. I will remember it forever as a source of laughter, friendship and community. It changed so much for me. Best wishes to Tom. Love ya, brother.
Thank you, Joe. I think that’s a wonderful summation of things. Much love.
I do believe… that it should be only fitting that everyone should leave their favourite “Last Line of the Movie” in the comments.
And I believe that it could only be equally fitting to post this one before Tom gets in:
“The truth is… I am Iron Man” – Iron Man (2008)
“I’M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION!”
I told myself I wouldn’t cry. I mean, I’m not really but it’s still sad to know that something I’ve loved for so long is essentially…no more. From the Theater Hopper posters on my wall to the stickers on my door to the shirts and hoodies I still wear to the books on my shelf I’m reminded of Theater Hopper. Even when my very own plush Truman looks at me I’m reminded of the name Brazelton and how much joy it’s brought to me over these 10 years. Thank you for 10 years where I haven’t always agreed with you but I’ve always supported you. Thanks for making me laugh all these years sir. Thank you.
If you’ve got one of the hoodies, then you HAVE been reading for a long time! That was practically a one-off. I made one batch of those and that was it. Took up too much room in the storage closet! 😀
Thanks so much for your support, Justin. I really appreciate it. You are an amazing fan!
What a wonderful ending. I will miss the comic.
/Salute
Thank you, Nuke. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
/Salute
I will miss reading this comic. I’ve only followed since about 2008, but I feel like it’s been all along.
Thanks for your compliments, Brian. The good news is that I intend to keep the archives up for as long as I can, so if you ever want to take the deep dive… they’ll be there for you! 😀
I’m not entirely certain when I started reading Theater Hopper, but I think it was somewhere around 2005 or 2006. Before TH (and Digital Pimp Comics), I never got to have nearly as much interaction with the creator of a comic before. I appreciate how much of our feedback you’ve listened to, and the conversations we’ve all managed to have over the years.
Thank you for all the memories. 🙂
I’ve always been very receptive to feedback and criticism around the comic, mostly because I come from a traditional art background and believe that no real growth can occur without a dialogue.
I’ve been very fortunate not only to have fans that have interacted with me regarding the comic, but to have very civil and meaningful conversations with them. It’s been one of the greatest things about Theater Hopper for me. I really value all of the relationships it helped to establish!
Thank you for your support over the years. It is appreciated!
Thanks for the wonderful ride Tom. What a bittersweet and beautiful ending. Sad to bid adieu, but you tied it all into such a pretty bow its hard to see where else it could have gone. Plus we can take solace that someone as talented as you will have new projects in the wings, my curiosity is peaked on “Midwestern Nice” and I will keep watching the skies.
Thank you, sir.
I think you’ll like what I’m planning for the future!… 😉
I’m gonna miss it Tom, but you put out a great product from start to finish
Thank you, Andrew. I appreciate it. 🙂
Its amazing going back to the very first comic and seeing how much your artwork and writing has improved over the last decade of Theater Hopper. (truly a compliment, your work 10 years ago is still better then anything I could produce…ever)
Theater Hopper has been one of the few web comics i’ve really kept up with, and I’m sad to see it go. Along with CAD being what it is now, I’m finding I have little in the way of web comics to read anymore. However its been a great ride, and I wish you well Tom. I look forward to seeing your ebooks come out, and will eagerly get them when they do.
One question there, will you release years 1-3 as ebooks as well? I don’t have the physical copies, and I no longer buy physical books, I’d love to see the first years as ebooks as well.
Anyways, thank you Tom for a great comic. I’ve enjoyed it ever since I found it I dont know how many years ago. I look forward to your next project and ebooks.
Haha, if you don’t have many comics to read I think you are not looking hard enough 😉
I discovered over a dozen great new comics this year – Ava’s Demon, Broodhollow, Iothera, Nimona, Jailbird, Monsterkind, Witch and Knight…
Congratulations to you, Tom! It’s been a great run, and Theater Hopper’s had a great ending.
