Archive for August, 2006
22 items.
For what it’s worth, The Hessen Haus is an actual German beer hall here in Des Moines and they play it up to the hilt. You can get the big glass boot filled to the brim with whatever you like. Just don’t let the heel touch the table or you have to take another swig!
As much as I would like to talk about Beerfest right now, I’m afraid I have more pressing matters relating to the site that I want to discuss.
This weekend, I spent about 16 hours working on "Theater Hopper: Year Two". All of the images have been formated, dates of publication and titles of strips have been added. I’m even including 8 months worth of incentive sketches that I used to draw back in the day for buzzComix and Top Web Comics when life was a popularity contest. So, as of this morning, all of the methodical boring stuff is complete. I’m going to start writing soon and I hope to put the book into production in the coming months.
Actually, it’s not a "hope to." It’s a "have to."
Y’see, I’m taking "Theater Hopper: Year Two" Wizard World Dallas on November 10 and if the printer is going to get the books back to me in time, they need the artwork by September 29.
So, in order to take advantage of the copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" already in stock, I’m starting the Theater Hopper Sales Drive!
The concept is simple. We have about a month to sell a whole lotta merchandise and what I’m primarily interested in getting rid of are copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One."
To help kick things off, I am please to annouce our special one-week only LABOR DAY SALE! From now until September 3, all copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" are available for the reduced price of $15 (plus shipping and handling). You have a very small window of opportunity to grab a copy of this book before they go back to regular price.
Feedback is starting to pour in from all over the country and across the ocean. People are REALLY happy with the quality of the book! In fact, if you’d like to get a sense of what people are saying, I’ve included some "notes of praise" about "Theater Hopper: Year One" that you can read here.
BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
To help sweeten the deal, my wife Cami took time out of her weekend to put together this adorable, hand made Truman doll:
Anyone who orders a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One" will have their name entered into a drawing to win this one-of-a-kind keepsake. In order to be eligible, you must place your order by Sunday, September 3! Ladies and gentlemen, the last time Cami made custom dolls for the site, we auctioned them off on eBay for a respectable sum. Order your copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One" at the special Labor Day Sale price of $15, and this little guy might be sitting on your desk a week from now.
Pretty cool, huh?
That’s the big news for the moment, so please pass it around. Tell as many people as you can that we’re having our sale. Ultimately the goal is to raise enough money to put "Theater Hopper: Year Two" into production. I’ll be announcing the pre-sale for that book shortly after our week-long Labor Day Sale has concluded.
Thanks to everyone for your support! It is much appreciated!
[ No Comments ]
Yesterday The Lord of the Rings Trillogy: Limited Edition DVDs landed on shelves. Apparently there was some great demand for another DVD collection of these movies that are no less than three years old. This time around, they compile the theatrical editions along with the extended editions. But for a limited time! This is what we call "quadruple dipping." Seriously, Peter Jackson is getting worse than that George Lucas fellow.
I’m not going to buy these DVDs. I was able to grab all three of the LotR Platinum Extended Collector’s Gift Set Editions from Deep Discount DVD in late spring for about tweny bucks a piece. Can’t really beat that deal. It cost as much as the newly collected trillogy and I got some cool statues out of it to boot!
Not too much else to report today. It looks like you guys are really responding to the Theater Hopper: Year One Labor Day Sale. Remember, all copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" are $15 through September 3! All proceeds go toward the production of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" to help shorten the pre-order period!
A few of you who pre-ordered the book earlier in the year have expressed dismay that you aren’t in the running for the lottery give-away of this fine, hand-crafted Truman doll made by my lovely wife Cami. Don’t worry. We’ve heard your plea. Cami plans on making 6 MORE DOLLS to be given away in a similar fashion when the pre-order for "Theater Hopper: Year Two" comes around. We’ve got our eye on September 6 to start taking pre-orders for the next book, so start saving your money now!
It appears that a bunch of the pre-orders of Year One are finally starting to make it to their new homes and I’ve been getting great feedback all week. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has written in with their kind words. People are telling me that they’ve been really impressed with the quality of the book. Several people have told me that they read through it all in one-sitting! They couldn’t put it down! Others still complimented the brand-new commentary on each strip and shared that they thought it added great value to the book.
However the most consistent feedback I’ve heard is how much my art has improved since the early days and those are the compliments I appreciate the most. I’ve really made an effort to grow and learn new things. I don’t feel like there has ever been a period that I could point a finger to and say "Here is where everything lept forward." I think it’s been a consistent evolution. For others to come back and say the same thing is very gratifying.
If you’ve gotten your copy of "Year One" and would like to share feedback, I strongly encourage you to do so. A few of you have given me GREAT ideas to incorporate into "Year Two." One friend mentioned that he missed not seeing the original publication dates of the strips. Another suggested that I create an index of all the movies discussed or parodied during the period the book covers. Both of these features will be included in "Year Two." So if you have thoughts, send them in.
Incidentally, I tried doing something new with the shading in today’s comic. I haven’t decided if it works or not, but I feel it cleans things up a little. I’ve also been lightening up my line work and have eliminated the heavier strokes from the left side of the characters. If you have opinions about these changes, I would love to hear them!
Talk to you guys soon! Spread the word about the book sale, won’t you?
[ No Comments ]
