Posts Tagged ‘The Matrix Revolutions’
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I don’t know if today’s strip is too violent or too abrupt and I don’t even know where Tom would get his hands on a battle-axe, but the whole idea seemed like a riot to me. Plus, I love to write strips where I get to freak out.
So it’s true the latest, greatest trailer for The Matrix Revolutions has hit the airwaves. I saw it on TV last night.
I have to admit, when I first saw it on screen, I thought it was an ad for the release of The Matrix Reloaded on DVD. Isn’t that supposed to be coming out soon? October 14, as I recall.
I don’t know if it bodes particularly well if hard-core fans (like myself) are confusing Revolutions with Reloaded. Maybe it’s because they’re releasing them so close together. Maybe they just needed to send a different message instead of blasting us with more video-game like imagery.
Part of me thinks that the release of this trailer is pretty convenient. Especially when you consider that New Line has been advertising the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer in front of Secondhand Lions this weekend. Dear Lord. It’s like the trailers are as big of an event as the actual movie!
Of course, if you don’t have time this weekend to wait for the Matrix Revolutions trailer to magically appear on your TV, I’ve provided this handy-dandy link for you to see it now.
Be sure to stop back later. I have some site-related news to share with everyone.
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I must admit, when I saw the trailer for The Matrix Revolutions, I got goosebumps. My inner geek dialed up to eleven. (That is one more than ten.) Though I was disappointed in the last installment of the series, the Wachowski Brothers will not be disappointed when I pay my $7.75 to experience the revolution.
Patti and I rented The Wash, due to her fixation with Pauly Shore. I knew his appearance would be brief, so I warned her before we started the flick. Indeed, his performance was limited to a short cameo. This film did not stretch any barriers. If you are a fan of the genre, (goofball chronic smokin’ booty pimp comedy-mystery rapper films)you may enjoy it, otherwise your time is probably better spent watching Friday.
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For those of you who didn’t make it to the site this weekend, I informed everyone that the buzzComix top web comics list has reset. If you’d like to lend a little support to Theater Hopper, please vote for us on buzzComix every day. As a little extra incentive, you’ll get to see a special Halloween image drawn by yours truly for you effort. Over the weekend, we climbed up to number 11 on the list – no small feat. But I know your support can push us over the top! Be sure to get your vote on now if you haven’t seen the Halloween message. It’ll be replaced by another piece of art on Wednesday – Matrix related.
Speaking about that… Boy, November kind of snuck up on us, didn’t it? Can you believe that The Matrix Revolutions will be in theaters this Wednesday?
I figured the marketing blitz would have been in full effect by now, but my television has been conspicuously silent. Nary an advertisement in sight.
I don’t want to be a killjoy, but the buzz around the final chapter in The Matrix trilogy isn’t particularly strong. People are saying it’s much more SATISFYING than Reloaded, but not as significant as the original. Basically, they’re turning up the volume and are gonna blow stuff up GOOD.
None of this will dissuade me from seeing the picture, of course. More than anything, I just need to know how it ends. I think the critics comments on this one are essentially useless.
I tried my hand at a different inking method for today’s strip. I don’t know what persuaded me to do it. I guess I just wanted to experiment a little. Try to establish more mood. Do you like it? Hate it? Let me know what you think in the forums. I don’t know if it’ll become a permanent addition to my style. Like I said, I’m just toying around. But I’m curious to hear what you think.
I mentioned on Friday that I would have the opportunity to meet Scott Kurtz of PVP at a local comic shop on Saturday. Well, I’m pleased to report that I got a little face time with the man.
It’s always weird meeting people who’ve inspired you. It’s really difficult to tell them what their work has meant to you beyond saying it changed your outlook on things and you just wanted to say “Thanks.” At least, that was the position I found myself in.
I thought Scott was really gracious with his time. He signed my copy of PVP #1 and took care to flip through my book of samples. He read a lot of them and really looked them over. He told me to keep up the good work and that there was some really funny stuff I had done. I don’t think he was blowing smoke up my ass. He seemed very supportive – and that means a lot.
I wanted to ask him for a link to the site, but I thought that would be kind of pushy. I’ve been going back and forth on it thinking maybe I missed a good opportunity to market the site. But in the end, I’d rather have him link me because he likes what I do, not because I was looking for a handout. Would I be happy if it turns out he links me? Of course! Over the moon happy. But I’d rather earn it then beg for it.
Anyway, great experience all around. He was a really good guy. More later.
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Well, gone are the days of hatching to bring depth and shading to my creations. When asked, most people applauded the experimentation in Monday’s strip, they didn’t feel it meshed well with my pop art style. I’m inclined to agree. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted. Enjoy Theater Hopper Classic!
I’m pretty happy with today’s strip. I told Cami it’s like there’s a joke in every frame! I’m also pretty pleased with how the art turned out especially considering how sick I felt while producing it.
I don’t know what was wrong with me, but my throat was sore, I could swallow and I was all achy. I was certain I was coming down with something. Today I feel fine, but yesterday I felt like walking Death. I don’t know what it is about exhaustion or sickness that results in a more satisfying artistic result. Maybe it’s my subconscious giving sleep deprivation the finger.
Everyone should take a moment to give me some vote-love over at buzzComix. I’ve uploaded a brand new piece of incentive artwork that relates specifically to today’s big release of The Matrix Revolutions. That’s the only hint you’ll get. If you want to know what it looks like, click the link!
I’m excited to see Revolutions, but I’m not jumping up and down in anticipation. I think after the quagmire of Reloaded, everyone is a little more on their guard. Frankly, that film split the fan base so severely, Revolutions is really going to have to pull a rabbit out of its hat to recover. Of the reviews I’ve been reading, most critics say that they’re laying off the eastern religious stuff and just blowing things up six ways past Sunday. CNN’s Paul Clinton gave it quite the drubbing. But he pretty much admitted to hating the franchise up front, so how seriously can you take him?
