Perhaps heroically, perhaps foolishly, David Yoder is heeding the call of funnyman Doug Benson. The cannabis-consuming host of the Doug Loves Movies podcast watched a movie a day in 2015, and now Yoder is attempting to do the same in 2016. Since this is a leap year, that means Yoder will actually be watching 366 movies as part of this mad quest. The twist, however, is that Yoder is also a cartoonist and will be documenting his cinematic adventures via some six-panel, black-and-white mini-comics on his Yoder’s Comics Tumblr. Naturally, David ushered in the project with an explanatory comic, complete with an ersatz cameo by Doug Benson.
As of this writing, David Yoder has been keeping up nicely with Doug Benson’s challenge, using sequential art to give his reactions to such diverse films as Midnight In Paris, Tuff Turf, and Project: ALF. Yoder says he’s “particularly proud” of his comic about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a film that has also inspired some artwork by cartoonist (and sometimes A.V. Club illustrator) Lucy Knisley. Here is Yoder’s take:
Not every film is met with such enthusiasm, however. Yoder seems less than sold in the tonal shifts in the Seth Rogan-Zac Efron comedy Neighbors, for instance, though he does appreciate a nice supporting turn by Hannibal Buress.
Along the way, in addition to screening both new (Source Code) and classic (An American Werewolf In London) films, David Yoder is making time for documentaries, such as 2015’s Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story Of The National Lampoon.
As the Lampoon comic illustrates, Yoder describes not only the movies themselves but also his experience of watching the movies, so this project is an interesting combination of film criticism and autobiography. That should make this Tumblr worth some repeat visits throughout 2016 as the cartoonist continues along the trail blazed by Doug Benson.