For those of you who are regular readers to the site, the name David Buist should be a familiar one to you. In addition to writing and drawing the excellent web comic Taking the Bi-Pass, David is also the author of several of the ultra-cool applications running on this very site. The Top 50 list, the blog comments and the movie review database (currently being refurbished to fit the new design scheme). David has a generous spirit beyond compare and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s given to Theater Hopper. Help me return the favor to David by bookmarking Taking the Bi-Pass and checking his site every day. It’s worth it. Trust me.
Incidentally, David will be a parent as well in a few months. So, in addition to returning the favor on the guest comic rounds, we’ll probably be up IM’ing each other late at night trading child-rearing tips and figuring out how we can get our respective tots off to sleep. Congrats, David!
In addition to David’s strip today, you guys will want to take a break from your Valentine’s Day activities on Wednesday to check the site for a guest essay written by none other than Jerry Holkins from Penny Arcade.
I’ve been teasing Jerry’s contribution for about a week now, but it’s time to come clean. I don’t want to lay all the cards out on the table just yet. I need something to talk about on Wednesday! But I think you’ll all get a real kick out of Jerry’s work. It speaks directly toward the themes of fatherhood, responsibility and – yes – even movies. And isn’t that what this whole month has been about?
Of course, on Friday, there will be another original strip from me (about Ghost Rider, natch) but I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty hard act to follow.
What’s up in movie land? Well, Eddie Murphy’s Norbit was number one at the box office this weekend blowing away it’s nearest competition Hannibal Rising by more than double it’s take. $33 million in three days? Seriously – what’s wrong with America?
All I can say is that I hope the payday was worth it for Murphy. Despite Roger Ebert’s endorsement for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, there is palpable public sentiment that he doesn’t deserve it (NSFW!). Couple this with the projects he’s lining up post-Norbit (like a FOURTH Beverly Hills Cop) and you can pretty much categorize Murphy as artistically bankrupt.
In other more… depressing news?… Cami and I watched Half Nelson last night. I was able to get my hands on a screener copy before it comes out on DVD Tuesday. We were both curious to see it because it was a blip on our radar when it was in theaters last year and because Ryan Gosling is the dark horse contender in the Best Actor race this year. It was well worth the viewing, I must share. The subject matter appears to be both rote and bleak when read from the page. It’s the story of a inner-city history teacher (Gosling) who through his own unique perspective gets his students to think for themselves. This sounds like territory previously mined from Dangerous Minds or more recently Freedom Writers. But there’s a twist. Gosling has a dingy apartment and a nasty drug habit and one of his students finds out.
Everything that happens from there completely deviates from every other inner city education movie cliche you can imagine and it’s very interesting to watch it unfold. Without giving too much away, there is a reason Gosling was nominated in a performance that hardly anyone saw. For those that have witnessed it, his performance is very nuanced and empathetic. Well worth the rent when it comes out on Tuesday. Check it out.
Incidentally, we’ll be talking about Half Nelson along with The Bicycle Thief in the first half hour of The Triple Feature talkcast tonight at 9:00 pm CST. If that sounds too cerebral for your tastes, we’ll be talking about romantic comedies in the second half hour in honor of Valentine’s Day this week. Join us tonight at 9:00 pm CST when Gordon, Joe and myself talk about all the sappiest, gooiest movies ever to ham-handedly yank a heartstrings. It should be a lot of fun.
That’s all for now. See you guys here on Wednesday!
Apologies to Joe Dunn for not publishing his guest strip earlier. The reason for which is two-fold:
1.) Uhh… having a newborn is time consuming. I have recently learned this.
2. Tycho from Penny Arcade linked to the site on Monday and TH was on the receiving end of a proper”wanging.” I’m not complaining. It’s a good problem to have. Service is spotty right now and we’re looking at opening up a little more bandwidth, but I’m kind of on the periphery of those changes at the moment.
Be that as it may, I wanted to get Joe’s comic in front of the new influx of readers because his web comic Joe Loves Crappy Movies is quite wonderful and I want all of you to know about it.
