Unstoppable

Megamind

Am I that big of a Pixar fanboy? Yes, yes I am. Don't get me entirely wrong. Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon are excellent films. Too bad Dreamworks will find every way to pound it into a pulp of crummy sequels. Dreamworks has a formula, and this formula will keep pumping out things like three too many Shreks, Sharktale, and Madagascar until they stop making money. And money should never be the reason to do something like making films. Yes, I know movies are a business before anything, but there can be something beautiful in this method of storytelling. Animated films can become timeless and reach generation after generation when they have heart and soul and mean something. The Disney library of films has garbage, yes, but it also has The Sword and the Stone, Lion King, Cinderella, Aladdin, Pinocchio. These films hold up, and will continue to hold up because they were made with more than money as the goal. Walt Disney wanted to share beautiful tales with the world. Some of his most classic films were utter failures (Alice in Wonderland, Bambi), but he kept making them because it wasn't about the financial success. It was about getting the stories out there.
Pixar proves with it's own library that the tender storytelling of classic animated films still exists. They do not waste time with cheap jokes (well, maybe the dressing montage in Toy Story 3), or frivolous sequels (we'll see about that Cars 2). No, they tell poignant stories with characters of depth. They gave us Wall*E and the Toy Story Trilogy. They are the pinnacle of animation currently providing us with films. Dreamworks would need to change its style if it wanted to be something more. Do I watch Dreamworks' films? Of course. Do I enjoy them? Sometimes. Will I show my own children any of their films someday? Nope. Not any they've made so far.

And that's my two cents.

Saw VII

Paranormal Activity

I wonder how many people looking at this comic saw Paranormal Activity 2. The movie made 84 million dollars. And what happens in the movie? You spend minute after minute watching and waiting for a lamp to move. Nothing happens!

and nothing is happening in this comic. Seriously. There isn't some hidden joke. The joke is on anyone who spent the time staring at it wondering what the heck I did. I know putting the joke on the reader is not nice, but I giggled a little thinking about this one. 6 panels of nothing making fun of a movie that was an hour and a half of hardly anything. Either this is a really clever comic or lazy. either way, it's a reflection of the source material, so it's still a success.

I did have fun continuing this new, more detailed style. And also, I put some of the LOST numbers in the time code. So, I guess there is a little something in this nothing comic.

Jackass 3

Back in the first incarnation of tcomics, Jackass was one of the original adventures the guys went on. There was a shopping cart involved (you'll notice the cart at the bottom of the ladder Ben's up on). It left cartoon T.C., Jason and Andy in Mexico for a short time before the others had to rescue them.

Life As We Know It's Kind of a Funny Story

This doesn't have a thing to do with the movies other than the titles. In my imagination, life as I know it really is a funny thing. I can find humor in the oddest moments, and my imagination will take me on wild fantasies that, if one could crack into my mind, one might be surprised at what they find. Oddities galore.

With the drawings here, I am beginning a new style. It came about after the Claire drawing I did. I was inspired, and I think tcomics are going to be going to greater places now.

The Social Network

Buried

Devil

Resident Evil

Ah the return of Craig the Zombie. I never would've guessed I'd have use for him again after Zombieland, yet here he is. Now, the question is, is this the demise of Mike? I mean, John never showed up again after Craig was seen eating John's arm. And in the real world, Mike has been off the grid for some time now. I feel odd continuing to use him as a character when I haven't actually spent any time with him since May. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, my dear friends.

As for the gag, this one is more for the fans of the Resident Evil games than the films. In the games there was a zombie character that would moan "STARS" (the organization the main characters worked for) whenever he was close by. I think they might've referenced that in the second film, but I could be remembering incorrectly. Anyway, enjoy the imminent mauling.

Going the Distance

Takers Exorcism

To be honest, I actually do enjoy "Life as a House".

Lottery Ticket/Piranha 3D

Vampires don't suck, THESE guys suck

the Expendables

Hmmm... A couple of negative responses to this one. I post dozens of comics, and this is the one that gets the grief.
I wasn't looking to offend. I was just thinking that this many beefed up on steroids and oiled up dudes might be a bit... gay. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that whatsoever. I just thought it was a bit... over compensating, like the really tough football player who goes a bit further than necessary when picking on the effeminate boy in high school or the U.S. Senator who is a loud and overly critical voice against the legalization of gay marriage. Over compensating. Just saying.

the Other Guys

Who is Andy directing there? Why it's none other than Ben. Or rather it's Andy's recasting one of the former main character of "Not Enough Hours in the Day". I wonder if anyone will notice. Or even more difficult: will anyone recognize a blonde Dave from "Hours"? That'll be really impressive.

