Posts Tagged ‘scary’
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Dec13
Oooo! It’s FRIDAY THE 13th, kids! Don’t step on a cat while crossing over a ladder, or some other dumb crap like that.
Big thanks to the awesome crew of Mall Monkeys for letting me have a little fun with their characters. I don’t think there isn’t a soul on Earth that doesn’t already know about this comic, but if you don’t, you need to visit them now. It deftly blends the bizarre, the obscene and the weird – The makings of greatness. And they’re good guys to boot.
Not much to say in today’s blog that wasn’t covered yesterday. Basically I still really want to see Star Trek: Nemesis. But we’ll have to see if I win the battle of wills against my wife.
If you guys are interested to see what I do for a living, you can take a look at it up close. The company I work for recently launched their new corporate site and I designed it. The content isn’t much to scream about, but how many of you are designing web sites for multi-billion dollar companies? That’s right. Sit down.
There are still a few bugs to fix. Unfortunately, they lie within the navigation and didn’t show up during testing. Of course these problems only occur when you launch it for real. We’re having enough conflict that we’re thinking of replacing the JavaScript navigation with Flash.
Anyway, you can check it out here.
I’m gonna wrap it up because I don’t feel so good tonight. So to those of you I promise link exchanges to since Wednesday will have to wait a little while longer. Don’t fret. Wouldn’t you rather have the limelight on Monday when more people come to the site?
Anyway, Nick is back with another post. Play nice and I’ll see you here later.
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Apr28
GUEST STRIP – CLAY AND HAMPTON YOUNT
April 28th, 2005 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
Shamefully I wasn’t aware of Rob and Elliot until Zach over at Joe and Monkey made me aware of them just this year. Good thing – it’s probably one of my most favorite new discoveries.
I don’t know how to explain it. The look is manga-esque, but not annoying like most of that stuff. Expressions aren’t overtly exaggerated. It plays closer to reality.
The pacing of the dialogue is a real plus. Very witty without being too eager. Still, you have to give it up for a concept like the adorable – but deadly! – iMonkey.
Honestly, if I had created that, I would have kicked my feet up and said “Looks like I’m on auto-pilot from here on out!” That’s the kind of great idea you could hang an entire strip from.
But Clay and Hampton Yount don’t stop there. Oh, no! They’ve got a real swinging comic going on and you should all check it out. Thanks for the great guest strip!
Incidentally, if you want to see my rendering of their characters, vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix and laugh at my inferior interpretation!
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I don’t know exactly how to explain today’s comic except there is this weird lull in theaters this weekend between Spider-Man 3 coming out last week and Shrek the Third coming out next week. The only new high-profile release is 28 Weeks Later. Since I’m all about drawing Tom in the Spider-Man mask as much as possible, I decided on this weird little mash-up.
At least I know for some of you it will be weird. The comic book faithful knows there is already a precedence for a zombie Spider-Man and that would be in Marvel Comics popular maxi-series Marvel Zombies from early last year. Robert Kirkman – who is one of my favorite comic book writers – did a really excellent job with it and it has a really black sense of humor. As you can see, I’ve posted the cover to the second printing of the first issue so you could see where I picked up the visual reference.
Right now there is a very interesting Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies crossover going on right now. So if you’re a fan of the Evil Dead movies (somewhat timely considering Sam Raimi’s involvement in that franchise as well as the Spider-Man franchise), you might want to stop by your local comic book store and pick it up.
As far as the comic goes. I’m happy with it. It gave me an opportunity to do some dramatic up-lighting, which I always enjoy. Plus, you got two full comics this week instead of one while I was on vacation. Can’t complain about that! Well, that is unless you’re one of the people who took my Spider-Man 3 review personally and vowed never to visit my site again. Because – let’s face it – you’re just looking for stuff to complain about!
Some of you with less serious opinions about comic book movies will be glad to know that I’m through covering Spider-Man 3. After today’s comic, we’re moving forward. I wish I had more to say about 28 Weeks Later, but I’m not sure where I stand on it.
The first movie was amazing. To take zombies and make them faster and more aggressive than a linebacker was such a simple move that worked out so well. It finally made zombies really, REALLY scary to me. And before anyone writes in and tries to correct me that “they weren’t zombies! It was a virus!” I know that. But let’s not kid ourselves. It was a zombie movie, okay. At any rate – excellent execution (no pun).
I never really understood the appeal of zombie movies before that. Shuffling around, and whatnot. Why are they a threat? I guess it was the thrill of taking one’s head off with a shotgun that people liked to see. Of course, the social commentary between zombies and mall culture in Dawn of the Dead was cool. But beyond that, what was cool or menacing about zombies? Their numbers? Their relentlessness? I’ve never been a big horror fan, so if anyone wants to take a stab (again, no pun) at explaining the appeal in the comments, I’m all ears.
