Archive for July, 2008
15 items.
So this was the comic that I conceived over a week okay in coordination with last Monday’s comic. Admittedly, it would have worked better as the one-two punch I envisioned it to be, but real life just got in the way.
Man, I gotta build up a buffer of some kind. I feel like I’ve squandered the good will built up from that Monday comic. People really seemed to like it.
*sigh*
The good news, however, is that I found some great new light-effect brushes for Photoshop last night! See the light coming from behind Tom’s head? Nice, huh? Thanks, Internet!
I guess since I’m in the mood for full disclosure, I have to fess up to some Mike Myers level self-plagiarism. I stole the last panel of today’s comic from one of my previous comics. I suppose I could call it an “homage” but I don’t know if that would be entirely truthful. I actually tried drawing something different, but it came out too disturbing. Originally, it was going to be an overhead shot, almost behind the shower head. You were going to see Tom’s side butt – or haunch – entirely. Believe me, I’m saving you a lot of trauma. The panel from the previous comic was just too choice not to reuse. So, there you have it.
Don’t worry. Tomorrow’s comic will have completely original art. I’m finally starting to level out a little bit after coming home from Wizard World Chicago. Seriously – you almost need a day or two just to recover from these things. A lot of talking with people, loosing your voice, heavy lifting and extended driving. I’m always glad to do it. I’m just not as young as I used to be!
Be sure to check back on the site tomorrow. I have a great comic on Wanted ready for you. Followed by a comic about Hancock on Friday.
See you then!
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You might recognize a special guest in today’s comic as none other than Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. Gordon and I saw Wanted last Saturday while we were both attending Wizard World Chicago. We missed out on hanging with the fabulous Joe Dunn and the rest of the Digital Pimp crew because they decided to go into downtown Chicago for dinner that night. The joke was on them, though. Because they couldn’t find a theater showing Wanted! Sorry, guys!
Gordon and I saw Wanted at the palatial Muvico 18 in Rosemont – a theater suggested to us by one of our listeners during The Triple Feature broadcast a few weeks ago. This listener swore up and down about how great the theater was and expressed shock that we had never heard of it before. We were befuddled as to what he could be talking about. For years we’ve been going to this dirtball theater one town over. It was unimpressive, but it met our needs.
Pulling into Rosemont on Thursday, however, my questions were answered. From the interstate I could see the Muvico 18. You couldn’t miss it! The thing was huge like the Roman coliseum. I literally shouted an expletive as I took the exit toward the hotel and convention center, I was so shocked. To have a movie theater of this grandeur within walking distance? Priceless!
As for the movie we went to see – Wanted – it was a visceral thrill. I walked out of that movie so nerved up, I felt like punching a cop and sodomizing a grizzly bear. Seriously. There hasn’t been a movie to push my repressed white guy angst button like this since Fight Club.
A lot of critics have been making note of Wanted’s knuckle-dragging brutality. But for me, that’s a selling point. I’m so sick of action movies pulling back, failing to take risks or show us anything that isn’t a digital bath of computer generated effects.
While there are more than enough dumb CG moments in Wanted, the film also delivers real grit courtesy of director Timur Bekmambetov. Some people call Bekmambetov the Russian Michael Bay and you can see where they draw the comparison with their "eat the action" lensing. But Bekmambetov is doing stuff in Wanted that Bay wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole – for fear of offending his sponsors. Wanted is a huge calling card for Bekmambetov. You’ll see his name more often. Trust me.
As for the plot of the film, I liked it – even though it’s tale of a corporate nobody transforming into a super-powered, gun-slinging bad-ass pretty much steals from The Matrix wholesale. The big difference is tone. Whereas The Matrix insisted you could change your life if you were brave enough to fly, Wanted tells you to shut up, quit crying and get on with it already.
Despite being a big comic book fan, I never read the original graphic novel on which the movie was based. I’ve been told it takes some real liberties with the plot. Apparently, in the book, it’s a secret organization of super-villains, not righteous assassins at the center of the tale. Like I said, having not read it, I can’t express any outrage over the changes. But I would say that they certainly created something unique for the movie. Especially with The Loom of Fate – a concept that says that fate wants certain people dead and these assassins are only expressing fate’s will.
That said, after seeing the film, I would love to read the original books. They sound great.
Regarding the performances, I have a new found respect for James MacAvoy – and actor who I’ve always recognized for his talent, but one I had come to resent for his pretty boy status. After Atonement, he was on deck to become the next Colin Firth, or something. You know, the charming Brit your girlfriend won’t shut up about.
