Posts Tagged ‘Oprah’
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I wish I could say that I had some sort of elaborate April Fool’s Day prank lined up for you guys today. But truthfully, I’ve been so busy preparing for the Kansas City Planet Comicon comic book convention, I didn’t have time to plan ahead.
I wonder if Zach and Mitch are as uptight about preparations as I am?
I won’t have a lot of stuff to sell at the con. I never do. I’ll have a few shirts left over from previous pre-orders to give people a sense of stuff they can buy. If I don’t have their size or the color they would like, I’ll ask them to join my mailing list (no link just yet) and I’ll send out a message to everyone letting them know when I’m doing another round of shirts.
The once facet that I am really prepared for are button sales. I’ve been working overtime the last few weeks putting together packaging for 2 different sets of buttons. I don’t know how well they will be received, but I hope they are a hit. If not, I’ll probably never have to work this hard assembling button packages ever again. I should be set for a long time.
As a side note, once I get back from the convention, I’ll probably start selling merchandise again on the site. So keep an eye peeled for that.
Anyway, if you’re in the Kansas City area tomorrow or Sunday between 10AM and 5PM, come say “Hi.” It should be a good time.
Now onto comic stuff…
I don’t know why, but Wednesday’s comic really seems to have struck a nerve. People in the THorum were complimenting it left and right and it actually got a couple of write ups at I’m Just Sayiny (a web comic review site – scroll down a little to see my entry) and more surprisingly, but no less enthusiastically, Film Rot.
I’m not bringing this up to brag. I’m just not used to people taking notice of the strip outside of the “web comic community” much less writing about it. This must be what it feels like for Jeph…
I feel kind of skittish taking any credit for these compliments, however. Because as I stressed yesterday, Frank Miller is the one who has inspired this work. All I did was parody it.
Odd, isn’t it that I’m apologizing for Wednesday’s strip but doing the exact same thing in today’s strip? I dunno. I guess I picked a winning horse. I’m gonna stick with it for a little while.
Can you believe people wanted me to put the splash panel of yesterday’s comic on a t-shirt? Bordering copyright infringement there, I think!
At any rate, I hope you’ve enjoyed these last two strips. I know I’ve had a lot of fun drawing them. As you can probably tell, I’m a big Frank Miller fan and a big Sin City fan. I actually used to practice by looking at some of the Sin City stuff and drawing replicas. So this has been a little nostalgia treat for me.
I’ll probably do another similarly-styled comic on Monday to capture reactions of the film after I see it on Saturday. So if you like what’s been going on, you have that to look forward to. Maybe I’ll cast Jimmy as The Yellow Bastard!
As for the movie itself… What can be said? Critics really seem to be on board with this one, which pleases me to no end. Not only because it is such a powerful and singular vision brought to the screen. But also because it further legitimizes the artistry of graphic novels.
Besides the recently deceased Will Eisner (R.I.P.) I can think of no other creator than Frank Miller that has done so much for the medium. I mean, between Sin City and The Dark Night Returns, there’s just no comparison!
The film production, too, is so far outside the boundaries of conventional film making, I’m willing to bet film schools are going to cite it as a textbook study in the next 10 years. If this thing takes off, Robert Robert Rodriguez’s “digital backlot” technique could spin things on its head.
I could go on, I suppose. But I think it’s time to let sleeping dogs lie. I’ll probably be back later in the day to discuss the donating incentive artwork I created for February and March.
If you recall, I did Constantine for February and Robots for March. Well… I kinda never got around to coloring the Robots piece, and now it’s April.
Anyway, I have to make reparations for that and will probably be taking this promotion in another direction. More on that later. Stop by again today if it fancies you.
Love to all.
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I tried to draw a picture of Tom Cruise in a business suit holding up a samurai sword based off a still I found from The Last Samurai. It didn’t turn out very well. So if you don’t feel like voting for Theater Hopper at Webcomics List today, I won’t hold it against you. After all, we ∗are∗ at the number one spot right now, so we can rest on our laurels a little bit!
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the romance he seems to have sparked with erstwhile resident of Dawson’s Creek – Katie Holmes. However, it seems that conventional wisdom dictates that the relationship is a sham. A shameless publicity stunt to help cook up interest in both Thespians upcoming June releases – War of the Worlds and Batman Begins, respectively.
Although I am largely a cynic, my greatest weakness is the notion of romantic love. So I find myself playing Devil’s Advocate and imagining reasons why the union of TomKat ∗isn’t∗ manically devised and orchestrated to be intentional ttabloid fodder.
Also, I hate siding with conventional wisdom.
For me, it’s all about motive. I can certainly understand why Holmes would want to hitch her wagon to Cruise. It’s what’s typically known in the industry as “dating up.” She has nothing to lose by being seen with him and it certainly raises her profile in relation to the other actors starring in Batman Begins.
