Archive for July, 2006
20 items.
As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been a newspost on the front page for a couple of days. The reason behind this was due to a server outtage with our hosting company. As I understand it, a hardware problem and not a software problem and much more difficult to fix. The GOOD news is that there was no data loss, just interrupted service. So I can’t be too mad about it.
Still, this stuff always seems to happen when I have a bunch of news to share. As such, I’m going to hold off on some of that for tomorrow’s update when more of you are checking the site. For now, I’m just going to talk about Monday’s comic.
Making fun of The Wayans Brothers is a little like shooting fish in a barrell, so I thought I would extend the metaphor by rendering them as bottom feeders. I’ve never found The Wayans Brothers particularly funny. I mean, I respect Keenan Ivory Wayans for his success as a director. I still think I’m Gonna GIt You Sucka is one of the most inventive parodies ever. I even like some of the stuff Damon Wayans has done. And, of course, you can’t overlook the success of In Living Color for bringing a new perspective to sketch comedy.
But as far as I’m concerned, both Marlon and Shawn Wayans are complete hacks. The take the concepts that appeal to the lowest common denominator and then find ways to debase them further. I saw the trailers for Little Man and immediately found new respect for White Chicks. At least there you could say that the concept of a couple of black guys wandering around in "whiteface" was satirically absurd or hovering around the "so bad, it’s good" category.
Little Man comes off far worse because I can’t think about it without remembering that Bugs Bunny cartoon where a similarly tiny buglar lays low with the "wrascrawly wabbit" until the heat dies down after a heist. Baby Face Fenster was his name, I think. The sight of him shaving in the bathroom mirror with an electric razor, a tatto of an anchor brazenly displayed across his arm is one of those "WTF" pop culture moments from my childhood. An image I’ve yet to shake. I tried finding screencaps of the cartoon online, but couldn’t turn anything up. If you guys find anything or know what I’m talking about, let me know.
So Little Man becomes worse than derivative. It becomes plagiaristic.
As a side bar, if you guys disagree with me about Talledega Nights, you’d better get used to it right now. In my mind, Will Ferrell is bulletproof. I can admit that I’m a Will Ferrell apologist and I make no excuses for it. Talledega Nights is probably the one movie registering strongest on my radar for the summer and I can’t wait to see it.
I suppose that should make me more sensitive to the reasoning behind why others find The Wayans Brothers hilarious, but, well… it doesn’t!
Sorry that the art for Monday’s comic couldn’t have been a little better. An area that I’ve been trying to develop is celebrity caricature. I figure "What good is a comic that riffs on celebrities if I can’t draw them worth a squat?" But the truth is, I was painfully short on time.
Between finishing Monday’s comic and taking the weekend to prepare for Wizard World Chicago, I was also putting the finishing touches on a guest strip for my main main Joe Dunn and his site Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Joe is getting married on the 22nd and deserves some time off. Drawing 15 comics a week can be taxing!
I was also finishing up my contribution to the 2006 Web Cartoonist Choice Awards presentation. I was selected to present "Outstanding Comic," which I was very honored to do. There’s been some controversy about the winners being announced before the presentation could go on line. I don’t know much about it. But you should keep your eye on their site as well as Comixpedia for news when the show goes online. I had a chance to see some of the other contributions on a test site and there are some really funny presentations in there.
I meantioned Wizard World Chicago. I have some news about that and wanted to share it last Friday. Due to the server outtage, I couldn’t. So everyone be sure to come back to the site tomorrow for all the details of where you can find me and who you can find me with. Also, if you plan on being in the Chicagoland area this year, I’m putting together a big book release party and you’re invited! More details on that soon!
Until then, don’t forget that our t-shirt sale is still going on until July 31. All shirts are $9.99 (plus shipping and handling) and every order comes with a free poster! I’m prepping envelopes now and will be sending shirts out soon, so get your favorite shirt while you still can
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Big props to reader Brian Skelly for finding that picture of Baby Face Fenster that I was talking about. Maybe if you guys check out this image, it’ll jog your Saturday morning memories:
Incidentally, If you want more screen caps from this classic piece of Warner Bros. animation, you can see it here.