I think MacAvoy tries a little too hard with his American accent and his first act narration is distracting, but his transformation from an anxiety-ridden weenie into a gun totting bad-ass is completely believable and mesmerizing to watch.
Angelina Jolie is interesting to look at, but her character doesn’t have a lot to do, it seems. Still, I prefer Jolie kicking ass and taking names here like she does in Mr. and Mrs. Smith any day over the earnest, quasi-political Jolie of A Mighty Heart.
Morgan Freeman turns in his two millionth turn as a wise old man shepherding a confused white guy, but he’s still a gravitational force and you’ll be hooting and hollering at his delivery of a certain line in particular. I wouldn’t dare spoil it here.
All things said and done, I had a blast with Wanted and the movie stayed with me for a long time. I question if it’s kinetic spirit will hold up over repeat viewings or not – especially now that I know all of its tricks. But I’m looking forward to finding out when it comes out on DVD in the future.
That’s it for me. Be sure to check back on Friday. There will be a new comic here despite the 4th of July holiday.
See you then!
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Today’s joke is kind of hacky, but I don’t care. I’ve been saving up for this one ever since I learned that the original title to Hancock was Tonight, He Comes. I’d like to pretend I’m a little more high-minded than that and wouldn’t stoop to the level of some obvious, crude sexual reference.
But that would be a lie.
I’m sorry folks, but you don’t put words like "Hancock" and "Tonight, He Comes" in the same paragraph together before some juvenile idiot wanders along and makes a comment about it.
I’m happy to be that idiot.
As for Hancock itself, I’m probably not going to see it. Chalk it up to a couple of reasons. Primarily disinterest from when I saw the first trailer. It just looked too cheesy. Subsequent trailers gave me hope, but it’s been getting pounded by critics who say the film completely derails itself in the second act, so my enthusiasm has waned.
I guess to add insult to injury, I’m just not a big fan of Will Smith. At least not the Will Smith on display here. I understand that he starts the film playing someone unlikable, but you know it’s only a matter of time before he turns on that "Big Willie Charm" that’s been so effective for him in other movies. I don’t deny that it’s a big part of his appeal. I’m just not buying what he’s selling. If I want a dose of his particular brand of charisma, I can turn on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in syndication any day of the week. If I went to see Hancock, it would be more to see what Jason Bateman is doing than what Smith is peddling.
I didn’t bother to see either I, Robot or I Am Legend in theaters mostly because I’ve had my fill of Smith’s sci-fi pandering since Men in Black and Independence Day. I’m much more interested in Smith when he lays something on the line emotionally as an actor. I know that he has it in him. Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness proves it. But whenever I see Smith in some brainless blockbuster, I tune out. I get the sense that he’s coasting.
I don’t mean to discredit the guy or anything. He’s clearly worked hard to get where he is and he’s simply one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood today. No small feat. I don’t expect the guy to be Sydney Poitier, I’m just more enamored with Smith when he’s being sincere and less so when he’s putting up an “aw, shucks” front.
I suppose you can toss in a little contrariness in there as well. When so many people are so overwhelming supportive of a particular actor, I tend to throw rocks at the throne. It’s just the way I’m wired.
At any case, as of this writing on Thursday evening, I’m walking out the door to catch a late showing of Wall-E with Cami. We’ve been looking forward to it all night. My sister-in-law is hanging out at our house to watch over Henry while we’re away.
In real time – Friday – happy 4th of July to all my American readers and to everyone else… well… have a great weekend!
See you Monday!
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I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing with the punchline of today’s comic or why I decided to throw in a very timely reference to Cool Hand Luke. I think I’m trying to maintain a level of wackiness and randomness that is simply not sustainable. If you want to read a funnier comic about Hancock, check out Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Their comic has references to Kate & Leopold, Themla & Louise AND Mallrats! View it here.
Oh, well. At least The Paper looks kind of good rendered like that.
Hancock was the big box office winner over the 4th of July holiday with a $66 million take. I kind of rolled my eyes when I heard the news. For the reason why, read my anti-Will Smith rant from Friday.
This is completely petty, but I was kind of hoping it would fail. Or, in the very least, not outpace Wall-E by two to one. Wall-E took in $33 million, down almost 50% from it’s opening weekend.
Cami and I finally had an opportunity to see Wall-E on Friday and I am over the moon about it. Without a doubt one of the smartest Pixar movies to date. I don’t even feel like I can review it properly because I’m still kind of processing it.
