Emerald City Comic Con starts this Friday!

It's Emerald City week! Seattle's long-running comics show is one of my absolute favourites, and this year it's making the jump to three days. If you're in the city and you love comics, you owe it to yourself to come experience one of the most creator-heavy shows in the business.

And if you do, come say hi! I'll be at the Topatoco booth (#202 on this PDF map), along with at least a dozen other webcomic comrades. As always, I'll be doing plenty of sketches, while the Topatoco folks peddle a wide array of Sam and Fuzzy wares... including one or two secret new items. (Ooh! Aah!)

-Sam Logan

Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Hogwarts Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!

"I quite like how you developed Noosehead from a joke for an early strip into full serious detail, characters and all. Are you an actual metal fan yourself? If so what sort of bands do you imagine Noosehead sounding like?" -Dave

I haven't listened to much metal in the last few years, but I consumed my fair share when I was younger... everything from your classic, proper metal acts to some questionable nu metal. (Hey, it was the 90s!)

Considering Noosehead's relative worldwide fame and mainstream success -- not to mention their ludicrous size and penchant for theatrics -- they probably sound not entirely dissimilar to bands like Slipknot. Imagine songs that are angry, scream-filled, and extremely noisy, but still built on top of a relatively pop-esque song structure. With a chorus you can sing (or scream) along to! I Will Eat Your Family wasn't a number one hit for nothin', son.

"Hey, what the random happened to your RSS Feed? Whenever I click it, it shows me some weird code." -Dude

Really? It still works for me! Anyone else having problems?

"So you went to Orlando? Did you, by any chance, visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? " -Ben

WARNING: Theme park nerdity ahead!

We did go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! And I've gotta say, while their dedication to detail and meticulous recreation was extremely impressive... the Wizarding World section of Islands of Adventure is pretty small, and the bulk of it is taken up by the Hogsmeade market. In other words... stores! Harry Potter-themed stores, with cool storefront windows full of fan service and in-jokes, but still, stores. It is hard not to notice that this beautifully reconstructed Hogsmeade exists primarily to sell you things for your real physical money.

You can go into Hogwarts, too, but the inside is limited to a linear series of rooms and hallways that you pass through while standing in the line for the park's main theme ride. Mind you, those rooms are really something... between the meticulously reconstructed classrooms and the flippin' amazing-looking moving paintings, it's probably the greatest theme park line you'll ever stand in. (You can sort of get the idea in this video tour.) But all the same, it's still essentially a walkway you have to shuffle through at whatever speed the line is moving. There's no part of Hogwarts where you can actually wander around and explore, which I think I would have enjoyed a lot more than the Hogsmeade outdoor mall.

Once you're through the line, you can do the theme ride, which was an impressive mix of practical and video segments featuring the film actors. But after that, you're pretty much done as far as immersion is concerned. There are two other rides, but fun as they are, they're outdoor rollercoasters that don't really have much of anything to do with Harry Potter. (Aside from the hippogryph- and dragon-shaped carts.)

Now, maybe I am just being an old crank. After all, Wizarding World is extremely well-crafted for what it is. But it's hard not to walk through it and imagine what could have been if they had built another part of the universe... any part at all... that wasn't so transparently retail-oriented. The Hogwarts line is rad, but it's no Sleeping Beauty's castle, if you get my drift. I guess you still can't beat Disney when it comes to theme.

Anyhow, enough of my largely unsolicited theme park commentary! Come back on Monday for more comics. Pow!

-Sam Logan

ECCC

Holy smokes, gang! Emerald City is just over a week away! I'd better get my butt in gear finishing up this surprise new print*.

Come back on Friday for an extra-large new comic, and a new round of Q and A. It's going to be magical.

-Sam Logan

*Existence of new print may not actually be a surprise. Consult your physician.