| Author(s) | Gordon McAlpin |
|---|---|
| Website | http://www.multiplexcomic.com |
| Current status / schedule | Updates every Monday and Thursday Frequent additional updates also occur |
| Launch date | July 10, 2005 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Film Commentary, Film Criticism |
Multiplex is a humor webcomic written and drawn by Gordon McAlpin which first debuted on July 10, 2005. The comic focuses on the lives of the staff of the Multiplex 10 Cinemas and the movies that play there.
Contents |
Multiplex is about the many unique employees and customers of the Multiplex 10 Cinemas located in a fictional suburb of Chicago. The Multiplex 10 employs a large number of young adults and has a wide variety of customers. Many of the strips revolve around how the staff interacts with their customers, while others deal with what happens with the staff after the cinema has closed.
Unlike traditional comic strips, Multiplex has no set format when it comes to the number of panels or the length of each strip. Although the strips usually do not follow story arcs, they can often show a canonical connectivity. Multiplex officially updates every Monday and Thursday, but McAlpin has been known to put in extra strips during the week when he has extra time or wants to finish a strip that was too large to put together in a week's time.
Multiplex is illustrated digitally using Adobe Illustrator, in a style often compared to John Allison's early Scary Go Round (Scary Go Round was later drawn by hand) and the South Park TV series.
The storytelling style is much like a sitcom with storylines being generally realistic, although centered around humorous events relating to the film and cinema industry.
The cast of Multiplex consists mainly of the staff of the Multiplex 10 Cinemas and each of the major characters has been given their own biography page. Many of the customers also have recurring roles throughout the comic, though mostly only as background characters.
| Name | First Strip | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Kurt Bollinger | #1 | Kurt is at once the most immature and mature employee at the Multiplex 10, as he is often seen filling in for the largely absent managers when he's not behind a register, in booth, or concession. But when business has been taken care of, Kurt likes to make up games (in which he is often the only one willingly playing) to entertain himself and has been shown to be quite dangerous with a broomstick. He has been working at the Multiplex since he was 16. |
| Jason Atwood | #3 | Jason is a sharp tongued and aggressive half Filipino who does not hesitate to speak his mind, even to customers. Jason’s top five movies are The Incredibles, M, Throne of Blood, Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? at the Internet Movie Database and the restored cut of Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. |
| Becky | #5 | Becky is shy, intelligent, and slightly nerdy. One of the most versatile staff members, she, like Jason, is known to work as a cashier, usher, concessionist, and projectionist. She has a crush on Jason, although no one besides her seems to know. |
| Melissa Recar | #19 | Melissa is a clever, worldly brunette who has seen in booth, working concession, and ushering. A recurring character known as Stalker Boy has a particular fondness for Melissa, even going so far as to live in denial of her long-standing relationship with Kurt. Her radio "callsign" is "Racer Asylum," which is (sort of) her name backwards. |
| Franklin Onassis | #21 | Franklin is probably the most sane staff member at the Multiplex 10. He shares his name with the character from Peanuts and is often called in to cleanup very messy situations. His radio callsign is Black Panther, after the Marvel super-hero. |
The Blogger is the proprietor of "MovieMake-Out.com". He is an obese white middle-aged man, not unlike the Comic Book Guy. He has a running "feud" with Jason, who has been seen to rebuff his attempts at getting free entry into screenings. He later received a distributor's permission to enter one private screening, much to Jason's chagrin.
Creepy Loser once applied for a staff position at the Multiplex hoping to be able to meet some of the theater's (young) female staff workers. He can occasionally be found in the backgrounds, ogling various women.
Stalker Boy is a strange guy with an obsession for Melissa and can be occasionally seen in the background looking for her.