EDIT: A couple folks have asked if we were going to make the Ninja Mafia Coat of Arms into a t-shirt. I hadn't intended to, but with a couple minor tweaks I think it could work pretty well. (I’d probably using a more subtle crossed-out/written-in “help out” instead of the yellow sticky note.)
What do you guys think? Is that a thing any of you would want to buy? E-mail or tweet me and let me know!
The shouting and waving of arms commences now
Big week! Lots to talk about. Let's go!
First of all... the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival is this weekend, and it's free to attend! If you are going to be in the Vancouver area, you have to come. You also have to tell everyone you know to come. It is basically the law. Perhaps direct yourself and others to this tumblr post I made, in which I namedrop a ton of our awesome guests and give you the hard sell.
Second of all! I have completed the Ninja Mafia Coat of Arms.
This was the number-one result in our Book Club member poll to pick what our next exclusive club desktop would be, and in keeping with the theme, I have done my best to make it awesome-yet-classy.
For those who don't know how the book club works, here is the deal: when you purchase a copy of
Sam and Fuzzy Are Very Famous, you don't just get a (great, heavy, enormous) book. You also periodically get bundles of free digital bonus goodies emailed to you! The next bundle emails out on
June 6th, and includes the
Coat of Arms desktop, the
Team Fortress 2 parody desktop, and some exclusive pre-web
Sam and Fuzzy comics.
If you want in on the latest pack, just make sure you place an order for your book before the 6th. And if you've already got a book, worry not... you'll receive the bundle automatically. Bam!
-Sam Logan
Friends! (Especially Vancouver friends!) Could you do me a favour? I have written up a pretty good tumblr post about the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. Any assistance pointing people in it's direction would be majorly appreciated!
Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Timed Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!
"Your response in the last Q&A made me curious. You said that Sam worked at X-Per-S Taxi for six months from the beginning of the comic to the time he got fired. How long had he been working there before the comic started? " -Robert
Sam worked at X-Per-S for about seven years total, starting shortly after he met Fuzzy and dropped out of college. (As seen in the ancient First Noel origin story.) I kind of view that time period of Sam's life as one very long, unambitious, slacker rut facilitated by Mr. Ackerman's inhuman tolerance and patience. After all, Sam wasn't even a good cab driver!
"I am trying to remember, but I don't think it has ever been specified where Sam and Fuzzy takes place. I know it takes place in America, and strip 1569 has a hospital truck listed as Newport. So can we assume that the city Sam, Fuzzy and Alexa live in Newport, Rhode Island? And before now, has it ever been specified exactly where in the US the main city takes place in?" -Tom
The long-unnamed home city of Sam and Fuzzy was actually first retroactively christened in this strip. (As an extremely tiny in-joke, it's new character Devahi who calls it by name, while Sam just refers to it generically as "the city".)
That said, I picked the name "Newport" because, like "Springfield", it's super ubiquitous. There are over 40 places named Newport in the United States alone! The Newport of Sam and Fuzzy isn't meant to be any real-life Newport specifically. I'm not even sure what state it's in. All that has really been confirmed in the comic is that it's coastal (probably west coast), that it's a couple of hours drive from a much larger city called Barkley, and that it has a few pretty large corporate offices in town. (And a television studio!)
"It’s probably a little late to bring it up if you are not, but are you or any of your webcomics cohorts planning on coming to the Denver Comic Con?" -Denver
Sadly, I am not! (I don't know of anyone else who is going, either, but I might just not have heard yet.) Are you going? Let me know how it is! I actually hadn't heard of it until recently.
Anyhow, that's a wrap for this week! Next week: VanCAF!
-Sam Logan
Vancouver Comic Arts Festival Next Week!
Exciting times: the innagural Vancouver Comic Arts Festival is only a bit over a week away! If you are going to be in or near Vancouver on the 26th or 27th, mark my words: you absolutely must attend this shindig. It is the law!
VanCAF is actually being organized by my wife, Shannon, who was sick and tired of hearing me and my comics friends grouse about how there wasn't a TCAF-styled free-to-attend comics festival in Vancouver. Fortunately for us all, she really stepped up to the plate, roping in an awesome slew of cartoonist exhibitors and guests to stuff into a really neat venue. And of course, the best is that anyone who wants to come can do so for free. (But be sure to bring some cash with you... there is going to be a lot of great comics and art on sale at this thing!)
From webcomics alone (because I know you guys like those), we've got my creator comrades from Questionable Content, Dr. McNinja, A Softer World, Wondermark, Boxerhockey, Tiny Kitten Teeth, Wasted Talent, Weregeek, Filibuster, Family Man/Bite Me, Three Word Phrase, and a ton of other online old hands and new talents. There are also a ton of super-talented folks from the print universe, like Camilla D'Errico, Nina Matsumodo, and Mike Deas. It's a pretty killer line-up for any show, let alone one in it's first year.
So Vancouverites and neighbours: come to VanCAF. Come for free! I only ask one thing of you -- please tell every human being you know about our show. And if you're coming, RSVP on Facebook to let us know! (It is hard to estimate crowd-size at a free show and we want to make sure we are prepared.) We don't have a huge marketing budget, but hopefully our awesome guest list and word of mouth will help get butts in the door and make this thing the success it deserves to be.
-Sam Logan