Among the principal cast, you have Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman. Maybe co-star Cillian Murphy’s (as The Scarecrow) stock is among the same caliber and audiences certainly aren’t as familiar with Ken Wantanabe (as Ra’s Al Ghul). But ultimately, when people hear there’s a new Batman movie coming out, they aren’t saying “Hey, isn’t that the new Katie Holmes movie?” Now we’re thinking twice…
Now on the other side of the isle, what does Tom Cruise get out of this? Certainly publicity for War of the Worlds isn’t an issue. If Cruise’s name on the marquee doesn’t attract ticket buyers, than certainly Steven Spielberg as director will. It doesn’t hurt that the material they’re covering is a sci-fi classic.
So what possible benefit could there be for an A-list celebrity to date a B-list, or possible C-list celebrity nearly 16 years his junior? Why go on the Oprah Winfery show, act like a loon and have people start questioning your sanity?
Then again, the better question might be “Why would you ever leave Nicole Kidman in the first place?” But I digress.
Accessing the conspiracy theory corner of my brain, I imagine a situation where Tom and Katie met each other at some kind of ritzy Hollywood shin-dig, got to talking and realized how hilarious it would be if the two of them got together.
Realizing that the press and the majority of American’s would view their relationship as a stunt, they would play it up to the hilt. Lavish attention on each other at movie premieres, act bizarre with members of the press when questioned about it and even lob about rumors of marriage to really bring things to a boil.
Then after both War of the Worlda and Batman Begins premier in theaters, they would issue a joint press conference and admit to the world that – yes – their time together WAS a publicity stunt. It was all part of an elaborate scheme to expose the folly of “entertainment journalism” and the country fell for it hook, line and sinker.
But stepping away from that theory, I realize that the public backlash against being hoodwinked to such a degree would be enormous and the careers of both actors would probably be squashed immediately.
As such, I have to resign myself to the possibility that the TomKat relationship is not a stunt. Just another slight of hand by Cruise’s team of image manipulators to further convince the country that their client isn’t gay.
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Oct07
Tom is all man, baby. Borderline offensively so!
I was going to do a comic today about the new Ryan Reynolds movie Wating… but the news of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pregnancy was too good to pass out. Odd, isn’t it that Tom and Cami can only seemingly have discussion about Tom-Kat’s love life in public?
That aside, I know that I’m kind of skirting the line of good taste with today’s comic, but felt the need to shake things up a little bit.
I also want to make it clear that today’s comic is not a swipe against homosexuals. So it’s understood, I do not consider the relationships of consenting adults any of my business.
What today’s comic is really about is nothing more than outrageous reactions based on rumors. The whole "Tom Cruise is gay" thing isn’t anything new. It’s been floating around Hollywood for years. Don’t ask me why.
I can see why maybe Cruise was defensive to the insinuation back in the 80’s when the spectre of AIDS was looming about. After Rock Hudson died, people weren’t very sympathetic to gay people in the public spotlight.
And even though I think we live in (slightly) more enlightened times, I can kind of understand why Cruise would take to suing each and every person or publication that says he’s gay because now that the lie has gotten so big, coming out of the closet now would significantly damage his reputation as an action star. Plus any good will he’s racked up with audiences over the years.
For the record, I don’t even know if he ∗IS∗ gay. Really, it’s not my business. But ever since that awkward "love" scene he did with his then wife Nicole Kidman in 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut and there were rumors Cruise had to hire a coach to learn how to be passionate on screen with his real-life spouse, the din of speculation is getting louder and louder. All the suing he did didn’t help, either.
Fast forward to the middle of the first decade in the 21st century and he’s engaged to an actress 16 years his junior after 4 months of courtship. She now pregnant with his child – something not accomplished with Kidman as the two children from that relationship are adopted – and the delivery date coinciding with the release of Mission Impossible III on May 17, 2006… Well, excuse me if it all looks a little suspicious.
Maybe it’s just a run-of-the-mill string of publicity stunts. Maybe it has nothing to do with Cruise being gay or not gay. Honestly, it doesn’t make any difference to me. I wouldn’t care if Cruise were gay any more than if you were gay or my cousin were gay.
What I ∗don’t∗ like is the idea that being labeled "gay" to Cruise is as defamitory as being called a murderer or a kidnapper. His proclivity to sue represents the notion that there is something inherently wrong with homosexuality which I do not agree with.
Don’t bother arguing me on this point. With all sincerity, you could talk to me until you’re blue in the face about why homosexuality is wrong or why racism or sexism or ageism are acceptable modes of thinking and I would do my best to listen and to understand where you’re coming from. But no amount of conviction on your part would get me to change my mind about the immutable, simple human rights that I believe everyone should be afforded. You have your beliefes, I have mine. We don’t have to be on the same page, but we can at least respect each other’s ability to come to our own conclusions.
This has been an old-school rant brought to you by the letter "R." I hope you enjoyed it. If you have thoughts about the controversy or lack thereof, please take it into the THorum rather than e-mail me. I’m putting some pretty strong views out in public and would prefer the chance to address them publicly should the need arise.
Come back later today for some important news about the future of the Theater Hopper store.
Thanx.
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