It may have been the lack of sleep, but when Joe sent me his comic not long after Henry had been born, I teared up a little. I found it to be very personal and touching, which is always appreciated. Love that Iron Man reference, Joe!
Thanks also to Tycho for his link. Not for what it means for the site, but so I could share my joy not only with my readers but with Penny Arcade’s readers as well. What a privilege. Not everyone can say they can share the news of their son’s birth around the globe to tens of thousands of people. It sounds like a cool story to tell him when he’s older. “They celebrated your birth around the planet, little guy.”
At any rate, if you’re new to the site, WELCOME! I hope you keep us in your bookmarks and come back to visit us when things have settled down a little.
Thanks to everyone who left their well wishes in the comments section of Monday’s blog before the site went ker-flooey. I read all of them to Cami in the hospital. Both she and Henry are doing great. He was sleeping about 3 hours at a stretch while we were in the hospital, so that gives us hope.
We brought him home today. It’s been a little rough because he’s been very gassy and nearly inconsolable. But as I was typing this, he let out the biggest gurgle of a fart you can imagine and I almost started crying. It sucks when you know what the problem is with your child and you can’t help him. So, just as he was relieved, so was I.
Pictures and whatnot are still forthcoming. We just have to find some gaps in the day when we aren’t sleeping to do it. It’s nice being home. All three of us were getting a little annoyed at how often people were coming into the room for one reason or another. I’m not talking about the friends and family that came to visit us. We were always thankful to see them. I’m really not even talking about the doctors or nurses. They provided us with EXCELLENT care and we were thoroughly impressed.
It’s just that… after a while… it all becomes a little overwhelming and you need a quiet moment. Coming home with Henry today was all about having that quiet time together. Phones were unhooked, televisions were turned off and we spent all of our time just staring at him.
Oh – for anyone who was wondering, Truman took to Henry immediately and their introduction couldn’t have gone smoother. We put him down in his car seat and Truman stuck his nose in under the blanket we were using to cover him up. We took the blanket away and Truman sniffed him all over, wagging his tale happily. He didn’t lick or bark or do anything to startle him. I think he was happy to see Cami and I after three days and really happy to meet the newest member of the family. He’s been great all day. He can certainly sense that Cami is a little tender from her surgery and that’s she’s recovering. He’s not as rough as he sometimes can be. He’s curling up at the foot of our bed and sometimes giving us our space by sleeping on his floor pillow – which he NEVER does.
Anyway, we were thrilled that he took to Henry so well. We were a little worried he’d get too excited and would be careless.
As for me? What can I say? I’m happy and that sums things up perfectly.
Come back to the site again on Friday. I’ll have a whole new comic from yours-truly posted on the site. Hopefully on time.
Thanks for your patience and support as we sort things out around here. Cami, Henry and I appreciate all the kind words!
Today’s guest strip comes courtesy of Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. You might not immediately recognize his style in this piece since it was hand drawn. Gordon puts together Multiplex completely in Adobe Illustrator. Personally, I get a real kick out of his hand drawn style. It shows Gordon has the artistic fundamentals that make the vector output of Multiplex that much more satisfying.
If you haven’t read Multiplex, now is a good time. I know you guys would love it. Just as Theater Hopper focuses on the fan experience of going to the movies, Multiplex covers things from the other side of the concessions counter by focusing on the employees of a movie theater. Gordon deftly juggles several characters and their complicated relationships, providing a clear voice for each one.
Incidentally, Gordon (along with Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies) is one of the co-hosts of The Triple Feature talkcast broadcast live every Monday at 9:00 p.m. CST over at TalkShoe. I wasn’t able to participate in this week’s show since I needed to make myself available to Cami and Henry after putting in an 8-hour work day, but I’ve downloaded a copy of the broadcast from iTunes and it was a really good show. Joe called in from a bar! The lush!
Today will be the last guest strip before I return to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the work submitted by the guest artists. It’s been a crazy month! There will be a new comic from me on Friday and then it’s back to the grind.
