Archive for July, 2004
26 items.
As part of this holiday weekend, today’s incentive sketch is an image of Jared wishing you and yours a very happy AND SAFE Fourth of July. Click here to view it!
In case you’re wondering what product I’m referencing in today’s comic, you can find information about it here. This isn’t the first time that the Theater Hopper crew has suffered injury caused by carefully marketed comic book movie licensed merchandise. And if you forgot, here’s a refresher.
Does everyone remember back in the day when Silly String used to be flammable? I know you’ve all seen that footage from America’s Funniest Home Videos where some dude is about to blow out the candles on his birthday cake just before someone unleashes a wad of Silly String in his face when his lips are inches from the flames. The dude lights up like a stack of dry twigs.
I guess these days the makers of Silly String learned it’s a good idea not to physically scar people for life and went ahead and made their product non-flammable. I was at least hoping to find a video of that footage somewhere so I could link to it. Oh, well.
Wanna talk about Spider Man for a minute? I know I do!
So Cami and I saw the sequel opening night and I couldn’t have been more excited. I’ll spare you the full-length review because I think everyone should go out and see this movie with fresh eyes, if possible – but I enjoyed it immensely!
You can tell that Raimi and company really settled into a groove on this one. The action sequences are very fluid and astounding. And for fans, there are tons of small references to the comics littered all over the place.
“Hey? Is that Dr. Conners, AKA ‘The Lizard?’ And isn’t that shot a recreation from the classic cover to Amazing Spider-Man #50?”
Oh, yeah. You comic book fans are going to love this one!
Just as the first movie was able to do, Spider-Man 2 is peppered with several great scenes. After losing his powers and landing on a rooftop, Spidey has to ride the elevator down to street level and has an uncomfortable conversation with the individual he’s riding down with! And when Doc Ock’s tentacles first spring to life, it’s truly a terrifying moment! (Be sure to keep an eye out for the Evil Dead reference).
I like how the story allowed for the secondary characters to breath a little more. Aunt May, Harry Osborne and J. Jonah Jameson all have a chance to really expand their range.
Of course it’s Tobey Maguire who sells it as Peter Parker and his alter ego. He perfectly captures the conflict and guilt he suffers trying to balance his two lives. The scene where he admits responsibility for his Uncle Ben’s death to Aunt May is heartbreaking and the core of the movie.
I don’t often see the same movies twice while they’re in theaters. At least not anymore. Even though I love the first movie, I only saw it once before buying it on DVD.
The sequel is everything I could have hoped for and more. MUCH better than the original, it improves upon it’s formula in nearly every category. Don’t be surprised if you see me standing in line to watch it again this weekend!
That’s it for now. For all my American readers, have a safe and happy Fourth of July! See you here on Monday!
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BuzzComix seems to be having some difficulty connecting to its database this morning, but in the off-handed case it returns to us soon, do me a solid and vote for Theater Hopper, would you? The top list recently reset and we have a little leg-work to do before we reach the upper echelons again. Did you know we placed number three last month? That’s a record for us!
Anyway, I’ve slapped this little reminder on the front page for the time being, mostly because I’m trying to find a way to stretch out some content!
I know the third panel in today’s comic is particularly repulsive because it’s been battle-tested and market researched by my closest accomplice, Cami. I showed it to her while she was eating her Rice Krispies, and let’s just say she had some trouble finishing for a minute or two.
The idea for today’s strip pretty much came to me after I realized that I had kept Tom in the Spider-Man mask all of last week. In the movies, it looks like the Spider-Man costume is made out of some kind of Body Glove wet suit material. I don’t imagine that “breathes” very well. Anyhow, figuring “Comic Tom” wouldn’t have the sense to take off the mask combined with “Real World Tom’s” propensity for sugary snacks led me to the ultimate conclusion.
Switching gears now, I should probably notify you that I am sitting on some bomb-shell information relating to the comic. Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. But I’m keeping it under my hat today since the comic was already late. Come back to this space on Wednesday and prepare to have your world blown apart!
