Archive for February, 2009
26 items.
Since I don’t have a lot to discuss regarding the comic, I thought I might take this opportunity to promote a feature of the site that may have gone otherwise unexplored.
Under the Links heading, I have a Link Exchange page. Nothing fancy. You link me, I link you. If you have a web site and you’d like a little more networking, let’s trade! Either leave a link to your web site in the comments or send me an e-mail where we can discuss things privately.
Incidentally, if you want to grab a banner for your site, I have a bunch of banners available now, too.
[ 1 Comment ]
WHOA! Didn’t see that one coming, did you? Well, maybe you did. But I like to think you didn’t. Who knew that Jimmy and Charlie’s past intersected so much earlier than we thought? And, by the way, in case you aren’t familiar with Charlie’s backstory or why she’s important, you can read her origin story here (hey, just closin’ the loop for the new readers!)
I know introducing Charlie as the “woman who changed everything” for Jimmy raises all sorts of questions. For example, if Jimmy and Charlie used to be together, why haven’t we heard anything until now? Why hasn’t Jimmy tried to approach Charlie when she’s visited the theater? Don’t worry! We’re going to get to all of that in the next couple of weeks.
I would say this is about the half-way point for the storyline and I’m really excited to tell the rest. What’s been revealed at this point could be a game-changer in the future and redefine some of the relationships in the comic. This is the point where we start to pick up speed!
I think I’d better stop while I’m ahead so I don’t reveal too much more!
As for this weekend’s movies, I want to try and see Clive Owen in The International because I’m really interested in seeing that shoot-out they filmed inside the Guggenheim. But it’s going to be pretty difficult for me to get away. Not only because Saturday is Valentine’s Day, but Sunday we’re having everyone over to celebrate Henry’s second birthday! Henry’s actual birthday is the 18th (and I’ll be talking more about him then.) But for the celebration, it’s just easier to get everyone together on Sunday. As such, not a lot of free time for movies. We gotta scrub down the house and get things ready!
That’s all for me today. So, what do you think about the big reveal? Are you excited to learn more? Where will things go from here? Share your thoughts in the comments and I’ll see you back here on Monday!
[ 15 Comments ]
When I told Cami the punchline for today’s strip, the first thing she said was “How could Jimmy NOT know he was ripping off The Wild One? He’d have to be some kind of idiot.”
And the point is… yeah, he was.
But I also defended my position thusly:
When Rob Halford from Judas Priest started running around in black leather pants with a black leather vest and black leather arm cuffs with spikes on them, people thought he had invented a new style to go along with the emerging sound of heavy metal music. So influential was his look that thousands of metalheads adopted the style and it remains as one of metal’s most predominant, signature looks.
The think of it was (and this came to light years later) that Halford was a homosexual and the new style he was promoting came directly out of the leather daddy clubs in the UK. Scores of the hardest of hardcore metal fans were running around dressed like leather daddies.
So, as it relates to Jimmy, one guy starts a trend (Brando in The Wild One), another guy adopts the trend, then another guy and then another guy. By the time it reaches someplace like, oh, say, IOWA, no on really know where the trend came from. It’s adopted as a matter of course.
Don’t believe me? Go to Cedar Falls sometime. They’re still convinced that grunge music JUST happened a few years ago. “Hey! Have you ever heard of this band called Nirvana?”
Wow. That’s a lot of references to popular music for a comic about movies. Mitch Clem? I’m gunnin’ for ya!
I’m hoping everyone out there had a great Valentine’s Day. I had a particularly excellent weekend. Not just for the cherubic holiday, but because we also got the family together and celebrated Henry’s second birthday. We had a great time and he did, too. Wednesday is his actually birthday and I think I’ll post a picture of him to share with you guys then. I think it would be a nice little tradition to show you his picture on his birthday. It gives everyone a little peek into how he’s doing. I love my kid. I think he’s awesome.
Wanna know who else is awesome? Cami. Why? Because she gave me one of the best Valentine’s Day gifts EVER! A Netflix account!
So, it’s official. I am now officially the last person in the world to get a Netflix account.
I don’t know why we held out so long. I’m usually an early-adopter of those kind of things – especially when it comes to movies. But… I don’t know. We never got on the bandwagon. It wasn’t because we didn’t understand it or because it was too expensive. It was more because, well, it seemed like there were just other things we should be spending our money on.
Of course, never mind that we pretty much stopped renting movies entirely during this period. I can’t remember the last time I was inside a Blockbuster.
