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It's been a couple of days since it hit the web, but I feel like we should take a moment or two to talk about the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man.

I've been a little bit reluctant to post the trailer only because I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Sony's decision to relaunch the franchise five years after Spider-Man 3 left theaters.

I think the talent they have lined up for this thing looks phenomenal - particularly Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. I think he has the right gangly build for Spider-Man. Much moreso than Tobey Maguire. But I feel like the foundation of the movie is kind of cynical.

It can't be bright and cartoonish like Sam Raimi's films, so this version has to be dark and gritty instead. Raimi's film were pretty much straight up superhero action films. Marc Webb's version has to have mystery and angst.

The one thing I DO like about the trailer is that they seem to have captured Spider-Man's trademark wit a little better than Raimi's films. The scene with him in the backseat of the car hits exactly the right tone.

But overall, I'm still a little skeptical of the film. I want the film to be fun. Right now, that's not what they're communicating. This movie couldn't be more desperate for legitimacy if it wore a sign that said "SERIOUS FILM" around it's neck.

What's your reaction to this new trailer? Leave your comments below!

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If you love your cell phone, you'll probably love the latest Top Web Comics incentive sketch. Click on that little graphic to the left to see it!

Every week it feels like I'm apologizing for the strip being late and such is the case this week. I posted teasers on Facebook and Twitter telling people that today's comic would be double-sized - much like last week's comic. As you can see, that didn't happen.

But I want you to know that I actually put in the work this week. I drew and inked 8 panels. In the end, I felt maybe that that comic was better served split in two rather than one giant strip.

That's good news for you, though. Because it gives me a leg up on the next comic. What say you? Should I try to turn around the second half of this strip and post it tomorrow or Friday? Or maybe I should hold off and post it on Monday?

The more I think about it, I might actually have an opportunity to build a buffer here. So I might hold off. You'll like the second half of this strip - it actually has a punchline! But for now, I'm just going to let the emotion breath a little bit.

These final strips are all about letting you guys know that the characters are going to be "okay." I've left Charlie and Jimmy's relationship on the back burner since March of 2009. That's a long time to leave these two in limbo. I always intended to come back to them. I guess there's no time like the present. The next few comics will be focusing on their relationship.

I feel oddly handicapped because I'm not writing blogs as lengthy as I used to. This tends to happen during storylines. But I'm still talking about movie stuff! If you check out the Bonus Materials blog, I recently posted the trailer and some stills from the upcoming Avengers movie. I'll probably be posting the trailer from the reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man soon.

I know you guys have probably seen this stuff floating around the internet on a dozen different sites by now. But if you feel like talking about it with me... then, hey... I'm here for your buddy.

Thanks again for your patience. I hope you're enjoying these last few comics!

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If you travel in geek circles, the big news today was that Marvel aired the latest trailer for The Avengers during some... sporting event last night? Football? I don't keep up on these things.

Let's focus our attention on what really matters.

This trailer is the extended online edition which is somehow 30 seconds longer than what aired last night without telling us too much more about the movie.

I'd say Marvel is doing a pretty good job of whipping up a nerd frenzy. They're showing us just enough without giving away too much. With each additional release, they show a little more, but they don't go overboard. Clearly they know that the Hulk is their ace in the hole and they've done a good job obscuring him up to this point.

GeekTyrant did an excellent job of dissecting the trailer and grabbing stills - a few of which I'm going to share here. But you should really check out their article for more details.

Here's our best look at the Hulk so far.

And because you all know what a huge Iron Man geek I am, here are the two stills that got my heart racing.

Suiting up...

...and would you look at that? I see some additional back thrusters and shoulder-mounted weaponry in that still! Looks like Iron Man got an upgrade!

Yeah, I know, I'm hopeless.

What's your reaction to this trailer? Leave your comments below!

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I didn't go crazy with this week's Top Web Comics incentive sketch. Just a simple profile shot of Charlie, since she seems to be on Jimmy's mind. If you vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics, you'll get to see the whole thing! Check it out!

My apologies for the lateness of this week's comic. I knew when I was putting it together that I wanted it to be double-sized to take advantage of the pacing. I just didn't estimate how long that would actually take.

For your reference, I've included a couple of links to some of the issues this comic brought up. Yes, Jimmy was a former womanizer. He also once had a relationship with Charlie and they almost got married! It might be easier if you check out that story line from the beginning if you haven't read it before. It's one of the arcs that I'm probably most proud of. Kind of funny that it's pretty much the 3 year anniversary of that story and how it's finally coming full-circle.