The one thing I kind of regret about working on Theater Hopper is that – over time – it kind of forced me to put on blinders in terms of what was happening in web comics. I didn’t want to accidentally put myself in the position of stealing an idea, so you kind of start tuning that stuff out.
But there is so much great work out there to be discovered. I’m looking forward to checking it out again.
Thanks for your compliments, Avi! I appreciate them!
The weird thing about working on a comic for 10 years is that you kind of imagine the quality has always stayed level over that period of time. I look back at the archives and cringe at some of the artwork. At this point, I don’t think I could draw that badly if I tried!
Just goes to show, you spend enough time working on something, you get better at it! Kind of like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day!
To answer your question, yes, the first three Theater Hopper books will be converted to eBooks. If we make goal, it should be reasonable to expect them by the end of February or early March!
Thanks again for your support!
It’s been a fun ride, Tom. There are many fun stories and fond memories from the THorum, and being a member there (John Clark) was a privilege. I hope between Brian, MadMup, Andie, Angela, HP, BD, Abe and the rest of us, we are able to archive and preserve, at least in oral history, what the THorum was in its Golden Age.
Long Live the Webcam Page!
Y’see… now I KNEW I was forgetting someone from the THorum thank yous! I apologize for the oversight, Charley. You’ve been there from the beginning and have always been a great friend and supporter.
Consider this blog post amended!
Tom, I have been following TH since, I think, round about 2004 and have only occasionally posted comments. When I first started reading, I was about to start university. Now I’m graduated, moved country and beginning my career. In that time TH has been the only web comic I have consistently followed. I can echo the sentiment we all feel that you spoke to us in a way other creators didn’t, engaging your audience on a personal level. Today is a New Year. And though I am almost 4,000 miles away, and we have never met, I’d like to tell you something; God bless, and a Happy New Year from my family to yours.
I take it seriously when people tell me that they got into web comics at a certain point and mine was the comic they stuck with. The audience for web comics ebbs and flows. There are so many other things out there competing for your attention. So I really value what you’ve shared with me here. It’s very humbling.
Thanks for your compliments and have a Happy New Year. 🙂
Tom, it’s been a wonderful run, and I’ve enjoyed following the strip. Having Henry and Pearl show up at the end was a fitting way to bring down the curtain, and I can’t think of a better coda for this.
I’m wishing you all success with the new project. And if you ever get the desire to revisit the past, I’m willing to bet that if you did, that it won’t be pointless the way some Hollywood reboots tend to be…
Hoping to see more from you in the future.
Jim, I can say with confidence that I will not be rebooting Theater Hopper in the future! Although, now that you’ve suggested it, I’m wondering if there have been any other web comics that have tried it?
Slippery slope!
Thanks for your compliments. I appreciate them!
Interesting question, that; would you consider EVIL INC. to be a reboot of GREYSTONE INN? Brad Guigar took one of the supporting characters from the earlier strip (Lightning Lady) and focused on her, built up her world and went from there.
There’s also John Allison’s stuff, the way BOBBINS begat SCARY-GO-ROUND which led to BAD MACHINERY, which is more continuous segway than reboot unless you redefine the field to allow it to be…
I am sad to see this day come, as theater hopper is my favorite webcomic.
January 13th 2005 it seems was the fateful day I would come across this amazing webcomic through cinematreasures.org (A site devoted to classic movie theaters) which linked it. So http://www.theaterhopper.com/2005/01/12/was-it-something-she-said/ would be the first strip I would see which was in the middle of the charlie story arc that introduced her.
I remember really liking it and going through the whole archive. Now at that time I was working at a movie theater, so from 2003-2009 I knew all the movies the strip was talking about. But even after 2009 when I left the movie theater, I still enjoyed theater hopper.
Since that fateful day in January 2005, for 8 years almost I checked everytime a comic would be updated. I will look forward to seeing charlie and jimmy in multiplex (Which Ive been checking probably just as long, whenever theater hopper linked it first).
I just want to say THANK YOU tom for providing me and everyone with something to look forward to to brighten up the day, and I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do.
