Posts Tagged ‘Joe Dunn’
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Today’s comic plays a little inside. Either your familiar with Joe Loves Crappy Movies and it’s creator Joe Dunn or you’re not. However, if you’re a fan of this site, I would think you would be educated in the ways of Dunn. He’s done a bajillion guest strips for us, is a friend of the site and tackles movies over at his comic with great enthusiasm.
With that said, I don’t want people thinking this comic is the start of some kind of flame war between Joe and I. It actually sprung from a real-life conversation we had about Cars on his LiveJournal. Everything Joe said in the third panel? That’s a direct quote.
Okay, okay. So Joe didn’t like Cars and I understand that. Do I think it’s as good as The Incredibles? No, of course not. Do I think it’s the worst movie they’ve ever done? No. Is it somewhere in the middle? Maybe. But then, when you’re talking Pixar, even a half-assed attempt has more craft and care in the first 5 minutes than other movies execute in two hours.
Joe and I have disagreed on movies before, so I don’t know what it is about Cars that I felt I had to defend it in a comic. Honestly, there’s not much to it. I was writing the comic backwards more than anything else. I came up with the Buzz Lightyear tattoo and needed to figure out a reason why Tom would roll up his sleeve to display it. My little conversation with Joe seemed like a good opportunity. And, frankly, I think the guy is really cool and I wanted to sent another shout out his way!
Not much more to say today. I’m writing this post kind of late and I’m drowsy. Now that the artwork for the books is at the printer, I’m kicking around ideas for a new site design. Does that grab you? Oh, well. I only have sketches at this point. I need to take some time this weekend and put together a first draft. It’ll be fun.
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Aug03
GUEST STRIP – DANIEL PELFREY
August 3rd, 2006 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(2 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)
You weren’t expecting to see this. To tell you the truth, neither was I.
First, let me thank my friend Daniel Pelfrey from Digital Entertainment News for putting together this guest strip. Yeah, he copied and pasted a bunch of artwork. Half of it belonging to me and half of it belonging to Joe Dunn’s creation Joe Loves Crappy Movies (Joe, don’t sue!) but I’m not hung up on the art issue. What I want to share is how awesome the internet is and the great friends I’ve made through it.
Reading yesterday’s blog about how work has been kicking my ass and how I wasn’t able to cough up a comic… the internet came to my aid. Daniel was first through the gate. All he wanted to do was give back. Then I heard about the thread that opie301 started over at the Digital Pimp Online forum. He went to the trouble of soliciting talent for me. Asking the other artists in the community to lend a helping hand. Totally selfless. By the end of the day, I had 7 guest strips in my back pocket.
That’s amazing.
I mean, just when life is handing your ass back to you, friends come calling. And that means a lot to me right now.
You have no idea.
Obviously I can’t use all of the guest strips I’ve been given. But I appreciate all of them. Be sure to check here tomorrow and over the weekend for a new comic every day until I get back from Wizard World Chicago.
In the meantime, be sure to check out Daniel’s site – the excellent Digital Entertainment News for the skinny on all the recently released video games and upcoming technology across all handheld and console platforms. A great site. I go there for all my gaming needs!
See you here in 24 hours.
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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!
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By the way, I almost forgot to point you to another one of guest artist Joe Dunn’s excellent comics – Turtle Vs. Bunny.
You guys are familiar of the fable of The Tortoise and The Hare, right? Same idea, except with rocket launchers and various levels of Spy vs. Spy-like subterfuge.
What’s great about T-V-B is that you can effect it’s outcome by either buying merchandise or sending in pin-up artwork in support of your favorite four-legged critter, so it’s very interactive. I can’t think of another web comic doing anything like that.
Anyway, it’s all good fun and you should really check it out!
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People who have been reading the site for a while know that traditionally, I like to do a little wrap up for each of the conventions I attend. Typically, I end up seeing a movie with whomever I’m with and I talk about it here.
The only problem with going to Wizard World Chicago this year is that there weren’t any good movies to see!
We toyed with seeing Rush Hour 3, but frankly, too many people were against it. If they went, they’d be going to rip it a new one. Myself likely included. The inside joke of this comic is that Gordon is the one suggesting we go see it. He was probably most against it of anyone.
Oh, and Brandon J. Carr’s wife really did make him swear not to see Stardust without her.
And for the record, the other two guys in the comic are Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey.
As always, it was a treat to attend Wizard World Chicago and exhibit on Artist’s Alley. I would have liked to have sold a little more merchandise, but I did about as much business as last year, so at least I’m not backsliding.
The Spoiler shirts are always a big hit at conventions. I have one of them pulled over a mannequin torso I stand up on my table. Invariably people stop to comment on it. Either they laugh and walk away saying “That’s a great shirt!” Or they laugh and say “I gotta get that shirt.” I suppose the third option is when I get to talk to the person and explain which spoilers come from which movies.