As much as I liked the original 28 Days Later, I wonder if the sequel can live up to it’s predecessor. The rumor is that the producers threw a bunch of money at Cillian Murphy to reprise his role and (I think) have him come back as a zombie. Is that right? No dice, though because he turned them down.
I don’t really think that Murphy’s involvement is a requirement to make 28 Weeks Later a success. After all, there were no real big name actors in the first movie, so this one will probably do just fine. It just makes me wonder if that would have been an insurance policy of sorts for the producers or if it’s a sign that they don’t have faith in what they have script-wise.
For me it’ll be wait-and-see. I saw the first 28 Days Later on DVD. It’ll probably be the same for 28 Weeks Later. I’m too much of a wuss. I need to pause the movie and get a soda sometimes. I can’t do that in the theater. Oh, well.
Anyone out there planning on seeing it? What’s the agenda for the weekend? Leave your comments below and I’ll see you on Monday!
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The one thing about Ghostbusters I never really understood was adding Winston to the team. He kind of sticks out. Here you have three scientists walking around with proton accelerators and then… Winston. And we never see him go through any extensive training on how to operate the equipment. It can’t be as simple as throwing on the pack and going to work, can it? Don’t you think you’d have to be eased into it? Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics to see what I mean…
I know I say this a lot, but I had a really hard time coming up with an idea for today’s comic. Lately, the ideas just aren’t there. It’s like scooping a frozen block of ice cream out of the back of my mind.
Thank goodness for Twitter. I can go online any time of the day or night and say “I have no idea what tomorrow’s comic is going to be about” and I’ll receive at least a half-dozen replies with suggestions.
That’s not to say I’m stealing ideas from readers. But they do provide valuable inspiration. I wouldn’t have come up with today’s comic if someone hadn’t reminded me that Ghostbusters came out on Blu ray yesterday. I had completely forgotten about it. Bill Murray’s acne scars, however? That’s vintage me.
Speaking of scary, let me tell you about my first encounter with Ghostbusters. I think I may have told this story before. So if you’ve heard it, bear with me.
The year was 1984 and I was 7 years-old. As a present for doing something good (I can’t remember what), my parents were going to surprise me with a special gift.
In my mind were visions of Go-Bots – or, dare I? – Transformers. Imagine my shock when my parents rolled up on a movie theater and said “Surprise! We’re going to see Ghostbusters!”
I’m 7 years-old. I haven’t seen any commercials for this movie. I barely know what movies are (we never really went to movies as a family). All I see on the marquee is “GHOST” and I freak out, convinced that the movie is terrifying and that my parents are playing a cruel, sadistic joke. I am crying in the back seat and BEGGING my parents not to take me to this movie.
Instead we ended up going to an educational toy store next to the theater and they bought me some Mad Libs. I remember clearly the disappointment on their faces. They tried to do something nice for me, something they thought I would love, and I turned it into an ugly mess.
It becomes ironic, then, that as an adult, Ghostbusters is probably one of my all-time favorite movies.
I don’t remember when I came around to appreciating Ghostbusters for what it is or when exactly I shed my irrational fear of the film. Probably after the Saturday morning cartoon version of it came out. But these days I watch it probably 5 times a year, easily. It’s infinitely quotable, fascinating conceptually and entertaining from start to finish. I can’t stress enough how much I love this movie.
That said… I’m kind of on the fence about buying the movie on Blu ray.
I have a funny relationship with Blu ray. Snobbish, in fact. I love my Blu ray player, but I resent having to buy old movies in the format – especially for $25 – $30 a pop. As such, I’ve developed all these rules about which Blu rays I pick up and which one’s I won’t.
If I already own the movie on DVD, chances are slim that I’ll buy it unless it’s something recent like Wall-E or Iron Man. I tend to snub older films because I actually think some of them look WORSE in the format.
If you don’t believe me, watch The French Connection on Blu ray sometime. They applied this kind of high-res grain to the film to make it look 1970’s gritty, but it comes off as manufactured and soulless. This coupled with the fact that if the movie wasn’t captured at least partially digitally, I’m convinced a Blu ray transfer won’t look good.
In other words, watching a film like Ghostbusters in the format for visual “Ooh’s!” and “Ahh’s!” is kind of like squeezing blood from a stone. There’s only so much a digital transfer is going to give you.
One might argue that, similar to how audiophiles listen to records on vinyl and not CD, there are certain advantages to watching older movies in an older format.
VHS and DVD do a better job of hiding some of the effects work in older films. The roto-scoping, the green screen… Blu ray drags everything out into the light. Sometimes you see more than you should.
This, perhaps, only makes sense to me. But it’s how I feel.
I know most of you guys are probably more excited about the Ghostbusters video game that also game out this week, but what’s your opinion of picking up the original film on Blu ray… or your opinion of Blu ray in general? Do you have any rules you follow? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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For the record, neither one of my grandmothers has an opinion about Barack Obama as President. They’re both dead.
