I was kind of worried that Cami and Charlie’s friendly nicknames for each other might betray the expectations that had been built up in the storyline so far. So if the title of today’s comic doesn’t give it away, the buzzComix incentive sketch should remove all doubt.
Make no mistake, lads and lassies. These two don’t like each other. Not one bit. See what happens on Wednesday when these two are face-to-face!
Thought it was worth it to mention that pre-sales on t-shirts,
That’s all for the time being. I still have more I want to talk about. Cami, my sister-in-law Tara and I saw Kinsey this weekend and I had some thoughts on that. So check in later.
I guess it probably would have been a better idea to have written something about Charlie’s big secret on Friday when it was more at the front of my mind rather than waiting. Now it’s kind of slipped my mind what I wanted to say. Exposure to the reaction that could be found in the THorum probably didn’t help me to find a concise statement to make because now I feel like I’m being REactive rather than PROactive. But let’s see if I can squeeze one out anyway.
Pretty much everything about Charlie’s introduction has let up to this point. I knew from the beginning that she would have a shady past and that she was returning to Iowa to escape it.
In the original drafts, Charlie was coming back from Hollywood divorced from a man she met while she was there. It would become her intention to keep it a secret from Cami and wall herself off from her out of shame that she could not be successful in an area that Cami had succeeded. Namely – a happy marriage.
Thank goodness for “real-life” Cami who suggested that her lost love become Theater Hopper antagonist extraordinaire Ben Affleck.
I felt the original idea was good. A bit melodramatic, perhaps a little uninspired, but serviceable. Cami came along and knocked it out of the park by suggesting Affleck be Charlie’s foil. So many brilliant story concepts sprang from that simple suggestion. I imagine the rest of you can envision what Jared might do with that information once he got a hold of it.
I don’t want to tip too much of my hand, but I’ll share that we’re nearing the end stretch of the arc. The immediate future calls for the retelling of Charlie’s relationship with Affleck and the eventual escape of Charlie and Cami from the women’s restroom. After that, I’ll probably begin to steer the comic back into more topical and timely humor centered on current releases and entertainment news. Subsequent storylines have been born from this experiment, but I can wait to tell them.
At any rate, for those of you who were having a hard time adapting to the new format or those of you who were getting annoyed with how long it was taking me to tell Charlie’s secret are satisfied with the payoff.
I think I’ve learned a lesson in economical storytelling, but I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made up until this point. Good, bad or ugly – the feedback I’m getting shows a genuine investment in Charlie as a character and ultimately, that was my goal. To introduce a new voice to the comic and to have you guys adopt her and believe in her as readily as you do Tom, Cami, Jared or Jimmy. So far, so good.
Hmm. Looks like I found what I was going to say after all!
With that out of the way, I think everyone needs to check out or new sponsor Nothing Nice to Say!
You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Mitch Clem made one of the best comic strips around for a while and he had a good run. I don’t think I’ve met another creator whose fans have anticipated his return of for so long. People who were kind of aware that Mitch and I ran in the same circles quasi-professionally/quasi-socially would write me e-mails asking when he was bringing NN2S back. I would tell them I didn’t know, but I was in the same boat, just as anxious to see him put pen to paper again.
Some people are reacting to Mitch’s return with skepticism, which disappoints me. Personally, I know Mitch is going to knock it out of the park this time around. We’ve had conversations and his enthusiasm for this work is palpable. He’s ready to rock and he doesn’t need doubt bringing him down.
Three cheers for the return of Nothing Nice to Say! And, hell. Check out Mitch’s other comic, The Coffee Achievers, too – while you’re at it!
I like to think I learn from my mistakes, so here’s Friday’s comic – on time!
I don’t know if you want to bother voting for Theater Hopper at buzzComix today. I was totally bankrupt for ideas when it came to penciling today’s incentive sketch, so I tried to draw a picture of Darth Vader from memory. It’s kinda close, but that’s a generous assessment. It’s like saying Joan Rivers looks kinda like a human being.
I thought we were at a safe enough distance away from the Charlie storyline to bring back our title character in a more casual context. In some respects I felt like a lot was sacrificed to bring this new voice to the comic and then felt guilty for not utilizing her in the last month. So here she is. Don’t worry. We’re not embarking on some giant storyline again. This is just a casual insert of a regular cast member no different than Jared or Jimmy.
HOWEVER I will point out that today’s comic tells you a lot about Charlie. Probably more in a few panels then I was able to achieve in 6 comics during the storyline. That’s right. Charlie’s a nerd.
For those of you with active imaginations, let me say right now that Tom and Charlie will not hook up. That’s not the kind of show we run here. If you want quasi-angsty relationship humor, there are plenty of other comics that fill that niche. I just thought it would be a fun bit of contrast to take this kind of vapid, looks-obsessed character and make her a nerd at heart. Nothing more, nothing less.
Anyway, I don’t have a lot to talk about at the moment that’s movie related. But I think you can forgive me for being less pre-occupied with that and more interested in the fact that Cami and I are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary today!
At the risk of sounding overtly sentimental, I look forward to our anniversary probably more than my birthday, Christmas or even Halloween. If there was ever an event to set time aside for to recognize, I think wedding anniversaries should be at the top of the list.
I talked about this in the THorum, but if you’re celebrating a birthday, that’s a singular achievement. Basically, people congratulate you for not dying that year. A wedding anniversary, on the other hand, is a celebration of the effort TWO people make to keep a union strong. It’s not a given. It’s not this arbitrary route-marker on the road of life. Every year is a milestone and worthy of your attention.
I’m not a real religious guy so I don’t have the threat of God looming over my shoulder on this one. So don’t think I’m expounding on the sanctity of marriage from a secular perspective.
No, I’ve always been enamored by couples who are able to make it work. I look in the paper for anniversary announcements and see people who have been together 50 or 60 years. Optimistically, I think they’re the lucky ones.
So happy 5th wedding anniversary, Cami! I love you!
Sorry, guys. No blog this morning. I’m still recovering from the 24 Hour Comics Day challenge that I participated in over the weekend. Come back later this evening for a status report on that front along with some additional news.
Be sure to listen to The Triple Feature talkcast tonight at 9:00 PM CST. We’ll be discussing Hot Fuzz and you’ll also have a chance to win a copy of another British import – The Queen, out on DVD Tuesday, April 24.
Talk to you soon!
There’s so much I want to say about this trailer. But if you haven’t seen it yet, I don’t want to be the guy that ruins it for you.
Sit back, relax, watch the trailer and then wonder silently why Hollywood hadn’t gotten around to making a movie like this sooner.
Leave your comments below because I DESPERATELY want to talk about this trailer with someone! SPOILERS AHEAD!
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