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I’m trying to remember where I read that report that said that Ben Affleck literally got down on hands and knees and begged Kevin Smith for a cameo in Clerks II. Oddly, I can’t seem to find it anywhere online! Funny how a rumor starts, isn’t it?
Yes, this is commentary!
I do remember reading the rumor, but there probably isn’t much truth to it. A Kevin Smith without an Affleck cameo is like a day without sunshine. Actually, what I heard is that Affleck was invited to come back to the Askewniverse, but accepted only under the terms that he would be in the background and not play one of his previous Kevin Smith-created characters. After a while on set, Affleck felt it was weird to be there and not have a line, so Smith forged one for him on the spot. I’m sure not unlike a childhood game of "Telephone," the message got jumbled along the way – but I was having so much fun with the idea that Jared had severely stepped up his operations beyond simply physical beatings, I couldn’t turn my back on it.
Clerks II commentary aside, I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about Wizard World Chicago coming up in two weeks, August 4 – 6 at the lovely Rosemont Convention Center right next to the fabulous (and always on-time) O’Hare Airport.
This will be my thrid year going to Wizard World Chicago and I’m hitting the ground running. I will have copies of my new book "Theater Hopper: Year One" for sale and I’m going to try and pass it around to as many members of the media that I can.
To help generate interest, I am having a book-launch party in my hotel room on Saturday night, August 5. It’ll probably start around 7:00 or 8:00 and go until we either run out of beer or get bored and want to go somewhere else. But the idea is not only to celebrate with fans, but to let the media know that web comics are a happenin’ scene and that Theater Hopper ain’t too shabby on it’s own!
If you plan on being in attendance at Wizard World Chicago, please be sure to stop by my book on Artist’s Alley to get your invitation. I don’t really want to share my hotel room number over the internet and I don’t know it offhand anyway. So it all works out. Stop by the booth, get the invite and come hang out with us. You can find me at booth 3134 A and you can view a map of the convention floor here (look on the second page, to the right). Everyone is welcome to visit me at the booth, but 21 and over for the party, please. Here’s a close-up of Artist’s Alley in case you can’t open the larger PDF:
I need to let you know that Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey will also be releasing a book (Volume 2 of his hilarious comic) that weekend and the book release party is a joint effort. There will also be several other web comic stars in attendance. Not only at the party, but on the convention floor. The Theater Hopper booth can be found in immediate proximity of Gordon McAlpin of Multiplex, Joe Dunn of Digital Pimp Online, illustrator extraordinaire and convention stalwart Taki Soma and the previously mentioned Zach Miller. It’s going to be a hell of a time.
If any of you happen to have connections in the comic press, web comic press or small press publication… press, please let me know so I can notify members of the media in advance. I’m not looking to get signed by any production house or anything. Pretty much just looking to network and inform people about Theater Hopper. I can’t tell you how many conventions I go to where people look at my booth and say "So it’s online?" They’re not expecting it. I feel it’s time to get over the hump and bring web comics to a wider audience. With book in tow, I hope to make that happen!
I will have more news to share about Wizard World Chicago in the coming weeks, but I wanted to start talking about it now. I hope to see several of you in attendance and I thank you for your support!
Oh, and if you’ve pre-ordered a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One," don’t worry. I’m setting aside copies for all of you. Once back from Chicago, I plan on mailing them out as soon as possible. So you should be seeing your book sometime by mid-August (barring the length of time it takes for me to draw your sketch inside the book!)
Thanks again to everyone who has helped to make this possible. I finally feel I have something concrete to exhibit at Wizard World Chicago and that I’m not just there taking up space to say I had been there. It’s a good feeling!
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I have plenty to say about the controversy between Kevin Smith and Joel Siegel concerning the forthcoming Clerks II, but I’m saving that for later.
For now, I have more important news…
Seriously, guys. You should have been hanging out with me yesterday. I was on Cloud 9. As I was driving to pick up the books from the frieght agency that was storing them on their docks, I swear the air was sweeter and my car stereo was pumping tunes more clearly. Flipping through this book… to have it in my hands… WOW. Big accomplishment for me. You have no idea.
