Posts Tagged ‘nightmare’
7 items.
For those readers who have marched in here from the forums of PVP or Real Life, torches and pitchforks at the ready, take a deep breath and have a seat. I’m talking to you.
Apparently, Monday’s blog caused quite a hullabaloo when a kind soul from Rancho Cordova, CA (“The town they named after a salad dressing!”) decided to tip everyone off to my comments about Scott Kurtz and Greg Dean “stealing” my ideas regarding two strips about Harry Knowles and Ferris Bueler’s Day Off. Appropriate poo-slinging followed.
I suppose I could go into the details of this fracas – about the multitude of incorrectly spelled and grammatically mind-bending flames hurled my way. But this is all old news to anyone who has been trolling about the community for any amount of time. Readers who have their favorites vigorously defend their sanctuaries from outsiders.
Instead, I’m gonna cut to the skinny. Monday’s comments were in NO WAY meant to be taken seriously. It was just a quirky coincidence I thought I would point out and have a little fun with. Doesn’t anyone else think that this triptych of web comics discussing such varied topics to be of interest? I do! In fact, I found it amazing! Especially considering neither Scott nor Greg have probably heard of my measly operation! Apparently, some people couldn’t see the irony that was clubbing them over the heads.
Perhaps it was my fault for not making my sarcasm a little more overt. After all, even my good friend Zach from No Pants Tuesday sent me an e-mail of caution (well intended, but undoubtedly due to exhaustion as we’ve seen no new strip for over a week – worried about you, pal!).
But for those of you who felt it necessary to make sweeping, negative generalizations against my talent, intelligence or mother, I’ve gotta recommend you take your B.S. detector in for some much needed maintenance. Otherwise, this world is going to eat you alive. It’s truly amazing how upset some people became. If people get this angry about web comics, I have to presume most of them went into an epileptic fit after that whole Enron thing. If their venom isn’t proportional, then their priorities are out of whack.
To the credit to many in the community, I did have my share of defenders in the forums. Several people came to my defense clearly pointing out that Monday’s comments were a joke and lobbing their own flames back in retaliation. Thank goodness for those who are switched on.
In summary, I didn’t mean offend anyone. If my comments upset you, I apologize. I’m a big fan of both PVP and Real Life. I think they are both sharply written and sublimely well put together strips. In fact, that’s where most of the irony stemmed from when I compared my strip to theirs – ’cause obviously I don’t have the kind of talent several years in the game have afforded those two.
If I’ve learned anything about the matter, it’s that next time I’ll be sure to make all my sarcastic comments IN BIG BOLD LETTERS as not to confuse anyone. Still, I’ve gotta admit, at least the second principle of my theory rang true – I scored 4 times as many unique hits to the site on Tuesday compared to an average day. Thanks.
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Well, it looks like most of the bru-ha-ha surrounding Monday’s blog has settled down. Things are returning to a relative state of normalcy. The hate mail has all but dried up and our traffic is back to pedestrian levels.
If anything, it’s been a real roller coaster of a week. Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the station where there was a letter from Greg Dean – creator of Real Life – waiting for me in my inbox!
Apparently Greg caught wind of the ruckus being made in his forums and thought he would check out the site. I won’t divulge everything that was said, but Greg was very complimentary to the strip. Very kind, very courteous – a real class act. There’s a reason his fans defend him so fiercely and it’s because he’s a damn nice guy. – Worthy of your respect. Pay him some now.
I’d love to chat more, but I’m just now peeking my head out from underneath a cloud of an intense sickness I’ve been suffering for the last few days. I’m taking a beating from a wicked cold. It feels like someone took me upside the head with a billyjack. Things are getting better, but right now I am very, very warm. Unseasonably warm.
You know when you have a fever that’s about to break, but to get there, you have to writhe through 8 hours of fitless sleep and night sweats? Well, I’m getting ready for that now. First I brush my teeth then its off to wrestle with the disease! Wish me luck!
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Sep24
LIKE SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, BUT WITH A GUY INSTEAD
September 24th, 2004 |
(6 votes, average: 9.33 out of 10)
How’s THAT for a reversal?
