Posts Tagged ‘cardboard’
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Apologies for the gross lateness of today’s comic. I had a problem with my internet connection Thursday night and couldn’t upload it. Then, on Friday night, my parents came over to the house for dinner and conversation after being on vacation for a week and I was further delayed.
I wish I had a large, profound blog post for you right now. But I don’t – which is a shame, because I would love nothing more than to talk to you about Iron Man right now. Cami and I saw it on Thursday night and LOVED it.
I have a review written for the movie and I will most likely post it Sunday. So you’ll get the full scoop then.
I could literally talk about it for hours and probably will during The Triple Feature podcast on Monday night. So you have that to look forward to as well. No reason burning everyone out on Iron Man discussion just yet.
Here’s to you and yours and hopefully you all have a great weekend.
See you here on Monday. Take care.
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First, if you’re a relatively new reader to the site, then you probably aren’t familiar with the previous story arc that this comic is referencing.
WAAAAAYYY back in 2008 when the original Iron Man was in theaters, I did a story line about Tom going to the movie in costume wearing a homemade costume made out of cardboard boxes. It was pretty well received. I’d be pretty stupid not to revisit the concept now that the sequel is coming.
And, yes, I know that Iron Man 2 won’t be in theaters for two weeks. And, YES, I know that I will be sacrificing easy jokes in reference to Furry Vengeance. But I don’t care. Iron Man 2 is coming and I am BEYOND EXCITED!
Since there will be a lot of Iron Man to cover in the next two weeks, I won’t bore you with a bunch of extraneous fanboy pants-wetting. Instead, I wanted to offer my sincere apology for Monday’s comic being so late.
I was up last night working on the comic and – since I feel so invested in this particular story – I wanted to get the artwork just right. But I had to turn in early and get some sleep because I had two job interviews today and I didn’t want to be a drooling, sleep-deprived zombie all day.
As a result, I was pretty much away from the computer all day today. When I wasn’t in an interview, I was taking care of Pearl. Later in the evening, after we put Pearl and Henry to bed, I participated in the recording of a podcast I was invited to called The F.I.L.M. Army produced by the Fancy Pants Gangsters. It’s a very well-produced and entertaining podcast and you should check it out.
I had a great time shooting the breeze with The F.I.L.M. Army crew for an hour and it reminded me of the good times recording The Triple Feature. There’s an option for me to come back and do more shows and I’m willing to do them. It all depends on when or if they decide to invite me back.
The show I appeared on should go live sometime this weekend and I’ll be sure to remind you when it does. Be on the lookout for that.
In the meantime, sincere apologies again for the late comic. I always feel bad when I can’t meet deadline, but when you have a 4 month old and a job search to juggle, sometimes it’s hard to get the pieces to fall into place.
Feel free to speculate about the forthcoming Iron Man 2 story line and if there is anything specific you’d like to discuss about the film, feel free to do so in the comics.
See you here (hopefully on time!) this Wednesday! THANKS!
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Perhaps it was a foregone conclusion that if Tom was destined to return as Cardboard Iron Man a Cardboard War Machine wouldn’t be far behind. Really, can you blame me? It’s friggin’ War Machine. I don’t even care that the comic character was created in the mid-90’s to make Iron Man darker and more “extreme.” HIS NAME IS WAR MACHINE. It’s literal AND fun to say. Instant win, right there.
The first Iron Man did a good job hinting at War Machine’s inclusion in the franchise after Terrence Howard looked at the Mark II suit in Tony Stark’s garage and said “Next time, baby.”
Of course, now that the sequel is here, it isn’t Howard that will be in the suit. After contract negotiations fell through, Howard has been replaced by Don Cheadle.
For the sake of consistency, I would have preferred Howard kept the role. But it’s hard to complain about Don Cheadle stepping into his shoes. That’s like going to a restaurant and having the waiter take away your hamburger while you’re eating. Then, five minutes later, he comes back with a replacement burger that has cheese and bacon on it.
I’m a little mad you took away my burger while I was eating it. But you gave me cheese and bacon on this new burger. I’m starting to forget about the first burger altogether. Damn, this is a tasty burger!
What I’m saying is that Don Cheadle is awesome.
And a major contributor to heart disease.
That’s all I have for today’s blog. Be sure to check back on Friday for more Iron Man 2 related goodies! Who will show up in costume next? Will the briefcase armor make an appearance? Stay tuned!
In the meantime, why don’t you add your two cents to the conversation about Terrance Howard being replaced by Don Cheadle in the comments section? Good decision? Bad decision? YOU MAKE THE CALL!
