What was Tom thinking about? Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comic to view the incentive sketch that explains it all. Or none of it! You’ll have to click to find out!
By the way, great job with the voting, guys. We’re doing well on the charts. Almost 750 so far in January. I think that’s great for only updating once a week! Keep it up!
I apologize for the comic being late this week. I was laid low by a migraine Sunday night that made it kind of impossible to sit upright or, y’know… be exposed to light. I don’t often get migraines. Usually they’re brought on by stress. I would say last week was pretty stressful.
I’m doing better, though. I was having a hard time reconciling the decision to announce Theater Hopper’s conclusion in August. I even made a video about it. I posted it to the blog last week, but I know most of you probably missed it. I wanted to post it again just to kind of get it out of my system. Also because I think it has a message that is worth listening to, even if I did kind of stumble onto it at the end.
Keep in mind that the video was recorded the evening after I made the announcement, so everything is pretty much sitting right on the surface here.
But like I said, I’m doing much better now. Everyone has been amazingly supportive and understanding. I know that announcing the end this far out was absolutely the right decision to make.
I mean, if I was having this kind of difficulty a week ago, announcing the comic ending with no warning would have been much, much more upsetting. I’m positive it would have alienated fans and left a bad taste in my mouth personally – with the potential to ruin the last 10 years of my work. That’s not how I wanted to go out.
But, yeah. Moving forward. Now with another comic under my belt since making the announcement, it’s getting easier. I’m getting used to the idea and I’m excited about what’s coming next.
That said, I knew what this week’s comic was going to be about a week ago. I probably should have had it in the can earlier so I could have posted regardless of whether or not I had a migraine. But I’ve been working without a buffer for this long. It’s kind of hard to change my stripes now.
BY THE WAY… THE STORE
Now that we’re all on the same page with the comic ending in August, I have to undertake the unfortunate business of clearing out the Theater Hopper store. I need your help with this. Nothing is going to bum me out more than looking into a closet full of Theater Hopper merchandise 8 months from now and thinking “Dammit. Now what I am supposed to do with this stuff?”
That’s why I’ve gotten a little aggressive with the pricing. Right now you can buy two books and get one for free. That offer also extends to shirts – buy any two shirts and get one free.
It’s likely that most of you reading this have already bought a book or shirt for yourself in the past. But don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of these deals now. Buy a shirt for your little brother. Buy a book as a birthday gift for a movie-loving friend. Don’t be afraid that they won’t like it. I sell these things to people at comic book conventions who have never heard of webcomics, let alone Theater Hopper. Without fail, they come back the next day looking for more. You’re friends will love this it – and they’ll really appreciate that you bought them something unique.
In an effort to pick off the low-hanging fruit, I’m going to feature an individual item until I’m sold out of inventory. The first item in my sights is this t-shirt design, “Emerging.”
This was actually a design I created for Threadless a few years ago. It didn’t get picked up, but I liked it enough to produce it myself.
I literally have TWO of these shirts left – one XL and one 2XL. I’m selling them for a paltry $5.00. Two of you are going to pick them up. Bundle them with two more shirts and you’ll get this shirt for free! You can’t beat that.
C’mon. Who’s gonna help get the ball rolling?
I’m sorry to have to push the hard sell on you guys. But like I said, I don’t want August to come around and be confronted with a closet-full of unsold Theater Hopper merchandise. It’s too sad to contemplate. Help a buddy out. If you can’t make a purchase, at least use the little Facebook and Twitter buttons on the pages of the items you like and share them with your friends. Who knows – maybe they’ll take a look?
That’s all I have for now. More comics soon. And thanks again for all of your support!
But that's a good thing, right?
You always said he was kind of noncommittal when you talked about it in the past, right?
It's encouraging that he brought it up on his own!
Well, yeah.
I guess it just caught me by surprise.
It makes me wonder what he was thinking.
ELSEWHERE...
WHAT WAS I THINKING?!
This comic has helped me get through a lot of stuff over the years. I check it every day still, in the hopes that i’ve magically skipped through time to an update day. Then i just waste time going through the archives.
Great comic, we’re all going to miss it. :'(
Also…. does the 3 for 2 book offer extend to the artist editions??? =D
Yes, indeed. The 2 for 3 offer applies to the artist editions as well!
Haha!! Well worth the wait!
The video almost brought me to tears, dude. I’ve been reading for almost four years and have loved ever bit of time I’ve spent with it. I hope that I can get a job and buy some books and shirts before it all closes down. I wish you all the best. Thank you so much for being there to entertain me.
Hi Tom,
just wanted to say I love the comic and I’m glad you re-posted the video again as I missed it the first time. It was a beautiful and inspiring video.
Although I’ll be sad to see the end of Theater Hopper, I feel lucky that I got the privilege of being able to read your amazing work week after week.
I wish you all the best of the luck for the future wherever that takes you, and I look forward to seeing where you take the next 8 months of comics.
Thanks again for having the confidence and drive to put your stuff out there, you gave a little sunshine to the working week.
Hey Tom,
I haven’t bought your books yet (shame on me I know) but I had been thinking about doing so, and more so now with you closing down shop.
But now I’m wondering if you’ll offer the last comics that aren’t in the other books in a 4th book, or possibly just one really big anthology of the entire thing?
Tom… not to be redundant but I posted this on Facebook a few days ago. I just wanted you to know that as a fan of the strip, I’m behind you 100% with your decision. Even though I was different. Forgive my reposting if you’ve already seen it….
“Tom, while I’ve only been reading TH for the last few years (after being introduced during your run on First Showing) I must say that it’s been a really enjoyable experience. Along with everyone else, I was a bit bummed out when you went from 3 strips a week down to one. At that point, I figured that one is better than nothing, right? Now that you are ending the strip entirely, I’m as disappointed as can be. Not disappointed in you, but disappointed that we’re losing an entertaining few moments, and for most of us a bright spot in an otherwise typically blah Monday. Being a busy person and also having a family, I can certainly understand your struggle and I think that you are making the right choice for you and your family. I admire the fact that you’d rather set a date and give it up with some finality instead of just letting it fade out and away, and commend you for sharing your plan ahead of time and allowing us to ride out these last few months with you.
Thanks again for all of your work, and for entertaining us for so long. I’m still thrilled with the fact that I was able to contribute a thought and have it work into one of your strips. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of the sale on your books, and I look forward to having a chance to catch up on the years that I missed.”
In addition to the books, I’m also planning on ordering a commissioned post card. I just have to figure out what I want it to be.
Take care!
“I just wanted you to know that as a fan of the strip, I’m behind you 100% with your decision. Even though I was different….”
That was supposed to say “Even though I wish it was different….” 😉