Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Boyle Edition
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"BOYLLLLLLLE!" -Jamie
This isn't really a question, Jamie, but I'm going to let it slide just this once.
I'm glad so many folks were amused by the surprise reveal of 17th century Robert Boyle as one of the scientists who worked in the tar research lab. For those who don't know (or don't remember), Robert Boyle is a bit of a running non sequitor gag in Sam and Fuzzy, first mentioned by Fuzzy here and then occassionally re-referenced in strips like this one. The joke is always that Boyle is actually completely irrelevant to whatever is happening, so I thought it would be funny if, for once, he was actually important. And I gotta say, I'm pretty pleased with the little place I crafted for him!
It's maybe a bit of a leap to imagine that Boyle secretly faked his own death to pursue secret research, but I thought it'd be particularly funny to reveal his death year was a lie, given how frequently past Boyle jokes have specifically referenced it. Plus, the real life dude actually was very interested in transmutation, so I'm sure the tar would have been incredibly enticing! His last name even almost fits my general theme of scientists with last names that sound like body parts, if you're generous enough to consider boils body parts. It's all a rich tapestry!
"I was recently archive diving and came across your ancient Q&A about characters' tattoos; specifically, the three prominent ones that Nicole has. For context I dug through Nicole's appearances to find all of hers, and to my surprise discovered a fourth tattoo (apparently a sun around her navel) that I didn't remember existing. More surprisingly, it vanishes without mention sometime between her return at the end of Very Famous and the Wychwood Demos. Did she get it removed, or am I missing something? (Or did you just forget to draw it?)" -Dawson
Getting rid of that one was a conscious decision on my part, but I don't have any particularly good justification for doing so! I just thought it was a little redundant for her to have a tattoo there that was so similar to the one on her back. I made a lot of other tweaks to Nicole's design between the Noosehead era and the current storyline too, of course... but I guess that tattoo managed to sneak into that one panel of her return before I made the decision to cut it for good. Canonically, I think we can assume she just got tired of it and had it lasered off.
Nic's actually got a couple of new tattoos recently, although I think they've only appeared in some of the pin-ups I've drawn for
Patreon... a star on her right thigh, and a "TATS" heart on her torso (that matches a "NIC" one that her boyfriend
Tats now has.) Everyone I know with tattoos says getting them is addictive, and I figured Nicole dating an even bigger tattoo enthusiast than herself would be particularly enabling.
"Should Jess Star's name actually be written Jess S'Tar, which is short for Jess Sun'Tar - a creature made of sun sensitive tar??? Either an accident of science or Jess is a direct line descendant of a certain 17th century chemist..." -Mark
Interesting theory! I definitely promise Jess isn't a half transmuted tar creature like Brain, and really is a shapeshifting slug. (There's actually a whole society of them, which you can learn about in the
book or
PDF of the Underground RPG!) That said, who knows where the slugs came from in the first place...
That's a wrap for this week! Come back on Monday for our next comic, team.
-Sam Logan
I am error
Apologies for the (since fixed) typos and confusing misattributed speech bubble originally in Monday's comic. And for any errors that snuck in today, if any! My brain is a little fried this week.
Our next comic arrives on Friday. Be there or be square.
-Sam Logan
Expo yourself
A hearty thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth at this weekend's Edmonton Expo! It was a blast to see you all.
Today I'm busy trekking back home through the Rocky Mountains -- er, in a car, not on foot, don't worry. But I'll be home again soon. And a new comic will be here for you as usual on Wednesday. See you then!
-Sam Logan
