You may be saying to yourself, "Jon! Say it ain't so... Your life isn't perfect? But we rely on you! Who else can we live vicariously through? Who else can provide meaning to our meaningless existence? How can we help destroy these villainous scumlords who have made your life less than extraordinary?"
Well, your reaction is understandable, if not a bit extreme. Grab yourself a cold beer and calm yourself. In American society, having your privacy ripped away and your private life maligned goes hand-in-hand with achieving celebrity status. I've grown used to it. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't intrude on my life in bizarre and unexpected ways.
A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite Peculier Pub bartenders told me of a customer who had visited the establishment earlier that day. The customer, a sleazy, child-molesting type, had asked her if "that guy who does the comic strip" was there.
"Normally, he is," she replied, "but not at the moment."
Depressed and heartbroken, the customer sighed. "I read his strip all the time." He went on to tell her a tale of a previously broken life, and how 'Goats' had turned him around, given him purpose and a reason to go on living.
Now, I'm not saying that all my readers are pitiful enough to try and track me down in my bar of choice, simply to get a glimpse of their idol. I am, however, saying that you better damn well buy me a beer if you do. Nothing bothers me more than a cheap-ass stalker. And if i'm not there, leave some money with the bartender and tell them it's for me the next time I stop by.
Work on 'Goats: The Movie' continues in earnest. Phillip and I have just about finished reading our scriptwriting books (not bad for a coupla illiterates) and have settled on a basic plot. Nothing's actually been written, but hey, good things are worth waiting for (or procrastinating over). Cinema is a very different media than the comic strip, and I'm using the opportunity to do some things a little differently, to try out some ideas that just don't fit in the confines of three panels. We're trying to make it relatively exciting and action packed (think: fight scenes and monsters), and introduce a new character or two just for the film.
Some other details: All your favorite characters will be featured in one way or another, but not necessarily in the ways that you're used to. We'd like to do the film with live-action backgrounds and computer-generated characters (think: Roger Rabbit meets Toy Story), but we don't even have a script yet, so that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Expect many, many obscure references and much lampooning of other movies.
Purchase your tickets now and avoid the rush.
It's feedback time. We here at 'Goats' want to know if what you think.
- Do you have any interest in 'Goats' merchandise such as T-Shirts? (If we get enough response, we will do this soon.)
- What do you want to see in "Goats: The Movie"? Any special requests?
- Do you think I'm sexy?
-jonathan rosenberg, cartoonist extraordinaire
february 08, 1998