Well, 2005 has come to an end, and while it's not the end of the first full year of Joe Loves Crappy Movies, it is the end of the "movie year" so I thought it was worth mentioning. It was a pretty crap year filled with remakes, updates, and sequels. Plenty of garbage to digest, and honestly it couldn't have been more fun.

I'd been playing along with the idea of a movie review comic for a good long while when I finally decided to take the plunge and just do it back in April of this year. It was really the perfect combination of two things that bring me a lot of joy. And nothing could ruin that, not even a bunch of lame movies.

I wish I had some ultimate end of the year best and worst list prepared for you, but I do not. I can't figure out how to do it. What makes one movie better than another? I proudly announce that I'm willing to give crappy movies a shot, but do they really compare to true great filmmaking? I mean, can I put Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo and Munich on the same list? I don't know? I'm struggling with it.

I've decided there are about 5 or 6 movies I still have to watch before any final choices are made. I'll take a shot at a list sometime in February. But, do see Munich and do rent Deuce 2. I feel so bad. Deuce got such bad reviews, but people need to lighten up. It's not going to rock your world or have some profound Syrianaian effect on you. but it IS funny as balls. Relax. Have a beer, and laugh a little.

For now, it's business as usual. December was packed with quality movies that I couldn't get around to, so over the next two weeks you'll see me playing catch up, as well as dealing with the bountiful crap January has to offer. Bloodrayne, Grandma's Boy, and Hostle in one week!? It's crappy movie heaven!

I did want to take this time just to reflect on the first "movie" year of JLCM. I feel like it's been a good start. The art and jokes have been growing, and I'm even pleased with the progression of the reviews. If I could only deal with spelling errors better. Oh, and my crap taste in movies. But it's 90 strips that I feel really good about. Some are stinkers, but I think there's more good than bad.

Beyond that it's been a great year for Joe the web comic artist. Besides JLCM, 2005 also brought about The Coffee Achievers which, at least a little, put me on the map. I can't say enough good things about Mitch Clem and his legion of fans who embraced the new series, as different as it was. Thanks.

The Coffee Achievers became a real crash course in comics for me. It's black and white and daily so it was definitely a shift from what I'm used to, and what I'm comfortable with. I feel like in my other comics I use color as a crutch, and with Achievers I couldn't. I had to make it work, and I had to do it right away because the next day I had to make another strip work.

Even the associations with Boxcar and PV have been hugely supportive to JLCM's progress. I feel like I've got a backstage pass to hang out with the big boys. With company like Mitch, Tom, Brandon, Zach, Clay, and another half dozen people I feel equally threatened by, how could I feel otherwise?

I also have to thank my fellow pimps Phil, Irv, and Kevin. You guys rule, and I feel like with the four of us coming together this year we've created a place at Digital Pimp that is producing a lot of quality comics pretty consistently. I'm grateful for everything each of you has done for our little web site. We're going to kick ass in 2006.

Most of my thanks will go to Yeo who is nothing short of perfect. She's too good for me and thank god she doesn't care.

All right, this is getting mushy. But really, JLCM has grown a lot in 8 months and I can thank all these people a thousand times over, but I should be showering my thanks on all the people that keep coming back to read it. People that link me in their blog, that befriended me in Myspace, that actually found and read some of my other comics. You guys are the best. I love you. I promise to do my best to make the comics as funny as possible, and to never lead you towards a movie that sucks.

Well that's it, except for the future. Like I said I have some 2005 movies to sweep up. Movies I've seen: Munich(great), Wolf Creek(disappointingly unfrightening), Rumor Has it? (creepy, but ok), The Family Stone (worse and worse the more I think about it), Syriana (heavy, but interesting). And the movies I still have to catch: Memoirs of a Geisha, Borkeback Mountain, The New World, Match Point ? as many movies as I can see.

So I will try to clean those up in an orderly fashion. In fact, if you're anxious to read the comics for three of those you can get a sneak peek at the comics (but not the reviews) of Syriana, Rumor Has It, and The Family Stone, you can check out this new site that allows you to download comics for your Ipod. Weird Huh? Yeah, a bunch of creators were contacted and asked to participate. Seemed like an interesting way to be part of the latest technology, so a lot of us joined up including DJ and Ali. So I'm in good company. The reviews to go with those strips will go up next week, as will a better explanation of how the Ipod site works.

Until then, thank you for reading this year, and I hope you'll stick around for 2006. Superman week alone should be worth it. Oh, and voting will get you a image of Palpatine. Thanks guys!