Am I building things up enough for you? 😉
Hey, you have the day off, don’t you? Why don’t you sign up for the THorum and say “Hi” to all the cool people that inhabit our little sanctuary?
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I felt kind of bad not having much for you in the blog department, so I decided to share an image of myself that I Photoshopped onto Tobey Maguire’s body in Spider-Man 2.
Actually, it’s my current webcam image. Did you know the THorum has a webcam portal? We do. And incidentally, if you want to see an archive of all my old webcam pictures, you can find them on the Bonus Materials page. There’s about 150 of them and there are a few fun pics in the bunch.
Oh, and it would appear buzzComix is up and running again. Today’s incentive sketch? A holdover from the fourth of July – Captain America.
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I know I mentioned some big new in my earlier blog. Well, this isn’t it. But it is AS EQUALLY big!
Taking a page from my playbook, Cami teased the THorumites with the prospect of a special surprise. Today, we’re ready to announce it!
After watching my piece of original art fly out the door last week, Cami took it upon herself to use her creative skills to produce two, HAND-MADE ORIGINAL Theater Hopper dolls! Representing Tom and Cami in their full, felt glory – each doll is approximately 14″ tall and is ready to go home with you!
To improve your chances of getting your hands on these one-of-a-kind collectors items, we are selling the two dolls seperately. If you’re desperate to own both as a set, well, it’ll be a blood-thirsty bidding war that we will all watch with breathless anticipation!
Click here for the Cami doll listing.
Click here for the Tom doll listing.
I can not underestimate how unique these dolls are. They will become the envy of Theater Hopper fans everywhere. Imagine! Theater Hopper dolls! Made in our house, by Cami sitting next to your computer. Smiling benevolently as if to say “Good purchase, friend.”
The auction will end next Monday the 12th. Until then, take back your aluminum cans and check the couch cushions for spare change. You’ll need every red cent you can get your hands on to make sure you walk away with these one-of-a-kind dolls!
You may now go back to breathing regularly. 😉
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Today’s buzzComix incentive sketch is kind of a continuation of today’s comic. Click here for a Godfather-esque homage for the 21st century…
Speaking of The Godfather – Marlon Brando, R.I.P.
If you’ve been keeping up, you know that a complete bastardization of Arthurian legend is being dumped into theaters today. You can thank producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Antoine Fuqua for that. From everything I’ve read, the basically took the story of King Arthur, stripped it of it’s mysticism and tried to root it in historical events. About 1,000 years ago when the Roman empire collapsed, to be exact.
What’s the fun in that? You may as well just call it “Medieval Battle: The Movie”. I’m not interested in seeing King Arthur one iota. I don’t care if you dress Keira Knightley in a couple of leather straps and force her to pretend that’s a reasonable wardrobe choice. I’m not going.
I mentioned Monday that I had a bit of “world-shaking” news. I hope your sitting down when you’re reading this. Things are about to get a little weird.
Okay, so last Saturday, I went to my comic book store to pick up my regular stack of books. I cracked open a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #509 when I stumble onto page 5 and encounter something unusual.
Remember that poster I made with Mitch Clem, Zach Miller and Carrington Vanston as a one-of-a-kind commemorative collectors item? A means to celebrate our collective presence at the Minneapolis FallCon last October?
Well, in the background of Amazing Spider-Man #509, page 5… you can see our poster.
FREAKY, HUH?!
I’ve been sitting on this information since Saturday (even though people in the THorum have known about it for a while) because I wanted to wait until after the holiday when readership would be higher.
I’m trying to figure out a way to contact the new ASM artist Mike Deodato, but his official web site is in Portugese! Even after translating it, the e-mail form you can use to contact him doesn’t work!
I have a few alternate leads, but if anyone has suggestions about how I can reach Mr. Deodato, please forward them here. I just want to ask him a few questions and find out where he learned about our poster.