Here I had you thinking that Jared was the one going mental, but it turns out it was Jimmy! Well, in Tom’s dream at least. But maybe Jared got to him? Put some thoughts in his head? It’s certainly a possibility. Maybe that question will be answered in the mini trade paperback I’m putting together that collects this arc. Yea… I’m thinking there might be a bonus comic inserted between this comic and Wednesday’s comic that might address that very issue…
Oh, by the way, if you want to see a sketch of Tom with a knife stuck in his back, you can view it by voting for Theater Hopper at buzzComix. Click here to see it.
The sketch isn’t all that good because I didn’t have a lot of time to work on the comic yesterday. About an hour and a half when I came home from work and then another hour or so before I went to bed. For the curious, I was out helping someone celebrate a birthday. I think the comic suffered a little bit, which I’m dissapointed with. Some of the perspective is off.
At any rate, I hope you’re enjoying the story arc. Can you believe it’s gone on now for almost a month? Crazy. Hopefully Tom’s little nightmare will be a nice little cliffhanger whetting your appetites for more. WHETTING, I SAY!
So what’s in theaters this weekend? After what seems like forever, Shaun of the Dead drops stateside. I guess it was mega-popular in the UK. People were constantly sending me e-mails about it from over there a few months ago. “Why aren’t you talking about Shaun of the Dead? You need to do a comic about Shaun of the Dead!” Well, we’re just now getting it, so hold your horses.
From where I sit, the movie looks pretty unique. A love story that spoofs zombie movies at the same time? Interesting. My only concern is will I be able to tell the zombies apart from the non-infected British cast? They’re a pale sort, that’s for sure. I might need to bring a scorecard.
Ahhhh, I’m just pulling your leg, you limeys! All in good fun! Seriously, I’m just playin’…
The only other movie I’m half-curious to see is John Waters A Dirty Shame. It’s a sex comedy with Tracy Ullman and Johnny Knoxville.
Wow. I never thought I would ever write a sentence like that in my life.
This is the brilliance of John Waters, though. Right now he’s forcing movie reviewers around the globe to write the same head-scratching synopsis.
The movie is rated NC-17, which isn’t surprising if you’re familiar with Waters’ past work pushing the boundaries of good taste. Of course this rating instantly motivates me to see it more. What’s all the hub-bub about? All I know is that the normally rail-thin Selma Blair is sporting a pair of giant, fake boobs through the whole picture. I think she plays a stripper, or something named Caprice Stickles. Classic.
The next trick will be finding a theater in good ol’ conservative Iowa that’ll play an NC-17 movie.
Funny story about a John Waters experience I had. I worked at a movie theater tearing tickets back when Serial Mom with Kathleen Turner. We had just closed up all the theaters for that afternoon’s matinee’s when this woman and her 8 year-old daughter come storming out of Serial Mom. She immediately demands to speak with a manager to complain about the movie. “How could you show this kind of filth in your theaters?” and what not. “My child should not have to watch this kind of garbage!”
Our manager gave it to her straight: First, it’s a John Waters movie. If you’re familiar with the history of cinema at all, you’d know he was notorious for filming a 6 foot 2 transvestite eating dog poo on camera. Second, the movie was rated “R”, so it’s your own fault for bring your daughter. Third, the movie is titled SERIAL MOM! Did you hear the title instead of read it and think it was about Frosted Flakes?
Never underestimate the ignorance of the American public.
I’ve been working on a new t-shirt design. It’s my goal to work on the site over the weekend, redesigning the store so I can take pre-orders next Monday. There’s been some buzz about this little fashion item building in the THorum. If you want a shirt, take back some aluminum cans this weekend and be ready to reserve one on Monday!
Everyone have a great weekend!
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The “Female Empowerment Fairy?” “Mr. Happy?” I have no idea what’s wrong with me.
I guess looking forward at the movies that are coming out this weekend, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous served itself up on a silver platter to be made fun of.
