Posts Tagged ‘helmet’
6 items.
Nov10
Another Star Wars comic? Why not? It’s in the news right now and it’s good to kind of dust off some old nerd jokes before we’re deluged with Star Wars coverage next May. I thought the idea of a Star Wars fan club sounded funny and ran with it. Expect a continuation of today’s strip on Friday.
I’m kind of trying something new with how I’m rendering the background and the environment the characters reside in When Theater Hopper started, it was pretty much just a couple of characters in front of a colored background. Eventually, I moved up to gradients. Then evolved toward putting two gradients together to form the illusion of two walls meeting at a corner. Sometimes I would toss in a window to complete the effect.
But I’ve always felt that that background should be more realistic. Or, at least as realistic as the characters in the strip to create a wholly realized situation. So I’m experimenting a little bit.
I took digital pictures of my kitchen and family room last night and used them as a point of reference when drawing Tom and Cami. Later, I went into Adobe Illustrator and used the pen tool to create the shelves, cabinets and walls in the background. It didn’t really turn out the way I wanted to. Everything looks slightly skewed. Not as tidy as I hoped. I think it was a mistake to outline everything in black. The colors should look more natural, like its part of the bigger background piece. I ended up blurring it to try and create depth, then scaled back the colors because it was competing too much with the foreground.
Obviously all of this is a learning process, but I need to find a way to create more realistic backgrounds more efficiently. I know some of you are saying “Why don’t you try drawing them by hand, Tom.” And in the past, I have. But it’s often too time consuming and not as clean as I would like it to be.
I know some people have complimented me for the use of photos in the backgrounds, but that’s always felt like a cheat to me and lazy. Plus, it becomes inconsistent with other comics in the archive. Sometimes within the same comic!
I know other artists sometimes use 3D rendering programs to help them grasp the clean lines and perspectives of walls, buildings, windows
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As you are probably aware, Iron Man comes out on DVD this Tuesday and as you are probably even more KEENLY AWARE… I am a huge Iron Man fan. So expect lots of Iron Man goodness in the next week or so. That’s including a review of the 2-disc special edition, which I was lucky enough to obtain an advance copy of. I’ve already roped Cami into watching the movie with me AGAIN this evening. Whether or not she’ll take the deep dive with me into the DVD’s FOUR HOURS of special features… time will tell.
The interesting thing about professing my love for all things Iron Man is that it has brought out some unique support from the readership. You won’t believe some of the things fans of the comic have sent me related to Iron Man. Some pretty amazing stuff. And, since I will have nothing to talk about for the next week or so BUT Iron Man, I plan on sharing those with you here in the blog next week.
One of the gifts that was sent my way I’m a little intimidated by. It’s a full-blown theater standee that is so large, I can’t assemble it in my house. I plan on putting it together this weekend and taking pictures for posterity. But it is no exaggeration when I say that Iron Man’s head on this cardboard monstrosity is four times larger than real life. It’s immense. Should be fun.
I haven’t really been very blog-crazy these last few days. Probably because I’m all typed out after having to put together my first presentation for my Mass Communications Theory class on Wednesday. I’m only taking one class this semester to kind of ramp up into the Masters of Communication Leadership degree that I’m pursuing, but they want you to take two classes a week to graduate the program in two years. I’m having a great time learning, but I don’t know if I can keep up with that kind of workload.
Truthfully, my interests in marketing could probably allow me to sleepwalk through the program. But I’m so into what I’m reading right now, I’m being crazy thorough about it. I’m talking highlighting passages in the book with notes in the sidebar kind of thorough.
Maybe you don’t find this very interesting. Sorry. Just keying you in to what’s going on in my life right now.
I keep promising to make an announcement about the donation drive, but I keep putting it off. I think it’s because I’m looking to put together the right words and show the appropriate level of enthusiasm and appreciation for everyone’s support. I don’t want to leave anything out. I’ve actually written a few drafts of the blog post to make then announcement (and you can probably guess what it is by this point), but I want it to be perfect – for posterity.
I’ll leave that for you to ponder and close here.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!
