No Fly Zone

[reddit-me]Alternate Title: “Bogey Nights”

[NOTE!: I’m getting the impression that a lot of you think the shirts in the Topatoco Store are the only ones for sale. This is not the case. Check out the HE Store to see everything I have to offer. ]

I saw “Up!” and this was the first thing that came to mind. I have a really hard time NOT imposing real world logic on children’s movies. Pixar makes it so much more difficult since their films are so immaculately produced. While I thoroughly  enjoyed the movie (the order goes Nemo, Incredibles, Monsters Inc., WALL-E, Up!, then the rest in no particular order. I’m not a huge Toy Story fan since I haven’t seen it since it came out on VHS), I was incredibly distracted with thoughts of “are the cops looking for this cub scout kid that’s been missing for 3 weeks and who was last seen going into the house of a 70 year old man?” and “why didn’t the house float away while the balloons were under the tarp? Surely the tarp didn’t weigh so much that it was keeping the balloons from lifting a 20 ton house,” and other such quandaries.

After seeing “Up!,” I wondered why Pixar chose to market it as “old guy+balloon-house” when it was really so much more. Granted, I DID go see it based on the limited information provided in the trailers, but at this point I’m going to see anything with a Pixar stamp on it. Is that what they were counting on? Luckily the film delivers at every turn. Visually it was beautiful (did you expect anything less?), the voice acting was top notch, the story moved at a fun pace for adults and children and there were more than a few LOLS and HNNYC’s (Hope No one Notices You’re Crying’s).

!!!FINAL COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

To any BSG fans that have already seen “Up!,” couldn’t you just picture the final episode with Adama and Roslin leaving Lee and Starbuck but instead of heading to a Raptor they are walking towards a house with balloons? I got a very similar vibe from the end of “Up!”. Maybe that was just me.

!!!END SPOILERS!!!

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28 Comments

  1. First! jaja i want to see tht movie. Also this comic is full of win, but i dont like the radio text ballons, neither the color or the shape.

    • I think they work quite well as I knew exactly what they were as soon as I read the first one. Gosh, that was a bit 'teacher's pet' of me wasn't it?! Toff-toff-toff-guffaw-guffaw-toff.

  2. I only understood that it was a reference to Iron Man due to the related post links. Either way, how did you do those balloons? I'm guessing you had a smarter way than one by one.

  3. Man, I really want to see this movie! the comic does bring to mind quite a few interesting questions about what would happen if UP! were possible.

      • Like, what happens when you flush the toilet…? Where does all that shower water go…? Where do you put the rubbish? Does a balloon-lifted rubbish van (sorry, garbage truck) come and take it away every tuesday at 6:52 am? Is (and this is the big one) the TV reception any better what with you being so much closer to the satellites now?
        Just a couple of-
        WAIT! I've got one more…
        Where does the dog go to the bathroom? Does he just piss up the side of a potted plant? Or, with an amazing degree of forethought and splendid planning, have you toilet trained it already?
        Any more… Nope… But I'm sure I'll think of some while I'm at work!
        Just a couple of things I've thought about already this morning!

  4. Wow, Joel, the comic looks amazing! I will definitely be buying a print when I get some money. So Up! was good then? That seems to be the general consensus. I may have to go see it then.

  5. Very nice – art is lovely. Went to both Iron Man and "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"!

    Last panel could be fun for a t-shirt, too!

  6. Gnyaargh! I really want to see this movie but some bloody brilliantly clever chap ('retardus maximus' as I think the original latin goes) has decided that it would be a spiffing idea not to release it in blighty until f**king October!!! WTF is up with that?!
    Either way, LOVE the comic! Nice work on the house, must have taken ages!

  7. Ok be honest Joel – you just wanted to draw those balloons. Impressive work there. I too am curious about the method. Did you really draw them individually? Great work with the lens flare, it really sells the scene.

  8. Dude, those balloons and house look awesome – nice jorb!

    But I have just one question – Why does the Air Force commander have a Masonic emblem patch??? 😉 Are you sending secret messages to your Mason brothers via the comic? Hmm…

  9. Oh noes! Joel has been seduced by LENSE FLARE!! I know your hero JJ Abrams is enamored with lense flare but resist the temptation Joel!
    Oh btw went and saw Star Trek again last night. I actually liked it better the second time. Something about the shock of seeing the classic characters recast wearing it off made it much better the second time around. Also the first time I had the intense need to pee and didn't want to miss anything….if only there was a website that could help me with that 😉

    • actually they decide which ones they think will sell best. When I have a new design they get first right of refusal since their audience is much bigger than mine.

  10. In other news, the picture of everyone's favorite Kratos impersonator has appeared once again at GameSpy in their coverage of the new GoW III.

  11. Right. No more HE at work. It just involves a lot of people turning round to glare at me as I laugh out loud (I'm not saying it).

    Fantastic work again, Mr. Joel. With a lot of comics I've seen the humor and dedication to the work deteriate over time, but here it just keeps getting better. Keep it up!

  12. Two things:

    One: Bogey Nights was an episode of Strangers With Candy.

    Two: Isnt' that the symbol for the Masons on the uniform?

  13. I think the joy of any Pixar movie is that the previews always give you just a little bit of idea about it but leave the rest for you to see. This increases the joy.

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