HoboTrashcan’s Sweet 16
On August 23, 2005, HoboTrashcan was born. Naturally, now that it has turned 16, it spends most of its time asking to borrow our car and telling us how uncool we are.
Still, today is the little brats birthday, so here is a look back at a few of our favorite articles and features to celebrate.
Leading up to the release of The Dark Knight Rises, we tracked down the writer and artist who created Bane to reveal how the villain came to be. In addition to exclusive interviews with some comic book greats, this piece features some really fantastic original artwork, including a Graham Nolan sketch of Bane wielding a hobo trash can.
9. Hobo Radio – Star Wars: Remorse Awakens
This Hobo Radio promotional video imagined what would happen if Joel Murphy and Lars Periwinkle got working lightsabers … and Molly Regan was there to egg them both on.
When Ned Bitters wrote a column saying that people don’t actually like Bob Dylan’s music, they just pretend to like it to seem sophisticated, it opened the floodgates. Dylan supporters flocked to the site to take umbrage with Bitters’ claim. Whether you are pro-Dylan or anti-Dylan, the entire debate is highly entertaining to read.
7. One on One with Patton Oswalt
From his epic Star Wars filibuster on Parks and Recreation to his reoccurring role on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Patton Oswalt has a knack for showing up in every nerdy place his fans would hope to find him. In 2016, we talked to Oswalt about balancing acting with stand up, living in an Elmore Leonard novel as Constable Bob on Justified and his thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
6. Positive Cynicism – Steven Spielberg’s entire career in one word
Aaron R. Davis’ friend Harlan came up with the following theory while watching Steven Spielberg’s films: “Penis symbolism is everywhere. Spielberg is terrified of not being able to measure up, so it’s all about either conquering it or mastering it. And that’s it.” Davis applies this theory to wide variety of Spielberg’s films in this fantastic column.
5. Murphy’s Law – In which I attack a nationally-syndicated movie critic
Joel Murphy reached out to a nationally-syndicated movie critic asking for some advice. The response he got back was an angry tirade. So Murphy decided to devote an entire column to tearing film critic Roger Moore apart. The column itself is great, as are the comments from readers, but the best part is that Moore himself was actually foolish enough to leave a comment.
Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine. Joel Murphy and Molly Regan made Evil Twin, a short film where two Joels from alternate dimensions sit down for tea.
3. Poppin’ Molly’s Handy Guide to Navigating Your Facebook Page in the Midst of the Baltimore Riots
In 2015, there were riots in Baltimore after Freddie Gray died in police custody. Molly Regan was able to write about the riots – and people’s reaction to them – with grace. When most news outlets were making sweeping assumptions and generalizations, this piece by a longtime Baltimore resident was a welcome counterpoint.
2. Mabel Memorial Hobo Madness Quarantine Showdown Tournament
Joel Murphy and Lars Periwinkle have hosted an annual tournament on Hobo Radio since 2014. As Covid spread in 2020, they decided to channel their anxiety about the pandemic into the tournament by pitting fictional characters against each other to see who would survive the longest in lockdown. The winner was surprising.
1. One on One with Michael K. Williams
When HoboTrashcan launched in 2005, it featured this interview with Michael K. Williams, who at the time was playing Omar on The Wire. This interview set the tone for every interview to follow and helped legitimize the site. Sixteen years later, as Michael K. Williams continues to do amazing work, it’s still one of our crowning achievements.