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So Iron Man comes out on DVD tomorrow and – having watched the movie and some of the extras courtesy of the advance copy I received – I have to say it was a pretty good weekend.
If you’re thinking about buying the movie tomorrow (and why wouldn’t you), don’t be cheap and get the regular wide screen edition. Pony up the extra dough and buy the 2-disc edition. There are nearly 4 HOURS of extras in this thing and they are totally worth it. I’m serious. I’ve never been so happy watching DVD extras. These guys did it exactly right and they show you A LOT of behind-the-scenes stuff that really demonstrates the care and thought they put into things. Great stuff.
There will be a full-blown review of the DVD and all of its extra’s on the site tomorrow. So be sure to come back and check it out then.
Moving along, I spoke a little bit last week about how my declaration of love for all things Iron Man has netted me some pretty cool schwag from fans of the comic. I thought now would be a good opportunity to share with you some of the good will I’ve been lucky enough to receive.
A little earlier in the year, a fan by the name of Will sent me this screen printed poster promoting the release of Iron Man at the Alamo theater in Austin, Texas when I blogged about it on the site. He was also kind enough to send me a complete set of Iron Man collectors cups from 7-11 (including the hollowed out helmet cup for Slushees) as well as some homemade chocolate chip cookies. I love this poster. As you can see, I have it framed and it sits above my desk. I look at it everyday.
Another poster I have in my office is one given to me by a fan at Wizard World Chicago. And darn it if I can’t remember his name right now! Sorry, man! He’s a good kid. He comes to visit me every year. I think I remember him saying that his Dad sells original Pogo artwork, if I’m remembering that correctly.
Anyway, when he’s not helping his Dad at cons, he works at a movie theater and he was able to grab me this authentic Iron Man teaser poster.
He also managed to grab me a t-shirt and a hat – I think from the San Diego ComiCon? I don’t have pictures, but the hat has the movie’s logo on it and the shirt is really cool. It has the glowing outline of the mini arc reactor inside Tony Stark’s chest – the one you can see through his wife beaters, and whatnot. Anyway, what’s really cool about it is that when you turn off the lights, the link in the shirt glows. It’s a great shirt. Really nice of him to give that to me.
Speaking of shirts, I got this shirt from a reader named Ben.
Yeah, so I’m sucking in the gut a little. So what?
Ben wrote me more than a few months ago telling me that he worked at Hot Topic and there was a really cool Iron Man wallet that he wanted to send me. I thought that was pretty cool that he wanted to send something to me, but was something he was planning on spending his own money on, so I told him "Thanks, but no thanks." I was more than appreciative that he was thinking of me, but I don’t want people spending their own money on me unless they’re buying one of my books or shirts, y’know? The fact that he’s reading the comic and the blog… that’s thanks enough.
Anyway, a few weeks after that, Ben writes me and says, "We have this cool Iron Man shirt. It’s on sale. I’m sending it to you. No ‘if’s, and’s or but’s’." Again, I said, "I appreciate it. But I want you to keep your money." He wrote back insisting that I give him my address so he can send the shirt to me. So I relented. Because I figure at this point it’s more rude to keep turning him down. The shirt came in the mail a few days later and viola! I’m wearing it.
Actually, a photo and a mention was the only thing Ben asked for in exchange for his kind gesture. A favor I’m more than willing to return. I really dig this shirt a lot. As you can see, it pretty much has every armor Tony Stark has ever worn in the comics. Cami actually likes it a lot as well.
Okay, time for the big finish.
I don’t mean to marginalize any of the gifts that these generous fans have sent me. That they’ve sent me anything it all is above and beyond the call of duty and I am completely honored that anyone would spend the time or effort to acknowledge my interest in Iron Man in this way.
But, well… What a reader named Albert did is beyond crazy…
What you are looking it is a roughly 9′ tall theater standee courtesy of Albert who is the General Manager of a movie theater in New Hampshire. Albert shipped this beast (disassembled, mind you) completely at his own expense and seeking nothing in exchange but the knowledge that a hard-core Iron Man fan like myself would receive great enjoyment from it.
