Still from the movie The Color Purple

Most people (at least those born prior to 1974) know The Color Purple as a film about an oppressed African American woman who struggles against the odds. It also introduced the world to Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in a major way. Shoot, after seeing this film in the theaters as a kid, it took me three years to not wanna just kick Danny Glover in the twig and berries. The story was that powerful.

I later learned that the movie was based on a novel written by Alice Walker. Well, this past Saturday night, I attended the Broadway-touring theatrical production of The Color Purple at the historic Fox Performing Arts Theater. Don’t ask me how I was able to get my hands on $140 apiece-chillin’-in-the-Mezzanine seats, but I wanted to surprise my wife by doing something cultural and being the one to initiate it. I’m constantly working on ADDANAC CITY in some way, shape, or form, and I usually won’t take the time to do anything else when I’m not at work. So for me to make plans to do something on a Saturday night that didn’t even marginally pertain to Hank’s town was a gigantic surprise for her.

I was tremendously impressed with all of the renovations that had been done to the Fox Theater. The facility is gorgeous! It had more than adequate seating and was adorned with tons of ornate features. My wife claims she even saw Ernest Thomas (Raj from that old 70′s comedy show What’s Happenin’), but I somehow missed him while ogling the building like a lost tourist.

Now, usually I’m not a huge fan of musicals. In fact, the only musicals I rave over are Team America and the South Park movie, so you know my taste buds were in for some twists. I was amazed by the performances of all of the actors. These folks could act. And more importantly than that, these folks could sing. Every single person who took the stage could hold their own vocally. I didn’t hear a single error or off-note during the entire two hour and forty-five minute production.

This troupe knew exactly what they were doing, and they had the audience eating out of their hands. Since I’m not in the know regarding who’s who on the Broadway theatrical circuit, I wasn’t familiar with any of the principal actors nor behind-the-scenes people, but I must admit that they knew their craft and they gave us every ounce of their capabilities. If they held anything back, I would be very, very afraid of them.

The cast of The Color Purple musical

The choreography was magnificent. The performers executed dance moves with seemingly perfect synchronization. And they did it all effortlessly. If this musical makes its way anywhere near your vicinity, I advise you to go see it. The tickets may seem to be a bit steep for decent seats, but believe me, it’s worth it. You should not be disappointed.

And fellas, if you’re trying to impress a certain young lady, getting tickets to this show will do wonders for your relationship. Your significant other will look at you in a new light as you transform from ashy to classy. I give this production two thumbs up, and I would definitely go see it again if the opportunity arises.

I love a good papparazzi moment

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of encountering an enterprising young man via Twitter. Zack Hix contacted me to let me know how much he was enjoying the antics of Hank and the rest of the ADDANAC CITY crew. Zack is also a budding artist, so I requested that he send in his own rendition of one of the many AC characters. He chose the reliably hilarious Mr. A, and I posted his drawing in a previous blog.

Zack Hix, creator of Good Boy Roy

Zack amazes me for many reasons. First, he’s only fifteen years old and he already has his own business! This kid knows exactly what he wants to do and with the guidance and support of his mom, Kim Hix, he is doing it big. Let me give you a little background information that comes from Zack’s recent press release.

“Good Boy Roy is a fun new line of character t-shirts all drawn and created by 15 year old Zack Hix. Introducing fun that everyone can wear. All designs are a reflection of Zack’s love of cartooning and passion for drawing. Each character has a personality that is sure to be someone we all know and love.

Good Boy Roy designs are the brain child of 15 y.o. Zack Hix, who not only loves to draw, but his drawing has served as a therapeutic resource for him as well. You see, Zack has lived with neuropsychiatric challenges his entire life which can make even small tasks difficult and overwhelming. Neurological disabilities such as OCD/ADD and Tourettes Disorder can really make life for a kid difficult, then throw in 3 pretty nasty head traumas during sporting events and daily life can be extremely challenging, but drawing is where he found peace and solace. The Good Boy Roy line simply came from Zack’s alter ego.

Zack has created a whole gang of characters like Laughing Lizzie, Handsome Hen, Rocker Rick and more. Some designs take on a social cause message like his “Stomp our Cancer” designed to help raise money and awareness for the organization Friendslikeus.org, who help children with cancer. God Rocks is a popular design and the most recent Angry Allen character who claims “Bullying is not cool. Don’t be a Bully”. The possibilities are endless. The business is a partnership between Zack and his mom the “CEO” for now until he is old enough to take over. Zack is the artist and mom does the rest.

Good Boy Roy is a business about faith, love, hope, dreams, fun and never giving up.”

To see a local television interview with Zack and his mom, click here.

I am quite impressed with everything Zack has been able to accomplish in his young life and I look forward to seeing what frontiers he will cross next. We should all do our part to reinforce the dreams of our youth and to show them that no matter what obstacles may be in their path, nothing can hinder them if they believe in themselves.

Good luck, Zack, and continue being a Good Boy Roy.

I’m proud to announce that I am part of a project that involves many talented webcomic creators. It’s a cookbook called “Webcomics: What’s Cooking?” and it boasts recipes featuring a lot of major webcomic characters. I was fortunate to get myself and Hank invited to participate. The project is the brainchild of TGT Media’s Kurt Sasso and “1977: The Comic‘s” creator, Byron Wilkins. Here’s a rundown of what the project is all about. The info comes directly from its most recent press release:

“What started out as a simple idea of doing a cookbook based around webcomic characters has blossomed into a full fledged campaign to help raise money for the hungry in North America. “Webcomics: What’s Cooking?” is that cookbook that will feature dozens and dozens of recipes from popular webcomic creators showcasing a variety of recipes from Breakfast to Dinner and a few things in between!

The cookbook will feature a full page, custom created comic from each participating artist along side a favorite dish or beverage.

From Alien Cupcakes to Alamo Queso to Chicago style Deep Dish Pizza to Oreo Truffles, you are sure to find a dish that will satisfy your hunger.

The concept behind the cookbook is “Feed Your Family, Feed the World”. You purchase the cookbook and receive all these wonderful recipes to create for your family or friends and the proceeds from the project go to Canadian and American National Food Banks to help feed those in need. You couldn’t ask for a better combination. Satisfy your hunger and those in need as well.

The book will be available in time to celebrate the Holiday season. With the help of sponsors and your pre-orders, the proceeds of this not-for-profit cookbook will bring thousands of needy individuals and families a good meal and more, hope.

Pre-Order your 90+ page, full color cookbook for $20 – and have it in time for the holiday season!

The webcomic community have really gotten behind this cookbook to help these National Food Banks; Not only with their amazing recipes, but also their creative talent in showing that can have fun as artists and bringing their individually unique creative styles.”

Not a bad deal, huh?

I’m honored to be among the mighty who contributed to this worthy cause and effort. Here’s a small clip of a panel from the page I designed featuring Hank and his parents in the kitchen.

So please, help do your part, and order this book. Give a helping hand to those who may not be able to help themselves this year.

I want to give you all a glimpse at the cover of my upcoming ADDANAC CITY comic collection Hard Time: The Life and Legend of the Boll Weevil. This book collects my mega-story of Hank’s and Esteban’s time-traveling trip to AC 1990 in 120 full-color pages. This is the largest AC collection yet!

I just got the mock-copy of the book last week and after making a few final corrections, I’ll post it for sale. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for purchase real soon, so you can order one for everyone in your family for the holidays.

And I’d like to thank Todd McElmurry again for coming up with the name of this book. Todd, your prize should almost be there, I promise!