MAX VS. MAX

November 16th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I know I’ve been a little blog crazy today, but I have one more post and I promise I’ll let you go back to your daily lives.

I just wanted to take this moment to point you to my friend Wes Molebash’s new comic Max Vs. Max.

If you recognize Wes’s name, it’s because he was the creator of the excellent comic You’ll Have That which he brought to an end earlier this year. It’s a real treat to see Wes throw his hat back into the ring. As a cartoonist, he has a very relaxed and classic style and as a humorist, he is highly adept at plumbing jokes from everyday situations. I consider him to be a very well-rounded talent that I could benefit from being a little more like. From the looks of it, Wes’s time off has really benefited his art and I’m looking forward to checking out more of his work!

Add Max Vs. Max to your bookmarks today!

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KICKSTARTER UPDATE

November 16th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Now it’s time for the obligatory update on the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three.

I gotta say, when I posted on Friday about meeting the goal of $1,000, you guys responded with gusto! We’re now at $1,090 pledged with 32 backers and 31% of the project funded!

You guys kind of pulled the same trick the Friday before last when you pledged almost $350 over the course of a weekend. Maybe it’s because Friday is payday. But I like to think it’s because you guys are as excited to see this book finished as I am!

I’m starting to think that managing the Kickstarter campaign is all about highlighting smaller milestones among the larger goal. So remember that I am giving away me copy of Monsters, Inc. on DVD along with some original Monsters, Inc. artwork drawn by me after we reach the $1,500 mark.

Only people who pledge before that point are eligible for the random drawing that will award one winner! So the more you pledge means the less competition you have in the drawing! If you’ve already pledged, you can go back and INCREASE the amount of your pledge at any time to help improve your odds!

I will be sure to post an update of the artwork when it’s finished. Until then, keep pledging!

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TWO PODCASTS TO CHECK OUT

November 16th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

First, I just wanted to remind everyone to check out The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST. Not sure what we’re going to talk about, although I know that Joe tweeted about seeing The Fantastic Mr. Fox over the weekend and I’m very eager to hear what he has to say about it.

Cami and I had a date night on Saturday and we saw Robert Zemeckis’s A Christmas Carol, so I plan to spend a little time talking about that. For the Cliff’s Notes version of my review, I can say that the motion capture animation that Zemeckis is advocating continues to advance, but I don’t much see the point of it.

I mean, it’s impressive that they can use the technology to allow Jim Carrey to play 8 different roles (like some kind of digital Eddie Murphy), but the film boats an amazing cast. Between Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Cary Elwes and Robin Write Penn I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to see the live-action version of this movie more.

I think this problem is compounded by the fact that the animators stay a little too close to the likeness of the flesh-and-blood actors and don’t push them far enough into caricature. Obviously Scrooge is an exaggeration of a contorted human face and the fact that you can still see Carrey’s mannerisms through the “digital makeup” is kind of revolutionary.

But it seems like they didn’t even bother to try and hide Oldman as Cratchit, Firth as Scrooge’s nephew Fred or Hoskins as Mr. Fezziwig. Granted, Oldman’s Cratchit is about two feet shorter than the actor in real life. But the faces are almost exactly the same. What’s the point?

At least in Beowulf, Zemeckis went to the effort of bulking up and tanning the other wise chubby and pasty Ray Winstone.

Anyway, check out The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST for more of that.

CHANGING GEARS QUICKLY!

I wanted to point your attention to an interview I did with Andrew McDonald over at New-Gen that was posted over there this morning. It’s an audio recording and it’s a little over a half hour long, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out. If you have the time to listen to it, I think there are some particular insights that you will enjoy.

Andrew asked some very intelligent questions and I thought the conversation flowed naturally. We got beyond the boiler plate about Theater Hopper and my history with the comic and wandered into some really interesting territory regarding digital media, distribution models and webcomics in general. I strongly encourage you to check it out. It will be well worth your time.

Cheers!

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KICKSTARTER UPDATE

November 13th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Hey, guys. Just a quick update about the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three. I know you guys know what’s up, so I won’t belabor the point.

I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that, as of this writing, the campaign is now 28% funded with $979 in pledges. We’re so close to $1,000, I can taste it.

I strongly believe that the success of this campaign will be buoyed by the momentum we keep. So if you’re thinking about pledging at all, please do so now. The closer that status bar gets to being 100% filled, the more it will motivate others to help us reach that goal!

If you’ve been following the project updates on the Kickstarter page, you’ll know that I’m considering putting together some original art as part of a giveaway to get people to pledge. The idea is that since I’m starting to replace some of my DVDs with Blu-ray discs that I would make available the DVDs I no longer use and create some original art to go with them. Movies that I’m willing to let go of include A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Wall-E and Iron Man.