The film is a visual feast and looks almost photo-realistic in parts. If you go back and compare Wall-E against Toy Story, it makes Pixar’s first attempt look absolutely plastic by comparison. And, yes – I know the movie is about toys made of plastic, but you know what I mean. It looks lifeless. Even roaming around on a dead planet, Wall-E’s environments look more thorough, alive and immersive than anything Pixar has done to date.
I question whether the movies themes about environmental responsibility, personal accountability, the over-reliance of technology and the threats of mass consumerism run amok goes over the head of children. I don’t meant to marginalize Wall-E with the stigma of being “a chlidren’s film” The success of Pixar’s formula has always been scripts that pitch their concepts a little higher than your average animated fare. But with Wall-E, have the overshot the target completely?
Kids are smarter than we give them credit for and understand much more than we recognize, but I still think an adult will find Wall-E more cinematically nutritious than a child would find entertaining. There are LARGE gaps in the story where there is *no* dialogue being exchanged and 20 minutes of nothing happening can feel like an eternity to a kid.
All I know is, Wall-E is a movie that I’m going to have to see twice because I was getting to lost in the universe director Andrew Stanton created, I fear there were details that I missed. Any movie that creates a world as epic as Wall-E and entices you to come back to revisit it deserves a second look. Never mind the fact that Pixar basically got me to become emotionally invested in robots. Inanimate objects! AGAIN! How do they do it?
We neglected to share too many specifics when Gordon and I talked about Wall-E last week on The Triple Feature. We wanted to hold back a little bit until both Joe and I had seen it because we mutually felt that we’d be on the same page with our reactions. With a week and a holiday under out belt and recovered from Wizard World Chicago, I think we’re ready for the deep dive this week.
Be sure to listen to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com as we talk more about Wall-E, Wanted and, of course, Hancock.
See you there!
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GRR!
Okay, I had written this huge, long blog post about today’s comic, but Firefox totally crashed on me and I lost it!
I’m too disheartened to try and rewrite the whole thing, so I’ll give you the bullet points:
- I was paranoid about doing a straight-up movie parody because I often feel that a Theater Hopper character should narrate the action in order to keep it grounded in the Theater Hopper universe. In this instance, adding Jared or Tom would have ruined the pacing and, plus, I wanted more room to draw Hellboy and Abe Sapien. I know this is not important to anyone else.
- I am aware that Hellboy is not actually 60 years old, that he ages differently than humans and is technically a teenager. But I maintain that watching Ron Perlman chug Tecate, smoke stogies and wield firearms kind of kills the whole “teenage” vibe. Also, what teenager would tolerate being called “boy” I think the joke still works.
- I kind of forgot how excited I was to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Despite its pacing problems, I loved the original Hellboy and held my breath for a sequel. Now that it’s here, I kind of neglected the hype, but am very excited to check it out on Friday!
So, there you have it. The Cliff’s Notes version of today’s blog. The original was much more elloquent. But you know how it goes when you lose an e-mail or an essay or whatever. It’s like your computer broke your heart. You need a little distance.
Stoopid com’pooter.
Have a great Wednesday, everyone!
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Today’s comic is going to make a lot more sense if you already have an appreciation for find sandwich condiments and delicious puns. But just in case I haven’t made it obvious enough, here’s another visual clue so you can get what I’m driving at…
I wasn’t planning on doing another Hellboy II comic for today, let alone one that incorporated continuity. But (credit where credit is due), jason_md2020 from the comments section over at FirstShowing.net gave me the idea for the Hellman’s reference when Wednesday’s comic was simultaneously posted over there. I decided to run with it. Thanks, Jason!
Not much else to mention today. I’m planning on seeing Hellboy II tonight after Henry goes to bed. Cami has no interest in seeing it, so she’s staying home and has invited her sister over to keep her company. I’m excited for the film. It’s been getting pretty good reviews, which I’m encouraged by.
Apparently, there has been a ton of viral marketing done on behalf of Hellboy II featuring Ron Perlman in the Hellboy costume and makeup. Hellboy is showing up all over the place! I would probably be more impressed if I came across the advertisements naturally. Y’know… while watching TV. Instead, someone forwarded me a link of one of the spots on YouTube and I watched the rest of the related commercials. I think I like the PSA where Hellboy is holding the cat the best. But you can watch a few of these and decide for yourself.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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Originally, I wanted to do a comic about Hellboy II: The Golden Army for today’s update. I had a chance to see the movie last Friday and loved it. But seeing as I had just completed TWO Hellboy comics STARRING Hellboy last week, I thought it might be overkill. Truthfully, it would have been more of an excuse for me to try and rope things back into Theater Hopper territory and not do a straight-up parody. Best to let sleeping dogs lie.
