Multiplex - a comic strip about life at the movies
DELETED SCENES

Archive for the ‘Etc.’ Category

 

Work on Multiplex: Book 2 begins…

I’m currently aiming to get Multiplex: Book 2 (not the final title, of course) ready for Summer 2012. That may or may not change, of course.

I’m not currently planning on including a long, exclusive story like the Prequel in Book 1, but there will be at least 25 pages of new material interspersed between the five chapters (6 through 10) included in the collection, some of which might be exclusive to the print collection.

Since Multiplex takes place in real time and generally update twice a week, I occasionally have to paint the story in relatively broad strokes. And, unfortunately, sometimes a story thread gets lost in the shuffle. It happens.

For Book 1, I used much of the new material to flesh out Devi and Gretchen, strengthening the narrative in the process, although it still lacks an overriding thrust over the course of the book. But adding a few finer brush strokes to the book, I think, adds a bit more dimension to the characters than you get from just the archives.

Book 2, on the other hand, has a stronger narrative in that it’s centered around Jason and Becky for chapters 6–8 and, in some ways, Jason’s absence in chapters 9 and 10 (although the book ends happily, with Jason returning to the theater).

So, like I did in Book 1, I’ll be using the bonus comics to expand on things between the characters — in chapters 6–8, between Jay and Becky, as well as Jason and Devi’s break-up. And in 9 & 10, I’ll be expanding on things in and out of the Multiplex 10 during the period where Jason had quit working at the theater.

To that end, if there’s a story thread from this period that you’d like a little more neatly tied up, or a movie you’d like me to touch on — basically, a deleted scene you’d like see added into the extended edition — feel free to make a suggestion! I, of course, reserve the right to disagree with you, since it’s my comic. ;)

(Please keep the suggestions to the range of strips included in Book 2: numbers 103 through 216 (November 2006 – March 2008). If you’d like to look up what movies came out in that time frame, ComingSoon.net’s release calendar is always a valuable tool; you just need to manually edit the URLs to find older dates.)

A note about misprinted Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show books

Apparently a few (two so far) copies of the book have repeated/missing pages around the p117–122 mark. If you got one of these, E-MAIL ME. It’s definitely not in all of the books, or even 1% of them; it’s a misprint. I try to flip through all the books to make sure they’re clean, but these things slip through sometimes.

I can get credited for them by my printer, and I will happily send you a new book — but I do need some sort of photographic/scanned evidence.

An Interview with Bryan Lee O’Malley

This interview was originally published on May 24, 2006.

In 2005 and 2006, I wrote for Bookslut and Comic Book Galaxy on occasion. In that time, I interviewed Jon ScieszkaHope Larson, Ivan Brunetti, and Big Time Attic, and also Bryan Lee O’Malley. But due to a few snafus, I ended up having to post this one myself at my own website instead of CBG, where it was intended.

I’ll be redoing my portfolio website in the near future, so for lack of a better place to put this (very) old interview, I’m posting it here at Deleted Scenes.

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Chase Sequence Releases First Book Collection of Multiplex (Press Release)

CONTACT: Gordon McAlpin
(773) 710-6632
gordon@multiplexcomic.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chase Sequence Releases First Print Collection
of Its Popular Movie-Themed Webcomic
Multiplex

Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show Ushers in a New Breed of Movie Geek Humor

Chicago, Illinois (September 22, 2010) — Chase Sequence is thrilled to announce the release of its first book collection of the hit movie-themed comic strip Multiplex. Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show (224 pages, TPB, $19.95) collects the first 102 strips from the Multiplex archives, over 30 bonus comics, character bios, selected guest strips, and features an all-new, exclusive 12-page prequel story set on opening night of Star Wars: Episode III — The Revenge of the Sith. The book is now available directly from the publisher. Retailers can order the book from its distributor, Small Press United (a division of IPG) at IPGbook.com.

Multiplex combines a unique blend of comedy, drama, and real-world film commentary and criticism, centering on the cynical movie snob Jason and his schlock-loving BFF Kurt, two employees at the Multiplex 10 Cinemas. Together, they’re a Film Studies class that was dropped on its head as a baby. As Newsarama’s Chris Arrant put it, “Think Clerks in a movie theatre.”

Having run continuously for five years, Multiplex has evolved considerably since it launched. The strip has matured, dragging the characters reluctantly into something sort of like adulthood, if you cock your head and squint at it a little. By revisiting these early years with bonus comics to flesh out the story, sort of like an extended director’s cut, Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show is not only a great treasury for existing fans, but the perfect introduction to Multiplex for new readers, as well.

About the Author

Gordon McAlpin lives in Chicago with his cat Punk. In his twenties, he watched over a dozen movies a week. Gordon has written movie reviews, co-hosted a movie podcast, and edited a movie news blog, but now he just writes and draws Multiplex. While he has never worked at a movie theater, he has had several equally terrible jobs.

About Multiplex

Multiplex is an online comic strip published by Chase Sequence Co. about the movie-loving and customer-weary staff of the Multiplex 10 Cinemas, as they try to survive each work day. Multiplex has run continuously since July 2005 and currently reaches more than 55,000 unique readers per month, making it the most popular movie-themed webcomic. Multiplex updates twice a week at www.multiplexcomic.com.

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The cover art for Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show is available for download via this link. A high-res author photo (by Charlene Epple) can be downloaded here. Additional artwork, review copies, and interviews are available upon request.

You can also download a PDF version of this release.