CAUGHT WITH YOUR EMOTIONAL PANTS DOWN
January 21st, 2004 | by Tom









(11 votes, average: 9.09 out of 10)
Don’t forget to vote for Theater Hopper at BuzzComix so you can see our extra-special incentive sketch! I was really happy with how this one turned out.
Speaking of happy endings, it doesn’t end with the incentive sketch. I’m darn pleased with how today’s comic panned out. As you can see, I broke the traditional 4 panel set up and it feels good. Plus, I’m happy with the script. I think it’s a good joke. I mean, what man *wouldn’t* try to cover up the fact he was watching Steel Magnolias by falsely admitting he was watching porn instead? I like doing the relationship stuff…
But enough bragging. I have VERY important news for all of you.
If you had an account before, please re-register. If you haven’t had a chance to participate in the community, now is an excellent time to start!
If you’ve had a chance to swing by them since our recent server outage, you may have noticed that the forums have a new look. In fact, this is as closely integrated to the overall site design as they have ever been. You can thank Michael Melgares for that. When I put out the call for a little help formatting the forum template pages, he answered and then went above and beyond the call of duty.
Michael instantly understood what I was looking for and took immediate steps to put it into action. Without any prompting from myself, Michael whipped up a demo version of the forums. A couple of small tweaks later and now we have the forum you see today! Michael did in just a few days what probably would have taken me weeks to do otherwise.
To thank Michael, he’ll be given full administrator status in the forum. So for those of you who do business there, please show him the respect he deserves. He’s earned it.
As for the rest of you who wrote in and offered your services, I’m sorry if I couldn’t return a personal note of thanks. Frankly, the outpouring of support was more than I bargained for. A lot of you took your time to write in and I sincerely appreciate it.
I think every web comic creator likes to think that their audience is the most loyal or most intelligent. But I think we have them all beat because we have the largest contingency of both! You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for your help!
Just as a clue to what’s coming down the pike, you can expect to see Micheal’s name popping up more often around here. He’s offered up great suggestions to make the site better. In fact, he’s working on a specialty application right now that I really think is going to add incredible value to the site. I won’t go into details as to what it is, but I can say it will bring a greater level of interactivity to the readers. I’m really looking forward to launching it.
I have a lot of great stuff lined up for the site including additions to the Bonus Materials pages. Guest strips and fan art, for starters (I know, I know. I’ve been talking about that for a while.) Plus a new movie review from my good friend Nick Caster. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that.
Please take advantage of everything the site has to offer. I’m having a great time assembling everything and I hope you enjoy it.
Talk to you soon!
I thought today’s incentive sketch turned out really well, so I thought I would take a little extra time and finish it off with color. I hope you enjoy it!
So there is no confusion, I’m not making fun of virgins in this strip. It’s very important that I stress that. That’s why Tom and Jared don’t make a big deal about Jimmy’s admission. He assumed incorrectly that there would be a negative stigma. Meanwhile, these guys just wanted to see the movie.
I’m not a religious guy, so I’m not necessarily bound by the convictions of the faith. I’ve just seen enough people regret their actions later down the line that I applaud anyone smart enough and emotionally mature enough to wait for the person they plan to be with the rest of their lives.
In terms of my introduction to such matters, you’ll get no such information from me!
In that regard, I feel badly for the star of The 40 Year-Old Virgin – Steve Carell – because I’m sure he has to put up with a litany of dumb questions about his own virginity while he’s making the promotional rounds for this movie. I’m certain that every interviewer who asks him how and when he lost his “special purpose” things they are being bold, original or clever. But Steve’s a sharp tack. I’m sure he has some deadpan comebacks ready for them.
Things have been… interesting for me the last few days. I don’t know if I can explain much more than that without giving away information I don’t want to share. But our family has been through the wringer the last few weeks. This weekend is all about recharging the batteries and staring down some challenges ahead of us. We’re seeing The 40 Year-Old Virgin, of course. But Broken Flowers finally opens in Des Moines this weekend and I’m really excited to see that. A Sunday matinee there awaits us.
Seems like this summer has been such a drag for movies. Anything I’m interested in seeing arrives in theaters in bulk. So I’ll go a few weeks without seeing anything, then go to 2 or 3 movies in a weekend right on top of each other.
I want to be sure and remind everyone about the Theater Hopper LiveJournal syndication feed we’re rockin’. So if you have an LJ account, add us to your friends list and get all of the updates posted to the site as soon as the occur.
Also buy some t-shirts if you’re so inclined. I just got a bundle of them in on Tuesday so it’s very likely that I have your size and can send you one! I have a bunch of orders I wasn’t able to fill because I ran out of inventory, so those guys come first. But I deliberately over-ordered so I would have some ready to go.
I hope you and yours are well. Have a great weekend.