Posts Tagged ‘Kick-Ass’
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Not to sound like a complete prude, but it does kind of amaze me that Hollywood has released a movie called Kick-Ass. I ran a search for “ass” on the Internet Movie Database and while there are certainly films that have used that word as part of their title, I can’t think of a single movie as high profile as Kick-Ass to promote the colloquialism so prominently.
Even though I never read the original graphic novel on which the movie is based, I’m looking forward to the movie a great deal. The trailers make it look like colorful, sadistic fun. How ironic that the use of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” for the marketing campaign is so much more effective than “Cherry Bomb” was for The Runaways.
Aaron Johnson plays the film’s hero. I have no idea who he is. He has a fairly extensive resume, so I assume his performance will be pretty good. Although, honestly, I’m surprised the role didn’t go to Jesse Eisenberg. I guess there wasn’t enough sensitive longing in the character.
I’ll be doing comics about Kick-Ass all week, so I don’t want to say everything I have to say about the movie right now. Right now I’m getting ready to leave for C2E2 on Thursday, so I’m also trying to work ahead on the comics a little bit.
Usually I run guest comics when I go to a convention. But I thought, for once, maybe it would be a good idea to have some of my OWN work on display for people who see me at the convention and later check out the site. First impressions and all that. I’m sure you understand.
So, needless to say, it’s going to be a busy week.
If you’re going to be in Chicago this weekend and would like to say “Hi” you can find me here using C2E2’s interactive floor map. I will be at table WC-N in Webcomics Pavilion. I’m sharing the same area as Brat-halla, Shortpacked!, Erika Moen and Lucy Knisley. So if you see any of those artists, you’re in the right neighborhood!
My friends Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex will be there as well and I’m really looking forward to seeing them. You should be sure to stop by their booths and say “Hi” as well.
That’s it for now. If you’re going to be at C2E2 this weekend, let me know! If you plan on seeing Kick-Ass this weekend, leave some comments and let’s talk about it!
Cheers!
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The costume from Kick-Ass would be a lot more disturbing in real life.
Howdy, everyone. Another Kick-Ass comic for your enjoyment. Still trying to stay ahead of the curve this week and producing comics ahead of C2E2. I think I’ll be able to get a comic for Friday done before I leave, but Monday’s comic might be a little late because I probably won’t get back from Chicago until late in the evening.
I was hoping to stay ahead of things a little better, but I’ve been busy putting together all of the stuff I hope to sell at the show. If you’ve been following the Theater Hopper Facebook page, you’ve already seen the artwork, packaging and display of the 1″ badges I’ll be selling. I’m really proud of these. Hopefully, once I get back, I can sell them through the site as well. We’ll see what the demand is like in Chicago.
I don’t know how many of you will be in Chicago this weekend for C2E2, but if you are, there’s an opportunity for you to see Kick-Ass before everyone else.
Lionsgate, IGN and C2E2 are hosting a special premiere right before its nation-wide release on April 16th and are giving away tickets. Check out the full event and contest details on IGN and learn about how you can make yourself eligible for tickets. See link below:
C2E2 Contest on IGN: http://movies.ign.com/articles/108/1081846p1.html
In other non-Kick-Ass, non-C2E2 related news, I had a really interesting exchange on Twitter the other day that I wanted to share with you.
I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the work of Tom Tomorrow, but he’s the writer and illustrator of a political comic called This Modern World. I’ve been reading his stuff in alternative weeklies for years and it’s no stretch to say that his work helped shape my personal politics.
I follow Tom Tommorow on Twitter and read a couple of posts he made in reference to reader reaction to his comic “If Real Life Were Like The Internet.”
“A reader argues that I *should* be grateful for increased attention via internet,” he tweeted. “Even when it means declining $, eventual end of strip?”
He continued “Not that I intend to go away any time soon. But if I’m eventually working for free, I’m not sure I’ll continue in the current format.”
Being an online guy, I replied “You don’t want to put advertising on your site? Sell merchandise. You can still monitize your work even if it isn’t syndicated.”
To my surprise, Tom replied, “no disrespect , but these are not new ideas. Not too many ad $ these days, and not a huge demand for political cartoon merch.”
After that, we went back and forth a little bit and I told him basically that I sympathized. I told him about Theater Hopper and how my own ad revenue is suffering and suggested (tongue-in-cheek) that he wouldn’t have to work for free. Just this side of free!
Afterwords, I guess Tom checked out Theater Hopper and sent me this message:
“@tombrazelton and it looks like a funny cartoon. damn you, now I have something else I have to read. http://www.theaterhopper.com/”
And now, against all odds, Tom Tomorrow is following ME on Twitter! This has put me over the moon.
Now, I understand there’s nothing really at stake for Tom Tomorrow to say “Hey, I think you’re comic’s funny” and then following me on Twitter. But it for someone like myself, who has been a fan of his for so long, it feels like validation.
When I was 8 years old, I sent a letter to Garfield creator Jim Davis. In return, I received a letter on custom stationary with a bite mark taken out of it and an illustration of Garfield on top chewing on a piece of paper. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. It wasn’t until years later that I learned what I received was essentially a form letter that Davis’s company, Paws, Inc., sends out to everyone. But it didn’t take away from the feeling of validation I received from an artist I admire.