I think I’m going to go forward with this. So even though we’re on the precipice of $1,000, let’s make $1,500 the next goal. Everyone that pledges in advance of the $1,500 goal will be entered into a drawing to win a DVD copy of Monsters, Inc. with some original art on a sheet of 10 x 14 Bristol board from yours truly. Once I have the artwork finished, I’ll post some pictures.

SO LET’S GET PLEDGING!

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NO COMIC FOR WEDNESDAY

November 11th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Hey, guys. Small status update for you.

I don’t know if you tried to access the site yesterday. But if you did, you might have noticed it was down. I have no idea what caused it and we may never know. Sometimes Dreamhost likes to stop displaying your web sites to see if you’re paying any attention.

At any rate, you’ll notice today that I am running a Blu-ray review of Up instead of a new comic. Two reasons for that:

One, the Up review was supposed to run yesterday and (as I previously mentioned) the site was down all day. So I’m making up for lost time.

Two, I forgot my pens at the place where I’m freelancing. I left them there yesterday after attempting to be proactive and completing the comic over my lunch hour. That didn’t happen and then I forget my pens. So I wouldn’t have been able to draw a new comic if I wanted to.

Not resting on my laurels, however, I made SEVERAL significant updates to my Kickstarter fund raising campaign page for Theater Hopper: Year Three.

Read the updates page where I address questions about the book’s eventual availability, the amount of flexibility regarding the custom illustration reward (available at the $20 pledge level) and you get a close look at this:

3D glasses

This is the image that’s going on the t-shirt available at the $65 pledge level. Eventually I will sell the design in the Theater Hopper store. But people who pledge to the Kickstarter fund raising campaign at the $65 level or above will get first crack at it.

I know committing to something like that is difficult if you don’t have a sense of what the shirt will look like. So I wanted to put the image out there to whet your appetites a little bit.

By the way, you can leave comments on any one of these update posts. If you something you’d like to say about the direction of the campaign or the information you’re receiving from me, I would appreciate your feedback!

Lastly, the most important reason to check out the Kickstarter fund raising campaign is because I finally uploaded my project video last night!

I took the time I would have otherwise spent working on the comic and used it to film and edit the video. I’m very happy with the final product and I think it’s worth watching even if you think you already know all of the project details. Hopefully you’ll find it at least a little bit entertaining.

Again, I ask that you pledge whatever you can to the project. It’s very important to me that the book be published this year and your involvement can make that a reality!

Thanks to everyone who has show their support so far. I greatly appreciate your help!

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KICKSTARTER UPDATE

November 9th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Wow, you guys. I gotta say that I am overwhelmed by the support you showed the Theater Hopper: Year Three fund raising project over the weekend. When I posted about it on Friday, the campaign had gathered $533 worth in pledges. This morning, we’re up to $868.04. That’s a difference of $335.04 pledged in just a few days and that is GREAT!

I’m kind of chuckling about the .04 that was pledged. That’s pretty cool and it just goes to show that you can pledge ANY amount that you’re comfortable with.

I have to admit that I’m kind of surprised that no one has taken advantage of the $1.00 pledge reward. Your name and a link to your site from Theater Hopper? Seems like pretty low hanging fruit to me. Of course, I’m pleased that more of you are pledging large amounts. So keep up the good work on that front!

If you’ve never purchased a Theater Hopper book before, this campaign is a good opportunity to take advantage of the rewards system and to get your hands on all three books at one time.

Pledging $45 or more opens the door to acquiring Theater Hopper: Year Three as well as TWO FREE BOOKS. Don’t forget the additional rewards, like getting your copy of Year Three signed and numbered with an original sketch. Lots of great stuff to take advantage of.

I still haven’t gotten around to filming my video yet, which is kind of bad. It’s just hard to do at the end of the day when you’re bone tired and trying to put a 2 year-old to bed. I’m also kind of self-conscious about recording myself if Cami is anywhere within earshot. Which is weird, because I bather in typical loudmouth fashion whenever I record The Triple Feature. She says she can hear me in the basement from our bedroom on the second floor.

I guess I’m more comfortable with that because it’s more stream-of-consciousness and I’m free to tumble over my words. I guess I feel like I need to rehearse this Kickstarter video, or something. I gotta get over myself.

In the meantime, if you could help spread the word using the social media links under the project graphic on the Kickstarter page, that would help a lot!

Thanks again for everyone’s support. Let’s keep those pledges coming!

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I-CON COMIC BOOK CONVENTION REMINDER

November 6th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I just wanted to remind people in or around the state of Iowa that I will be appearing at the I-Con Comic Book Convention this Saturday, November 7 at the Adventureland Inn in Altoona, Iowa. The show is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and tickets are just $5 (kids 9 and under are free with a paid adult admission).

