First things first - I want to say "Welcome!" to everyone coming here from PVP!
I was thrilled to see that Scott used my guest strip. Originally, I wasn't going to do one for him because I figured he was probably swamped with submissions. But I started thinking about how he was trapped in Seattle, sweating it out in a hotel room, unable to fly home as he fought off a case of the flu he contracted at PAX and how much that had to suck. Being sick is one thing. Being sick so far away from home is something else entirely. The very least I could do to show a little solidarity is put together a guest strip for him. I'm just glad to know he liked it enough to share with everyone else!
If you're new to Theater Hopper, it would probably benefit you to know a little bit about the comic. Theater Hopper is a semi-autobiographical comic about movies that I update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Basically I target whatever new movies are in theaters and make fun of them. But sometimes I do longer story lines, too.
In August, Theater Hopper celebrated it's 7th anniversary and publishing our 1,000th comic. So if you plan on checking out the archives at all, I encourage you to use the little bookmark feature beneath the comic navigation so you don't lose your place! Or, if you want a sample of the best the archives have to offer, check out the Top Rated page where Theater Hopper readers have voted for the comics they like the best.
Everything else you ever wanted to know about the comic can be found under the About section - including details about the cast and links to popular story lines.
One last thing I'll mention... If you're new to the site, you came at a very good time. I'm running a fire sale in my store right now and I've slashed prices on all my merchandise. Books are $9.99 and shirts are $7.99. I also have a few odds and ends - baby doll tees, posters and sampler booklets. The sale runs until Sunday, so be sure to check it out today!
Let's switch gears...
When I heard Patrick Swayze had died on Monday at the age of 57, I can't say it came as a complete shock. Anyone who has every passed by a super market check out knows that he had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last few years.
Still, his passing is sad. Just like the untimely passing of anyone is sad. Admittedly, I hadn't given much thought to Swayze as an actor in the last few years. But watching some of his old footage, I'm struck by how much he reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones. Maybe it's that Texas accent. But I think a lot of it has to do with how Swayze carried himself. Very confident, but gentle. Maybe if things were different, Swayze could have had a career like Tommy Lee Jones later in life.
Swayze has been eulogized as a rare mix of masculinity and grace. When you look over his body of work, the two competing elements are prominently displayed.
Take, for example, my favorite Patrick Swayze movie Road House. That movie came out two years after his big break in Dirty Dancing. Alternatively, Road House was followed by Ghost, which was followed by Point Break. The man knew his audience. He was certainly no dummy.
Road House was a total B movie, complete with terrible dialogue and cheesy, over the top sound effects that punctuated the fight scenes. But Swayze is totally believable as a bar room brawler. He makes the movie better just by being in it.
I talked about this a little bit on The Triple Feature on Monday, but Road House was a movie that always seemed to be on in my grandparents house. Mind you, my grandparents were not the apple pie and afghan sweater set. They were the kind of grandparents who would hang out at the Legion Hall and bet on horse races - just to give you a little bit of context.
But Road House always seemed to be on. Whether it was just one of those scenarios where HBO was just playing it over and over again to fill time or if my grandparents were genuinely into it and sought the movie out, the film left an impression on me in my pre-pubescent years.
Specifically, the last fight sequence (as referenced in the comic). Patrick Swayze - the man America fell in love with two summers prior as he romanced Jennifer Grey and danced the night away in Dirty Dancing - fighting to the death with some guy and ripping his throat out. A move so pimp, I'm pretty sure the developers of Mortal Kombat stole it from him as one of their finishing moves.
For your enjoyment (?) I've embedded a clip of this great scene. Aside from the violence of seeing a man rip out another man's esophagus, the language is a little salty as well. So it's probably safe to say this is NSFW and the little one's should abstain from viewing.
You remember Patrick Swayze however you like. This is how I prefer to remember and how I will always remember him.
R.I.P. Patrick Swayze.
What's your favorite Swayze memory? Leave your comments below!