I’ve been selling the Spoiler shirt for the last three years. At times, I wish I could come up with another t-shirt design that would sell just as well. A t-shirt design that isn’t Spoiler II. But what can I say? They’re the breadwinners and you gotta stick with a winning horse.
I don’t know that I sold as many books as I would have liked to. But I think I hit on a new merchandising structure that I’ll probably employ in the store soon – everything will be $15 and you’ll get 15%, 20% and 25% discounts the more stuff you buy! I think it will be really attractive to you guys and will help me keep things organized on my side.
I don’t mean to harp on the money aspect of things so much. That’s really only a small portion of the exhibiting experience. I’m grateful that I’m able to sell anything at all! It always amazes me.
I did a lot of good networking at this convention. I got to meet Brandon for the first time and DJ Coffman from Yirmumah and Hero By Night as well. They couldn’t have been nicer. Really easy to talk to and a lot of fun to be around. We all kind of share the same sense of humor, so it makes things easy. For all practical purposes, someone like Brandon is a complete stranger. But within minutes I was joking around with him and having a blast.
I was interviewed by a few online and offline publications and that was pretty cool. I have a wallet full of business cards on stuff I want to follow up on. Professionally and socially, I would say it was a really successful convention!
That said, the last day of a convention is the worst. Part of you is counting down the hours until you have to pack up your stuff and ship out and that’s never fun. And then, for me, the car ride home is tortuous. I have no one to help me cover the 6 hours from Chicago to Des Moines, so I’m often left with my own thoughts.
We talked a little bit about this on Monday’s Triple Feature broadcast, but there is no way you can go to one of these conventions and NOT compare yourself professionally to the other artists in attendance. You end up looking around and asking yourself “What am I doing WRONG?”
Every convention is a good learning opportunity to see into other artist’s process and business practices. I constantly find myself taking mental notes for things to try when I get home.
As exhausting as it can be to constantly compare yourself, going to Wizard World Chicago has revitalized me. I think also having crossed the five-year anniversary milestone has inspired me make Theater Hopper stronger. Not just the comic, but the entire Theater Hopper experience.
I want to rid the THorum and the front page comments section of spammers and bring back the positive, excited atmosphere. I want to be seen more among my peers in online communities and talk more about comics with them. I want to do more guest comics – just because. I want my site to look better. I want to try new things. I want to advertise in unconventional places and spread the word about Theater Hopper.
I’m proud of what I do. Five years and two self-published books under your belt can do that for you. But it doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve. I’m at the point now that I’m considering outside help to spruce up the site. In some respects, if Theater Hopper is going to be taken seriously, I have to treat it like a professional venture. This is much more than a hobby site we’re talking about. I’ve experimented with a lot of things. Now it’s time to make them stick.
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Oct17
GUEST STRIP – JOE DUNN
October 17th, 2007 |- 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!
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I would have been content to let the message I posted about my illness on Wednesday run throughout next week, but this guest strip from Josh Anderson was too timely – and too funny – to pass up. I love how he tossed Gordon and Joe into the mix. And, frankly, the hundred-yard-stare he gave Tom was pretty much how I was feeling for the last two days. Only clammier. Also, a chance to infect Shia LaBeouf? Priceless!
I got a couple of e-mail from people who were spooked when I said I was dying on Wednesday. Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to put the fear of God into you, or anything like that. Sometimes I forget the impact words have.
So, to clarify – NOT dying. Just felt like death.
I went to the doctor yesterday and it turns out I have acute tonsillitis. That sounds bad, like I have to have my tonsils removed, or something. Not the case. It’s basically an upper respiratory infection that causes white spots on the tonsils – and they’re filled with pus! Yum!
The good news is I’m no longer contagious and he has me on a steroid to reduce the swelling an antibiotic to kill the infection. As of this writing, I’ve already taken two doses and I feel much better. Not 100%, but not wincing from the back pain and migraines my body was delivering as part of the fever that was trying to get rid of the infection. So, yeah. Better.
I still plan on going to Wizard World Chicago this weekend. So if you’re in attendance, look me up at table #4308 on Artist’s Alley.
Oh, and be sure to send thanks to Josh Anderson for his guest comic by visiting his site Game U. I think you’ll like what you find there.
Thanks again for the well wishes and concern. I’ll see you all here on Monday!
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I was so wrapped up talking about, well, Up, that I completely forgot to remind you guys to check out The Triple Feature tonight.
In case you’re unfamiliar, it’s a podcast I host along with Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex.
We record every Monday night at 9:00 PM and you can listen to us record the show LIVE!
Not only that, but the show has a chat room where you can interact with other listeners or maybe even Joe or myself (when Gordon gets to ranting too much.)
Be sure to check us out this evening. We’ll be discussing Up and Drag Me To Hell!