I think it is WAY cool that you remember the exact date that you started reading the comic. I can’t even remember what happened last week!
Thank you for your compliments, Eddie. I always love hearing from people who’ve worked in theaters and really understood all of the references.
As you probably know, there are “down times” during the year right before the Oscars and right after the summer blockbuster season where it seems like NOTHING interesting is coming out. Those are lean times for good references! Glad someone was getting them!
I’ve been a reader since 2005. Thanks for all the laughs and fun! Best to you and your family.
Thank you, Kim. The very best to you and your family as well!
It doesn’t feel like 10 years, but then again I look back and realize, holy crap, it has been 10 years.
I’ll point out that we did have a few successful THorum meetups and I had the time of my life, especially with Brian, MadMup, Pixel, Typo, etc etc. I visited and hung out with KiltyAsCharged, and formed great bonds with Abe., JEthelred, and the Rascal King, as well as HP and BD. I can never forget ADSquirrel and Meags, as well as JClark for always being great mods and awesome people. Brian and I still talk often and plan to visit, since he is the closest one living to me. hehe. Geez, I feel like I’m missing people.
As well, I’d like to mention that if it weren’t for Theater Hopper and the THorum, I wouldn’t have met my best friend and maid of honor, Kira, aka Ceredonia. In a forum with a handful of very active members, I knew I was the only one in Colorado, until she came along and we discovered we’d been crossing paths for years, and never hung out. She is now my best friend and will be standing next to me at my wedding this year, and if it weren’t for the THorum, I probably still wouldn’t know who she was.
Thank you for all the awesome memories, Tom/TBraz, this has been an amazing comic and journey, and my life is so wonderful and different with it!
Oh, Andie… It took me a while to figure out what to say to you here, but what you’ve shared about the THorum sums things up better than I ever could.
I feel really fortunate that Theater Hopper could create a conduit through which fans could form relationships and become friends. It’s truly humbling. I only played a small part. It what you guys did together that made that time magical.
Thank you so much for your support – and friendship – over the years. The comic may be over, but these relationships will carry forward. 🙂
Great ending to this- I really enjoyed the journey you took the characters on as you wrapped everything up. Nicely done, and looking forward to your next project…
Thank you for your compliments, Dale.
I know there were some that wanted more jokes in this last arc, but I tried to mix it up as much as possible. 😉
Thanks for reading!
Man.
Theater Hopper gave me so much, so very much. From the best friends I’ll ever have (and still have, thankyouverymuch) to the man I’m going to marry. Without TH, there’d be so many people in my life I wouldn’t have ever met and it staggers me a little that our friendships have stayed strong for so long.
Thank you Tom. Thanks man, yanno?
I am distinctly proud that the THorum had a small role in establishing not one, but two romantic relationships. I just think that’s beyond cool and probably one of the things I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Thank you.
It was a great comic and it had a great run, but everything comes to an end eventually. Some things drag on and on until they’ve become parodies of their former self, no longer having vision or purpose. That didn’t happen to “Theater Hopper”. You got out at the right time, and the last episode was a brilliant capper. See you around!
I take that as a sincere compliment, man. I never wanted Theater Hopper to wear out its welcome and I feel good about now being the time to end it.
I think there’s something to be said for perseverance. Part of me wanted to keep making comics until the wheels fell off. I mean, you never know when the boomerang is going to come back around again, right? Things might be hard now, but they might be great later?
That said, I never wanted Theater Hopper to become “less than” what it was in my mind. A slow decline in quality would have been worse than death to me. I think made my exit at just the right time.
Thanks for being there to support it. 😉
Well done, Tom. Well done. As much as I’m bummed out that the comic has ended, I must admit that I think you ended it perfectly. I’m glad to hear that you’re keeping the site up and running for a while, and look forward to checking out your upcoming project and helping out with the kickstarter project, not to mention getting the eBooks when they’re ready.
Thanks for your compliments, Mike. I’m really glad that the ending hit the right notes. I think you’ll enjoy Midwestern Nice when it’s ready.
FYI – the eBooks Kickstarter is launching Monday, January 7!