Albert, you have no idea.
I’ve been in communication with Albert since he sent it and he said that they would have just thrown out the standee after Iron Man left the theater. I was, like, “Seriously?” Because I used to work at a movie theater and I was always asking my mangers if I could take home any of the old posters or standees that we had in our lobby after we were through with them. I guess I must have been pretty low on a the totem pole because they always told me that those things went to the employees with seniority. Then again, my boss was a jerk. Sounds like Albert is a pretty cool boss in comparison!
Okay, as you can see, this thing is crazy big. There isn’t a room in my house large enough to store it. So I put it together this weekend in the garage and took some photos of it. I’m considering taking some video of it, too. If you guys want to see more snapshots, let me know and I’ll post them. Maybe to YouTube or Flickr or something. Who knows.
Anyway, this thing is huge and when I first received it, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. Originally, I thought I would set it up once, take the pictures for posterity, disassemble it and maybe sell it on cragislist. I consulted Albert about it citing the lack of room in my house and he said that was find since (as mentioned before) they were going to throw it out anyway.
But now that I have the thing put together and standing up in the garage… I really wan to keep it.
The garage isn’t the ideal place for it, though. Especially if it rains or come winter when the cars bring in a bunch of snow and grime. It’d be a shame for this thing to get all mushy and ruined. Or, potentially dinged up from the car door hitting it. Because, really, there’s not much room for it in the garage, either.
I’ll have to strategist a little bit to keep it around. But, so far, Cami’s on my side for keeping it. The darn thing is just so… impressive. It’ll be a kick to show it to friends and family.
At any rate, that’s some of the amazing generosity people have shown me in enabling my Iron Man fetish. Shame on all of you! I’m a man in my 30’s! I should be reading The Wall Street Journal, or something!
Naaaahhh!!!
Seriously, if these guys know how happy they’ve made me by sending this stuff, they’d be a little disconcerted. I’m like that hyperactive 10 year old in your family that is a ball of nerves on Christmas Eve because he’s anticipating getting some new Pokemon game, or something, the next day. And when he gets it, he tears all around the house screaming and knocking over lamps. That’s me. There is no “off” switch for this.
I hope you guys don’t think I’m wagging this stuff in your face or trying to brag, or anything. I just want to give these guys their due and show them a little respect and recognition for being so utterly cool.
I talk a lot about how I have the coolest fans in webcomics. This just proves it.
That’s all for now. I might try to be back later with more updates. Until then, take it easy and be sure to check the site tomorrow for my review of the Iron Man DVD!
Later!
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Not much to say about today’s comic other than I plan on taking this “heavy helmet” gag and driving it straight into the ground. I’m starting to enjoy the challenge of finding new ways to tell the same joke.
I don’t do it very often, but it was fun putting together a strip without dialogue. I’m more-or-less known for sometimes over-explaining a joke in the comic or cramming a wall of text down the audience’s collective throat. So it’s fun to try and communicate something visually for a change.
Not much else to say. Hey, did you read my review of the Iron Man DVD I posted yesterday? You should read it! I mostly talk about the extras in the 2-disc ultimate edition since I already gave the movie a pants-wetting review back in May. The extras are so good on this thing, it’s criminal.
Incidentally, I mentioned in the review that there were extra collectors editions floating around at different retailers. I mentioned Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target by name because those were the only retailers I knew of running a promotion. Turns out there are EIGHT of them!
Think about this for a minute. EIGHT!! There are EIGHT different collectors versions of Iron Man floating around on the market right now. Each with their own exclusive bonus content.
Let me run down the list for you:
Circuit City – Access to exclusive Marvel Digital Comics featuring the artwork of Adi Granov.
Best Buy – Custom Lithograph created by Marvel artist Gerald Parel.
Target – Target Deluxe Edition includes exclusive Mark III mask packaging. Available on both the Ultimate 2-Disc Edition and 2-Disc Blu-ray.
Costco – Giftset includes the Ultimate 2 Disc Edition DVD and 3 Iron Man Bobbleheads, with all 3 Iron Man suits from the film. Giftset includes the “Battle Damaged Mark II,” available exclusively in this giftset at Costco.