Sincere thanks to each and every one of you who pre-ordered a copy. You helped make my dream come true! Now that I have this first book under my belt, I hope to do "Theater Hopper: Year Two" very soon. I’d love for it to be out by Christmas, but it really depends how well "Theater Hopper: Year One" sells first.
On that note, if you were holding off on pre-ordering a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One," these pictures are the proof that – yes – the book IS in fact REAL. You should order one soon. We’ve already burned through half of our first print run and I’m taking a BUNCH of these books to Wizard World Chicago. So there might be very less very soon!
I can’t tell you how excited I am. Cami and I have put together a great plan to get this book in front of many people as possible. You guys have helped us meet the first goal. Now we’re going to start trying to get press for the book – both local and national – and see if we can’t push things a little farther in regards to Theater Hopper’s overall visibility and success.
You guys got us to this point, so THANK YOU!!!
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Cami’s comments about the original Clerks comes from real-life around the time we were first dating in high school. With the resurgence of Clerks II, this seemed like the best opportunity to share it with you.
Our relationship was just starting out, but I was totally about sharing my passion for film with her. We didn’t get Clerks in any of the movie theaters here when it first came out in theaters. But I had become familiar with it by reputation and decided to rent it so that we could watch it together. We sat in her parents basement, watched it all the way to the end and when I asked her "What did you think?" she said "Eh, I don’t really like movies about guys who do nothing."
Okay, so I twisted the quote around a little to fit in with the joke of today’s comic. But the spirit is still the same.
Afterwords, I went home and left the video at Cami’s house asking if she could return it (since she lived closer to the video store and was going to run errands the next day). Before she could return the video, her DAD got a hold of it looking for some kind of entertainment on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Cami came home from her errands and he gave her the old 20 Questions about this boyfriend of hers and what kind of entertainment I’m picking out for her.
My now Father-in-Law never confronted me about it, but Cami told me the story once and it made me pucker, that’s for sure!
The moral of the story? Don’t leave rented copies of Clerks laying around the house for your future Father-in-Law to find! Incidentally, Clerks is the only Kevin Smith movie I don’t own. I mean, I own Clerks: The Animated Series, but I don’t own the original movie that bears it’s name. Oh, and one of Cami’s favorite comedies is Mallrats. Go figure.
Judgemental Father-in-Law’s absent from our shoulders, Cami and I went to see Clerks II this weekend and loved it. I’m glad that it turned out as well as it did. I think the movie had a real capacity to be horrible. Combined with the failure of Jersey Girl, if Kevin Smith couldn’t get Clerks II to sell to audiences, I think it would have put his career as a filmmaker in serious jeopardy.
Is he returning to the well? Sure, but as Smith has freely admitted, these are the kind of stories he’s best adept to tell. Let him tell them!
There were parts of the movie that I felt were very stagey, blocked awkwardly by the actors and very talky. But after a while, it occurred to me how much in love I am with Smith’s sense of dialogue. By the end, the subtle commentaries the film makes about arrested development and "starting your life" in your 30’s kind of hit home for me.
Personally, I never suffered from the same wage-slave malaise as Dante and Randal, but I empathize with their situation. I think all of us are concerned with leaving some kind of legacy in one form or another. But sometimes if you stop to really take stock of what you have, things aren’t that bad.
On a subject related to that of making a mark, I mentioned on friday that copies of my first book "Theater Hopper: Year One" are in stock. If you haven’t ordered on yet, I strongly encourage you to do so soon!
That is all!
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Hey, guys. Dave from Taking the Bi-Pass gave me a head’s up that he’s got a storyline going on at the moment where Tom meets up with the TtB-P gang at the movie theater.
It’s always fun to see these kind of cameo’s. It’s like the Laff-O-Lympics, or something!
Check out Taking the Bi-Pass today for all that cameo goodness!
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My puzzlement regarding the big-screen adaptation of Miami Vice is sincere. Why, of all people, Michael Mann would choose to direct it is beyond me.
I suppose there was a time when television properties were being remade for theaters. Typically light comedy fair like The Brady Bunch or The Beverly Hillbillies. You saw a swing into action with movies like S.W.A.T. and Serenity – which, admitedly, weren’t bad. Actually, they were both a marked improvement over the source material.