I’ve been trying to prepare for my re-insertion back into the site. I’m working ahead and I already have next Monday’s comic done. I’m half way through with Wednesday’s comic. It’s colored and now I’m working on shading. I was lucky last night that we were able to put Henry down for a nap after feeding him and he slept for about 3 hours. You can really get a lot of work done when you don’t know when your kid is about to wake up from a nap! A great motivator! Hopefully I can stay ahead of the curve and produce comics in advance of their deadline so I’m not stressed out during the week. This is a new method of working for me. Typically I produce a comic the day before it’s posted on the site. After nearly 5 years, it’s taking some getting used to working a full week in advance!
All I know is that I hope I can continue to do comics in color. I was tempted to do them in black and white until I got back into the swing of things, but I always think about the books I hope to produce with these comics and how disappointed I would be in myself if I printed up a book that was part color and part black and white. It would be like it was unfinished, or something!
Speaking of which, I’m going to start early chipping away at “Theater Hopper: Year Three.” My plan is to have it finished by Wizard World Chicago in August, so I’m giving myself a lot of rope! By the way, one of those navigation links at the top of the page is finally working. It’s the TOUR page. If you guys want to see what conventions I’ll be attending this year, click here. I’ve got four on my plate for 2007.
One last bit of site news, today is the last day to pre-order the Junkie t-shirt. So if you want to make sure I have your size in stock, order today!
Keep in mind that all bundle discounts apply to this pre-order, so if you’re thinking about getting one of our two books, you can take advantage of that as well.
Anyway, gotta go. See you Friday!
GUEST STRIP – PAUL SPENCER
August 13th, 2007 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(2 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)
Hey, everyone!
First of all, I have to apologize for there not being a comic on Friday. Originally, the plan was to update using my laptop while I was in Chicago. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of assuming that my hotel was up to speed with 21st century technology and would offer free wi-fi access.
They did not.
Well, that’s not exactly true. The did offer wi-fi, but they charged $10 a day! Sorry, but when I’m paying out the nose for a room, don’t add insult to injury.
I probably would have been able to update Thursday night if there was free wi-fi, but the rest of the weekend was absolutely crazy. I had a great time, though and I’m going to give you guys the full convention run down on Wednesday along with my traditional post-convention wrap up comic.
Last but not least, I need to give my thanks to Paul Spencer for his excellent comic. Paul draws Make With the Funny and delivers on that promise every week. His art is excellent and I want to steal his brain to learn his coloring and shading techniques.
Sincere apologies for not getting the comic up on Friday, Paul. But maybe it works out better since your comic updates each Monday.
Check out his site, folks. Send him the love!
GUEST STRIP – RYAN ESTRADA
September 17th, 2007 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(9 votes, average: 7.78 out of 10)
Here’s the thing: If you have a web comic and Ryan Estrada one day contacts you and says “Hey, I want to do a guest strip for you!” you’re answer will be an ethusiastic "Okay!’
So there you have it. Kind of random but no less welcome. Gotta give him props for the reference to The Gods Must Be Crazy. Dig that zany sight gag in the background of the first panel, too. Ryan, you scamp!
Be sure to show Ryan your appreciation by checking out his blog site as well as new site, Cartoon Commune. The later is a very interesting project that he’s working on. Well worth your time.
Thanks, Ryan!
Not much to report from the movie front this weekend. It looks like The Brave One grabbed the top spot, but a few hard hits from critics low-balled it’s box office take by about $5 million. Early estimates put it around $20 million.
I stayed at home for the most part. Cami went with friends to see Finding Jane (the fictionalized upbringing of Jane Austen starring Anne Hathaway) and hated it. She couldn’t even quantify her distaste for it except to say that the recent remake of Pride & Prejudice with Keira Nightley was better. Uh… okay.
Meanwhile, I was at home with Henry this weekend and, after putting him to bed, I sat down to watch Army of Darkness and Accepted.
Army of Darkness needs no introduction. Most people are on the same page with me there. But it’s a weird movie for me because it’s kind of an echo of an echo after Evil Dead 1 and Evil Dead 2. It’s also the kind of movie where the action pieces are so indelible everything else seems mundane. As such, I tend to forget the boring parts and somehow trick myself into thinking I haven’t seen the movie for a while. I dunno it’s hard to explain. All the same, Bruce Campbell rocks my world. They need to get him in a movie with Kurt Russell quick.