Happy Halloween!!

Hiccups

So, this isn't part of the movie theme of comics. I just felt like doing an extra comic when this idea popped in my head. Really, I was going to just put the pencils up, and half way through coloring it, I forgot I didn't intend on coloring it. Ah well. Enjoy.

Charlie St. Cloud

Yeah, it's a nutshot joke. I figured I got a fart joke out there, I might as well knock this one out too. Lowbrow? Sure, but would there ever have been an America's Funniest Home Videos without lowbrow comedy such as this?

Enjoy!

Salt

At first glance, Salt seems to be an attempt to make a Jason Bourne for the ladies. And, well, it's exactly that. It's the idea of a bad ass "realistic" super-spy, but with boobs. There have been other female action heroes like Sydney Bristow or La Femme Nikita, so this isn't a new idea. But there are not a lot of these female action hero types. Why is that?. Is it because we as a culture are more willing to watch a man blow up stuff and shoot countless inept enemies? Seems like it. But who am I? There are far smarter folks out there to discuss this topic. Me? I'm a guy who draws comics about movies, pop culture, and fart jokes.

And that brings us to this weeks entry into the tcomics universe and two new characters for the pantheon. I think I got Ms. Jolie pretty well, but I had some trouble with Mr. Damon. I'm expecting at least one person to guess that it's Brad Pitt. Either way, the joke still works. One thing I do know women will always be able to do what men can't: ovulate.

Inception

Oh, Inception. One of the best movies of 2010, I thought I'd have a little more fun with this one. The movie is all about dreams and the unreality in dreams. I suppose you'd have to know just a little about the comics to really appreciate the gag here. For no particular reason, I tend to give little Tim quite a lot of scrapes, bumps, and bruises in these comics. I thought it was time for him to have a little revenge, even if only in a dream world. I'll have to give Mike some vengeance too one of these days.

Anyway, everywhere else I posted this, I only posted the warped reality version. I give you the easier to read upright version below.

Predators Comic

The little girls featured here are my lovely nieces Maddy, Bri, and Annabelle. It was pointed out that this Predator design (which I'm very, very happy with) is one of the most frightening creature designs I've done, and I've put him in front of my nieces. It's cool though. He's just looking for some thin mints.

mmm... thin mints...

Avatar - The Last Airbender

Part of me wasn't sure I would use Tim on this one. I was tempted to bring cartoon Ben back. I wonder if anyone will mention that idea...

Oh, and this movie pretty much was a two and a half hour fart.

Twilight - Eclipse

The one thing I'm more tired of than this Twilight fad is making fun of this Twilight fad. What's left to say really? It's harlequin romance. It's pretty shoddy acting. It's a bland self absorb main character. Blah. Blah. Blah.

What I find most bothersome is that this is a gateway that leads nowhere. All these new fans of vampires and werewolves have stepped over the threshold of Geekdom, and what do they do when looking upon this world of possibilities and far superior tales? They turn their noses up to it still believing that they are better than all of it. Sorry girls, just 'cause your vampires sparkle in sunlight instead of bursting into the flames of damnation doesn't change the fact that they're still vampires. Nerd is nerd. So quit looking down on the culture you are now apart of. And nerds? Stop looking down on Twilight and start accepting the fact that it exists. How about instead of arguing over the flaws that it wears right on its sleeves (when it's actually wearing a shirt) and use it to guide these new travelers of the Geekdom to the corners of the Whedon-verse? Or Anne Rice? Or True Blood! Or pretty much anything else. Because mocking these people and their taste for tween literature isn't helping our cause. Nerds Unite!

Anyway, enjoy this week's comic.
T.C. 9-15-10

Grown-ups

Toy Story 3

the Karate Kid

The A-team

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...


Andy as Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck

Jason as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith

T.C. as Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock

Tim as Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert B.A. "Bad Attitude" Baracus

Splice

The Princes of Persia - the Sands of Time

This week's movies were "The Prince of Persia" and "Sex and the City". Having suffered through the first "Sex and the City", I find myself often dreaming of the characters being run over by large vehicles. The Delorian's not large, but it'll do. It'll do just fine. I love me some time travel. If only "The Prince of Persia" had been a little better. Ah well. I'll always have Marty and the Doc.