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I have to say right now that the response to the last few comics has been phenomenal and I really wanted to thank you guys for the comments and suggestions you’ve been leaving.
A lot of you have been trying to guess where the story line might be going and I LOVE that. It tells me you’re invested in what’s going to happen next. That’s good, because this week was pretty much all exposition – getting all of the characters “in costume,” so to speak, so we can kick the action into high gear next week.
Someone wrote me on Twitter the other day asking if Cami would show up wearing a cardboard Black Widow costume. And while I think the visual gag would have been hilarious (if somewhat difficult to pull off), I decided to play it straight and put Cami in the sexy catsuit instead. I honestly believe this is one of the best renderings of her I’ve ever drawn.
Besides, I think the contrast of a hot babe running around with a couple of dorks in cardboard costumes is still an effective visual gag. It gives you some eye candy, at least!
I was writing on Facebook about how much I’ve been enjoying this story line. Both in terms of what I’ve already accomplished as well as what is lying in store for the weeks ahead. I’m feeling really enthusiastic about it and I hope that enthusiasm is translating for you guys.
I think it boils down to authenticity. I’m a crazy Iron Man fan in real life, so now it’s working it’s way into the comic. I actually consider it a point of pride that I’ve haphazardly “branded” myself as the crazy Iron Man fan. It seems like there isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not talking about Iron Man to someone on Twitter, trying to convince them to pick up Matt Fraction’s recent run on Invincible Iron Man.
When the first movie came out, things were so crazy because people were sending me Iron Man cups from 7-11, stickers, theatrical posters… One guy even sent me a full-sized Iron Man theater standee! It was wild!
All I’m saying is that I appreciate all that stuff but what I appreciate more is that you guys are zeroing in on my passion for the character and are echoing that same enthusiasm. It’s personally very satisfying for me. So, thank you.
As a side note, I’ll mention that a few of you living outside of the United States have already seen the movie and are talking about it. That’s fine, but I’m in total lockdown mode now. I’m not reading any reviews and I’m not watching any more clips. I saw a clip with the briefcase armor and I felt like I had already seen too much. I don’t want to accidentally ruin something else.
That said, I do know some things about the general consensus regarding the film as a bi-product of simply being online and absorbing things. I’ve seen a few headlines raving about it and a few headlines saying its a disappointment.
In my mind, that brings me back to an even keel. It’s not important to me that the critics or blogosphere unanimously love the movie. What is important to me is that I control my expectations walking into the theater and – for once – just enjoy the film while freezing out all of the hype.
I don’t do this very often because, typically, I find the marketing of a film as interesting as the movie itself. But this one is for me to savor. I am greatly looking forward to it.
Not much more for me to say at the moment. If you have thoughts or reactions about today’s strip or the developing story line, feel free to leave them in the comments section. I always welcome your feedback!
Have a great day and enjoy the weekend!
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First of all, my sincere apologies for the flagrant lateness of this comic. I had pretty much spent all day Tuesday in front of the computer working on my final paper and presentation for my Communication Leadership Ethics class that is part of my Master’s program. By the time I finished working on the paper and presentation, went to class that evening and came home, I was wiped out.
I tried working on the comic on Wednesday, but I had to catch up on a million chores that I had let lapse in the days leading up to my final presentation. So I spend most of the day straightening up the house and taking care of Pearl. I wasn’t able to start working on the comic until late Wednesday evening.
It’s crazy… Even though I’m at home now, I feel like I’m more pressed for time than ever. At least when I had a job, I had more of a routine. I could pretty much count on using my lunch hour to pencil and ink the comic.
These days, being home with Pearl means that I have absolutely no routine. I dedicate a lot of my resources to her needs and I can never quite predict exactly what she will need day to day.
Throw on top of that my household chores, working on my Master’s degree and trying to find a job… there is hardly any time left in the day!
I will say I was also somewhat intimidated by the design challenge of Tom’s suitcase armor built out of cardboard. Obviously there is a little creative license being used here. But I wanted it to look SOMEWHAT feasible.
In the end, I think I’m happier with the bad-ass vibe I’m setting up for the big confrontation.
Odds look good that I will be wrapping up this story line sometime next week. I don’t think I’m missing out on much this weekend movie-wise to talk about.
Russel Crowe and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood comes out this weekend. But my interest in watching it is hovering somewhere around 0%.
I thought Cami made a good observation about the film that I think reflects some of the problems with accepting the film as a viable retelling of the Robin Hood myth.
“Robin Hood wasn’t 50 years old,” Cami said. “And Maid Marion wasn’t 40!”
She is, of course, referring to the lovely Cate Blanchett.