Walmart – Two exclusive SKUs. Ultimate 2 Disc Edition packed with an exclusive comic book chronicling the Nick Fury story. The single disc giftset is packed with the 1st episode of the new Iron Man animated series.
Kmart & Sears – Save $5 on the Ultimate 2 Disc edition with any $25 Craftsman purchase.
Trans World – FYE and Suncoast Exclusive Steelbook Package available on the Ultimate 2- disc Edition.
Borders – On pack collectible book featuring original sketches by Bob Layton and the top 24 comic cover of Iron Man.
Best Buy – Custom Lithograph created by Marvel artist Gerald Parel.
Target – Target Deluxe Edition includes exclusive Mark III mask packaging. Available on both the Ultimate 2-Disc Edition and 2-Disc Blu-ray.
Costco – Giftset includes the Ultimate 2 Disc Edition DVD and 3 Iron Man Bobbleheads, with all 3 Iron Man suits from the film. Giftset includes the “Battle Damaged Mark II,” available exclusively in this giftset at Costco.
Walmart – Two exclusive SKUs. Ultimate 2 Disc Edition packed with an exclusive comic book chronicling the Nick Fury story. The single disc giftset is packed with the 1st episode of the new Iron Man animated series.
Kmart & Sears – Save $5 on the Ultimate 2 Disc edition with any $25 Craftsman purchase.
Trans World – FYE and Suncoast Exclusive Steelbook Package available on the Ultimate 2- disc Edition.
Borders – On pack collectible book featuring original sketches by Bob Layton and the top 24 comic cover of Iron Man.
On the one hand, I think all of this additional material is great. On the other hand, I kind of hate Marvel for exploiting my completionist desires and my giving disposition.
I suppose if I were to obtain any of those extra bonus editions, I’d go for the one from Best Buy because the mini-bust feels a little more substantial to me than, say, $25 off my next Crafstman purchase. But that’s just me.
I’m a little twitchy for that Borders edition, though, with the original Bob Layton sketches. Layton, as you recall, is one of my most favorite Iron Man artists. I was lucky enough to meet him at Wizard World Chicago this year.
Anyway, that’s just a little poke for your bread basket. All of the additional promotions caught me off guard. I thought you’d get a kick out of them as well.
I’ve been hammering away at the DVD reviews lately and wanted to let you guys know that I have a review for The Love Guru DVD release that I will be posting tomorrow. With that review and Friday’s comic that follows, that will be two solid weeks of Theater Hopper updates. I bet you didn’t know I cared that much, did you? Well, I do. So keep checking the site.
Have a happy Wednesday!
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I don’t have much to say about this comic except I feel like I’ve sufficiently taken the joke of the exceptionally heavy Iron Man helmet and driven it straight into the ground, so to speak.
That said, I was specifically trying to infuse a Charlie Brown vibe into the third panel of today’s comic. I think that’s how people should do flips – with their knees tucked into their chests like an Olympic diver.
Not much else to get into before the weekend. I’m pretty much spent talking about all things Iron Man. I know some of you a breathing a sigh of relief. Be sure to come back to the site next week for a return to form.
But because I can’t resist and because reader William Briere was nice enough to send me the link, check out this ultra-sick Iron Man Mark I action figure from The Land of The Rising Sun. Seriously, Japan makes all of the coolest toys.
I’d love to get my hands on this, but I’m sure it’s crazy expensive. With that level of detail, it would have to be. See the little Mark II and Mark III suits in the inset? SO PRETTY!
That’s it for me tonight. Seeing the stage rendition of Frost/Nixon this evening which has also been adapted into a movie being released in December. There’s already some early Oscar buzz around it. I think it’ll be interesting to compare the two interpretations of the script.
Beyond that, I’m planting trees on Saturday! Jealous? I know you are! I’d like to reward myself with a showing of Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist even though I know I’m entirely too old to waste my time on it. What can I say? I have to nurture my Michael Cera crush.
Okay. I’m rambling. Gotta cut it short. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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First things first, I have to apologize for the lateness of this comic.