But to remake Miami Vice? Not only have they overshot the mark on translating television properties to movies, but it’s like a time capsule of fetid pop culture ugliness that no one wants to open. Miami Vice is a big, glaring becon of the 80’s only claim to fame – style over substance and egocentrism as a substitute for sexual appeal.
Who is demanding to see this movie? People who used to be cool in the ’80’s and want to revisit their glory days, that’s who. The people in between the marketing crosshairs of this movie are a very thing herd. I sincerely doubt it’s going to connect with modern audiences.
Do you want to TOTALLY superficial reasons not to see this movie? 1). Colin Ferrell’s mullet and porn moustache and 2). Jamie Foxx’s ever-inflating ego – which is now in direct competition with the Great Wall of China for the most easily recognizable man-made structure visible from space.
There. Are we happy now? Can we finally put a nail is 1980’s nostalgia? I think a "gritty" Michael Mann remake of Miami Vice means we have officially jumped the shark.
Abruptly changing gears, I want to draw your attention to a few other fabulous sites on the web to further distract you from your responsibilities and get you in trouble.
My good friend Joe Dunn got married over the weekend and is currently on his honeymoon. So, as a wedding present of sorts, I did a guest strip for him over at Joe Loves Crappy Movies. It went up on Monday and you can check it out here.
I wasn’t exactly prompt about sharing the link when the comic went up because I was embarassed about all the nice things Joe said about me. He cites me as an inspiration, but truthfully, it’s the other way around. I think Joe is a cartooning dynamo and I respect him immenesely. I can’t tell you how many of his comics I have read and said "Damn! I wish I had come up with that!" I’m thankful for talents like Joe to brush shoulders with. It makes me step up my game and makes me want to do better. It’ll be a hoot to hang out with him and the rest of the Digital Pimp Online crew next week at Wizard World Chicago.
Incidentally, you can find me at booth #3134 A at Artist’s Alley so please come and visit. I’ll have books and shirts for sale and I’ll be doing sketches for free. And when you’re done talking to me, you can talk to Joe. Because he has the booth right next to me.
Something else I should mention is my presentation of "Outstanding Comic" for the 2006 Web Comics Choice Awards. I think I mentioned it last week, but I believe there was some kind of problem uploading the ceremony to the servers. They accidentally announced all of the winners and I don’t know if everyone got to see all of the ceremoney comics that people worked on!
At any rate, you can find them here. Mine is kind of close to the top. It was fun to put together and I wanted you to check it out if you hadn’t seen it yet.
Aburptly chaning gears again, something I’ve been a little negligent on lately is telling you guys about all the great sponsors that are currently running ads with Theater Hopper. No, I’m not talking about those big banners on the top and on the side. I’m talking about the itty-bitty 88 x 33 banners directly above this-here blog.
First up is Brinkerhoff. It’s kind of complicated to describe, but it’s basically about a bunny that’s been divorced and what he does with his life after that. Doesn’t sound like a great place to mine comedy from, but creator Gabe Strine makes it happen.
Next is No Offense Taken. I’m struggling to find a description for you, but I like this comic a lot. Kind of random in a way. Maybe that’s why I can find a theme. But I think you should check it out. I’m certainly you’ll find something you like!
Silent Kimbly is a wonderful fantasy-like comic from the mind of Ryan Sias. The jokes are really more visual twists on common phrases, but that’s not the appeal of the comic. Really, it’s to check out Ryan’s beautiful illustrative style, whimsical designs and candy-rich colors. Check this out. It’s adorable and you’ll love it. I promise.
Grumps is a totally unique premise for a comic about a bunch of old farts in a retirement community. Web comics are often about to a youth market, so this is a brilliant play against expectations. The art looks like animation-level quality and the site design is really sharp, too. I’m trying to figure out if there is anything I can steal from creator Chris Jones’s layout.
Lethal Entertainment is an eBay store featuring the very best in horror, sci-fi and fantasy DVDs. If there is something unique that you’re looking for, odds are Leathal Entertainment has it and at a fair price!