I don’t think either of us mean to be completely ageist about it. Certainly the talent that the film has attracted is intriguing. But I think most of us know the story of Robin Hood backwards and forwards. If you’re not going to put a new spin on it, then it basically looks like a Middle Ages version of Gladiator.
Pass.
In the meantime, I’ll be soon working on Friday’s comic and hopefully have it online for you as scheduled.
Thanks again for your patience. I appreciate your understanding.
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Hey, guys. Sorry for the late comic. This is the second deadline in two weeks that I’ve missed and I am NOT PLEASED with myself. Part of doing the comic once a week was to help take the burden of production off my shoulders. It hasn’t worked out that way.
Please understand, however, that these are unusual circumstances. Right now, my life is a maelstrom of activity with a dollop of crazy on top. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that we recently closed on our new home and will be moving on Wednesday. Why I even attempted a comic this weekend is kind of beyond me, especially considering I had a weekend class for my Masters degree on Friday and Saturday. Shoot me?
I’m still not 100% certain that I will be able to bring you a comic NEXT Sunday because I’m not too sure how long it’s going to take to set up the rest of the house once we get there. Obviously the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are first. After that, I don’t know what comes next. I imagine the office falls somewhere in the middle of the priority list.
So I guess you can take that admission as an opportunity to submit a guest comic if you like? I haven’t really reached out to anyone about it, but I would happily run one or two in order to give me a little breathing room. I would think – at the latest – I would be able to provide you with a new comic by Wednesday. Let’s just play it by ear. If you have a guest comic for me, you can send it to theaterhopper@hotmail.com, okay? Thanks!
Truthfully, this move couldn’t have come at a worse time. Between Ben Affleck’s The Town being number one at the box office last weekend and Shia LaBeouf’s Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps coming out THIS weekend, it’s like the perfect storm for me.
In days of yore, this would have been a PERFECT jumping off point for a new storyline that I could have stretched into a 6-comic arc easily. But, now, updating once a week has kind of left me neutered. If I weren’t moving to a new house, I totally would have bucked the system and cranked out a bunch of new comics for you guys.
I don’t know. We’ll see. This confluence of events has given me lots of great ideas. It’s the perfect opportunity to shake off the late-summer doldrums. We’ll see if I can’t play a little catch-up once things settle down.
Frankly, I was so excited by this Affleck/LaBeouf box office sandwich, that I couldn’t decide what to do at first. That’s why I want to extend a tip of the hat to Mike Brinkman who gave me the EXCELLENT idea on Facebook to have Affleck and LaBeouf LITERALLY face off before throwing a certain cardboard Avenger into the mix…
Mike’s original idea was to have “Tom swoop in, in his Iron Man costume and kick the crap out of both of them,” which was good. But it ignored Jared’s mutual dislike for both actors. So I made a last minute switch. Y’know, for continuity’s sake. But thanks to Mike for getting the ball rolling when I’m under so much stress.
Last thing I’ll mention, the movie sale that was going on in the Theater Hopper store has been concluded. The store has currently been disabled to allow me to catch up on orders and reset prices.
If you have an outstanding order, it will most likely be sent out next week. I tried to get as many of them out the door as possible before packing up, but life gets in the way. But you’ll get your orders soon, I promise.
I have to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who either purchased or helped promote the sale. The response was phenomenal and it really helped me to get rid of a lot of merchandise that was weighing me down. I still have a lot of inventory left over (and it’s very, very heavy) but we’re better off now than where we were before.
When the store returns, there will be a few new options – including Artist Editions of each of the three books and a few bundling options to help you save a few extra bucks on pre-packaged items. The holiday season isn’t far away! So if you’re looking for a unique gift in the coming months, keep us in mind.
Once again, thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy your books and t-shirts!
So, let’s stop talking about me for a minute and let’s talk about you. Did anyone see The Town this weekend? What did you think? I heard it was a serviceable crime thriller, but not better than Affleck’s previous directorial outing Gone Baby Gone.
Did anyone see Easy A? Cami was asking me if we could see that movie this weekend, but there was no way we were getting out of the house. I was kind of surprised that it was on her radar. Talking to a few female friends, they seemed very interested in the film as well. Personally, I’m a huge Emma Stone fan. I think she’s whip-smart and hot as hell. Her talent seems very effortless.
Easy A almost took down The Town for the top spot at the box office this weekend, so there must be something to it. If you saw it, leave your comments below!
Thanks again for everyone’s patience. I hope to be up to full-strength soon! Remember, if you have a guest comic you’d like to share, feel free to send it to theaterhopper@hotmail.com!
LATER!