But, yeah, it was long overdue and now we finally have one. I went though the site for a couple of hours this weekend adding films to my queue and ranking others. The first movie we’re supposed to get in the mail is Man On Wire – the documentary about Frenchman Philippe Petit who walked a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center shortly after their completion in 1974. I had threatened to make that my first rental if I ever got a Netflix account during a couple recordings of The Triple Feature and I wanted to make good on that threat. I’m excited to finally see it.
Incidentally, we’re recording an episode of The Triple Feature tonight at 9PM CST at TalkShoe.com and I think this week we’re going to put our Oscar predictions in stone before the big telecast on Sunday.
We informally made our picks a few weeks ago when nominations were announced. But tonight we’re announcing ALL of our picks in EVERY category with NO wiggle room. The reason? We’re putting a little something on the line. A wager, of sorts. Basically, whoever comes in with the least amount of correct predictions has to draw a guest strip for the other two guys on the show.
So, if I lose, I have to do a guest strip for Multiplex and Joe Loves Crappy Movies. If Joe loses, he has to do a guest strip for me and Gordon. And if Gordon loses, he has to do a guest strip for Joe and I.
So be sure to listen live at 9:00 PM CST as we committ to record our picks to win at the Oscars this Sunday. There’s a lot on the line and it should be a really good show! See you then!
[ 6 Comments ]
Brian Carroll has a lot of stokes in the fire. Artist, writer, filmmaker, cartoonist. So it stands to reason that I sometimes forget about the excellent work he’s producing over at his comic Instant Classic while I’m not paying attention.
I recently friended Brian through Twitter and it’s been a great way to keep up with what he’s doing. Just recently I combed through his archives, reading his latest batch of comics and they’re excellent.
If you’re not familiar with Instant Classic, I don’t think I could summarize it for you. But if you’re a fan of Multiplex, I think you’ll like it. Brian’s strip isn’t about theater workers, but rather the people who make films and it is a rich treat that should be savored in one sitting.
Go check it out!
[ No Comments ]
I don’t know how many of you access the site through IE6. Statistically, it appears about 18% of you use Internet Explore and of that 18%, 20% of you use IE6.
At any rate, I’m having some formatting problems on the homepage in IE6 and I need a fresh set of eyes to take a look at the code.
If you’re up to the task, send me an e-mail or leave your comments below.
Thanks.
[ No Comments ]
If you listened to The Triple Feature last night (and if you missed it, don’t worry – just subscribe to our feed on iTunes!) you’ll know that Gordon, Joe and I made our official Oscar picks in advance of the televised broadcast this Sunday. We decided to make it interesting by making a tiny wager. The two people with the least amount of correct predictions has to draw a guest strip for a winning artist. So if Gordon gets the most correct, Joe and I have to draw him a guest strip. Kind of fun, right?
Part of that agreement was that the three of us would post our marked Oscar ballots and submit them to public record. That way, it keeps everyone honest. No last minute changes before or during the broadcast.
My ballot is kind of large, so you’ll have to click here to view it. But it’s there for anyone who is interested.
I think most of the major categories are already sewn up. But I voted for a few dark horse contenders after looking at a few statistical averages and trends among Academy votes in the past. As far as the technical categories go, I have a theory that I’m hoping pays off. Where I get really lost is in the documentary and short film categories.
You’ll have to take a look at my ballot and tell me what you think. Do you think I have a shot at winning our little competition?
[ 4 Comments ]
If you were following my Twitter posts yesterday, you would know that I expressed some anxiety about there being no punchline in today’s comic. I always put myself under this pressure to make every, single strip funny in these larger story lines even though I know that this exposition is necessary to keep the plot moving. Even though I want a punchline, I don’t want to undercut the emotional sincerity. It’s a tightrope walk, that’s for sure.
Speaking of tightrope walks, I just got my copy of Man On Wire in the mail from NetFlix yesterday — my first NetFlix rental! *swoon!* I’m already looking forward to going home and watching it. Well, that and tonight’s episode of Lost.
I didn’t get a chance to watch Man On Wire yesterday because I had my night class. But tonight my schedule is clear! I’ll be sure to tell you what I think.
Incidentally, I chose Man On Wire as my pick to win the award for Best Documentary at the Oscars on Sunday. If you’d like to see the rest of my picks (and the story related to The Triple Feature behind my reasons for making them public,) check out this post from Tuesday. Y’know… in case you missed it.
A couple other site things real quick…
You may have noticed that I added a couple of prominent links to the homepage immediately to the lower right of the comic – a StumbleUpon link and a Tip Jar link.
The StumbleUpon link I created because, since the launch of the redesign, I am very interested in getting individual comics listed back on the site. I’ve had lots of really good luck with people finding the comic through StumbleUpon in the past, so I want to take full advantage of that going forward.