Accepted was that dumb "let’s invent a fake college" movie with Justin Long that came out last year. I kind of wanted to see it when it was in theaters, but I’m glad I didn’t. It was awful. Long pretty much spends the entire movie immidating Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill as his sidekick is stuck playing it at about a 5 when I want to see him play it at a 10. I kept wanting to see their roles reversed. I think Long is much funnier when he’s kind of stumbling around and self-concious, not Mr. Cool Lookitme. It’s the same reason I don’t like him in those Mac Vs. PC ads. And I’m sorry, but after seeing Hill in Superbad and Knocked Up – that’s prettty much how I want him to play every character all the time from here on out.
These are issues I will likely address in this weeks Triple Feature broadcast. Since we’re pretty much stuck in a post-summer slow down at the theater, Joe, Gordon, Brian and I agreed to open up the topic of conversation to the movies we’re watching on TV and DVD as well. I mean, why not? You can’t be topical all the time. And besides, the strength of our show is that it’s basically a bunch of friends mouthing off about movies like any other group of friends would. It’s not serious film criticism. It’s fun!
If it sounds like your kind of fun, swing on over to our page over at Talkshoe about 8:45 PM CST tonight and listen in. It’s always a good time!
That’s all I have for the time being. Although I’m, like 85% complete with a t-shirt design based off the poster design I made for the fake movie "EXPLOSIONS!" from last Wednesday strip. I might be back soon with another post to show it off. If the reponse is encouraging, expect a pre-sale on new shirts this week!
Talk to you soon!
GUEST STRIP – VIC TAPLIN AND DING
October 15th, 2007 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(5 votes, average: 8.20 out of 10)
This is going to be a weird week for me because I’ll be in Chicago undergoing a three day training seminar about Flash ActionScript. Hey, it never hurts to learn new things!
As such, I’ve recruited the services of a few guest strip artists to fill in the blanks. Many thanks to Vic Taplin and Ding for their excellent guest comic today. Could the Ministry of Cinema actually be something in my future? Let’s hope so!
You might remember Vic and Ding’s previous guest strip back when the first Fantastic Four movie came out. If you like what you see, be sure to check out their site Ninjabread. Vic told me they were having some PHP problems, but they expect for that to be cleared up by the end of the week. So keep checking back.
As for me, it’s Sunday afternoon and I need to wrap this up. My flight leaves in a couple of hours and I haven’t packed yet! I’m probably going to spend the evening holed up in my hotel room watching Planet Terror and writing a review that’ll go up on Tuesday – that is, if I can find some cheap wireless to connect with somewhere.
As for Monday night (tonight) I’m still planning on chipping in with The Triple Feature podcast at 9:00 PM CST. Since I’m in The City of Big Shoulders, I might be getting together with Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex and we’ll broadcast together. Gordon calls The Windy City his home, so it will be cool to hang out with him.
That’s all for now. Sorry for the short post. Gotta kiss my wife and baby goodbye and then I gotta jet!
GUEST STRIP – JOE DUNN
October 17th, 2007 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(2 votes, average: 6.00 out of 10)
Wednesday is my last day here in Chicago while I am undergoing training in ActionScript for my 9 to 5 job. As such, I had to call in the big guns to provide some support. Today’s guest strip is courtesy of my good friend Mighty Joe Dunn!
If you don’t know Joe’s work, you’re living under a rock. To shine a little light under that rock, I strongly advise you to visit Joe Loves Crappy Movies.
I love this strip. Joe was a little self-conscious about it when he sent it to me because it wasn’t in color and not up to the standard that he usually holds himself accountable toward. But I told him not to sweat it. I thought the joke was great and I love the multi-panel approach.
You have to keep this in context, folks. I dropped my guest comic request on Joe at the 11th hour just as he had one foot out the door to attend the Small Press Expo that was going on in Bethesda, Maryland last weekend. He got this strip done while he was on the convention floor. Giving up his valuable time when he could have been making mad money. So, more than a tip of the hat to Joe. The man is awesome. Period.
