www.drmcninja.com

Written/Drawn by Chris Hastings
Inked by Kent Archer

Chris Hastings and his trusty roommate Kent Archer have had this unusual and very entertaining webcomic up and running online since October of 2005, though Hastings started his first storyline for it in 2004, for a School of Visual Arts project.  My initial reaction to the title and first page of this comic was a resounding “WTF?”, which continued on through a good part of the next few storylines.  What’s really amazing about the comic is that they manage to get nearly every geek story cliché shoved in there one way or the other, yet do it in so witty and original a way that it all manages to grab and hold the readers interest.  It’s like Geek Goulash, with an extra side of corny. 

Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Charles B. Griffith

“Shut up and bring on the food!”-Audrey Jr.

I’ve often heard that the 1960 original version of “The Little Shop of Horrors” was one of  Director/Producer Roger Corman’s best films.  Then again, I’ve seen a lot of Corman films, so that wasn’t saying much to me.  It also has a short performance from a very young Jack Nicholson, which would have once convinced me of it’s quality…that was, until I saw “Anger Management”, and realized that even Nicholson was capable of being cast in some seriously crappy movies.  However, after finally watching this film, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I don’t know if anyone BUT Corman could’ve managed to come up with something this entertaining in just two days of filming (and with a leftover stage set, to boot!)

For those who have seen neither the films nor the musical based on this, the plot is fairly simple – an awkward youth by the name of Seymour breeds an unusual plant (that he crossed with a Venus Flytrap), in order to impress his moody boss at the flower shop, Mr. Mushnik.  All seems well at first, until he finds that in order to grow, the plant needs to feast on human blood.  Forced between the plant that urges him to kill and the shopgirl that stole his heart (Audrey), Seymour learns a valuable lesson about right and wrong…like how wrong it is to feed people continuously to a huge mutant plant, no matter HOW much the chicks seem to dig it.

Happy Independence Day to all in the United States of America!

 And a happy 4th of July to everyone else!