Notes of note
Topatoco has posted their Holiday Ordering Shipping Deadlines! The first deadline is December 7th, which will be the last chance for international customers to place an order using any of our international shipping methods aside from USPS Express Mail International. December 12th is the first deadline for US buyers, and your last chance to use regular USPS First Class and Standard. Be aware!
Hey! Do you love 2D side-scrolling pixely platforming/combat games as much as I do? Then may I direct you to the Tiny Barbarian DX kickstarter! Tiny Barbarian is made by the mega-talented Michael Stearns -- who you may remember from the Dawn of Time webcomic or a handful of great Sam and Fuzzy guest strips like this one -- and it's going to be awesome.
And speaking of cool Kickstarter projects, my pal Ryan North has assembled a pretty amazing choose-your-own-adventure style version of Hamlet that you should definitely check out. I actually illustrated one of the endings for the book -- AKA: the best ending -- and thanks to the success of the kickstarter so far, I get to illustrate a second one too! How great is that?
-Sam Logan
Ship It
Aw, Gertrude. I have to admit, I missed drawing you and your goofy Mickey Mouse haircut.
Remember, team... if you'd like to receive some Sam and Fuzzy swag in time for the holidays, don't be afraid to place your order early... especially if you want to use the cheaper (ie: slower) shipping options. Topatoco will be posting specific deadlines for each shipping methods and regions soon!
Hey, you are remembering to keep up with Skull Panda, right? There are three new strips a week, carefully crafted by infamous alternative cartoonist Rikk Estoban, with largely unwanted assistance from myself.
-Sam Logan
Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Robot Clone Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!
"In this comic, the ninja mafia noobs have gray on the forehead parts of the masks. Are they just colored differently from true ninja mafiosos? Or are they like shadows or something from reduced coverage?" -Anthony
The grey patterns on their masks, as well as the numbers on their arm bands, are to denote their cadet status. (And relative ranks as such!)
Side trivia: since she was a relatively new recruit, I am retroactively interpreting the triangular marking on Sexxica's mask as the indicator of the final rank held prior to becoming a fully-fledged rank-and-file mafioso.
"What's up with the last 6 or so Q&As being the "Candlestick Maker Edition"? The Candlestick Maker must be really important!" -Jonathan
Whoops! My goof. But don't worry! I've gone back and hastily renamed several of them with the first things that popped into my head.
"Are Carlyle or Sid ever going to make a comeback in the series? I'm quite frankly surprised Carlyle isn't apart of the secret world-ruling council. Seems like a natural fit for him." -Johnny
He may be deserving, but I think Carlyle is too strong a force of all that is pure and good to associate with the likes of those scoundrels on the committee. (And on a more outside-the-comic level, Carlyle is a character that works best when handled delicately and primarily symbolically, so I wouldn't want to reintroduce him into the comic without having a really compelling purpose.
As for Sid, he is definitely a character I'd like to check in again with someday! But it's all about finding the appropriate place -- if there is one -- in the current story. We'll see!
That's a wrap for this week, team. See you on Monday!
-Sam Logan
