A Big Halloween Treat: An Interview with How It Should Have Ended

Since most everyone who reads Comic Addicts is too old to go trick or treating we decided to give a big ol’ treat anyway. We were able to have a chat with the folks at How It Should Have Ended (HISHE). They were really cool folks who were happy to chat with us.

For those unfamiliar with HISHE it’s a couple of guys, and a gal, who decided that movies didn’t always end the way they felt they should have. So they started doing their own parody endings much to the amusement of many people. We here at Comic Addicts were curious about some of the things over at HISHE and here is what they had to say:

How do you make your movies?

Each cartoon takes at least 3 weeks. We usually spend one week on script writing and primary art (characters we know we are going to use despite the script). Then one week on all the rest of the art and depending on the scope, we would start animating this week as well. It is also during the second week that we do our voice recording, which has to happen before animating so that we have a timeline. Week 3 is final animation, sound editing, and music score. Plus all the graphics. A lot of times this 3 week schedule requires late nights and weekends, so it’s a lot of work.

Is there a storyboard involved?

Yes, we storyboard after we have finalized a script so that we know exactly what art we need to make.



What program (s) do you use?

Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut



How much planning goes into a movie?

Definitely depends on the movie. There are some cartoons where we know months in advance that we are going to tackle it, so the conversations on scripts start early. Others (like recent theater releases– Avatar, Thor, etc.) we only have a short period of time so there are a lot of late nights.



Are there any audio outtakes from you guys goofing around?

Ha-ha. Sure, there are definitely some funny voice recordings as you might imagine.



Any plans to post the outtakes?

Now that we’ve committed to releasing a new video every Thursday on Youtube, you will definitely be seeing some more behind the scenes stuff. We will probably compile some outtakes. It’s tough since we are not necessarily accustomed to being on camera. J



Now that you’re a web sensation is there more pressure than before when you were doing it just for fun?

Um, YES.



Is it difficult sometimes to be funny?

Yes. The nature of what we do makes it tough sometimes because finding a logical flaw in a film is not always hilarious too. We go through a LOT of re-writes and ultimately we do our best. Different cartoons will lean one way or another sometimes as a result (between logic and silliness).



Are there arguments over how the movie should be?

LOL. What an insightful question. Yes, we definitely disagree sometimes, but ultimately some of our best writing comes from wrestling through different opinions.



Do you sit on pins and needles after a movie gets put up to see how people will react to it?

It’s like you’ve spied on us!! Absolutely. We’re our worst critics. Comments are sometimes really harsh and it’s difficult not to be affected by them. Seeing how a new release does is a big deal around here.



We notice there are a lot of comic book parodies on there, granted there are a lot of comic book movies, but honestly, how big of comic geeks are you?

Truthfully we’re a little late to the party when it comes to comics and ultimately we’re spoofing the movies not the books. But we started going to the San Diego Comic Con 4 years ago and each year we pick up a little more. We’re definitely not experts, but we’re becoming fans for sure.



Has there ever been an issue with copyright over the movies?

No, we definitely fall into parody law. All our art and music is original and meant to be a spoof or a parody.



Has any of the movie studios gotten on your back for what you do?

Not at all. We’ve even received some fun feedback. We have a few friends at Pixar and found out our Toy Story HISHE circulated the building there and the director for Toy Story 3 even tweeted about it!



How big is your fan base?

It’s hard to be exact. As of today (Oct. 11, 11) we have 480,000 subscribers on youtube.



Were you ever inspired by Mystery Science Theater 3000?

Of course! I would say lots of forms of skit and parody comedy have influenced us. Daniel watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 in college and he and his friends definitely laughed at the way they heckled films. I’d say our style is very much influenced by that form of comedy.



What has been the craziest moment or thing to happen at HISHE?

Winning the Streamy Award in 2010 was pretty crazy for us. We were shocked and honored to be among the other nominees.



Any plans for the future for HISHE? Hints maybe?

Hmmm… a hint. Well, we’ll definitely finish off the original Star Wars trilogy. And I imagine we’ll also tackle at least one of the major comic book films coming out next summer.

Thanks a lot for the chat! It’s been fun talking with you folks and keep up the good work!

Visit How It Should Have Ended’s website and suscribe to them on YouTube for the latest videos as well as favorites.

M Take : Why should you have picked up Nextwave when you had the chance..

–Created by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen.

– By Manks

Nextwave is one of the most unadulterated fun title I have read in my entire comic reading life. Sadly however , like most fun comics out there, it met an untimely demise. After Transmetropolitan this is my second most favorite comic out there by Warren Ellis.  And he is not even the reason to check this book out. Stuart Immonen has done his career best work to date on this title. Yes true believer, if you missed out on Nextwave when it came out, its time you rectify your mistake.

What is the series all about?

Nextwave is all about enjoying the Superhero comics for what they are. Unlike other superhero titles which are trying to mirror current situations and introduce faux seriousness and melodrama, Nextwave does not even pretend to take itself seriously. Nextwave  features extreme violence and comedy, and simultaneously satirizes and celebrates Marvel’s superhero comics.

 In an interview, Ellis said, “I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity”.”It’s an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It’s people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode”

One of the best bit about this comic apart from the irreverent take on the Marvel universe was that a complete story was told in just two issues, instead of the usual 4-6 issues. I rue the fact that this comic only lasted 12 issues and there is very dim possibility of seeing some fresh material on the stands anytime soon.

Anything that I say to convince you to track down the collection of Nextwave pales in comparison to the actual comic. So for once I would let the comic do the talking instead of me.

Let me introduce the cast of NEXTWAVE

Monica Rambeau, the former Captain Marvel and leader of Nextwave: 

Was with the Avengers once  and wouldn’t let anyone forget it. The following gives the glimpse of the reason why she couldn’t continue working with the avengers – According to her!!

Tabitha Smith, formerly of X-Force;

 Uses chat language (OMG, ZOMG, OHNOES) when talking

Also shouts Tick, tick, tick, tick– BOOM! when using her powers.

Oh and if you didn’t catch it she can make things go BOOM..

Aaron Stack, the Machine Man;

Breakout character of Nextwave. Ellis redefined the personality of The Machine man for a generation.

Calls humans fleshy ones and takes pride in his “Roboty ” parts

Favourate Phrase: My Robot Brain Needs Beer

Has a self absorbed attitude

Elsa Bloodstone

Monster Hunter extraordinaire

Made fun of by Tabetha

Ogled at by Aaron Stack

Is deadly serious about her work, perhaps the only one

The Captain

A new character

Previously called Captain ☠☠☠☠ (The obscured words being so horrible that Captain America allegedly beat seven shades of it out of him and left him in a dumpster with a bar of soap in his mouth)

Superhuman strength and flight

They were recruited by ( H.A.T.E Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort), to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.s).

Dirk Angstrom, Leader of H.A.T.E  (Nick fury wannabe )

But in reality H.A.T.E is Evil, controlled by the Beyond Corporation (TM) formerly S.I.L.E.N.T ( a terrorist group). Once Nextwave members figure that out they decide to take the fight to HATE and Beyond corp by destroying as many UWMD’s as possible.

If you would have read Nextwave when it came out, you would have seen  these images..

A giant Dinosaur-Dragon thing wearing Purple Underpants

The same dragon-dinosaur thingie wanting to put Tabetha in his pants

Cuddly Bears of Death Stuart’s Amazing work ( yes these are Elvis head M.O.D.O.K s and Naked Ninjas) I cannot even begin to tell you how fun this comic is, though I have tried to give you a slight glimpse of the awesomeness that is NEXTWAVE