As you can probably tell from today’s comic, I kind of have something against Rush Hour 3.

Okay, maybe not the movie. It’s unfair to pass judgment on something I haven’t seen. But I feel I can certainly pass judgment on the antics of it’s cast and director.

There’s something inherently wrong about Chris Tucker being paid $25 million (that’s a $20 million payday with back end percentages) in a deal that makes him more valuable than proven A-listers who have been in the business 20 years or more. Tell you what, Chris – do a movie OTHER than a Rush Hour film, and we’ll talk. Until then, you’re still firmly on the B-list in my mind.

I guess more power to you if you can fool the studio into thinking you’re worth it, but will audiences fall for it? The first Rush Hour was fine. The second one was a little better. But that was six years ago! Does anyone still care?

What I find most distasteful are the trailers with Roman Polanski as a French detective. If you’ve seen it, then you’ve seen the whole rubber glove/cavity search bit, then you get the gist of it. Apparently Polanski’s character is supposed to be “comically sadistic” and performs “terrible acts” on Tucker and Jackie Chan.

If you know anything about Polanski and his troubles with the law here in America in the late 1970’s, you know that he was indited for rape and fled to France where he has avoided extradition. I won’t go into the details of his charges, but you can read about it here.

My point is any movie lowbrow enough to cast Roman Polanski in this winking manner is a movie that is giving me less and less reasons to see it.

That’s a very specific thing to be outraged by and I recognize that the dichotomy will be lost on most people. To the general movie-going audience, it’ll just be another action-comedy romp. But to me, it looks like nothing but a fast grab for cash.

Switching gears, I’m busy getting ready for Wizard World Chicago this weekend. If you’re going to be in the area, I’ll be exhibiting on Artist’s Alley at table 3704 B. I’ll be hard to miss because I’ll be hanging out with my web comic buddies Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey, Joe Dunn and the rest of the Digital Pimp Online Crew and our mutual friend, Taki Soma. Rumor has it that Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex and Brandon J. Carr formerly of The Kenmore will be hanging around, although not exhibiting in an official capacity. I think Joe, Gordon and I are going to try and record an impromptu Triple Feature podcast to post to TalkShoe next Monday. So keep your eyes peeled for our little con report!

You’ll want to swing by my booth because I’ll be giving away free DVD’s to anyone who buys $50 or more in merchandise. So that’s a nice little incentive!

Speaking of buying things, as you guys are aware, Theater Hopper celebrated it’s 5th year anniversary on Sunday. So, in honor of the fans, I’m slashing prices on the Theater Hopper: Year One and Theater Hopper: Year Two books. Now, instead of buying them for $15, you can get them for $10. And if you bundle them together, you can save a buck and get them both for $19.

The promotion only lasts until Friday, so if you want to take advantage of the deal, act now!

As a side note, it’s been interesting to see the slight uptick in t-shirt sales this week. That’s smart thinking, savvy shoppers. Because I’m taking my entire shirt inventory to Chicago. So I can’t make any promises that I’ll have the design you want in the size you want once I get back. If you’ve had your eye on any shirts, now is the time to place your order. I’ll set them aside for you.

Remember, you can always bundle t-shirts together with books or other shirts for more savings!

That about does it for me tonight. There will be a guest strip from my good friend Rex on Friday since I will be “out of the office,” as it were. Rex does a great comic called Make with The Funny that you should check out if you want a little preview of the action that’s to come.

Real quick, thanks to everyone that have sent messages of congratulations and support on the five year anniversary and also thanks to those of you who have been sending in suggestions on how we can fight spammers in the comments section! I would really hate to see the comments section go, so we’re going to do what we can to try and salvage it.

If you have any thoughts about how we can fend off the spammer horde, send me an e-mail and have a great Wednesday!