If you’re wondering who the undead, green-skinned fellow is, that’s Brian – resident zombie stud on loan from Orneryboy. His pals Orneryboy and Dirtygirl at there hanging out in the background. Odds are you’re already familiar with this great comic, but if you’re not, you have some catching up to do.
I’ve been a fan of Michael Lalonde’s excellent pop art style. He manages to mix the most grotesque scenes with the most refined graphic sensibility I’ve ever seen. You can put him right next to Scary Go Round in my book.
Michael and I used to be peers over at Dayfree Press until he decided to drop out and focus on other things. I miss the guy, and since the aforementioned Dawn of the Dead is *ALL* about zombies, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take his characters out for a ride around the block. Y’know – borrow them for a while. Like hot-wiring a car, wheeling it around and putting it back before anyone discovers you took them out in the first place!
I hope he doesn’t mind!
I have some other thoughts I wanted to get to (Cami and I saw both Jersey Girl and The Ladykillers this weekend), but it’s about 1:30 in the morning and I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow. I’ll need to be up again a scant 5 hours from now.
Check back on the site later in the evening for more!
For those of you that like to read cool web comics, be sure to check out Orneryboy as it appears they are starting a regular update schedule again. Hooray!
Also be sure to checkout the newly reintroduced Aikida, back from a long hiatus.
Some people may ask what happened to Fenris’ other project, Pepperwood Comics. Well, it looks like that’s on the shelf for now. Which is a shame, because there was some great dramatic writing going on there. But it appears Aikida is the focus now, which I think is good because you can already tell Fenris is happy revisiting old friends!
Good luck on ya!
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GUEST STRIP – MICHAEL LALONDE
April 11th, 2005 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
So you’re probably wondering why today’s comic looks slightly different. Please excuse my rudeness for not providing a little forewarning, but I’m taking a little break from the comic and you guys get to benefit from a few weeks of guest strips!
Basically the situation is this: Cami and I will be traveling to Texas to visit relatives on Wednesday and coming back next Monday. Be jealous because I will be attending a NASCAR race! (note playful sarcasm). As a partial effort to cover my absence and a partial effort just to give me a long overdue break, I solicited my friends in the web comics community for guest strips!
I was overwhelmed with the support I have received!
Today’s guest comic comes from Michael Lalonde. That’s the creator of Orneryboy to you and me. You should really reward his kindness by visiting his site. Michael updates every Monday, so there’s actually a fresh comic waiting for you there now! Of course, it probably won’t make much sense as it is slightly out of context. It’s part of a bigger storyline that started here. You should definitely read the whole thing. It’s quite hilarious and one of my favorite Orneryboy arcs.
Michael is a busy guy, so he’s had to scale back his work on Orneryboy. I’ll be the first to step up and say “I don’t care.” As long as I get a weekly fix, I’m good. Michael is too strong a talent to let slip from view. So be sure to tell him that you appreciate his work. Here’s to hoping he will continue his work on Orneryboy for a long time to come!
Incidentally, today’s strip marks Michael’s 150th comic. He plays it down, but it’s a big deal. His artwork and storylines have been some of the most consistent in web comics. I’m lucky to have him as a college!
Can you tell I’m a fan?
Anyway… about my absence. Like I said, I will be gone Wednesday through next Monday. So you can at least expect to see me trolling around the THorum for a little while. And who knows? You might even be able to e-mail me and I’ll respond.
Guest strips will run all this week and all next week with a regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. I’m giving myself a little buffer before and after my vacation not only to catch up from the real-world stuff I will miss while I am away, but to also take my comic-making time and convert it into site-redesign time.
Yes, I know I’ve been threatening a site redesign for a long time. But I’ve finally settled on a look I love. Don’t worry. It’s not that drastic a change up front. What it will revolutionize, however is how the site operates behind the scenes. My hope is that this effort will make the site easier to update in the future. It is my goal to unveil this new look when I return to making comics full time. It is also my goal to reopen the store with a bunch of great new merchandise as well as some old-favorites that have been missing for far too long!
In other words, if you’ve been aching to get your hands on a Spoiler t-shirt (which has been off the market since – geeze? – December?) you may soon get your change to make a pre-order!
As I said, I hope to have these new changes instituted when the guest strips conclude!
In the meantime, please visit Orneryboy and also please continue to vote for Theater Hopper. I will be drawing incentive sketches of my collaborators creations as the guest strips run. So that means you get to see my take on Orneryboy by clicking this little link. Have at it!