I know today’s comic probably doesn’t fall within the “OMG! I have to share this with everyone!” category, but if you could find it in your heart to submit the link anyway, that would be great. Go back into the archive and submit your favorite comics as well. It may be mooching the system, but I’d like to have ALL of Theater Hopper’s comic listed in StumbleUpon. Who knows what might catch on?
As for the second link, the tip jar… I was hesitant at first. I didn’t even have the idea to add it until someone had written me asking if I had one available. I didn’t know there was a demand for such things! But it was explained to me that sometimes people don’t want (or don’t have the money to) purchase something in the store and would still like to show support. A tip jar kind of covers that base. So if someone wants to kick in a dollar or two from time to time, they can feel like they’re helping out without breaking the bank buying a shirt or a book.
It should go without saying that tips are not expected, but they are certainly appreciated. This is the last I will mention it because I don’t want to be the guy standing on the corner of the internet with his hand outstretched. It’s simply an option for you guys. If you like a particular comic and want to reward me (for whatever reason) it’s there for you. I’ll leave it at that.
That’ll do it for now, but I have a second post coming up later in the day talking about Henry’s second birthday – which is today! Be sure to swing by the site later or subscribe to our RSS feed.
Talk to you soon!
[ 5 Comments ]
This was a post I was supposed to write yesterday. But due to a hectic, stressful and overloaded schedule, it didn’t happen.
Yesterday was my son Henry’s birthday. And as I did the year before, I thought it would be nice to post a picture of the little guy so everyone can see how he’s doing.
Henry is doing very well having recently had tubes put in his ears for the second time and his adenoids removed to correct chronic ear infections he was having earlier in the winter.
Since Henry turned 2, we finally cut him off from pacifiers and we’re dealing with the ramifications of that right now. He really didn’t use them very often except when we put him down at night and he would use them to calm himself down. Now that they’re gone, he has to find other methods to relax. So he’s been shooting heroin into his eyeballs for about a week now.
I kid! I kid!
Every Saturday we take Henry to a music class where he learns rhythm, songs and dancing to a beat. It’s been paying off. He often sings “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and it’s tonal doppleganger, The ABC song.
He’s a bundle of energy, that’s for sure. HIGHLY verbal and bossing us around already. He’s deeply addicted to Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel and listening to Daft Punk in the car. In fact, he demands them by name! Well, almost. “Robot rock, Daddy!”
My son is awesome.
Happy birthday, buddy.
[ 12 Comments ]
In order for there to be some kind of progression to the story, I knew Jimmy’s checkered past would have to come back into play. But I was having trouble succinctly interjecting a scenario that wasn’t basically a simple misunderstanding that would have felt at home on an episode of Three’s Company.
That’s why I upped the stakes emotionally by revealing Jimmy and Charlie to have been briefly engaged. I didn’t want to make it easy for him to explain it away.
It’s no so much the betrayal of this one kiss. It boils down to the difference between saying you’re cool with your loved one’s past indiscretions and being confronted with it face to face. It’s going to be too much for Charlie to handle and you’re going to see that in the upcoming strips.
I don’t want to get too much more into it. I want the story to reveal itself in it’s own time. But I think you guys are going to be pleased not only with how this situation is resolved, but how it continues to play into past events within the Theater Hopper universe.
Switching gears… I wanted to announce that I am at home this morning. Don’t worry, I’m not sick. I’m taking the day off! But it’s not a day off in the traditional sense.
No. Today is still a work day!
I presume you guys remember my hard drive crash last fall and how I staged a donation drive to help aid in the data recovery? As part of that donation drive, I promised to those that donated original art of various sizes and complexity. Some of those people have received their art, but the majority have not. Between my job, Henry, night school, the holidays and everything else… it was all too overwhelming.
I was feeling pretty bad about myself for making people wait this long when they were so quick to help me in my time of need. So I decided to commit to taking a major chunk out of my artistic responsibility “to do” list and am taking a day off work to get things done!
I’m not saying I’ll be able to get all the artwork done that I need to. But I should be able to get a sizable chunk out of the door. This will help not only to take some of the burden off my back, but help me more easily communicate with those of you still waiting for your commissioned pieces.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay. I will do right by you and your generosity. You WILL get what you paid for.
That’s it for me today. Time to belly-up to the artist table and get to work!
With thanks…
[ 4 Comments ]
Incidentally, if anyone is interested in what I’m listening to while I’m catching up on my commissions today, you can check out my Last.fm page:
Friend me, if you like. I’m always looking for new musical suggestions!
[ No Comments ]
