Good Company

Rikk's Skull Panda guest week continues with today's depraved installment. The grande finale runs on Friday!

In other news, it appears I've joined the ranks of Nintendo and Ubisoft in accidentally offending some UK residents with my use of the word spaz.

North Americans, you may be surprised to know that in the UK, the word "spaz" is used almost exclusively as a derogatory term for people who have cerebral palsy or other forms of spastic paralysis. And UK residents, you may be surprised to learn that in North America, the word "spaz" is used almost exclusively as a general, inoffensive term for people who are clumsy or over-excited. The word is so innocuous it is even frequently used in children's programming.

How does something like this happen? This article provides a pretty interesting account of the term's gradual divorce from it's medical roots... within North America, at least. Personally, I'd never even heard of someone using spaz as a negative term for a person with a physical disability. Most people over here -- at least people my age -- are in the same boat, simply because the word hasn't been used that way in such a long time.

Isn't that fascinating? I know I thought so! I guess I'll just place "spaz" alongside "fanny" and "fag" in my list of words that mean extremely different things over here than they do over there. Yikes! Thanks to my UK readers for (hopefully) giving me the benefit of the doubt and assuming no offense was intended.

Sam Logan

Skull Panda

Today's Skull Panda comic is the first of three from everyone's favourite alternative cartoonist, Rikk Estoban.

For those of you unfamiliar with Rikk's work, feel free to check out these two past Skull Panda shindigs. As for Rikk himself, a fictionalized (but highly accurate, in my opinion) representation of his persona appeared in an ancient Sam and Fuzzy storyline that you can read either online or in the first Sam and Fuzzy book. The book also comes with a few exclusive bonus Skull Panda strips, as does the follow-up Noosehead volume.

As for me, I'm busy working on the next Sam and Fuzzy story, as well as a couple of other goodies. In the meantime, tune in on Wednesday for the next in Rikk's trio of contributions!

Sam Logan

Klak

Don't forget: Claire is at Connecticon right now, hanging at the Questionable Content and selling keen gear from both Kitty-bot and Sam and Fuzzy.

Also don't forget: The t-shirt 3-pack sale ends on Sunday. (Sunday, Sunday. Monster trucks.)

Anyhow, that's a wrap for the Memory Lapse storyline! As you can probably tell, I had a lot of fun doing this one. What did you think of it? Drop me a line and let me know!

Next: Everyone's favourite alternative cartoonist, Rikk Estoban, has generously agreed to step into my shoes for a week once again while I get myself ready for San Diego Comic-con. Unlike the highly experimental guest week he did last time, Rikk informs me that this year we can expect to see some Skull Panda comics in the style of his more traditional work. I think you will probably enjoy it!

Sam Logan