Finally, I bring you Alien Loves Predator. Wedged somewhere between the brilliance of Twisted Toyfare Theater and Robot Chicken, creator Bernie Hou took the idea of posing action figures and made a brilliant web comic out of it.
And every day I’m incredibly jealous I didn’t think of it first.
Visit the site and catch up on the adventures of the two most unlikely roommates in all of New York City.
That does it for the sponosors currently running on the site. If you would like to see your site featured, pelase advertise with us. Currently is $10 for 30 days of coverage. That’s a pretty good deal and if you’re an up-and-commer, it’s a good way to get exposure for your site on the cheap!
Beyond that, I want to remind everyone that our sale on all t-shirts is still going on. You can still get yours for $9.99 until July 31. Some of you have already bought your shrits and are waiting for them. Good news, because I just mailed out a ton of them last week.
I also want to remind you about the Theater Hopper book – which I now have back from the printer and will be shipping out soon. I have about 100 pre-orders to take care of, so that’s going to keep me busy. But since it’s just me on the distribution end, I tend to do things in large bundles. So if you haven’t bought a copy yet, now is a good time because I toss your shipment in with the others! Order yours today!
Still here? I applaude your intestinal fortitude, but I have nothing left for you.
Thanks for stopping by!
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So, I got home from work today and checked my e-mails and there were about a dozen pleasantly-worded missives informing me the reason that Michael Mann is directing the big-screen adaptation on Miami Vice is because he was the co-creator and executive producer of the original series. A fact that was crawling around in the back of my head, but willfully ignored in order to get the comic that I wanted.
That said, get out your rubber stamps and slap a big ‘ol "PWNED!" on my forehead because I totally dropped the ball on this one.
Still doesn’t make it right, though. I’ll stick to my guns on that one. Mann has much better stories he could be telling as opposed to giving Hollywood another opportunity to dip into the well of inter-racial crime fighting partners running down a drug deal. *SNORE!*
At any rate, I thought it would be more effective to mention it here in the blog rather than take the time to answer all the e-mails I received. Although perhaps I *should* have answered them all as some kind of penance. 40 lashes with a wet noodle, and all of that.
Who knows. Judging by the response to my shoddy research, there might be an audience for Miami Vice this weekend after all!
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Maybe I would have done myself a favor by abandoning the washed-up Don Johnson after yesterday’s strip. But darn it if I haven’t become affectionate of the little guy. I tend to appreciate the delusional.
Interesting feedback regarding Miami Vice in the last couple of days. Once the din of "Hey, stupid! Michael Mann was the co-creator of the original series!" died down, there was some interesting dialogue in the THorum about what makes the big screen adaptation interesting.
I think when you boil things down to their essence, old farts like me who were alive when Miami Vice was on television really aren’t interested in seeing it up on the silver screen because we regard it as middling fluff. People unfamiliar with the franchise are interested in seeing it based on the artistic merits of the picture. The way it was shot. The gritty undertones.
Now it’s hard to been an advocate for old-fogey-ism (especially at 28). But youngin’s – you gotta understand. The fact that they made a Miami Vice movie is like making… I don’t know. A 90210 movie to you guys. Wholly unnecessary.
Now you’ll excuse me while eat this bran muffin, read my copy of The New Yorker and yell at kids to GET OFF MY FRONT LAWN!
I wanna draw your attention to a new sponsor – Minus. You guys really need to check out this comic. Beautiful in it’s simplicity, I love the water color treatment. Great stuff. I can really describe the plot, but artist Ryan Armand says he’s approaching it as though he were creating a comic strip for an early 20th century newspaper. Show some support for this and spread the word because Ryan sounds a little on the fence about whether or not he’ll pursue this art style. Something as unique as this could do very well out there in the big, bad world of web comics.
Y’know, as opposed to what I do which is pandering crap. Minus is art. If I could turn out stuff like this, I would.
Speaking of art, I will be on Artist’s Alley at Wizard World Chicago next week – Friday, August 4 through the 6th and I can’t wait! I’ll have tons of books for sale at special convention prices! I strongly encourage you to come visit me at table #3414 A. You can’t miss me. I’ll be the guy frantically trying to get people to BUY MY BOOK! I plan on pressing the flesh hard core this year, so I’ll be a big shining beacon of crazy.
