Posts Tagged ‘mop’
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What is this strange disease that has taken grip on our protagonist? It’s OSCAR FEVER and it is intensifying! If you want to see how Tom makes it through the other side, you’ll need to be here on Friday!
Every year I get sucked into the same trap. At some point in February, they roll out the Oscar nominations and every year I roll my eyes because they didn’t nominate actor “x” or picture “y”. But then, as the ceremony date rolls near, I get all giddy like a crack-addled monkey making my predictions and spouting off my theories on who should win and why.
I think a lot of it has to do with certain media outlets that craft their coverage so cannily, I cannot help but to fall beneath their sway. Entertainment Weekly is a prime example of this. They handicap the odds of the big nominees. Reading that stuff makes you feel like you actually understand the backwards cluster of Hollywood politics – like you’re a friggin’ “insider”, or something.
In the end, it’s all just fodder for small talk – a way to make you appear more in the loop than others. At least until next year.
Talking about my excitement for the Oscars seems especially moot at this point in history. I’m sure if you watch the news or, y’know… occasionally pick up a newspaper, you’re well aware of the state of the world right now. Talking about some stupid award being given to some overpaid actor may seem downright shallow and close-minded by comparison.
But let me put this in perspective for you.
I watch the national news every day and every day I read a newspaper. At night, I flip between the different cable news outlets. I like to think myself as a member of the world community and choose not to shut myself off from it. True, part of my daily information consumption is entertainment “news”, but I readily digest the stuff that matters. I would suggest everyone do the same.
But that being said, I’m not going to weigh down the site with speculation about the impending war – what it means, what it will do to our relationships with other countries or how it has emasculated the U.N. to the point of ineffectiveness.
It’s my understanding that this site was created as a diversion from such things. I want to entertain you, so why bog you down with these things that don’t relate?
It’s just… well, war is pretty serious stuff. I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring it. But if you’re coming here to add a little levity to your day — even for a few minutes — then I wanted you to know I’m committed to providing that.
For all those who serve or knows someone who does, may this conflict be over quickly and with a minimal amount of casualties — on both sides.
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I don’t know how one starts a comic about Beowulf’s 3D glasses and wraps it up with a joke about mopping and waxing a wood floor, but by Jove I’ve done it!
Originally, my joke for this comic was about the warning on the package of the 3-D glasses handed out to the audience at the Digital 3-D or “Real D” (ugh) screenings of Beowulf. It instructed us not to wear the 3-D glasses as substitutes for sunglasses. The practical reason is because they wouldn’t offer and protection against HARMFUL U-V RAYS!!! But in the comic, I was going to make a joke about the glasses that they reveal something horrible about an individual that only the wearer could see. You know, like a reference to They Live. Very timely.
Of course, I don’t know if I’m winning any points in the timeliness department with my reference to Risky Business in today’s strip. But at least it’s slightly more well-known than They Live. I told Cami about the set up to this comic and she said “Will your readers even know what Risky Business is?”
I’m assuming if you’re here, you’re movie-savvy and if you haven’t seen the movie itself, you’ve at least familiar with the scene where Tom Cruise skids across the foyer in his tube socks, underwear lip synching Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll.”
He doesn’t wear his Ray Ban’s in that scene, but he does in the movie poster.
That said, do the 3-D glasses from Beowulf really look like Ray Ban’s? You be the judge!
Okay, so maybe not. But it was the first thing I thought of.
(Man, this argument is crumbling all around me!)
Just ignore the glasses for a second and focus on the delightful banter between Tom and Cami in today’s strip. That’s probably what I’m most proud of. There’s always been a relationship angle to Theater Hopper that I like to think plays a little higher since Tom and Cami are married (just like in real life!) and that’s been something missing from the comic for a while. I always enjoy it when Tom and Cami can flirt a little with each other, so I hope you got as much of a kick out of it as I did.
Sorry for not posting a Beowulf review yesterday. But as I predicted, we pretty much exhausted all there was to talk about on Monday’s Triple Feature talkcast. In fact, we may have over-estimated the amount of stuff we were going to talk about because we kind of lose it in the last 10 minutes. Fun for a listen while you’re spacing off at work – download a copy for yourself today TOTALLY FREE!
That’s all I have for now. I’m going to try and shoot for one more comic on Friday, but I’m not sure how the Thanksgiving holiday is going to screw that up. We’re hosting this year and now we have a 9 month-old to add a little spice to the mix. I suppose he has enough relatives to keep him out of our hair for a little while. Should be fun!
Enjoy the holiday and if you’re traveling, be safe!
See you back here again soon!
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If you’ve been visiting this site for the last four years (and bless you if you have), you might remember the storyline where I introduced Charlie as an additional female voice to the cast.
If you were REALLY paying attention, you might have remembered an exchange between Tom and Jimmy in the story line’s B-plot where Jimmy revealed something very personal about himself: He’s afraid to go into the women’s restroom.
I inserted that personal detail into that story line for a specific reason and with the intention of revisiting it in another story line sometime later.
Well, four years later, here we are.
It’s been a while since I’ve attempted a longer story line or made an effort to flesh out the characters a little more.
It’s kind of hard to flesh out Tom, Cami or Jared because they’re avatars for real people and I don’t want to dive into some kind of backstory inconsistent with their actual lives. It just causes confusion.
So Jimmy, Victor and Charlie become the tools that I experiment with and, in the process, you get to learn a little more about the background characters.
One of the reasons I wanted to tackle a longer story line again was because I’ve really been enjoying Questionable Content and Anders Loves Maria lately and, frankly, I’ve been jealous. Writing an engaging story is one of my weaker muscles. I have to flex it every now and again before it atrophies.
But probably the biggest reasons I wanted to give it another go is because I recently wrapped up work on Theater Hopper – Year Three.
The book covers my work from 2004 to 2005 and during that period I wrote both the “Jimmy Loses His Job” story line as well as “Meet Charlie.” That was a very successful period for me both in terms of the site’s popularity and my satisfaction artistically. So I’m going to see if I can’t try and put lightning in a bottle for a third time.
What can you expect from this story line? Well, obviously, we’ll explore the reasons why Jimmy is afraid of going into the women’s restroom. But the reasons why will shock you. In revealing his past, you’ll come to understand more clearly why he is the good-natured doormat he is today.
On that note I’d like to mention that Theater Hopper – Year Three is now available for pre-sale in the store. The book has not yet been published. To gauge demand, it is available for pre-sale until February 28. My goal is to have them printed up to take to the Emerald City Comicon in the first week of April. So if you order a book today, you can expect to see it by then.
As I mentioned before, the book has two of our my most prominent story lines as part of its collection of nearly 150 strips. Every comic includes brand new commentary that explores things behind-the-scenes.
The book also features 139 original sketches – collected here for the first time – and a forward from Joe Dunn of Joe Loves Crappy Movies.
I’ve prepared a 10-page preview of the book that will give you an idea of how the comics and commentary are laid out along with the front and back cover.
I am selling the book for $15.00, but if you are looking to save money, please consider bundling your purchase. Order and two books and receive $5.00 off the cover price. Order any three books and receive $7.50 off the cover price.
This book has been a long time coming and I’m pleased to finally offer it to everyone. I think it represents some of my best work and hope you enjoy it.
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