I was about to do a comic I had on the back burner for Meet Dave. The set up was going to be Tom and Cami sitting at a table and Tom mentioning to Cami that Eddie Murphy had a new movies in theater. Her reply would have been a courteous but clipped “Oh, that’s nice” and then the last two panels were going to be completely without dialogue to reflect the idea that NO ONE CARES ABOUT EDDIE MURPHY ANYMORE!
If you think that last statement is too harsh, then just check out the box office on Meet Dave in it’s first week. 7th place and $5.3 million dollars? You really screwed the pooch with Norbit, Murphy. You could have had a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Dreamgirls and pulled yourself out of this hole. Now you’ll be stuck doing tepid family films for ages.
Ah, who am I kidding. The guy has more money than God. He’s set for life.
Anyway, that was going to be my Meet Dave comic which I really like conceptually, but probably wouldn’t have worked in reality. Too low key, too subtle and I’m not sure people would have understood that neither Tom or Cami were particularly interested in the latest Eddie Murphy movie. It probably would have ended up looking like I forgot to add word bubbles to the last two panels.
Thank goodness for The Dark Knight. Probably one of the most anticipated films of the year and I feel like I have enough ground to cover with this one to do a WHOLE WEEK’S worth of strips. So, buckle up.
People have been going round and around talking about Heath Ledger’s performance of The Joker. And, of course, you can’t talk about Heath Ledger without mentioning that he died back in January from an accidental overdose. It’s kind of a catch-22. On the one hand, it feels slightly exploitative. But, on the other hand, it wouldn’t be responsible journalism if you didn’t mention it somewhere. It might almost be considered disrespectful to his memory – like you were trying to gloss over something that didn’t happen.
Any way you slice it, it’s a shame. I kind of feel bad for the other actors in the film that not have to field questions on two fronts. It’s no longer about promoting the movie. It’s also about Ledger and what his death means. I have a fantasy where Gary Oldman just goes off on some reporter for pushing the issue too far, but that’ll probably never happen.
Some critics are already saying Ledger should be nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Having not seen the movie, I can’t judge one way or the other. Although I’ve been impressed with the clips I’ve seen. Ledger is mesmerizing and it’s evident that he tapped into something primal in his depiction of The Joker.
That said, it’s all speculation and too soon to say if it’ll even happen. I try to think in the short term as well as the long term and if there was going to be any benefit at all from Ledger’s death, the best I could come up with is the absolute conclusion to lame Brokeback Mountain references.
It was only a couple of years ago, but you remember how it went. Seriously – if I had to listen to one more person do their riff on the line “I wish I knew how to quit you,” I would have screamed.
Hey, I was guilty of it, too! But some people hang onto that stuff a little too long. Admit it, you still know someone in your office making Borat references. “Very nice…”
At this point, a Brokeback reference would not only be irrelevant from a pop culture perspective, it would be downright insensitive. So, I think we can officially label this “The End of The Trend.”
A short programming note for those of you who are fans of The Triple Feature podcast – there will be no show tonight. Both Joe and Gordon are traveling, which would leave me by my little, old lonesome. So we decided to scrap this week’s show and get together NEXT week at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com to discuss Hellboy II and The Dark Knight. I don’t know who we’re trying to fool. You know we’ll only end up talking about The Dark Knight. Which is a shame. I had a great time watching Hellboy II and everyone I’ve talked to has enjoyed it as well. It would be a real treat to pour over it.
I guess you’ll just have to tune in next week to see!
Thanks for visiting the site today. I’ll see you here again on Wednesday! Have a great week!
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People who travel in geek circles are already aware of the Batman / Iron Man comparison and where you fall on that divide basically depends on a handful of factors. But, truthfully, in the early days of comics, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a super hero with a large bank account that he used to fight crime. Green Arrow was basically a direct rip-off of Batman. He had an Arrowmobile, people. AN ARROWMOBILE.
I took the opportunity to address the concept of the idle rich using their deep pockets to better society once before – back when Batman Begins was in theaters. Personally, I find it funny that Cami still has to take pause and verify Batman’s character arc in both the previous strip and this one – just to make sure she’s right.
I like that strip a lot and I wish I could have reused the joke. Because, truthfully, I had a hard time picking a direction in regards to my week’s worth of comics for The Dark Knight.
