My apologies for not coming back to the site Monday afternoon or all day Tuesday to give you my thoughts about Batman Begins. Perhaps the incentive sketch you get for voting for Theater Hopper at the Web Comics List will go a little ways toward appeasing you?

I’m pretty happy with the way the sketch turned out. At least happier than how today’s comic ended up. Maybe I’m just a little down on myself on the moment, but it doesn’t feel very inspired.

I’ll be truthful and let you know that my day job has been demanding a lot of my attention as of late. Since it pays the bills, that’s where my focus needs to be. At the end of the day, there hasn’t been much left for the site. I know I haven’t been responding to e-mails, so I’ll try to catch up on those.

But hey, for those of you that ordered shirts, I put those in the mail yesterday! So hopefully you’ll see them in your mailboxes in the next 3 to 5 days!

By the by, if you want to order a shirt, feel free to do so. I have a bunch in stock right now ready to ship out the door, so delays should be shorter for new orders.

Thanks to everyone who was patient in this last round of pre-orders.

Things have been kind of stressful all around. Something that I’ve announced in the THorum, but not out here on the “public-facing” side of the site, but Cami and I are moving to a new home on July 12. So there’s been a lot of stress getting ready for that. Packing, transferring services, rerouting mail, all that rig-a-ma-roll.

The move is nothing drastic. We’re not packing up and leaving the state. In truth, we’re moving about 5 minutes away from our current house into something with a little more room. We’re looking forward to it, but there are a lot of balls in the air right now. So I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Since I kind of put the moving thing out there, I suppose now is as good a time as any to ask people for guest strips?

I’m going to need at least 3 strips to get me through the move the week of July 12. If anyone is interested in a little extra coverage for their own web comics, feel free to e-mail me and I’ll hook you up. Full credit and a link to your site, of course.

I know we just had a round of guest strips back in April when Cami and I went on vacation to Texas, but this move is pretty unavoidable and it’s more than likely I won’t have access to my computer for a little while. Any support you can lend will really go a long ways.

So long as we’re talking about the future, I wanted to let you all know that I’ve sent in my registration for Wizard World Chicago August 4 – 7. That’s going to be one hell of a show. A bunch of us web comic guys are getting together and taking up a big block of tables on Artist’s Alley in hopes of promoting each other and the medium as a whole.

I heard Scott Kurtz was supposed to be at the Image booth this year. Maybe he’ll swing by Artist’s Alley and say “Hi.” to all his web comic brothers and sisters still slugging it out in the trenches. The closer we get to the actual event, the more I will suggest this scenario!

I suppose I have a few moments left before I totally collapse for the night. Maybe some reflections on Batman Begins are in order after all.

First off, Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine all turned in superb performances. It’s been writing in a thousand other places, but Bale really does a good job of portraying both Bruce Wayne and Batman simotaneously. Previous actors were really only good at playing one or the other – if they were any good at all.

I really liked Gary Oldman as Detective Gordon. Although it kind of took me out of the movie for a second to see him console the young Bruce after his parents were murdered. I’ll buy Oldman playing someone middle-aged, but if you do the math, you’ll figure out Gordan had to be a beat cop in his early 20’s about the time Bruce’s parents were murdered and it didn’t look right. Would have been better to leave that little coincidence of fate on the cutting room floor.

I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of Ken Wantanabe. He’s really not in the movie very long and that kind of bummed me out. Of course, I’m kind of glad that the character he plays really wasn’t who he says he is. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean.

Liam Neeson was good, but my impression of his performance has been slipping in the last few days. Not that I can’t remember what he did. Far from it. I thought he did a good job, but it was basically the flip side of the Qui-Gon coin. Playing a twisted mentor instead of a positive role model.

Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow was VERY effective when it came to the creepiness factor. This has probably been one of the best portrayals of the character outside of the comics and possibly the Batman: The Animated Series cartoon. Even though he was the “B” villain, I appreciated that they were able to weave him into the larger storyline without competing against the other threats in the picture.

Katie Holmes? Nothing but filler. The token female character inserted into the plot to prevent the picture from becoming a sausage party. She only seemed to show up when Bruce was due for a lecture. Anytime she was on screen, I was ready for something else to happen.

Maybe this is part of the TomKat backlash talking, but can anyone explain to me why she’s attractive? I think she has googley eyes. They’re REALLY obvious on the big screen. Plus, I think she has a lop-sided face.

No wonder she wasn’t invited back for the sequel.

Overall, I have to give kudos to the art direction and sound editing crews for making Gotham City this dark and pulsing environment for the Dark Knight to crawl around in. Gotham isn’t a place you want to be day or night and the design teams GOT THAT. What’s better is that you get several great shots of Gotham from the sky. You’re really allowed the opportunity to soak in all of it’s crapulence.

Like most people I’ve talked to, I’d enjoy seeing Batman Begins a second time. Although, I don’t know when that will be in the coming months, looking ahead at my schedule!

Still, it’s one of the better super-hero movies out there and as far as I’m concerned, Christopher Nolan has earned a place at the table with some of the most competent directing talents currently working in the industry. After Batman Begins, I’ll be sold on any film that has his name attached to it.

That’s all for now.