I mean, first of all, you have Sandra Bullock who is all of 41 years-old playing an FBI agent trying to compete against 19 and 20 year-olds in a Miss America-type pageant. I don’t think there’s a bucket big enough for me to dump my disbelief into before accepting this concept.
Second, from all outward appearances, they decided to remove the one redeeming quality of the original movie, which was the potential romance angle with Benjamin Bratt. Instead, they’ve replaced him with… a back-talking, no-nonsense body guard in the guise of Regina King. Uh, okay. What kind of weird escapism is this?
Don’t ask me why I know this stuff, okay? I’m a married man, remember. Sometimes compromise means watching Miss Congeniality instead of taking a nap on a Saturday afternoon.
Anyway, instead of going the obvious route and apply my deeply entrenched male perspective on the “chick flick genre, I thought it was about time Tom was served a little comeuppance – even if it was in dream form. Needless to say, the result is somewhat… unique. Hopefully for the younger readers of this site, the joke will go over their heads.
Incidentally, Tom waking up startled isn’t a new concept for Theater Hopper. It’s kind of a cheap devise, but I have a lot of fun with it. Especially when I get to dust off the old trick and apply it in a new situation. It’s a little experiment to see if I can take something from funny, to not funny and back to funny again. I guess you’ll be the judge of that. At least the pajamas are changing from strip to strip!…
Not much else to report today. Stop by the THorum if you feel like saying “Hi.” We’ve been seeing lots of activity in there lately!
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Apr22
GUEST STRIP – JOSH MEINZER
April 22nd, 2005 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(5 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
I’m handing out major props to Josh Meinzer (AKA “Fenris) the write and artist of Aikida for today’s excellent guest strip.
Josh’s comic is one of my absolute favorite on the internet and it was a real treat when he said “Yes” to do this for me.
If you’ve been following Aikida at all, you know that Josh is telling a MASSIVE new storyline right now. He’s introducing new characters left and right. Fleshing out his existing characters. And doing all of it in an inventive way that doesn’t feel convoluted at all. Top it off with the fact that it’s emotional when it needs to be and laugh-out-loud funny when it wants to be and you’ve got a winner.
The thing I always admired about Josh’s work is that he is able to add layer upon layer of detail to the characters and it always makes perfect sense.
I’ve been actually re-reading his archives and what started out as a kind of gag-a-day gaming comic with occasional cheesecake drawings of the ladies has turned into a very rich experience. It’s like these character have always existed in his head as fully realized creations and he’s been unfolding them in front of our eyes very slowly.
I admire the hell out of him, if it isn’t plainly obvious. If you want in on a little secret, reading Aikida is what inspired me to flesh out Jimmy’s character back in September when he lost his job and also inspired my introduction of Charlie.
The Jimmy storyline went well, I thought. But introducing Charlie was like driving with the parking break on. Meanwhile, when Josh adds new characters or adds layers to his existing cast, it’s like spreading jam over toast.
At any rate, for today’s buzzComix incentive sketch, I drew Aikida in her demon form. I hope you like it. I think it turned out pretty well, but I had hoped to have had more time to work on it. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (which opens this weekend) that leads into Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (which opens May 19). I want to get to the story ideas I have soon so they’re still timely.
I will probably burn through the remainder of the guest strips next week and post a new one every day until I run out. Be sure to check the site every day next week. You won’t be sorry. I have some “big-guns” lined up. Some of these strips are to DIE for!
Incidentally, you might have noticed some of the advertisements on the site have disappeared. That’s a temporary thing. I basically let the ads I have run out before the site redesign and am currently not accepting new ads. The dimensions and locations of the ads in the redesign are different, so it would be moot to take on any new clients at the moment.
So, if you’ll allow the expression, “pardon our dust while we renovate to make things better.” I think once I slap a new coat of paint on things, you guys will be pleased. Things will also be better organized. I’m really looking forward to unveiling things.
Thanks for your patience and thanks for supporting the site!
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My original draft of this comic had the infant Jared bursting forth from Jennifer Garner’s swollen stomach like the Alien. Y’know… Demon Seed style.