I mentioned last week that since this is the last hurrah, it was my ambition to tie up some of the loose ends with several of the characters. Jimmy - witnessing Tom's potential evolution into a family man - is deciding maybe it's time to stop torturing himself and pick up with Charlie where they left off. We'll get to see that play out before it's all over.

That's all I've got for right now. I just want to remind everyone to check out the Theater Hopper store and help me unload some of my inventory. I've got a pretty aggressive sale going on right now. Buy any two books, get the third one free. Buy any two shirts, you'll also get the third one free.

There have been several people to take me up on the offer so far - including people who have ordered the Artist Edition's of the books. If you'd like me to personalize your book with a sketch, it's a great opportunity to get something unique. By the time August rolls around, I don't know if I'll be doing sketches in books anymore. Get yours now!

Thanks again for your support and your patience. I'll see you soon!

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Call me cynical, but the trailer for Lockout looks a lot like a parody of an action movie that would be situated inside some kind of comedy film. How could you NOT think that with delicious dialog like "There's only one man who can get her out." "Who?" "Snow." "He's the best there is... but he's a loose cannon."

Nevermind that is pretty much a straight rip-off of Escape from New York.

Oh, well. I suppose kids today won't figure that out.

Lockout stars Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, and Guy Pearce. It opens April 20th.

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I had a lot of fun drawing the expression Tom made in the fourth panel of today's comic, so I decided to see if I could push it father in today's Top Web Comics incentive sketch. I believe this is what's called in the comedy world as "pulling a face." Check it out!

Sorry for the delay posting today's comic. There was a bit of a kerfuffle involving the site's server host. Apparently there was a potential security compromise and our host was forcing password resets on an incremental basis. I didn't find out about it until after I tried to upload today's comic! But things are back to normal now.

Considering Theater Hopper's slow descent into oblivion this August, I had the idea that I should recognize certain mile makers along the way. That's why Cecil showed up into today's comic.

I never really took advantage of Cecil. I basically created him to give Jimmy someone to bounce things off of when Tom or Jared weren't around. He didn't say much, he appeared in maybe one or two strips and he will be missed barely - if at all.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, CECIL.

I've been thinking a lot about the larger narrative of this story and realized that I really haven't planned things out very far.

I mean, I have dozens of ideas for strips and I have a general sense of how things are going to go. But I haven't sat down to actually plot things out.

That's kind of a concern. Because, in the past - whenever I wrote a longer storyline - I would use this thumbnail approach and things worked out fine. If things went on a little too long, I'd could end the story with very little impunity before moving on to the next thing.

But now that there is A DEADLINE looming on the horizon, I need to be a little more economical about how things unfold.

There are 28 weeks until August 6. That means only 28 more Theater Hopper comics on the present once-a-week schedule before I wrap things up for good. My concern at this point is that I might take more than 28 comics to finish telling the story I want to tell.

That's good news for you, I hope. I have no problem producing extra comics if it helps me tie things up in a nice little bow. I just need to make sure I time this out right. I'm going to start to have planning in advance, outlining plot points and sticking to them.

Y'see... this is why I announced the comic ending so early. It gives you pleanty of time to iron out pesky little wrinkles like this!

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE STORE

Several of you took my words to heart last week when I blogged about getting rid of my Theater Hopper inventory. Many thanks to those of you who placed orders. I'll be shipping them this week!

I want to keep the store top of mind for everyone, though. I'm sincere about selling this stuff off.

Food for thought: If you buy any two Theater Hopper books, you get the third for free. That's a savings of $15, folks.

Did I mention it includes the Artist Editions? Get a sketch thrown in, while you're at it! I'd be happy to draw whatever you like.

Be sure to spread the good word around. I could really use your help!

That's it for today. Thanks for your patience and I'll see you next week! Or maybe sooner!

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What was Tom thinking about? Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comic to view the incentive sketch that explains it all. Or none of it! You'll have to click to find out!

By the way, great job with the voting, guys. We're doing well on the charts. Almost 750 so far in January. I think that's great for only updating once a week! Keep it up!

I apologize for the comic being late this week. I was laid low by a migraine Sunday night that made it kind of impossible to sit upright or, y'know... be exposed to light. I don't often get migraines. Usually they're brought on by stress. I would say last week was pretty stressful.

I'm doing better, though. I was having a hard time reconciling the decision to announce Theater Hopper's conclusion in August. I even made a video about it. I posted it to the blog last week, but I know most of you probably missed it. I wanted to post it again just to kind of get it out of my system. Also because I think it has a message that is worth listening to, even if I did kind of stumble onto it at the end.