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You have no idea how long I’ve kept that terrible pun in my back pocket. I don’t care if it isn’t original. I wasn’t going to pass up using it!
I think this might be the first time in since, well… ever that I’ve had a comic up and running while I’m away at a convention. Usually I have a string of guest strips lined up for you. But I figured since I made such a big deal about the 7th anniversary and the 1,000th comic milestone, it would benefit me to keep things going a little bit.
I finished this comic and blog Wednesday night in preparation of being away. So that means right now, as you’re reading this, I’m hanging out at table #3414 on Artist Alley at Chicago Comic-Con. If you’re in town, I sincerely hope you come to visit me!
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra comes out today and it is very likely that I will be seeing the movie with my friends Gordon McAlipin from Multiplex, Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey and Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies as I have depicted here. At least, I hope that’s what happens. We have a nice little tradition of seeing movies together when we’re in town for the convention and I hope everyone can make it.
As for the movie, I kind of think it’s a win-win situation. Based of the awful trailer, I am fully prepared for this movie to be terrible but plan on having a good time soaking up the cheese. If it turns out to be awesome (as some early reviews have suggested in a guilty-pleasure kind of way) then that sounds good, too.
In the meantime, if you want to stay up to date with me on the convention floor, but sure to check out my Twitter account. I’ll be posting status updates from my phone as well as taking advantage of AudioBoo. I noticed a lot of web comic guys using it during San Diego Comic Con and I’m eager to try it out.
Basically, it’s like a mini-podcast. I record up to 3:00 minutes of audio into my phone and AudioBoo posts it to their site – complete with a link from Twitter, so you get complete coverage! Fun little app.
If Twitter isn’t your thing, then please feel free to enjoy this shot by shot remake of the trailer for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra that replaces the actors with action figures. Considering the movie is basically a 2 hour long toy commercial, the piece seems to cut to the heart of the matter.
Is anyone planning on seeing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra this weekend? What are your expectations? Are you excited? Did the trailer make you skeptical like it made me skeptical? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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Sorry that Monday’s comic was so late. I was basically wiped out after driving home from the Chicago Comic-Con on Sunday evening and didn’t have time to put anything together. I would have drawn and posted the comic sometime Monday afternoon except Monday’s are the days that we keep Henry home from day care and I watch him. So a Tuesday comic it is.
My first thought with this blog was to embed the video from the infamous parody PSA from the first season of the animated G.I. Joe cartoon show. But the language is a little salty and this is a family site. So I’ll leave it up to you to look it up on YouTube instead.
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last 5 years, you probably know exactly what Tom is referencing in today’s comic. If not, just look up “Porkchop Sandwiches” and it will become clear real quick.
If you’re still hankering for some video giggles, check out The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Funny or Die. It features cameos from Zach Galifianakis, Alexis Bledel, Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Tony Hale, Alan Tudyk, Vinnie Jones, Henry Rollins and non-other than Sgt. Slaughter himself!
Back to the comic, it guest stars Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Our tables were next to each other on Artist Alley and we made plans to see G.I. Joe with the rest of the Digital Pimp Online crew, Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey and Jennie Breeden from The Devil’s Panties. Our good friend Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex couldn’t go that evening because he had won tickets to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert. I guess it was a sold-out show. So, good for him.
Anyway, before seeing the movie that night, I told Joe in real-life exactly what I said to him in the comic. His response was one of moderate disdain and amplified for comedic effect for this comic. I always like to portray Joe as more exasperated and annoyed with me than he is in real life. But, as they say, all humor is rooted in truth. I’m sure there were several times this weekend where he would have given anything just to shut. me. up.
I thought the movie we went to was fine. I thought it was better than Transformers 2, which is kind of faint praise. But I was able to keep up with the action and despite the wooden acting and transparent CGI work, was able to enjoy myself.
I guess you could say the trailer for the movie had lowered my expectations to the point where anything would have been acceptable. Does that make G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra a good movie? Of course not. It’s horrible. But the action moves along at a steady clip and there are a few fun, over-the-top moments.
The things I was most surprised by were the number of deaths and the amount of civilian property damage going on in this thing. The destruction the Joe’s leave in their wake is catastrophic. I can’t imagine ANY “covert” agency staying under the radar for that long when cars are being jack-knifed 50 feet in the air everywhere they go.
As for the convention, it was a good time. Always a treat to see and talk to old friends. Of course everyone who stopped by the booth was exceptionally friendly and usually the first thing people would ask was “How’s the hand.” It was nice to know that people were concerned for my well being. I appreciate it.
If you’re a new reader coming to the site for the first time, welcome! Not sure where to tell you to start. But I hope the site finds its way into your bookmarks and that you come back to visit us every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I promise to update on time from here on out.
Not much else to talk about at the moment. But be sure to come back on Wednesday for more comic goodness! See you then!
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