It’s been a good run, Tom! Really enjoyed the comic, and looking forward to your next project.
Thanks, Trevor. I appreciate it – and I’ll miss our convention chats.
Don’t be a stranger!
Wow. It’s really over. That’s both sad and satisfying. I follow a fair number of web comics, but THopper has been at or near the top of the list. I’ve always appreciated your sense of humor, your excellent pacing, and your ever improving art. It’s amazing to look at some of the first panels you put out back in the day and see how much your skills have evolved. Thanks for all the great stories, jokes (good and delightfully bad), and characters (Truman still rules). I’m sure this is something you can show to your kids and your kids’ kids with pride. Well done, sir. Well done indeed.
You’ve read me like a book, Ben. This is most certainly something I want to share with my kids when they’re older. Everyone’s got a story to tell, right? Daddy told his, they should be encouraged to tell theirs.
Thanks for your support and compliments. I appreciate them.
Great end to a great comic. Thanks for all the entertainment these many years. You were, and are, a class act.
Don’t let the top hat and monocle fool you. I’m not nearly as classy as you give me credit for! 😉
But I appreciate your compliments and your support. Thank you!
Wow, it really has been a long time hasn’t it? Ten years is longer than I’ve known many irl friends, it still boggles my mind a bit. It’s been a great run, major props for sticking with it this long and continuing to improve and refine as you did. I’ll be looking forward to your future projects, and of course we’ll always have Facebook 🙂
I’ve frequently made the observation that I’ve been working on Theater Hopper longer than any “real” job I’ve ever had. The longest day job I’ve ever had was 6 years. Then again, I only worked on Theater Hopper three days a week at its apex. Sometimes it felt longer than that, but it was always fun!
Oh well… Bummer, I only found it last year, but I enjoyed reading your work…
Don’t get too bummed, Kevin. Now you can read all of the archives without worrying about catching up! 🙂
Thanks for ten years of the best webcomic I’ve seen. I remember finding this comic looking for laughs on a old Hewlit-Packard in 2003. Now I’m reading the last one on a Ipad, its amazing how much has changed. I again want to thank you for being a constant source of laughs for those 10 years of change.
Thank you, Steve. The times have CERTAINLY changed!
Theater Hopper, Multiplex, and Joe Loves Crappy Movies have been my go tos for movie related hijinks for many years. I hate seeing one leg of that tripod go. As with any ending, I’m deeply saddened that I won’t be able to peek into this world and see these characters anymore. I’ve enjoyed your comic very much Tom. Thanks for sharing it with us all these years.
Thanks for your compliments, Schlock. What’s amazing to me is that there really weren’t many other movie comics out there in the last 10 years. Mine, Multiplex and Joe Loves Crappy Movies were probably the most prominent and I’m aware of two or three that lasted for a couple of years. But you’d think with the ubiquity of movies in our culture, it would be reflected back by webcomics?
Maybe because there’s so much entertainment journalism, it’s not a niche? Who knows!
I’m not sure why I didn’t get here sooner…it was Jimmy in Multiplex talking about his old theater that pulled me in, and over the course of the past couple weeks I’ve made it all the way through the run. Thanks for leaving the archives up and thanks for all the late nights and sacrifices.
I wish I’d been here in real time to contribute to the comments though… I mean of course Kevin Costner could play Pa Kent. He was a farming dad in Field of Dreams you know… 🙂
Just finished up Theater Hopper. Thanks so much for the humor! I got to the party late but I’m glad I found it.
Another late comer here. Took me a while, but I managed to read all the Theater Hoppers. Loads intelligent, fun and even artistic stuff there! I enjoyed it thoroughly. Thank you Tom and all the best.
Oooh, just came across your old site while curating my old bookmarks. A real blast from the past. Enjoyed my reread, and hope everything has gone well for you and your family.
Hey, Darren. Not sure if you’ll catch this message or not. I don’t check the site often, but I did stumble onto your recent comment. Thanks for your compliments and glad you could reconnect with the comic. Things are going great on our end and I hope you are doing well, also!