Keep in mind that the video was recorded the evening after I made the announcement, so everything is pretty much sitting right on the surface here.

But like I said, I'm doing much better now. Everyone has been amazingly supportive and understanding. I know that announcing the end this far out was absolutely the right decision to make.

I mean, if I was having this kind of difficulty a week ago, announcing the comic ending with no warning would have been much, much more upsetting. I'm positive it would have alienated fans and left a bad taste in my mouth personally - with the potential to ruin the last 10 years of my work. That's not how I wanted to go out.

But, yeah. Moving forward. Now with another comic under my belt since making the announcement, it's getting easier. I'm getting used to the idea and I'm excited about what's coming next.

That said, I knew what this week's comic was going to be about a week ago. I probably should have had it in the can earlier so I could have posted regardless of whether or not I had a migraine. But I've been working without a buffer for this long. It's kind of hard to change my stripes now.

BY THE WAY... THE STORE

Now that we're all on the same page with the comic ending in August, I have to undertake the unfortunate business of clearing out the Theater Hopper store. I need your help with this. Nothing is going to bum me out more than looking into a closet full of Theater Hopper merchandise 8 months from now and thinking "Dammit. Now what I am supposed to do with this stuff?"

That's why I've gotten a little aggressive with the pricing. Right now you can buy two books and get one for free. That offer also extends to shirts - buy any two shirts and get one free.

It's likely that most of you reading this have already bought a book or shirt for yourself in the past. But don't let that stop you from taking advantage of these deals now. Buy a shirt for your little brother. Buy a book as a birthday gift for a movie-loving friend. Don't be afraid that they won't like it. I sell these things to people at comic book conventions who have never heard of webcomics, let alone Theater Hopper. Without fail, they come back the next day looking for more. You're friends will love this it - and they'll really appreciate that you bought them something unique.

In an effort to pick off the low-hanging fruit, I'm going to feature an individual item until I'm sold out of inventory. The first item in my sights is this t-shirt design, "Emerging."

This was actually a design I created for Threadless a few years ago. It didn't get picked up, but I liked it enough to produce it myself.

I literally have TWO of these shirts left - one XL and one 2XL. I'm selling them for a paltry $5.00. Two of you are going to pick them up. Bundle them with two more shirts and you'll get this shirt for free! You can't beat that.

C'mon. Who's gonna help get the ball rolling?

I'm sorry to have to push the hard sell on you guys. But like I said, I don't want August to come around and be confronted with a closet-full of unsold Theater Hopper merchandise. It's too sad to contemplate. Help a buddy out. If you can't make a purchase, at least use the little Facebook and Twitter buttons on the pages of the items you like and share them with your friends. Who knows - maybe they'll take a look?

That's all I have for now. More comics soon. And thanks again for all of your support!

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Earlier this week I was exposed to the trailer for the forthcoming romantic comedy Friends With Kids. I haven't posted it until now because I've kind of confused by it.

On the one hand, the movie is stuffed to the gills with actors I love including Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm and Chris O'Dowd. But the trailer positively reeks of plot contrivances and romantic comedy tropes that usually only attract the likes of Katherine Heigl.

In other words, it looks dumb and I think I kind of hate it?

Watch for yourself.

Truthfully, I don't even think you need to see the movie now. The trailer pretty much gave it all away.

Also, what the hell happened to Jennifer Westfeldt? She was an adorable chipmunk in Kissing Jessica Stein. Now she looks like she's been wrapped in plastic.

What's your reaction to the Friends With Kids trailer? Leave your comments below!

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Feeling a little low on twee? Then polish up your Polaroid cameras, hipsters. The trailer for Wes Anderson's latest - Moonrise Kingdom - just hit the web.

The movie hits theaters on May 25 and is Anderson's first live-action film 5 years.

Nearly every frame of this trailer looks like a postcard from some imaginary era. I'm down for it. What's your reaction? Leave your comments below!

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On Monday evening I was feeling a little melancholy about my announcement to end Theater Hopper and decided to record a video to try and capture a moment in time. I had a couple thoughts in mind before I sat down to record it, but it kind of morphed into something a little more sincere. I uploaded it to the Theater Hopper Facebook page and eventually decided to share it here.

I spent all day Monday walking around, feeling like an exposed nerve. I think this video captures that. If nothing else, I hope it communicates how profoundly this decision has affected me and that your support has never EVER been taken for granted.

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