But I opted against it. I thought it was a little crass.
Still, Baby Jared isn’t someone to mess around with. He’s one tough little customer! Koochie-koochie-koo!
You may have read that Mr. and Mrs. Ben Affleck recently celebrated the birth of their first born on December 1 – a baby girl. So it stands to reason that our favorite punching bag might have a little anxiety about the momentous event.
Still, in all seriousness, congratulations to the happy couple. Just because Ben Affleck sucks as an actor doesn’t mean I should begrudge the welcoming of his first child.
I feel like I haven’t had a lot of movie stuff to talk about lately and that makes me kind of sad. Is it weird that it’s almost the end of the year and the only film I’m remotely excited about seeing is King Kong? I mean, Fun With Dick and Jane looks interesting. I heard it was co-written by Judd Apatow, so that’ll get me in the door right there. I’ll see Munich, mostly because I feel like I should. I’m planning on avoiding The Chronicles of Narnia like the plauge.
The only thing that really has me captivated at the moment is the new X-Men 3 teaser trailer.
This kind of caught me be surprise. Because, like any good fanboy, I spent my time hating the idea of an X-Men movie directed by Brett Ratner for so long, I forgot that there might be something worth investigating here.
Some quick thoughts:
Kelsey Grammar as Beast. He looks pretty good. Maybe a little old. A little too fuzzy. But it’s Grammar’s voice and presence that are going to sell this role. Still, I don’t know how they plan on tossing him into any battle sequences. The man is 50 years-old! Maybe they’ll switch him out with a CGI character for the more frenetic stuff.
A character that should have been done totally CGI was Vinnie Jones’s Juggernaut. I’m sorry, but that ultra-buff body suit they have him standing in looks stupid. The Juggernaut is supposed to be 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. If they could make the Hulk semi-believable in CGI, they could have done the same here. Just stick Vinnie Jones’s head on a digital body and be done with it. That helmet he’s wearing looks dopey, too. I understand that they want to leave the face plate open so you can see the actor emoting, but I much preferred the domed look of the character in the comics. In the movie he looks like and extra from Gladiator.
Good to see Colussus is on the team roster now. You can see him in the background walking with the group in the opening shot. Oh, and eagle-eyed viewers will notice – wait for it – THE FASTBALL SPECIAL! at the end of the trailer.
If you don’t know what The Fastball Special is (and it sounds kind of dirty, now that I think about it), too bad. That’s for comic geeks ONLY. Okay, maybe that’ll make up for the Juggernaut looking stupid.
Other thoughts:
Hugh Jackman is starting to look kind of old to play the non-aging Wolverine.
Halle Berry got a new haircut for Storm! Like I care…
Ben Foster as Angel looks promising. The wings actually look like they should.
Famke Janssen is back from the dead as Phoenix and she appears to have become evil. Okay.
No one passed the note along to James Marsden that his version of Cyclops is the most boring character in the franchise.
Beyond that, nothing much more to say. It’s too bad that they decided to do a movie about "curing" mutants and that there is no sign of the Sentinels. I think movies today need more giant robots.
If you have any opinions about the movie or the teaser, we’re talking about it in the THorum here. Check it out and I’ll catch up with you guys later!
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Jul03
GUEST STRIP – DAVID BUIST
July 3rd, 2012 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(5 votes, average: 10.00 out of 10)
In my 10 years of producing this comic, I have been very fortunate to have friends like David Buist.
David, in addition to producing his excellent comic Taking the Bypass, was INSTRUMENTAL in creating content management features for Theater Hopper that carried it through some of its most prosperous years.
So imagine my extreme pleasure to receive this guest strip from David in my inbox. I was really touched. And he did an EXCELLENT job of capturing the spirit of the “real life Tom” punchlines I’ve done from time to time.
David produced a guest strip for me once before in 2007. But if you want to get a sense of what his work is REALLY like, then I strongly encourage you to visit Taking the Bypass, going back to the very first comic and reading everything he has to offer. You won’t be disappointed.
David’s a great friend and I really appreciate his contribution.
Thanks, David!
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