Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Committed Edition
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"You seem to have a lot already mapped out on the committee; we see some of their reactions to various comments, how some of them vote on the Hazel issue, who they represent. So, how much of their backstories have you written? Do they all have names already? I guess what I'm really trying to ask is: what is that squid's name, and what nefarious crimes is he involved in?(!)" -Evan

Oh, the committee. The committee definitely puts even my obsession with pre-planning and organization to the test.

Including Sam, there are 31 members -- I had to make a seating chart just to make sure I wouldn't lose track of where they all were sitting and accidently draw them in the wrong order. And I had to figure out who all the members were just for their brief appearance a year ago, even though most of them would not be seen again until now. (Although -- confession -- the few monitors representing teleconfrencing absentees were put there just in case I realized I needed to introduce additional members later in the story.)

Many of the committee members -- King Franzibald, for example -- were created as fleshed-out characters and given backstories (with varying degrees of depth) because of some role they would or will play in upcoming stories. Some of them were created to put faces to names that had been mentioned earlier -- the dude with the cowboy hat is the Mr. Paxton from the "Big Cheat" flashback chapter.

But some of them, alas, were just created to put butts in seats. I don't think it's a HUGE spoiler to admit that squid guy is one of them. Of course, I still reserve the right to make him critically important later!

"When Sam joined the committee the number of members increased by 1. I haven't noticed there is 'abstain' option so how can there be a tie now?" -Grig

I know I mentioned this on Monday, but a lot of folks are still asking about it, so it couldn't hurt to mention again: the vote is still a tie because Fangy McBats is missing, bringing the total number of committee members down to an even 30 again.

Yes, in the end, the factor driving the entire intense and pivotal dramatic scene was a character named "Fangy McBats". Sam and Fuzzy, ladies and gentleman!

"Do the two robot committee members count as one member or two? And is one of them Pintsize from Questionable Content?" -Carol

Only one of the two robots is a committee member. The other is his translator. For now, I won't spoil which is which! (I don't consider the Pintsize-esque robot to be the actual Pintsize -- just a robot with the Sam and Fuzzy universe's equivalent brand of robot body -- so his resemblance is not necessarily a giveaway.)

That's a wrap for this week, team. See you on Monday!

-Sam Logan

Last Day to get in on Book Club Bonus Pack!

The headline does not lie. If you would like to nab our final bonus pack for Sam and Fuzzy Are Very Famous, then make sure you pick up a copy of the book (alone or as part of a book bundle) before the end of today! I'll be emailing out our latest batch of exclusive desktop images to any and every Are Very Famous owner sometime on Thursday or Friday. Anticipate!

(And yes, friends... I will be doing a whole new year of Book Club bonus packs for volume 3 -- aka Sam and Fuzzy Under the Influence -- after it releases later this year!)

-Sam Logan

Bonus Time

Man, I got a lot of email from folks about the vote in Friday's strip! Quite a few of you were worried I'd screwed up my math... that Sam's new "no" vote combined with Fuzzy's switching of the Graves vote to "yes" should have actually resulted in a one vote lead for the "yes" side, not a tie.

Which would be true... if not for the tragic absence of poor, poor Fangy McBats! Fangy is, of course, extremely offended that none of you remembered him. Or at least, he would be if he was capable of remembering who he is, either.

Just a reminder... this Wednesday is the last day to get in on our final Book Club bonus pack for Sam and Fuzzy Under the Influence! If you'd like to score a trio of purdy desktop designs in a variety of resolutions, just make sure you pick up a copy of the book (or our two book bundle, if you prefer) before then.

And of course, if you've already got a copy, just sit tight! The bonuses should be emailing out on Thursday or Friday.

-Sam Logan