Shh!
From the tragic, time-consuming mistake file: here is a version of last Friday's comic that was accidentally lettered entirely with "whisper"-sized font. I didn't notice until I put in the last bubble... but man, the whole time I was lettering it, I was going crazy trying to figure out why there was so much extra space for dialogue. Whooops!
Meanwhile, just a reminder... over at Topatoco, we are clearing out some of our classic t-shirt designs to make space for new swag. If these are shirts you want in your life, act quickly! Many of the most popular sizes are already either nearly or completely sold out.
T-shirts soon to be permanently obliterated:
I'm Capitalism
I'm Communism
Skull Panda Loves Kitties
Skull Panda Head
Can't Dance
Dr. Crab
-Sam Logan
Emerald City Comic-con
Hard to believe, but my first con of 2010 is almost here! Seattle's Emerald City Comic-con -- one of my absolute favourite shows to attend -- is in just under two weeks.
It's a wonderfully comic-centric convention, with an absolutely outrageous slew of talented writers and artists in attendance. Heck... the Topatoco booth alone will be housing the folks behind:
Hark! A Vagrant,
Gunshow,
Questionable Content,
Goats,
Little Dee,
Wondermark,
Amazing Super Powers,
Reprographics,
MS Paint Adventures,
Overcompensating and
Dr. McNinja.
(And, uh, also me!)
edit: Eesh... and also Dresden Codak, which the Emerald City website forgot to mention!
Anyhow, if you can or will be in Seattle on March 13th or 14th, I heartily encourage you to come! As usual, I'll be doing sketches and peddling a wide variety of swag... including a brand new print that folks following my twitter have been watching me put together. It should be a lot of fun!
-Sam Logan
Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Flashback Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!
"Did Ox (a.k.a. Mr. Stix) replace Headlock as the thirteenth member of Noosehead? And now that Sidney left the band, does it still have 13 members?" -Matt
He did!
Back when I was first working on Volume 4, I always thought I would eventually do a flashback story that showed how Sam, Fuzzy, Aaron and Ox first joined up with Noosehead. In that story, our freshly fugitive heroes would have arrived in Barkley just in time to catch Fuzzy's favourite band (who were performing there at the time). After sneaking backstage before the show, they would have discovered that Sidney had just fired Headlock -- along with the band's entire roadie staff -- in a jealous rage. But Ox's unexpected drumming talent allows the show to go on, and secures the gang permanent jobs with the band.
Ultimately, I decided this flashback wasn't actually necessary. The most important details had already been revealed through dialogue, and it seemed better to keep moving the story forward. So instead, I cut this sequence and just ran the much shorter flashback about how Nicole and Sam started dating.
As for Noosehead's current lineup... well, you'll find out more about that in our next Volume!
"Do you put your initials or signature in your strip drawings like some other artists do? If you do, it must be crafted amazingly well into the art because I just can't seem to find it!" -Mitchell
You know, I definitely used to do this -- old comics are littered with lots of SL01s and SLO2s -- but at some point, I just fell out of the habit. I have no idea why! But I suppose having my signature on every single page would be a little distracting when the comics are collected in book form.
"I was just wondering, why did you decide to do the last panel of Wednesday's comic the way you did? I mean, can see the obvious suspense it creates, but on the other hand: AAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH WHHHHYYY?!" -Russel
Even though they are just tiny pieces of a much larger story, I try to make each Sam and Fuzzy strip feel substantial. My goal is to make every single update to illicit some sort of strong emotional reaction from the reader. Some comics end with a joke, some end with a surprise twist or dramatic moment... and some end with a huge honking cliffhanger to deliberately drive everyone crazy. Sorry about that!
On that note... that's a wrap for this week! Tune in on Monday for the next part of our story.
-Sam Logan
