Drawing Friday’s comic, I realized that Jared holds a lot of grudges against celebrities for one reason or another. It reminded me of the one he hates the most. The one we haven’t heard from in a while…

Okay, okay. So the last time Jared tortured Ben Affleck was back in January. But can any of you guys remember the last time you heard any Ben Affleck-related news? It’s like he seriously fell off the grid! Either that, or Jared’s consistent beatings finally delivered their intended message:

"Leave Hollywood and never come back!"

Who says violence doesn’t solve anything?

Anyway, enough about Ben Affleck’s ties to terrorism. I have much more important news to share.

See this?

That right there is a preview from the cover of the upcoming Theater Hopper book "Theater Hopper: Year One." And I’m excited and proud to announce thatO we’re going to offer it for pre-sale starting Monday, April 17!

It’s been a long time coming and I’ve been working on it for the last three months, but we’re finally ready to go to press with this bad boy. What we need from you is a little support! We don’t have all of the money we need up front to place the order with the printer. That’s why we’re doing the pre-sale. Once enough books have been sold, we can move the project ontothe next stage. So I’m telling everyone about it now so you guys can reserve your copy on Monday.

The book will sell for $18.95 (plus shipping and handling), but you’re getting your money’s worth and then some! The book collects the first year of Theater Hopper. That’s 156 comics, people! Not to mention 11 gueststrips from that era and a 6 strip crossover I did with Carrington Vanston from Movie Punks.

"But Tom," you say "Why do I want to buy your book when I can already get this content on the web site for free?"

Good question. And the answer is "commentary." For each of the 156 comics from the first year, I have included brand new commentary that reveals how I got Theater Hopper off the ground as well as the tips and tricks I learned along the way that helped me refine both the writing and the art as I progressed. If you’ve ever wondered how someone does a web comic three times a week, this book is going to answer a lot of questions! Remember, this content is EXCLUSIVE to the book and you’re not going to see it anywhere else!

Plus, it’s just plain cool to own web comics in print. You can share it with your friends and family and explain to them THIS is what I’ve been reading online and it’s hilarious!

But to motivate you guys a little bit, we’re introducing a new concept. THE THEATER HOPPER STREET TEAM!

Follow the link for all of the details, but it’s a really cool system we have set up. All you have to do is pre-order your copy of the book. Then get five of your friends to do the exact same thing. Once everyone has placed their orders, e-mail me their names and I’ll cross check them against the list. If everything looks good, you get A FREE $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO Fandango.com! If you think about it, that’s like getting your copy of the book FOR FREE!

And to sweeten the pot, the first 25 people to complete the task will be rewarded with A FREE THEATER HOPPER T-SHIRT!

To help you get your friends on board, we’ve included a few talking points that you can share with them. So be sure to check out the Theater Hopper Street Team page to get all of the information!

Sound good? Then get you and your friends ready to place your orders on Monday, April 17 when the book is available for pre-sale. Tell everyone you know about it! The faster we gather up the pre-orders, the faster we can get the book to print and into your hot little hands.

As, always, if you have any questions, e-mail me and I’ll answer them.

Thanks to everyone for your support. Putting this book together has been a dream of mine for a really long time and it feels good to know it’s so close to production. All I need is a little support from you guys and it’ll happen! This is the start of a new age for Theater Hopper and I couldn’t be more excited!

THANKS!