First things first. I know the comic is late, but if you could click on the little image to the left and vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics, I’d appreciate it. We’ve been hovering around the Top 100 all week and I want to break through. I think if we can get everyone into the habit, we can find permanent placement on the list next month when the vote tally resets.

C’mon. Click the link. You want to see Cami’s Yoshi tramp stamp, right?

My apologies for the lateness of this comic. It’s late. Like, really late. Wanna hear my excuses? No? Here it goes, anyway.

As you might recall, Sunday was Christmas. Sunday’s are usually the nights I work on Theater Hopper. Since I foolishly work without a buffer: no comic.

I had planned to work on this week’s strip Monday night, but our Christmas celebration was unexpectedly extended with a dinner invitation to my in-laws: no comic.

On Tuesday night, a good friend who had moved to New York City came back for the holidays and wanted to get together: no comic.

Wednesday night was the first night this week that I didn’t have some kind of external committment. So that was my opportunity to put together this week’s comic. And here we are.

I feel a guilty that the comic is late because I’ve basically hard-wired that deadline guilt into my DNA. But at the same time, I feel like I shouldn’t have to apologize for it. Spending time with family and friends? Dude, that comes first. I love my readers, don’t get me wrong – and I hate making excuses. I’m just explaining that I wouldn’t exactly give the time back, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, let’s talk about the comic.

There was actually a little debate about whether or not Yoshi was a dragon or a dinosaur that I instigated on Twitter. For the most part, people identify him as a dinosaur. Although some people told me that he has a power-up in Super Smash Bros. where he turns into a dragon. So I guess it’s in dispute.

I was primarily concerned that I might have shot my punchline in the foot. But then I realized it’s kind of funnier if Yoshi wasn’t a dragon, but Cami was convinced he was.

I think about these kind of things way more than I should.

I’m very eager to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I haven’t read the books. I haven’t seen the original Dutch films. But I’m a big fan of David Fincher and that’s my primary reason for going.

It doesn’t hurt that the Academy award winning duo behind the soundtrack to Fincher’s The Social Network are back for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I already own Trent Reznor’s and Atticus Ross’s soundtrack and have been listening to it for the past week. It’s creeping me the hell out and I love it.

I was thinking about how badly I want to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I realized that there are very few films at the end of the year that I feel I have to rush out to see.

Typically, I feel very overwhelmed at the end of the year. Studios pump out their awards contenders and fight for their piece of the critical pie. I don’t get the sense that is happening this year, do you? I can’t tell if my enthusiasm for movies in general has waned or if there simply aren’t that many thoughtful, reliable films for adults out there.

I mean, sure, dig deep enough and you’ll find one. But where’s the buzz? Where are the early contenders for next year’s Oscars? The Top 10 lists I’ve been reading over the last few weeks rarely seems to demonstrate and consensus. It’s interesting.

This is my last comic of 2011 which completes the first full year of my shift to a once-a-week schedule. I’ve actually been doing comics once-a-week since last May of last year. So I guess it’s been a little more than a year.

I’ve lost some traffic after going from 3 updates a week to 1. That’s to be expected. But I really didn’t expect so many of you to hang on and to become more resolved in your support of the comic. I wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for that. If you’re reading this, you’re one of the tried and true fans and I appreciate it.

I have some big plans for Theater Hopper in 2012. Things are going to change dramatically. I won’t keep you in suspense very long, though. With next week’s update, I’m going to tell you exactly what 2012 looks like. It’s going to be interesting, for sure. I’m anxious about it, but I think it’s the right decision to make.

Thanks again for your support in 2011 and for putting up with the late comics. May 2012 greet you warmly.

See you next year.