If you’re a fan of The Triple Feature – the weekly talkcast that Joe, myself and our friend Gordon McAlpin run every Monday night – you might have noticed we were out of commission yesterday. Notorious TalkShoe “technical difficulties” got in the way and we had to scrap the show.
The deck was kind of stacked against us to begin with. Joe was going to log in as me since I was without an internet connection and then Gordon and I were going to call in from my hotel room. Y’see, Gordon lives in the Chicagoland area and swung by after work to hang out.
Due to no fault of our own, the show failed to materialize, so we had to abandon it. We’ll be back next week to talk more movies with you!
Speaking of movie talk, did you guys get a chance to check out my DVD review for Planet Terror? I posted it yesterday. You should read it. I’m going to post another review tomorrow. One for Transformers. So be sure to check that out as well.
By the way, I still have this awesome piece of movie memorabilia to give away:
It’ll probably be another mailing list giveaway like I did with Evan Almighty last week. Mailing list message go out every Friday, so if you want a chance to win this action figure, sign up now!
Something else happening Friday – I have some important site-related news I want to share with all of you, but I have to hold off until Friday until things settle down a bit. There is a subtle change behind-the-scenes that I think will improve what I’m doing on the site that I want to talk about. It’s kind of a long-winded deal and I want to wait until I’m back home and in my routine again before I talk about it.
Have a great day and be sure to visit the site again tomorrow!
GUEST STRIP – WES MOLEBASH
May 19th, 2008 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(4 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)
Apologies for the delay today. It’s been hectic to be sure.
If you read last Friday’s blog, you know that there are no new comics from me this week because I am in Rochester, Minnesota to support my Dad as he undergoes open heart surgery to repair his mitral valve.
The goal was to have guest strips for you this week and I was going to lead off with a submission from Brandon J. Carr. Personal issues sidelined Brandon and caused a delay. Originally we thought he might have something for you this morning, but that didn’t shake out. So he’ll be along later in the week.
In the meantime, please enjoy this thoughtful contribution from Wes Molebash – the amazingly talented writer and illustrator of You’ll Have That.
I love Wes’s comic because I think he writes relationships really well. Plus, I think he captures something honest in his portrayal of a young married couple that I don’t think we get to see enough of in comics these days! Incidentally, has anyone else noticed that Wes’s art has taken a leap in quality lately? I gotta remember to pick his brain sometime!
I wish I had more to contribute right now, but I’m actually headed out the door again to have dinner with my parents.
My Dad was actually here early today where they performed an angiogram that didn’t turn up any blockage (a good thing) and tomorrow is the big show. I don’t know if I’ll be back later tonight to blog more on the subject, but I might have more to say in the next few days. So check back often.
A quick programming note, due to my absence, there will be no recording of The Triple Feature podcast.
Thanks to all of you who have sent in e-mails of support. I appreciate it. I’ll be keeping in communication, but be sure to check out the site this week for more excellent guest strips!
Take care!
GUEST STRIP – BRANDON J. CARR
May 21st, 2008 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(3 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)
Hey, guys. Thanks for visiting the site today. I really hope you enjoy today’s guest strip from Brandon J. Carr. I think it’s an excellent Indiana Jones parody and I love Brandon’s style. I’ll tell you – if I was one TENTH the cartoonist Brandon is, I’d be going places!
Brandon has a comic called Weird Adventures In Unemployment that you really need to check out. He also has a blog that he semi-regularly updates and the dude just celebrated his birthday! So wish him well!
Thanks, Brandon!
Thanks also to those of you who have sent their positive comments and prayers to me and my family as my Dad underwent open heart surgery yesterday. I tried to provide updates through the day with my Twitter account and it helped keep me sane. It also helped that the hospital staff kept us updated every step of the way. We knew what time he went into surgery, what time the first incision was made, what time he was on the heart/lung bypass machine and what time he was stitched up and moved to ICU. It made the wait much less agonizing.
I came back to the hotel room last night and wrote a complete recap on my LiveJournal. So if you want to read it, that’s where it’s at.
