Still having a little fun with Shrek 2. Vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix to see Tom as The Gingerbread Man!

I won’t bore you with more of my opinions about Shrek 2. I mentioned that Cami and I had seen it last Thursday, and what I have to say about it has pretty much been said in blog-form. I just thought it was worthy to tackle in the comic since we were just coming down from a two-week story arc.

Frankly, it’s not surprising to me that Shrek did almost $105 million dollars of business over the three-day weekend. They’ve been hyping this film for so long, I feel like I’ve already seen it seven times!

Today’s comic is no joke. Cami and I went grocery shopping Sunday afternoon and Shrek’s goofy mug was on no less than five of the products we bought. “Shrek Toilet Paper?” C’mon, now that’s just nasty!

Okay, there’s not REALLY any Shrek toilet paper, but would it surprise you if there were? All I’m saying is that the merchandising is way out of control and I’m just going to have to avoid all commerce locations before I start dreaming green!

Onto more pressing matters. I indicated there was some pretty big news last Friday. I know the people in the forums have been buzzing about it. Actually, wildly guessing and pulling their hair out is more appropriate. Well, now I’m ready to share the news.

You might have noticed something different about the little ad next to the comic asking you to send me to Wizard World Chicago. The status bar is now full. In fact, it’s been busted clear off the scale!

You guys are AMAZING. When I last updated the tally on 16th, I had $155. You guys delivered that to me 5 days after I posted my goal. I thought THAT was really impressive. I mean, the convention isn’t until August and I was already more than one-fifth of the way there!

Since the 16th, I continued receiving donations, purchases through the store and advertising reservations. But on the 20th, I received a very shocking bit of news. One kind soul had donated $345!!! Now I’m not sharing this to brag, but in order to publicly thank the individual who topped off the status bar. Unfortunately, he didn’t want me to use his real name. But to that person, this message is for you:

Although I have thanked you PROFUSELY in private e-mails, I wanted you to know that I am announcing to my readership my undying thanks for your kindness. Your contribution will help make Theater Hopper’s presence felt on a larger scale and could potentially open up new avenues of readership. It seems cliche to say, but I can never thank you enough!

By now, you’re probably running the numbers in your head. “Tom, if you had $155 on the 16th, and were donated $345 on the 20th, then shouldn’t that add up to $500 and not $681 like you have listed? What’s that other $181 about?”

I’m glad you asked. Those are the continued contributions of OTHER Theater Hopper fans who have sought to support my goal. They too, I thank. Your support means more to me than you’ll ever know!

When I started this comic almost 2 years ago, I never dreamed that it would find a readership as kind and supportive as the one it has found. It’s because of YOU that I continue to do this strip. In fact, I look forward to it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I love reading your e-mails and talking to you in the forums. And I know for a fact there isn’t a group of people nicer. I can honestly say I’ve made some great friends thanks to these little doodles. And what better result can you get but that?

THANK YOU!

The other bit of big news I wanted to share is a little more external in influence.

Last week I was reading Chris Ryall’s column “One Hand Clapping” over at Movie Poop Shoot and he was talking about Shrek 2. He mentioned Mike Meyers and his continued insistence on using that horrid Scottish accent in every movie he does. Chris cited the Shrek movies, the Austin Powers franchise – even So I Married An Axe Murderer.

I was elated! Finally someone of my same opinion. I had written a comic long ago addressing the very same issue! I had to share it with Chris.

So I sent an e-mail to Chris telling him about my comic and added a link. I received a very quick reply from Chris thanking me for my comments telling me that he loved the comic! Could he link to it?

It took less than a second for me to scream “YES! YES!”

And so, here we are. Linked today from the weekly question and answer column “Mail Shoot” over at Movie Poop Shoot. Click here for the undeniable proof. I’ve been a big fan of the site for a really long time, so being linked from them is a big deal for me. It’s like being recognized by Newsweek, or something!

So, for all of those new readers checking out the site for the first time, I encourage you to comb through our archives and check out our forums. I know we have a lot of content to wade through, but if you love movies like I do, I’m sure you’ll find something to latch onto.

I would post some links to some of my favorites, but I can see this news post has grown quite large, so I’ll save that for another time!

Until then, things are really coming up roses for Theater Hopper. Again, thanks to everyone for their support and here’s to continued prosperity in the future!