Today’s incentive sketch isn’t knocking it out of the part in the artistic department, but I think you’ll appreciate its romantic symbolizes. Click away to reveal!
What can I say about The Day After Tomorrow except it looks really, really stupid. Didn’t we all get sick of disaster flicks sometime around 1998? Apparently Roland Emmerich didn’t get the memo. This guy is like Michael Bay – he can only make one kind of movie. Loud, dumb and effects-heavy. I still haven’t forgiven him for sucking Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno into the quagmire that was Godzilla.
I feel sorry for Tomorrow’s Jake Gyllenhaal. Apparently he thinks this is the “big summer event movie” to hitch his wagon to. A big blockbuster that’ll make him a household name. Guess again, Jakey. You should have used your leverage with Kirsten Dunst to land that plum role in Spider-Man 2. Tobey fans would have hated you, but Joe Six-Pack probably never would have seen the difference.
Anyway, let’s brush that aside for a moment. It’s time for a Truman update.
As you know, on Wednesday I delivered some pretty serious news about the health of our 2 year old beagle Truman. For a quick recap, he had a fever of 105, we thought he had an obstruction in his intestines (he didn’t), he underwent emergency exploratory surgery and they discovered he was fighting a mean infection either viral or bacteria in nature.
First of all, I want to thank EVERYONE who sent their prayers and good wishes to Truman. He doesn’t read so well since he’s been on the painkillers, but we told him all about the people online pulling for him. He sends his love.
On a personal level, Cami and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s support. We receive such great feedback from fellow beagle owners and other pets. It really helped to hear some of your close calls. It was nice to know we weren’t alone and – ultimately – these little guys are hearty buggers who pull through stuff that would have us laid up for 2 weeks.
Incidentally, if you wanted a snap-shot of how awesome Theater Hopper fans are on the whole, then check out this bit of fan art I received from Jennifer Addley. Jennifer has it right – chicks DO dig scars! Thanks, Jennifer!
And again, thanks to the rest of you for your e-mails and posts in the forum. It means more to us that we can possibly measure!
Now, as for Truman himself. He’s doing MUCH better! After a short stay at the vet’s office on Wednesday for an evaluation, we were able to take him home and start spoiling him rotten!
He’s still a little groggy from the surgery, painkillers and antibiotics, but he’s sleeping well and eating lots which is a good sign. We let him sleep in our bed on Wednesday night which is something we NEVER do. He was on Cloud 9!
On Thursday evening, he started picking up steam. You can tell he’s starting to feel better because he’s starting to get into things and being naughty! He snagged a towel from me earlier and tried to get me to chase him around the house and play tug of war with him (a regular game between us two). I didn’t want to engage him, though. I was afraid he’d pop a stitch! And as far as the stitches go, they come out either next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Really, if you were going to send your dog into surgery, you’d be hard pressed to find a better time than right before a holiday weekend. This way, we can spend extra time with him and make sure he doesn’t get frustrated and try to pull out his stitches!
But anyway, Truman is on the mend, eating whatever he wants and generally soaking in all the love and attention we can afford him. He’s a sweet dog and I plan on posting pictures when he’s zipping around the backyard again at full speed.
I gotta tell ‘ya. This week has been rough. In addition to Truman’s problems, there has been stress at work and some relatives also not feeling well and in the hospital. I’m not telling you this to bring you down. Frankly, I’ve probably told too much. I mean, you come to Theater Hopper to get away from this real-world drama, right?
But honestly… I never knew how many friends I made online until I opened up a little more of my life to you. It’s like you’re family now. And I’m an only child, so that’s really weird for me!
But, yeah. I consider you guys family. And if you ever need *me* to lend your some words of encouragement, drop me a line and I’m there for you.
Thanks again for everything you’ve done for us and have a great holiday weekend!
Is it possible that humble theater employees leap into action as dashing super heroes when you’re not looking? Hey, stranger things have happened!
For those of you wondering how I am planning to wrap up this now month-long story arc like I said I would on Monday… Well, I’m not. I’ve decided that I can’t deliver the emotional closer of the arc in the time I allotted myself, so I’m stringing things out for another week. Hopefully that is satisfactory with everybody. Even though I am having some of the most fun I’ve ever had drawing these strips and telling these stories, I fret every day that there are readers out there rolling their eyes and saying “GET ON WITH IT, MAN!”
But trust me. After next Friday, it’ll be done. I have the conclusion plotted out, written down. It’s 90% in stone. I say 90% because I’m sure there will be some small dialogue revisions here and there. But as far as the pacing and the structure are concerned, it’s set.
Oh, and did I mention there will be SPECIAL CAMEO APPEARANCES in the upcoming strips? I figured the story had grown to epic enough proportions that a little cameo action wasn’t out of the question. Be on the lookout for that.
Is anyone going to be that upset that I’m not talking about movies for another couple weeks? There really isn’t that much out there worth “Ooohing!” and “Aaahing!” about. I guess I was pretty surprised that the new Julianne Moore flick The Forgotten pulled in $22 million this last weekend. Especially considering that Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow has only made $26 million in TWO weeks. Considering it cost $70 million to make, I think we can label it a flop. I haven’t seen it yet, but I have a feeling I would like it. Too bad it’s not doing so well. Hopefully it can make up the difference on home video in a couple of months…
I’m still kicking around the idea of collecting these strips into a mini trade paperback. It’s probably a good thing that it’s going on a little longer. I can add a few more strips to the book to keep it from being pamphlet size. Of course, I’m still considering the option of adding extra bonus strips to sneak into the story between comics that appear on the site. That’s so you’ll sleep a little better a night having bought something a little more exclusive than what you can already get on the site for free.
First day sales of the brand new Spoiler t-shirt have been strong. People seem to be really enjoying the color and style options. I know some of you are waiting for payday before buying your shirt, but don’t worry. I’m accepting pre-orders through October 15. Many thanks to those who have already purchased your shirt!
That about does it for me. Not much news to report. I’m just plugging away at the comic, hoping you’re enjoying it! I’ll be in touch again soon!