I’m serious. I’ve been to this convention twice and it finally dawned on me that it was dumb to sit back and wait for people who knew me to wander up and say "Hi." I love those people, don’t get my wrong! If you’re already a fan, I want you to come by because I’m having a book release party in my hotel room on Saturday night and I want you to be there. I’ve got invitations printed up and everything. I’ll give you one.
But I also want to try and find NEW fans for the comic. And you can’t do that sitting on your rear end. Anyway, one of my goals is to try and get copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" into the hands of industry folks. So if you know anyone that covers comics as a member of the media or maybe a representative of a small press group, please let me know in advance and so I can get in touch with them before blowing into The Windy City.
Something else I need to mention about the book release party. My good friend Zach Miller of Joe and Monkey will also be joining the fray as his second book is coming out at the same time. Also, we’re sharing a hotel room, so he kind of HAS to go along with it. Anyway, be sure to visit both of us in Artist’s Alley and we’ll be sure to give you an invitation to the party. It’ll be a blast!
Another thing I need to mention. I will have a sign up sheet for our mailing list available at my booth. If you come by to visit me, I want you to sign up for it because I’m giving away $50 in Fandango bucks! And because you guys come here every day, I’m letting you know about it now. So if you’re not signed up for the mailing list, you can do it today and be in the running for that Fandango gift certificate. It’s going to be a random drawing and I’m going to announce the winner here on the site on Monday, August 7. EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE! If if you’re already signed up, you’re in the running. But since there’s only, like, 100 people on the mailing list, that’s not many of you.
SIgn up for the mailing list today using that handy form to the right of the blog and you might be $50 in Fandango bucks richer!
That’s it for now. Please don’t forget that I’m selling all of my shirts for $9.99 until July 31. Get your order in today before I pack everything up and haul it to Chicago!
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It’s 100% fact that I was in Florida while V for Vendetta was in theaters. It was released on March 17 of this year and we were actually smack-dab in the middle of a two week long guest strip marathon. Since V for Vendetta comes out on DVD tomorrow, I thought this was a clever way for me to talk about the movie in a way that wouldn’t have been timely earlier this spring.
However, if you’re looking for the ultimate parody of the police state politics represented in the movie, I strongly suggest you check out Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Our good friend put together a GREAT storyline during the period that the film was released, creating a new character along the way… Stoic Joe-replacement-slash-secret-agent George! Classic stuff.
Originally, I wanted to do a week’s worth of comics about Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but I ended up doing this far darker and more paranoid comic instead. I think it’s my way of coping with the paranoia about my attendance at Wizard World Chicago this year.
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ll be at table # 3134 A on Artist’s Alley and I’ll be pretty hard to miss because I’ll be surrounded by the likes of other web comic luminaries like Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey as well as Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex.
I guess I’m nervous because I feel like I have a lot at stake at this convention. I attended in 2004 and that was me putting my toe into the water. Checking out the scene and trying to make sense of it all. In 2005, it was all about strengthening the relationships I made with other artists and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. This year?… it feels more like business. I’ll have several dozen copies of my first book "Theater Hopper: Year One" with me and I want to make sure that I get it in front of as many people as possible. Obviously that means selling a bunch. But it also means putting it in the hands of other creative people and getting their feedback. It’s all about networking, baby. I’m wracking my brain over the potential of this thing.
Incidentally, if you’d like to order a copy for yourself, you can do so here. I actually just got a bunch of the cardboard envelopes I needed to mail out the pre-orders shipped to my house on Friday. So I’ve been spending the week preparing books for shipment. You guys should be seeing your orders very soon! However, if you recall, I offered free sketches to all orders placed before June 11. So I’m drawing those in the book and it’s going to take a little while. The majority of you should see your books arrive by mid-August!
At any rate, if you can make it to Chicago, please come by the table and say "Hi." If you do, I’ll be sure to give you an invitation to my book release party on Saturday night. Trust me. It’ll be a blast.
Man, three days from now I’m going to be on the road to Chicago. I can’t wait.
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