I don’t mean to disparage their memory by being so blunt about it. But I wanted to clarify that I don’t actually have a racist grandmother. Sometimes the comic weaves in and out of autobiographical elements and this is one of those cases where it’s just a joke.
Incidentally, if either of them were alive, I don’t think they would upset about an African American President.
I’m kind of getting into a bad habit where I’m referencing videos in the blog post to help sell the jokes in the comic. But for your own edification, you need to see the red band trailer for the Paul Bettany angels-gone-rogue action film Legion.
WARNING: The language is a little salty and not safe for work.
Watching this trailer reminds me of cheesy action movies from the 80s. I don’t know if it’s the remote desert diner location, but I was immediately reminded of Maximum Overdrive when I first saw this. Also, the music is vaguely reminiscent of the first Terminator to me.
Am I the only one seeing this?
Maybe it’s the abundance of guns. Dennis Quaid’s character actually calls Paul Bettany’s character “Rambo” at one point. But, yeah… The end of the world? God’s army of angels? What does this movie need?… I know! GUNS AND EXPLOSIONS!!
Even though the stringy albino frame of Paul Bettany would be the last one I would run to for protection in the Apocalypse, I believe his detached British charm and dry delivery are the only things lending credibility to this film. It’s almost if he’s communicating “Look, I know this movie is crap, but I’m going to take it seriously.” You have to respect his conviction. Never in my life did I think I would write “Paul Bettany” and “action star” anywhere in the same paragraph.
What do you guys think of Legion? Cheesy fun or bloated action cliches with a Biblical theme? Is Paul Bettany credible as an action star? Also, does anyone have a racist grandmother they want to talk about?
KIDDING! JUST KIDDING ON THAT LAST ONE!
But seriously, leave your comments about Legion below.
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I agonized for a little while whether or not I would have any dialogue in the last panel. While putting the comic together, I found the visual of Tom having a psychotic breakdown almost funny enough on its own. But I thought, “Why leave things to chance?” and added the oft-repeated phrase originally spoken by Will Ferrell as fashion designer/international assassin Mugatu in Zoolander.
I felt a little guilty lifting the phrase because I don’t want people to think that I’m in the habit of stealing jokes. That’s why I give credit where credit is due.
While a more creative writer might have been able to conjure up his own humorous phrase expressing disbelief, I also felt like the “crazy pills” line felt natural coming out of Tom’s mouth. It sounds like something he would say because it’s something that I say from time to time.
People do that. They adopt words or phrases they hear in popular culture and repeat them. That’s how they become sayings.
I’ll give you another example that involves Will Ferrell. “Strategery.” Who would have thought that a made-up word satirizing George W. Bush’s speech patterns would become so popular? It’s practically in the Oxford Dictionary.
Anyway, I’m just saying that “crazy pills” isn’t so much joke stealing as it is “joke referencing.” If you find it uninspired or it offends you… Well, I’ll try better next time.
It is factual that Cami has no interest in seeing Shutter Island. Which flummoxed me up until I started to talk to other women about the movie. No other women in my life, it seemed, held any interest in seeing Martin Scorsese’s newest picture. I can kind of see why. The commercials are creepy. The tone appears to be very dark. Shutter Island doesn’t exactly look like a “feel good” movie.
Of course, this is not to say that Shutter Island is a turn off for ALL women. I’m sure there will be several women in the audience this weekend. Just not any of the women I know.
But I am undeterred. I will see the movie by myself if I have to. And I have to. The last movie I saw in the theater was It’s Complicated. I owe this to myself.
I’m very interested in watching Scorsese turn the screws. I’m picking up a distinct Hitchcock vibe from this film. Maybe it’s the 1950’s time period the movie is set in. Certainly the psychological horror aspects play into things. Ultimately, to me, this looks like Scorsese’s love letter to Psycho, or something. I can’t wait.
We’ve already talked a little bit about Shutter Island in the comment section from Wednesday’s comic, but I’m curious to get your take on why women have negative feelings toward the movie? You’d think they’d at least give Leonardo DiCaprio a cursory pass. But I guess he’s moved beyond his heart throb phase, huh?
Too bad he looks perpetually 12 years-old.
What are your theories about Shutter Island? NO SPOILERS! Leave your comments below!
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Oct24
I really don’t have anything to say about this week’s comic except that I decided to take the themes explored in last week’s comic and ran with them.
I guess as I thought more and more about a horror movie with social media elements, I figured that there had to be some kind of boogeyman to really stoke audience’s fears. Y’know, like Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger. Facebook’s Privacy Policy seemed as logical a choice as any to depict the embodiment of walking evil. So, there you go.
That said, if you’re not following Theater Hopper on Facebook, what’s wrong with you?
Oh, and also, please use the ShareThis plugin below to spread the comic around to all your friends – preferably the Facebook share button.
Y’see… that’s what evil DOES. It creeps into your heart and becomes commonplace. You come to depend on it for strength. Before you realize it, the evil has consumed you… FROM WITHIN!!!
Happy Halloween, everyone!
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