I guess what I’m saying is that it’s really hard to make fun of The Dark Knight. It’s easily the most anticipated movie of the summer, looks excellent and features amazing, much buzzed about performances. Really my only “in” is to poke fun at the over-the-top natures of The Joker, but after Heath Ledger’s passing, that would just look tasteless.
So, in turn, I decided to use The Dark Knight as the background of a larger story and Tom’s established history as a hard core Iron Man fan as the catalyst that kicks things off. It’s nothing epic, mind you. But these comics will be more about Tom and his geeked out brain than they will be about The Dark Knight specifically.
Trust me, it’s going somewhere. That’s why I put that little "To Be Continued!" in the corner. See? I’m always thinking of you!
That does it for me today. But if you’re looking for more grist for the mill, watch these videos that outlines the differences AND similarities between Batman and Iron Man. It’s all part of the hilarious series of “I’m a Marvel… and I’m a DC” clips that can be found on YouTube.
ENJOY!
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Before we get started today, I just wanted to make sure everyone was on board with the term "facepalm." It’s basically another way of expressing complete exasperation and/or frustration toward another. Here, let Captain Picard illustrate:
I know most of our younger readers will recognize the term. I just wanted to flesh it out a little bit for people who aren’t up on internet catch phrases.
I had a hard time with today’s comic. There’s a lot of text to this one. I suppose that’s the risk you take when you run six panels. But there were a lot of ideas I wanted to get across and it was difficult to strip them down to their most bare comic elements.
In any case, I hope you like it.
I was looking over my Twitter feed last night as I was working on the comic and lot of people were apparently using their cell phones to send updates about their experiences waiting in line for The Dark Knight. It sounds crazy. Expectations are through the roof on this thing. I’m legitimately afraid that my expectations have now been set too high and I’m going to end up not enjoying the film. Certainly the Twitter posts coming in AFTER the movie seem to suggest the bar for superhero movies has now been set extraordinarily high.
I’ve been on lockdown on this film for about a month – since about the time that teaser clip of Two-Face’s first appearance showed up online – and have been trying like the dickens to avoid interviews and reviews. It’s hard. The advertising and promotion for this thing has been kicked into overdrive. When you spend the amount of time I do online, it’s really hard to avoid.
I don’t know when we’ll get a chance to see the movie this weekend, but I almost don’t want to? I know that sounds crazy, but I just don’t want to fight the crowds. I should go at, like, 11 o’clock in the morning on Sunday when everyone else is at church…
Truthfully, I don’t what the odds are of us even getting out of the house this weekend. Cami wasn’t feeling very well Wednesday night. She was complaining of chills and fever before complaining about terrible back pain. I recognized those symptoms! When we woke up on Thursday and she wasn’t feeling any better, I told her not to waste time and to go to the doctor right away. Turns out she was diagnosed with acute tonsillitis just as I had been three weeks ago!
I don’t know if she caught it from me and it was just dormant in her system for three weeks or if she picked it up from somewhere else, but between myself, Cami, Henry and his time spent at day care – all of us are basically infecting and reinfecting each other with one horrible virus after the other.
Cami is on medication now – the same stuff I was on at the end of June and I would think she should start feeling better by tomorrow. At least if my experience was any indication. Cami’s parents have stepped in to take care of Henry today. He’s spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa to give Cami the opportunity to recover. I do a fine job of taking care of Henry on my own, but he’s also in the “MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!” phase and doesn’t want anyone but her. It makes it hard to keep them apart when they’re in the house together.
At any rate, that’s what we’re dealing with at the moment. With any luck, we’ll get a chance to see The Dark Knight sometime this weekend.
Incidentally, Cami was really down on the idea for a while. She wasn’t over the moon with Batman Begins and she though The Dark Knight looked even more bleak. But the marketing wizards finally got to her and all of the positive buzz finally convinced her to see it.
To put it another way, when your Mother-in-law asks you if you’re excited to see a movie like The Dark Knight, Madison Avenue has done its job.
Take it easy, everyone. I’ll see you here on Monday!
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Holy crap! I almost forgot!
There’s an interview I did with Xaviar Xerxes up and running over at ComixTalk that I want all of you to check out!
http://comixtalk.com/an_interview_with_tom_brazelton
Xaviar asked me some really thoughtful questions and I think the final product turned our really good.
40 lashes with a wet noodle for me, though, because we literally started this interview by e-mail months ago. But then I got sidetracked by my father’s open heart surgery, then started prepping for Wizard World Chicago and everything else fell to the wayside.
At any rate, Xaviar was more than patient and you should reward him by visiting the site and reading the interview! Leave some comments if you like!
Later!
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