I apologize for the delay on Monday’s comic. I was absolutely stymied by how to draw the interior of the bus in the last panel. Paralized, almost.
I kept telling myself “This is a good thing” because, as I explained to myself, this kind of fear meant that I was operating outside of my comfort zone. I’m evolving my style – if only incrementally. You have to embrace it. I think, so long as people are reacting favorably to the recent story line, I might as well go for broke.
Although, I worry that it was a lot of stress and effort for not a lot of payoff. I wish the joke could have been stronger. I think the crazy guy barking at Cami is cute, but not laugh out loud funny.
Oh, well. I suppose if push comes to shove, it’s the nesicary transition piece to move the story from the exposition to the action. Look for more of what you loved about the first three strips in the next few strips.
The good news is that I have everything plotted out at this point and envision this arc going on for at least two more weeks. I don’t want the story to wear out its welcome, but I think I have some good gags coming up, so stay tuned for that.
Switching gears, you might have noticed that the site has undergone another redesign. It’s not quite finished, yet. There are some tweaks to make here and there. But the functionality is in place and that’s what matters most.
The design is all mine, but you have to give credit to Tyler Martin and Phil Hofer from ComicPress for stringing up all the bells and whistles. Phil has been especially invaluable these last few weeks. Be sure to visit his site at Frumph.net
Along with the new coat of paint, there is a TON of functionality behind the scenes that I think is going to make your experience more entertaining. I haven’t even explored all of the options yet, but a few I can tell you about off the top of my head are things like the new “RANDOM” button in comic navigation as well as links to similar comics at the bottom of the blog. Hopefully, you will use these to explore more of the site and maybe take a trip down memory lane.
Other advantages of the souped up back end will be a special members area for people who donate to the site and also the option to BUY PRINTS of you favorite comics.
Selling prints is something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. So I am very excited by the potential of this. I plan to keep the cost low (and hopefully the quality high) and really push that in the future.
But, like I said, there a few things I need to put in order first. The Theater Hopper storefront chief among them. I’m testing out store management systems like Magento and Open Cart and will hopefully have something put together soon. There are also pages under the ABOUT, LINKS and CONTENT areas that needed to be added back in.
If you have thoughts or ideas about what features or improvements YOU’D like to see on the site, now is the time to suggest them! We’re cleaning house, so anything you can suggest that would make your experience better, please let us know.
You can either leave your comments after this blog or on the recently reintroduced THORUM.
This is the third time around for our little forum community. The first two utilized the phpBB software package and were taken down by relentless spamming. This time around, we have a far more simplified system utilizing bbPress – which is kind of an extension of WordPress. Hopefully, it will be a lot less buggy and allow us to carry on the kind of sustained conversations that comment under the blog do not.
Anyway, lots going on right now. I appreciate everyone’s patience waiting for today’s comments and I can’t wait to read your comments, feedback and suggestions about the new look and feel!
Cheers!
This is one of the funniest you’ve done with the Iron Man cardboard costume. Well done, sir.
Tom, I miss knowing which # comic this is. Any chance of adding that back to the site?
Jon,
That’s something I’ve wanted to bring back since I first put the site into WordPress. With “child” themes that can isolate the guest strip, sketches and reviews on the homepage away from the “canonical” archive, that might now be possible. I will look into it!
I like the last panel, I think the humor is less the dialog and more in the image. I think you could’ve just had the last panel without dialog and it would be just as hilarious.
Also I like the new design…thematic!
Yeah I had the same thought as Binkley. If you remove the crazy guy and dialog from the last panel so it’s just the 3 of them on the bus in their costumes, I think that would have been the perfect 3rd panel. I mean that’s potentially poster worthy. The cardboard iron man on a bus image is more than strong enough on its own.
I’m really amazed that you guys like the third panel as much as you did. Relieved, actually! I spend so much time worrying about how to put it together, I practically froze.
I like the crazy guy and I think I’ll keep him (Cami needs something to react to) but it wouldn’t be difficult to remove him and produce a poster or at least a desktop wallpaper.
Tom,
I think that the last panel is great, and for making a poster/wallpaper i would suggest leving the crazy guy in, but taking out the dialogue. I agree with you on Cami needing something to react to, however dialogue is not needed for it 🙂 Great Comic and arc btw!
I like the redesign. Especially the related comics. My only comment – I’m not a fan of the new placement of the quote. However, thats my two cents.
I love the cardboard images btw!
Not a fan of the quote placement? Why not? I thought bringing it to the top of the page might prompt people to refresh the site to see what other quotes are in the queue. Prompt a little more interaction.
What specifically don’t you like about it, if I can ask?
I have nothing particularly insightful to add, but thanks for putting the comic images back into the newsfeed. It makes my life one tab easier.
I work at a bus terminal and I wish I saw people dressed up in costumes at work.. have seen some men in kilts before but not quite the same thing
Tom, The site looks pretty snazzy (yeah, that’s a word). What’s with that “Rum” under the store button?
Keep up the good work!
p.s. – “Necessary” transition
Danny, I’m afraid I’m not seeing what you’re seeing. Can you send me a screenshot at theaterhopper@hotmail.com?
Hey…how much does it cost to run your strip on ComicPress? If I can ask…
John,
It’s doesn’t cost anything. You need WordPress as the content engine and ComicPress as the theme. They’re both available for free!
However, if you’re like me, you might need a little help installing it on your server and setting up the back end. In that case, there are people you can hire to help you.
Tom, my only complaint with the page is the thing you mentioned on twitter being worried about in regards to Cami crossing her legs.
Honestly, it looks a bit odd, and if she’s freaked out by the bum on the train, I’d have her right leg (looks like left from our viewpoint) also turned, like she’s turning her back towards the bum, leaning in towards her husband. 😉
Beyond that, the rest of the panel is great. And don’t stop trying to push yourself. It’s what we’re all trying to do and you have been doing a great job.
Love the new site design!
Last time you felt you were stepping outside your boundaries was drawing Jared’s car… and you were drawn in cardboard then too… BTW, keep working on drawing those cars, the one in the first panel reminds me a bit of your earlier work.
Also, I really like the new look to the site.
Great comic, except Cami’s legs look a little funny in the last panel, I think they maybe crossing too far up. The bus is great, you should go outside the house/theater more often!
This reminds me of a scene during the credits of the Simpsons episode “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” (the one where they go to the superbowl). The scene is just Homer blankly watching tv–or us, considering he’s facing us–while he waits for his car to get fixed. It’s the blank expressions of their masks that does it.