Truthfully, I’m more excited about seeing Elf this weekend. I’m a huge Will Ferrell fan and I think every movie he’s been in is the better for it. Yes, even The Ladies Man. Okay, maybe not A Night at the Roxbury. It’ll be interesting to see how he does in his first starring role versus being a cog in an ensemble.
I wanted to mention something else before wrapping up today and that is I’ve added some donation incentives to the Walk of Fame. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few people give to the site out of the goodness of their hearts. But I always felt a little shady asking for money without giving anything in return. I mean, sure, the site has been providing free entertainment for over a year now, but I do that because I want to. If I’m asking for donations, it’s really no skin off my back to offer a little more in exchange.
So here’s the deal: Anyone who donates $4.99 or less gets their name on the Walk of Fame and a link to their web site (if they have one) for as long as the site exists. If you donate $5.00 to $9.99, you’ll get your name and link AND a Theater Hopper wallpaper for your desktop. (I’ll be updating these from time to time, so be sure to check back.) Anyone who donates $10.00 or more gets all of that PLUS their portrait drawn in the Theater Hopper style. All you would need to do is submit a photo for reference and we’re in business! And lastly, for those of you who are members of the forum, I will reimburse you with 100 points to be used in the forum store for every dollar you donate.
So, yeah. Those are the new donating incentives. I’m really excited about them and I hope you are too. As always, thank you for supporting Theater Hopper. You guys keep me going in more ways than one and I appreciate all of it.
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Nov07
Today’s comic is about 90% true to real life. I did spend a fair amount of time trying to convince Cami to see The Matrix Revolutions, but she wasn’t impressed with the last one and the bad reviews were keeping her away from the new one.
I actually threatened not to see Love, Actually as punishment for her not wanted to see a movie *I* was really excited about. You see, that’s how our system works. She goes to movies I want to see be she doesn’t and in exchange, I got to movies she wants to go to but I don’t. We take turns torturing each other.
Of course, when I made the threat, Cami had to mentally pull up a list of movies BESIDES Revolutions she knew I was excited to see. When she tried to barter a matinee of Elf for one Love, Actually, I told her it wouldn’t wash. She’s been just as excited for this movie as I have.
I don’t know what it is about Will Ferrell that we find so appealing. For me I think it’s his level of commitment. Whether it a skit on Saturday Night Live or a bit part in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, he’s totally there for all of it. Every scene. Every line. And he’s not afraid to make himself look like the fool. It’s that kind of selflessness in comedy that I respect.
Every review I’ve read on Elf so far has been positive. It makes me wonder that if Revolutions had opened today instead of Wednesday if Elf wouldn’t nudge it out at the box office…
Interpret that how you like. I’m probably not going to give my opinion one way or the other on Revolutions. It seems like people on both sides of the fence have too much invested in it for me to go too far into detail regarding my reactions to it.
While the last two movies were not executed at the level of precision that I would have hoped for, I still think The Matrix universe is one of the most richly detailed in all cinema. It’s still a great concept and will most likely live within the lexicon of our culture for the next few generations. Regardless of where it goes from here, anyone with even a passing interest in science fiction owes it to themselves to be familiar with all 3 movies.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
Before I wrap things up, I wanted to thank everyone who voted for Theater Hopper at buzzComix this week. You guys really showed ’em what’s what. We cracked the Top 10 and found a cozy little spot around number 8. This, of course, blows my mind. Thank you so much for your support and keep up the great work!
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It’s 100% fact that I was in Florida while V for Vendetta was in theaters. It was released on March 17 of this year and we were actually smack-dab in the middle of a two week long guest strip marathon. Since V for Vendetta comes out on DVD tomorrow, I thought this was a clever way for me to talk about the movie in a way that wouldn’t have been timely earlier this spring.
However, if you’re looking for the ultimate parody of the police state politics represented in the movie, I strongly suggest you check out Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Our good friend put together a GREAT storyline during the period that the film was released, creating a new character along the way… Stoic Joe-replacement-slash-secret-agent George! Classic stuff.
Originally, I wanted to do a week’s worth of comics about Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but I ended up doing this far darker and more paranoid comic instead. I think it’s my way of coping with the paranoia about my attendance at Wizard World Chicago this year.
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ll be at table # 3134 A on Artist’s Alley and I’ll be pretty hard to miss because I’ll be surrounded by the likes of other web comic luminaries like Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey as well as Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex.
I guess I’m nervous because I feel like I have a lot at stake at this convention. I attended in 2004 and that was me putting my toe into the water. Checking out the scene and trying to make sense of it all. In 2005, it was all about strengthening the relationships I made with other artists and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. This year?… it feels more like business. I’ll have several dozen copies of my first book "Theater Hopper: Year One" with me and I want to make sure that I get it in front of as many people as possible. Obviously that means selling a bunch. But it also means putting it in the hands of other creative people and getting their feedback. It’s all about networking, baby. I’m wracking my brain over the potential of this thing.
Incidentally, if you’d like to order a copy for yourself, you can do so here. I actually just got a bunch of the cardboard envelopes I needed to mail out the pre-orders shipped to my house on Friday. So I’ve been spending the week preparing books for shipment. You guys should be seeing your orders very soon! However, if you recall, I offered free sketches to all orders placed before June 11. So I’m drawing those in the book and it’s going to take a little while. The majority of you should see your books arrive by mid-August!
At any rate, if you can make it to Chicago, please come by the table and say "Hi." If you do, I’ll be sure to give you an invitation to my book release party on Saturday night. Trust me. It’ll be a blast.
Man, three days from now I’m going to be on the road to Chicago. I can’t wait.
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