Again, many thanks to everyone who is helping me this week and next!
I know last Friday I totally bombarded you guys with links. But there was one in particular that I forgot which was important to me.
Last week, Michael Lalonde’s Orneryboy celebrated its 200th strip. I’m a big fan of Mike’s work. I think Orneryboy has been one of the most consistently entertaining and most richly designed comics on the web. I also think Mike has one of the sharpest looking sites in web comics.
Swing by the site and give Mike your best. He’s worked hard and he’s earned it.
Additionally, I’m still pimping my recently minted MySpace account. I have now become addicted to adding people to my friends list. It’s like Pokemon! Gotta catch them all!
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Today’s guest comic comes to us from none other than Michael Lalonde of Ornerboy. It’s an alternate ending to the most recent Pimp Tom strip and I laughed out loud after reading it! Michael was a worried it was a little too dark. I thought it was the perfect way to get your attention on a Monday morning! It’s also the perfect blend of bright colors and macabre humor that is Ornerboy’s trademark. If you aren’t reading Michael’s excellent comic, check it out now!
As I mentioned in Friday’s blog, I will be running guest strips on Monday’s and Wednesday through the month of February as Cami and I prepare for the birth of Baby B. He’s due on the 15th, so I’m trying to free up my schedule as much as possible in case Cami goes early. Plus, maintaining this schedule through February will give me time to be with my son after the fact.
You can expect new comics from me every Friday as well as blogs throughout the week.
Posting today’s guest strip and recognizing what it means for the future of the site leaves me feeling a little untethered. I have no idea how this baby is going to impact the site. Obviously, my family is my priority so my attention will go to them first. The question is how much free time will be left over to work on the site. I can’t say for certain if I’ll still be able to keep up with three full-color comics a week or if I’ll have to cut back.
I find myself flip-flopping on the issue a lot. Sometimes I think I can draw the comic at work over my lunch break and take in my laptop to color it. That way, I’m not taking any time away from Cami and the baby at home. Other times I think I shouldn’t take on more than I can handle and maybe I should just do one full color comic a week. Other times still I think I should hang up Theater Hopper completely and do a black and white journal comic. Who knows? Maybe it’s time to go in another direction?
I don’t think the last option is all that likely. The thing I think about most is maintaining the momentum I’ve managed to build up over the last year. I would hate to lose what I’ve worked so hard at. So, I have to cross my fingers and hope you guys stick around during this transitional phase.
Oh! I wanted to tell you guys something that I’m super excited about! I did some work on the store this weekend and I am proud to announce MERCHANDISE BUNDLES!
The concept is very simple: The more you buy, the more you save. I am currently offering six different combination of shirts and books. I really want to start selling off some of this inventory – especially the books, which are taking up A TON of room in the house – so that I can introduce some new and different items. So take advantage of these deals! I introduced bundling at some of the conventions I went to last year and it was a hit. I’m hoping it’ll translate here.
By the way, don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list. Because the next feature I introduce in the store will be coupon discounts and the ONLY way you’re going to get the code is if you’re signed up on the mailing list. One e-mail a week to tell you what’s going on with the site. That’s all you have to put up with in return.
Last bit of site news – Don’t forget to check out tonight’s Triple Feature talkcast featuring myself, Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. Since there really aren’t any good movies to talk about lately, I think we’re going to be discussing movies that changed our lives. So there will probably be a good opportunity to get on the line and talk to us while we’re broadcasting live. Remember – that’s TONIGHT at 9:00 pm CST. Join us!
By the way, I started a thread in the THorum about the future of Theater Hopper. If you guys are interested, you can leave your two cents there or here in the comments section of the blog. I appreciate your feedback!
Talk to you soon!
Before I forget, I want to thank Michael Lalonde from Orneryboy and Wes Molebash from You’ll Have That for their excellent guest strips this week.
Remember that there will be a new strip from yours truly every Friday through the month of February while I free up my schedule to prepare for the birth of our baby boy in a week or so.
Next week we’ll have a guest strip on Monday from a good friend and – something unique for this site – a guest essay from someone that goes by the name of “Tycho” posted on Wednesday. You’ll want to be around for that!
In the meantime, check out the store because I’ve recently started to offer merchandise bundles that have proven very popular! For example, if you haven’t gotten your hands on either of the two books, now you can buy them together and get $5 off! Not a bad deal!
Talk to you soon!
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