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Today’s comic is a continuation of last Monday’s and it’s a little bit weird to attempt a storyline now that I’m only updating once a week. We’ll have to see if I can’t expedite things a little bit. Stay tuned.
I guess I had always planned on doing a follow-up comic for Tron: Legacy (considering it comes out this week) but aping the movie’s plot device wasn’t originally in the cards. The suggestion to receive correspondence from the cardboard factory actually came from Phil “Frumph” Hofer on Twitter last week.
You probably don’t know Phil, but you should. Phil is the programmer that took over development of the comic archiving system ComicPress about a year ago and he’s been rocking the code ever since. He’s helped organize the back end of Theater Hopper in ways I can’t even describe. In fact, he made some changes to the site yesterday while we were IM’ing each other and I’m pretty sure he’s a wizard.
You may have already noticed it, but it was Phil who added the handy Facebook “Like” button you see to the right of the comic’s navigation. I’ve been looking for something like this that I could integrate into the site for weeks, but I could never get it to look right. Phil took care of it in about 15 minutes.
Incidentally, I hope the button’s placement of that button results in more people “liking” the comic so it can be shared with others on their Facebook profile pages. It would be a great way to help spread the word about Theater Hopper. Let’s face it: You’re already on Facebook 12 hours a day anyway. Is clicking my “like” button really taking that much skin off your back?
I should also mention that the Theater Hopper fan page is within striking distance of 900 followers. So if you’re not already a fan, check us out over there. I keep the account fairly active, share movie news and trailers there as well.
Last night, I tried something a little different and posted a video thanking a fan for the generosity they showed me recently. Reaction to the video seemed to be positive. I might post more videos there in the future if they appears to be an interest in that kind of thing.
Anyway, I got sidetracked. Bringing the conversation back to Phil for a minute, the man is doing fantastic work behind-the-scenes for the webcomics community and I wanted to make sure that he gets the recognition he deserves. Phil is a fantastic resource that is raising the level of professionalism for everyone. Even if you don’t have a comic of your own, you probably owe him thanks for helping to improve the interface of the comics you read.
Incidentally, coding development takes time and money. So if you want to help Phil out by donating, I’m sure he would appreciate it.
Anyway, not much more to add to today’s post. But stay tuned this week for extra comics. I’m going to see if I can’t kick things up a notch to help move this storyline along before the glut of holiday films start filling up theaters.
Cheers!
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After the idea was introduced that Tom’s Father was calling to him from beyond, I started to think about the father/son themes in Tron: Legacy. It wasn’t long before I transposed that exploration over to The Empire Strikes Back. Thus, a sci-fi mash-up was born. I hope you like it.
I went a little gonzo with the double-sized comic. Mostly because I knew there was no way I could fit all of it into four panels. Or, more accurately, inside the digital same real estate my average comic takes up.
So I went for broke. Decided to do a larger comic. Of course that meant the comic was a little bit late. But when you think about it, you’re kind of getting two comics this week instead of one. So that shakes out, right?
Working on this strip last night, I definitely had a sense that I had bitten off more than I could chew. But I could see the goal line on the horizon. I knew even if the joke didn’t go over, I would at least be happy with the results. Visually, the comic is pretty much everything I envisioned – and that’s a pretty satisfying feeling.
I haven’t yet managed to see Tron: Legacy yet, but monitoring the response to it on Twitter this weekend was interesting. Reactions seem to be split into two camps – people who thought the plot and dialogue was stupid while appreciating the special effects and everyone else who seemed to say “C’mon, guys! Tron: Legacy wasn’t THAT bad!”
An airtight argument to be sure.
It sounds like there’s enough about Tron: Legacy to admire from an effects standpoint, but I’ve also hear that if you’re not a tech geek, it can kind of leave you cold. I’m not worried. Tron: Legacy looks like it fits directly in my wheelhouse.
I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to see the film. A friend of mine wants to organize a “guys night out” with a bunch of friends to go check it out together. With the holidays in the way, it might be a while before I’ll finally get my chance.
Here’s something I haven’t heard people talking about… the 3D. Seems like Disney was push Tron: Legacy in 3D and IMAX pretty hard, but I’ve not heard anyone’s opinions about it.
I’m kind of against the idea of seeing it in 3D. Aside from the glowing suits, the film already looks dimly lit. Why do I want to throw on a pair of 3D glasses and drop the brightness on the picture another 20%?
If you saw Tron: Legacy in 3D, what was your take? Worth it or not?
That’s all for me. Feel free to leave your comments below. If you liked today’s double-comic, click that little Facebook “Like” button to the lower right. I’d appreciate it.
Cheers!
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