Revenge seems to be the genre du jour at the moment with Man of Fire taking the number one spot at the box office this weekend with Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Punisher trailing closely behind. How Jennifer Garner and her toothpaste commercial of a movie – 13 Going On 30 – snuck into the number 2 spot is surprising. Especially considering America’s apparent bloodlust at the moment.

I’ve read a few articles about this new trend in cinema. The popular theory is that American’s are looking for some kind of antagonist “them” to destroy since 9/11. We can’t exact our revenge in the streets and most people aren’t going to hope the next flight to Afghanistan, so this is the next best thing.

What I wonder is “Where have these essayists been for the last 30 years?” Revenge has always been a central device in storytelling – and not just cinema, but literature and songwriting as well. I wish I could come up with some good examples, but I’m wiped out after putting today’s comic together.

By the way, this is the LAST WEEK we’re taking pre-orders on t-shirts. If you want to sleep better at night knowing that you’ll have one of the VERY FIRST THEATER HOPPER T-SHIRTS, then you need to visit the store right now and put down some cash. Because once the 30th comes and goes, I can’t take any more orders. I’m sorry. It’s a legal thing. The lawyers made me say that.