I started working on it Sunday night and was distracted by world events. I’m sure you know of which I speak. I tried picking up the pencil again on Monday night and was wrestling with the damn thing for so long, finishing it became impossible.
I’ll say this – trying to figure out how to draw someone about to swing a hammer with two fists is not something my brain is wired for. It’s like drawing feet for me, or something.
Of course I figured out entirely too late that looking at reference photos of baseball players would have been perfect. But I managed to finish the comic Tuesday night. And here we are! I’m actually kind of pleased with how it turned out. The art, I mean. I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the script. Just another comic where I mess around with wordplay for no real reason.
Not to belabor the point, but it’s not acceptable for me to be late with these comics and it makes me feel sick that it went down this way. I’m doing one comic a week. ONE! I used to do three comics a week, sometimes five – many of them much funnier than this one.
Sure, my life is much different now than it was 8.5 years ago when I started this thing. I didn’t have kids. I was still in my 20’s. I could stay up until 2:00 in the morning and bounce back, ready for work the next day on 4 hours of sleep. Not anymore, man. That’s for sure.
But still, there’s no reason that I can’t use the week prior to a comic to develop an idea, sketch it out in stages and finish at a more leisurely pace. If anything, the wider berth between comics should result in IMPROVED quality.
Basically it comes down to poor time management. I need to do a better job of looking forward and setting aside time to draw during the week so I don’t get caught in a situation where I’m scrambling to put something together 2 hours before it’s “due.” That’s a bad habit I developed from back in the days when I was producing 3 or 5 comics a week. Running and gunning it because I had to, but also because I could.
I wish I could relate to you the low-level of depression I experienced Monday night when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to finish the comic. I’ve been doing this for so long, blowing deadlines is more than just letting you guys down. I let myself down and it sucks. Producing this stuff should have gotten easier over time, not harder.
I think what makes it particularly pathetic is that on Monday, I renewed the TheaterHopper.com domain name for another 2 years. I posted as much on Facebook. Casually, in fact. I posted that otherwise meaningless bit of information because I literally had nothing else to talk about.
32 people “liked” that update. 3 people commented their enthusiasm. It made me feel good, but undeserving.
I’ll confess something to you. I don’t know how long I can continue to do Theater Hopper. Originally I thought 5 years would be a nice, round number. Then I thought I would stop after I had kids. By August of next year, I will have been doing this for almost 10 years. Maybe that would be a good time to stop?
If I had my druthers, I’d do Theater Hopper every day. I have fun doing it. But life gets in the way more than it used to and I still feel chained down by “rules” I established for myself when I first started this thing nearly a decade ago.
Yeah, the comic moves and breathes and changes along with my ability and circumstances. But it doesn’t mean I still don’t get bummed out when I can live up to the promises I’ve made to myself and to you. I look at these failings (which have been happening more and more lately) and I wonder if I deserve to be in the game.
But at the same time, I think to myself “If I can just hang on a little longer. The kids will be older, maybe a little more independent and there will be more time for these things.” I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking or not.
Part of me wonders if Theater Hopper is the right venue for me to express myself anymore. I don’t see very many movies these days. Commenting on them makes me feel inauthentic. For years I’ve toyed with the idea of doing a journal comic. I think it would be freeing to write comics about my life, unencumbered by scheduled updates. But my Midwestern upbringing makes me feel like a journal comic would be narcissistic and shallow.
I’ll tell you this much… not only did I renew Theater Hopper’s domain on Monday, but I renewed the domain of the journal comic I’ve been dreaming about for the last few years. I don’t know if I’ll ever do anything with it. I guess it’s just nice to know I have it. Like insurance, or something.
I’m sorry about this. I don’t know what I’m doing here. I feel like I’m dumping my problems in your lap. But if feels good to write this, to get it off of my mind. Writing it down will go a long way to help me from continuing to beat myself up about it. I guess it doesn’t leave a lot of room to talk about Thor, but I’m not too upset about it. Are you?
Thanks for hearing me out. I’ll try to do better going forward. Thanks for sticking with me.
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