Talking with Tom Tomorrow in this way is infinitely better because it’s so much more personal and instantaneous. I tweeted about putting Pearl in her bouncy seat while I finished up today’s comic and he replied to that! He doesn’t know me from Adam but how cool is that?
And they say the internet is bad. Baloney. Under no other circumstances would I have a conversation with Tom Tomorrow, let alone be the recipient of his validation.
Anyway, that was something cool that happened to me this week. I just wanted to share.
If you want to follow ME on Twitter, you can find my account here. You might enjoy following me over the next couple of days as I plan on posting a lot of updates from C2E2 on Twitter and the Theater Hopper Facebook page as well. Start following me now so you don’t miss a thing!
Thanks again for stopping by and there will be a new comic for you on Friday!
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Hey, guys.
Not much movie related to talk about today as I have actually written this blog entry a few days ago in preparation for my attendance at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo – or C2E2 this weekend.
Typically, it’s been a tradition for several of us web comic guys to go see a movie together while we’re in town. I don’t know if we’ll get the opportunity to see Kick-Ass this weekend but I hope we do.
If you’re in The Windy City, be sure to stop by my booth in Webcomics Pavilion. I’m at table WC-N in the same area as Brat-halla, Shortpacked!, Erika Moen and Lucy Knisley.
I will be selling shirts, books (Including Theater Hopper: Year Three), buttons and original sketches.
If you aren’t able to join us in Chicago this weekend, be sure to follow my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I plan on posting several updates throughout the weekend to let you know how things are going.
That’s all for now. Like I said, I wrote this two days ago. So, right now, I need to go to bed so I don’t nod off on the road between Des Moines and Chicago. I have a 6 hour trip ahead of me. Or, had a 6 hour trip ahead of me.
…because I’m in Chicago now.
But I wrote this… two…
WISH ME LUCK!
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You guys know that I’m referencing Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland with today’s comic, right? The one with the billowing ash cloud that has grounded millions of airline travelers in Europe? Just checking.
Apologies for the delay getting the new comic up for you guys today. I tried working ahead so potential new readers from the C2E2 comic book convention would have something timely to look at while I was away. I was able to get Friday’s comic on the site before I left town, but not Monday’s comic. I had to sit down to work on it this evening after I put the kids to bed.
I would have worked on the comic last night except the show organizers wouldn’t let me load-out from the venue until after 5:00 PM. I didn’t get on the road until an hour later and I didn’t make it home until 11:30.
That’s not bad time, all things considered. But since I was out all night with my webcomic buddies the night before, spent the day on my feet behind my table and then another 5 and a half hours behind the wheel of a car, I was wrecked.
That said, I don’t have my convention recap written up yet, but that’s something I want to get on the site by tomorrow. So be sure to check back throughout the day for my thoughts and opinions about C2E2.
I will say that I was very encouraged by the number of people I met who said that C2E2 was their first con ever. I was also thrilled to meet the fans that sought me out and who thanked me for the work on the site. More than a couple of you said you thought my work was getting better – which was amazing. I want to thank everyone who took the time to come talk to me, buy a book or a shirt or just shoot the breeze. I had a great time talking to everyone and I have lots of fun personal stories to tell you about later!
I also had an opportunity to hang out with a bunch of different webcomic people that I have never had the pleasure to meet before and I was amazed how many of them either already knew what I looked like or were familiar with Theater Hopper after we made introductions. I have this vision in my head of being on the Webcomics B-Squad… a wannabe. But I’ve done my time in the trenches, you know? So maybe how I view my place in webcomics isn’t as low on the totem pole as I imagined!
Anyway, more tomorrow. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed today’s comic!
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Most likely because I am an immature jerk (or possibly because I’m still riding high on puns after Monday’s comic), I kind of feel like I could have stopped after the first panel in this comic. I’ll leave it at that. I don’t want to spoil the joke for you.
Long-time readers of the comic know that this isn’t the first time I’ve explored the concept of porn parody titles. I don’t know why the idea entertains me so. I guess because it’s kind of adorably naive on the part of the pornography companies, isn’t it? Their idea is to make a movie that sounds KIND OF like the popular movie you ACTUALLY want to rent… in hopes of what? That you’re not looking closely enough? That you’re illiterate?
Or is the idea that this is as clever and self-referential as pornography gets? I don’t know. I just think it’s weird.
What’s even more weird is that this is the fifth (the FIFTH!) comic I’ve done about Kick-Ass without actually having seen the movie yet. I didn’t get a chance to check it out while I was in Chicago for C2E2 this weekend. So, hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to see it Friday after everyone has gone to bed. Cami has no interest in seeing the film, so she won’t mind if I sneak out to watch a late showing.
Speaking of C2E2, I know I promised you my recap yesterday. It’s coming! I’m still working on it! I was working on it in between Pearl’s naps yesterday and just kept going and going and going. It’s over 2,000 words at this point, which is kind of crazy. But when you have a good experience like I had, you want to share all the details.
Stay tuned for that recap. It’s coming soon. Hopefully today.
That’s all for now! Ta-ta!
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