I think they’ve been advertising Cars ever since The Incredibles came out in 2004 and, since it’s a Pixar movie, I’ve been eagerly anticipating it ever since.

But going on vacation kind of screws up your time table and we’re still trying to integrate ourselves back into the flow of pop culture. That’s why I was kind of caught off guard when I remembered that it’s in theaters today! Yippee!

In my opinion, Pixar can do no wrong. While I was a little skittish about Cars at first, the trailers got progressively better and I knew they had a winner on their hands. There have been a lot of doubters in the blogosphere, but trust me. Cars is gonna knock your socks off it.

I have more to say about the haters, but I’m going to put that on hold for Monday’s comic.

You might have noticed that Cami is sporting a new hairdo. Truthfully, this is something I’ve been itching to do for a while. I kept trying to figure out a way to "introduce" the haircut before finally realizing that was stupid. People get their hair styled differently all the time. I don’t know why everything I do needs an explaination. When I started coloring Tom’s scalp so he didn’t look like Charlie Brown’s long-lost cousin, no one made a peep.

Anyway, I really like Cami’s new look and I hope you do too. Real-life Cami loves the fuller head of hair. The last one looked too much like a swim cap. See? We’re learning new things every day!

I feel good about todays comic. I didn’t think that last two were that good. It took me longer than expect to fall back into things. To think of comics and jokes more organically. I felt like I was really forcing the last two. Hopefully I can keep firing on all cylinders going forward.

Well, this is the last comic update before the deadline on the book pre-orders. If you notice the little countdown thingee in the upper right hand corner, you’ll notice that it’s dropped significantly. Do you believe in miracles? Because I do! Just when I thought things were looking grim, along comes Pierre-Luc Brunet from ZeStuff with a great business offer. He proposed buying 100 books off me to sell in his store that also sells merchandise from web comic luminaries like Ctrl+Alt+Del, VG Cats and 8-bit Theater. How could I say no?! I’m very psyched that copies of Theater Hopper – Year One will be alongside the wares of these other comics that I have enjoyed and looked up to for years. So Pierre-Luc? You’re the bee’s knees!

Incidentally, Pierre-Luc recently welcomed their first son into the world – Vincent. Both Mother and baby are doing great. Congratulations to the proud parents.

I should mention that even though Pierre-Luc’s offer came at the best possible time, your efforts in the last week have really helped as well. I must have gotten two dozen orders in the last 7 days from you guys and that’s absolutely amazing! As you can see, there are still a few book orders that we could still squeeze in. Honestly, there’s always room for more. But I just sent the artwork to the printer today and production starts next Monday. I hope to get a proof back soon and – hopefully – the books will be finished by the end of July. My goal is to have books to take with me to Wizard World Chicgo on August 4 – 6. In fact, we’re even talking about throwing a book launch party to celebrate! So if you’re on the fence about going to Wizard World Chicago, you gotta be there and visit me in my booth on Artist Alley. I’ll be handing out invitations and there will be free beer involved!

Just sayin’…

At any rate, sincere thanks to all of you that have put your faith into me and the book. You didn’t have to pre-order, but you did and you’ve really helped me out tremendously. My first book IS GOING TO HAPPEN! I am really pumped!

Oh, one more thing. I know I was talking about Wizard World Chicago in August, but if you want to see me before then, I will be at a convention here in Des Moines this weekend. In my own backyard! I will be exhibiting at I-Con Comic Book Convention this Saturday, June 10 at the Polk County Convention Center here in Des Moines from 10 AM to 5 PM. This is a big deal for me because I’ve been wanting to go to this convention for two years, but could never make it because I was always out of town. It’ll be great to represent Des Moines along with the other local and regional talent. I won’t have books, of course. But I’ll have t-shirts, posters and buttons. And I’ll sign or draw anything you like! Come down and see me this Saturday!

Whew! That’s a big post! A lot of news to share. Mainly, I’m excited about the book. Thank you again. Now that I’ve sent off the artwork, I can stop worrying about it for a little while. Sure, I’ll always have inventory and I’ll remind those of you who haven’t bought a book yet that they’re still available from time to time. But now that you guys have helped me get over that first big hurdle, I can get back to talking about movies and the stuff that interests you.

I feel like I’ve been away for a long time and I’m finally making my way back home.

Thanks again and have a great weekend! See Cars!