Conscience Cat

I've always had a soft spot for the Conscience Cat shirt. You might have guessed as much, since in my past posts about Rewrite History and Steam Power, I've talked about how the shirts I'm happiest with are almost always the designs that take one of my characters and graphically mesh them directly into some hand-lettered text. Conscience Cat definitely fits that bill. Plus, it's the oldest design of mine that we still sell!

Or at least, it was until Christmas, when it went out of stock in almost all sizes and stayed that way due to problems. Sorry about that! But good news: we finally got some more! They're back on sale now, and if the design still has some life in it, we'll do a better job of keeping it around this time.

And of course, we also have Conscience Cat whiteboards, too. Which just goes to show, there's more than one way to skin a cat. (Or to just print a cat on objects and sell them.)

-Sam Logan

TCAFinated

TCAF complete! And by extension, so to does my crazy three show marathon come to an end. It was wonderful to wrap things up with an event like TCAF, which is as much a fun, relaxed hangout as it is an exhibition. As always, I saw a lot of familiar faces, and also met a lot of really swell readers and really talented creators. Thanks for the good times, friends!

But now, time to decompress. But only for a bit! After all, it will soon be time to wind myself up for the innagural Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, which arrives later this month! As you can imagine, I'm especially excited about that one.

-Sam Logan

Guest Comic: Rikk Estoban

Yikes! With all these trips and conventions lately, I've been running myself a little ragged. Fortunately, reknowned alternative cartoonist Rikk Estoban was willing to step up to the plate and fill in for me today. You can read more of Rikk's comics at Skull Panda Loves Everything -- Sam and Fuzzy vets will recognize a few of the "classic" Skull Panda strips over there, but most of them are new and some of them might even be good.

TCAF

Speaking of trips and conventions... I am at TCAF this weekend! And barring travel disaster, I will also be at the Topatoco-hosted welcome party tonight, although I'll be arriving a little late. Both events are totally free to attend, and recommended with maximum force.

Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Wine Edition
Got a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!

"Oh no... are the drops Aaron is giving Buddy made of Chateau Mort-Noire 1691?" -David

Yes! Which, for those who have forgotten, is the same wine Don Gerbo of the Grrbils used to mutate himself back in Sam and Fuzzy Fix Your Problem.

Easter Egg Notice: If you dig around in the archive, you'll probably find a few strips (like this one) where you can see Aaron rather nervously or suspiciously administering the drops when no one is looking.

"What made you decide to pick the web-comic format over a more traditional book method? " -Taylor

I wish I could say it was a particularly profound reason! But the honest answer is: when I started Sam and Fuzzy, I was a big poor nobody university student and the web seemed like the only way to go.

The biggest strength of the webcomics model is it's low barrier of entry: if you can figure out how to make a website, you can start sharing your work with the world right away for almost no upfront cost. You also don't need the approval or support of a print comics publisher or newspaper comic syndicate. (Which, in both cases, were not doing very well at the time I was getting into comics.) That was very attractive to an aspiring cartoonist, and I recommend it fully and without hesitation.

The biggest weakness of the webcomics model is that it can be difficult to transition from hobby to job. Such is the way with the website business! Some, like myself, are really lucky and find a way to build off the base of free comics and start earning a viable income. Others can really struggle with it. It's difficult, because there is no one solution that works for everyone! (Which is why I generally avoid trying to give anyone business advice.)

"Did you know that in the middle of your noosehead story arc sin actually says the words "Fix his Problem"? Was this foreshadowing to the new story arc or was it complete coincidence?" -Leann

Coincidence, probably! I was actually lifting the joke from our old Dr. Crab Can Fix Your Problem t-shirt, which I was always rather fond up. I like telling someone you will "fix your problem" can sound either helpful or threatening, depending on your tone of voice.

All right! That's a wrap for this week. Come back on Monday for the start of our next chapter!

-Sam Logan