I should mention that I am speaking on the “Your Career In Comics” panel at 2:00 PM. Not exactly sure who is moderating it or what the line of discussion will be, so it should be fun to watch me improvise!

Come out and see me!

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KICKSTARTER STATUS REPORT

November 6th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Earlier this week I was freaking out because I was worried that my Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three wasn’t going to gather enough pledges before the campaign period ran out.

I’m feeling a little more comfortable today after a flurry of activity the last two days. So I wanted to take this moment to thank everyone who has pledged so far!

As of this writing, $533 has been pledged. The goal is $3,500, so that means we have $2,967 to go before the project deadline of December 31. That’s 55 days. In other words, the campaign needs to record pledge amounts averaging almost $55 a day to make goal.

I think that’s totally possible. $55 a day is like 4 of you pledging $15 for the book – which comes signed and numbered by yours truly. Or having a couple of you pledge $30 a day to get a copy of the book signed and numbered, along with a custom illustration AND your name printed in the book’s “thank you” page. Totally do-able!

There’s a lot that I still need to do to help make the campaign a success. Most notably, post a video of myself explaining the project to the uninitiated. I read on Kickstarters blog that projects with videos get 90% more funding. I’ve just had problems finding time to record myself talking about it. I also want the video to be of high quality. So I have ambitions for shooting locations, lighting and editing.

I might be overthinking it a little bit.

In the meantime, if you’d like to help spread the word, go to the Theater Hopper: Year Three Kickstarter page and access some of the social media tools directly below the project graphic. There are links for Email, Facebook, Delicious, MySpace, Twitter and digg – All of which you can use to let people know about the campaign!

Thanks again to everyone who has pledged so far and show enthusiasm for this project. It’s keeping me going!

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KICKSTARTER SPECIFICS

November 4th, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I wanted to take a moment to talk to you guys about the rewards I’m offering over at Kickstarter as part of the Theater Hopper: Year Three fund raising campaign. Pledges have trailed off a little bit since I announced the campaign last Friday and I want to make sure you guys understand how the system works.

First, please know that you can pledge ANY amount you feel comfortable pledging.

Second, please know that I won’t see a dollar of the pledged money unless I make my goal of $3,500 by December 31, 2009.

Third, I am offering rewards based on the amount you pledge. They are as follows:

  • $1 – Everyone who pledges a dollar will have their name and a link to their web site added to a special thank you page on the Theater Hopper web site.

  • $5 – The previous reward, plus a high-res PDF of the completed book.

  • $15 – The previous rewards, plus a hard copy of the book signed and numbered by the artist.

  • $20 – The previous rewards, plus a custom illustration inside your hard copy of the book.

  • $30 – The previous rewards, plus your name printed on a special thank you page in the book. Have your name memorialized FOR ALL TIME!

  • $35 – The previous rewards, plus ONE free book! Choose from any of my publications – Theater Hopper Year One, Year Two or Year Three. Any combination. You choose

  • $45 – The previous rewards, plus TWO free books! Choose from any of my publications – Theater Hopper Year One, Year Two or Year Three. Any combination. You choose!

  • $50 – The previous rewards, plus a special 3D-themed 1″ button set. 5 buttons total.

  • $65 – The previous rewards, plus first dibs on a brand new t-shirt design featuring an image of 3D glasses.

  • $150 – The previous rewards, plus an avatar set of up to 5 images drawn by the artist. You will also receive the original art as well as high-res, finished digital art.

Without getting overly optimistic, when I look at Theater Hopper’s daily traffic, I see no reason why we can’t have this project completely funded if everyone pledged just one dollar. Obviously, I would love it if you could pledge more than that. But the point I’m trying to make is that the success of this project can be met if even with a minimal investment. If I’m able to rally everyone to my goal, we could have this fund raising problem solved by the weekend.

So please consider pledging. Even if it’s only a dollar. Think about the entertainment you come to this site for – the momentary distraction it provides you. Isn’t that worth at least a dollar? Hopefully you value it more than that. All I’m asking is that you not ignore this fund raising campaign completely.

If anyone has questions about the Kickstarter fund raising system, the rewards or anything else tied to this campaign, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Please feel free to leave your questions in the comments below as well.

Thanks.

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I-CON COMIC BOOK CONVENTION

November 2nd, 2009 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Before I forget, I wanted to let people in and around Iowa to know that I will be appearing at the I-Con Comic Book Convention this Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Adventureland Inn in Altoona, Iowa.

I’ll be there, selling my wares, chatting with fans, drawing and signing whatever you bring me. So stop by and say “Hi!”

There was a rumor that I would be on a panel for self-publishing, but I haven’t heard any confirmation on that. So I guess I’ll find out when I get there. In the meantime, it would be cool if you came down to keep me company!

See you Saturday!

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