I wish I could talk more about movies. The Cannes Film Festival was over the weekend and Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull is creating a lot of buzz. I am peripherally aware of these things right now, but it’s just not my focus. Give me a week or so to get back on track.
Actually, I have kind of a funny blog post in mind about a Indiana Jones toy I received from Burger King last week. It’s about Shia LaBeouf. I took pictures and everything.
Anyway, that’s all from me this morning. I’m going to get ready and swing by the hospital for a visit. I’ll probably be there until the afternoon before I have to go home to Cami and Henry. I got a call from my Mom this morning. She couldn’t sleep and went over early. Dad is alert and awake. Uncomfortable, but doing well. The surgery really went as well as we could have hoped for. Now we’re focused on recovery.
Thanks again for your patience and support. I’ll talk to you again soon.
GUEST STRIP – CLAY AND HAMPTON YOUNT
May 23rd, 2008 | by Tom- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(5 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
Today’s guest strip comes from my Boxcar brothers-in-arms, Clay and Hampton Yount. Clay and Hampton produce the always-excellent Rob & Elliot as well as Cosmobear. Two of a very small handful of strips that make me ROTFLMAO on a consistent basics. Check ’em out.
You doubt their quality?! Well, Hampton just recently won a comedy competition in Washington D.C. that affords him an all-expense paid trip to Hollywood to perform at the Improve there. So suck on that!
That said, Clay had a few reservations about the strip he sent to me. But I like it a lot. I think it captures something pure and essential about the developing relationship between Jared and Shia LaBeouf.
Now for something convoluted and unnecessary.
Last Saturday I was out running a few errands and Cami called me on my cell phone to pick up lunch. “Get whatever you want,” she said.
So, like the proud, upstanding, overweight American I am, I went to Burger King.
I like Burger King, but you have to be careful to eat just the right amount. Too much Burger King and you’re looking at a long afternoon of stomach upset and evaporated dreams.
For me, the kids meal is perfect. You get an appropriate amount of Burger King – PLUS! – free toy. Who’s the big winner? That’s right. Me.
So I purchase my kids meal (hamburger, no pickles) and I see that they are promoting Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. I’m excited, but The King kind of ran the Iron Man promotion out on a rail kind of quickly, didn’t he?
I get the food home and I’m looking at the side of the bag. It lists the 8 different toys you can get. Indy running away from the boulder, a pen that writes in invisible ink… you know, the regular stuff.
Anyway, I notice that there is also a toy featuring Shia LaBeouf on a motorcycle. "I hope I don’t get that one!" I say to Cami.
I reach into the bag and what do I find?…
So I was a little bit disappointed.
But as I was eating my lunch, I started to study this miniaturized LaBeouf (almost life size!) and I started to wonder about the proportions. Was real-life Shia like this? Then I began to notice the eyes. I held the toy closer to get a better look…
Closer still…
The tiny plastic avatar of Shia LaBeouf is AS BORED to be a toy as I am to HAVE him as a toy!
Those droopy lids will haunt my nightmares forever.
FOREVER!!!
Regarding the movie in question, Cami and I plan on seeing Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull tonight. It’ll be a nice reprieve in a week of incredible stress and worry.
We’re leaving Henry and Truman with Cami’s parents this evening, taking a little time for ourselves and then going back to Rochester to visit my Dad in the hospital.
Dad is doing well, by the way. They moved him out of the ICU into a private room on Wednesday morning and they’ve had him up and walking the last few days. He’s exhausted, but recovering well. They took out his chest tubes and the IVs going into his neck yesterday and they’re talking about discharging him on Sunday – so we’re really looking forward to that.
I still have a few guest comics in my back pocket and, depending how things shake out this weekend, you’ll probably see them next week. I’m thinking Monday at least and then getting back to regular comics on Wednesday and Friday. Since I have more guest comics than that, I’ll probably use them to fill in on Tuesday and Thursday. I would feel bad not running them. Especially when they were sent to me without solicitation and as a show of solidarity during this time of upheaval and my Dad’s surgery.
It’s been a long week, but things are looking up. Thanks to everyone for their support and I’ll see you here on Monday!
Have a great weekend, everyone!