This isn’t the first time I’ve aped another artist’s style in service of a joke/homage/parody/pleasedon’tdsueme. Although I think it’s kind of interesting that the artist’s I’m mirroring do their work primarily in black and white.

Don’t let anyone fool you. Doing art in straight up black and white is hard. You can’t fudge and cover things up with colors or shading. Everything has to be up front. That’s why I give my friends like Zach Miller and Mitch Clem major props. The detail they throw in their work is amazing. I don’t have that kind of patience.

Of course, it’s not like I threw in a bunch of detail on the black and white stuff for today’s comic. But I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun making it. Big ups to Brian Lee O’Malley for letting me boost his style and driving it around the block a few times. It handles great.

In fact, if I can level with you for a minute, today’s comic was probably the most fun I had drawing in probably weeks. Maybe months. Ever since I made the decision to update Theater Hopper once a week, I’ve kind of been in mourning and producing the comic wasn’t as much fun as it used to be.

Don’t misunderstand me. It was absolutely the right decision to make. I’ve been under a lot of stress the past few months (years) and I kind of needed the break. But at the same time, Sunday night rolls around and I’m like “Oh, yeah. Comic.” Sometimes it’s hard to get the creative wheels turning when you don’t have the momentum of a thrice-weekly schedule propelling you.

Regardless, I had a blast coming up with the comic and illustrating today’s comic. Time seemed to fly by as I was putting it together and I was having a lot of fun while doing it. I actually feel like it kind of sparked something for me and hopefully it will keep me going in the future.

Lapses in self-confidence are nothing new to creative types. There have been several times over the last 8 years that I wasn’t “feelin’ it” in terms of producing the comic. Sometimes you wonder if you’re kidding yourself and if it isn’t best to hang it up entirely.

But then, every once in a while, you get that feeling that reminds you “Yeah. This is why I have to do this.” And it all feels new again.

I think that’s the trick to any long-term creative endeavor. Perseverance. If you don’t have the determination to see things through, you’re never going to know where that next high is coming from. I think that’s why, despite dropping the update schedule to once a week, it’s going to be hard for me to ever give up Theater Hopper completely. If I do, I’m always going to wonder “But what would have happened if I stuck it out just a little while longer?”

Artistic philosophy aside, let’s talk about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for a minute, shall we?

It didn’t do so hot at the box office. 5th place behind The Other Guys and Inception with $10.5 million in box office receipts. It actually did WORSE than the $11.3 million opening weekend of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

Let’s put it this way: Between the paltry opening of Scott Pilgrim and the $6.8 million opening weekend of Youth in Revolt, I’d be worried about finding work in the future if I were Michael Cera.

I’m not exactly pleased that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World showed so poorly this weekend. But I think it’s failure to connect with audiences reflects two things:

1. I was right about the trailers doing a poor job of giving the people not already familiar with the books a reason to check out the movie (which is ironic because, if you haven’t read the books, today’s comic isn’t going to make sense to you, either).
2. Similar to the failure that resulted in the $13.8 million opening of Snakes on a Plane, The Internet has very little clout when it comes to making underdog movies that they are excited about actually profitable.

I went to a bachelor party on Saturday and fought the crowds at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday. So I didn’t get a chance to see Scott Pilgrim this weekend. With that in mind, I don’t want to talk too much about the movie because sooner or later I’m going to sound like I’m talking straight outta my ass, Ace Ventura-style.

Poor box office or not, I still want to see the movie. I’m still excited about the movie and, ultimately, I’m willing to bet that the film is more than going to make up for any shortcomings in its theatrical run with a strong performance on Blu-ray and DVD.

I had a little more that I wanted to talk about with you guys, but I kind of got sidetracked with my musings about the artistic process and whatnot. Conversations about The Expendables, Eat Pray Love and more might have to wait until later.

I have some big news regarding my personal life that you might already be aware of if you’re following me on Twitter or Facebook. But I’ll spare you the details until it affects things here at Theater Hopper. I have an announcement related to a new Theater Hopper storefront coming soon that I think you guys might find interesting. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, let’s talk a little bit about Scott Pilgrim in the comments, shall we? I know a few of you saw it before opening weekend, but what did the rest of you think? Why did it show so poorly at the box office? Will the movie fail to connect with anyone who didn’t own an NES? Leave your opinions below and thanks for reading Theater Hopper!