I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I’m unhappy about this. That’s the furthest thing from the truth!
The truth is, I’m excited beyond compare. I can’t believe that something I had a hand in creating managed to find its way – however indirectly – into the pages of one of the best selling comic books of all time!
I have some other news items, but nothing pressing. I know what I’ve put out there is a lot to absorb, so I’ll just leave things at that for now.
Be sure to keep checking the site for updates of this whole saga! I’ll post everything I learn here!
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Real quick, everyone needs to visit the site of our latest advertiser JDizzle Comics.
Creator Jim Duncan was out of the game for a while, but now he’s back with a vengence. Show him some love! He writes some funny stuff!
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Hey, gang! To pile good news onto MORE good news, it looks like Theater Hopper has been nominated for “Outstanding Environment” by the good people sponsoring the buzzAwards. According to them “[Theater Hopper was] deemed to have clean and organized webpages, easily navigated archives, involved and engaging authors, punctuality, and clever and intriguing bonus items.”
Can’t argue with them there. Who WOULDN’T be involved or engaged with an audience as awesome as this one?
Voting has been turned over to those that know best – the readers! So if you feel like supporting Theater Hopper, click here to enter the voting booth.
Votes are tabulated by what looks like a special forum. So in order to cast your ballot, you’ll probably need to register first.
Thanks again to everyone who supports Theater Hopper! I can’t do this without you!
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Jul09
So how does a rotted corpse wearing a “Will Ferrell Sux” t-shirt end up tied from a tree by his thumbs? Click here to find out!
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy opens today and I’ve been looking forward to seeing it for quite a while. I know Elf was Will Ferrell’s first leading role, but I think Anchorman looks like it was written with his specific talents in mind. Just the name “Ron Burgundy” communicates so much to me. It sounds like a stage name a jock without any creativity would give to himself. It also has vague porn star undertones, which I think makes it even funnier.
Even though I hold Ferrell’s talent in great esteem, I think what will really push Anchorman over the top is the great cast they’ve assembled. Christina Applegate, David Koechner, Fred Willard and Chris Parnell are all great. Steven Carell has the newsman shtick down pat. They also have the woefully underrated Paul Rudd, who can knock an abstract comedic performance out of the park. Anyone who’s seen Wet, Hot American Summer knows what I’m talking about.
I guess the film also has a ton of cameos. Be on the lookout for Fred Armisen, Danny Trejo, Judd Apatow, Luke Wilson, Jack Black, Stephen Root, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. I really like how some of these actors who have been in other pictures together are gravitating toward each other and appearing in each other’s films. It’s quite the little company they’ve put together!
That’s about all I can say for Anchorman at the moment, so I suppose it’s best to turn my attention to another bit of news.
You might of noticed in the upper right hand corner above the comic that today’s strip marks our 300th comic. That’s a lot of doodles, my friends. Almost a year’s worth (if I was drawing every day).
I’ve been doing Theater Hopper almost two years. We celebrate that milestone in less than a month. Although I’m reluctant to do organize any crazy celebration anytime we pass markers on the road, I like to at least point them out from time to time. Because without you guys, there wouldn’t be 300 strips.
Thanks for your support. You keep reading ’em, I’ll keep writing ’em!
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By the by, everyone should make a point to stop by Split Reason, our latest advertiser. They sell all kind of cool clothes for the gamer within!
I really have my eye on that Hammer and Sickle hat!
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I don’t know if it was because we were celebrating our 300th strip, or if it was just some fluke in the traffic pattern, but I checked my stats for Friday and saw 8552 of you visited the site that day. That’s a very high number for us. It’s actually twice what we usually see. Actually, I think that’s the largest number of unique visitors that have EVER come to the site in one day.
In any case, I wanted to thank everyone for closing out their week by visiting us and to commemorate it here in the blog. It’s quite a validation. Thank you!
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