Don't forget: a new bundle of bonus comics and desktop images emails out to all our Book Club members mid-next week! If you don't have a copy of Sam and Fuzzy Are Very Famous yet and want to get in on the bonus action, just make sure you place your order before February 29th, and you'll receive 'em automatically after the deadline passes.

ALSO don't forget: Book Clubbers... I want your suggestions for our next bonus desktops, so email me your ideas! I'll be picking my ten favourites and including them in a poll with the Feb. 29 bonus pack... whichever idea gets the most votes will get turned into a real desktop for the next pack. Bam!

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

"Not so much a question but, you have to make a Steam Power: 100% Practical For Everything shirt. Which would of course have to be steam powered. (And could you please consider a Marvel style Book Club Pack? You've done DC Comics, Serenity & Clockwork Orange which were all great but Marvel would be AMAZING!!!)" -Nick

A lot of people have asked about a Steam Power shirt! Sometimes I don't see people's requests coming, but that last panel definitely just turned out a little "t-shirty" -- I realized it as soon as I drew it. What do the rest of you think? Does this sound like something you'd like? I think there is potential in there, but for an actual shirt design I'd definitely change the visuals a bit to directly incorporate some of Theophilus' inventions.

(Bonus triva: Theophilus, despite appearing in Sam and Fuzzy, is actually a character that Shannon and I created for a potential project completely unrelated to S&F... although the "real" Theo is a bit more competent and a bit less completely screwball than his alternate universe counterpart.)

"As I recall, Sam once single-handedly evaded treacherous assassination by one of his most elite blankface operatives, beat him nearly to death with his bare hands, and then ordered him kicked off the top of a building. It seems like Fuzzy could drop this little tidbit for some "underworld credentials". Has he forgotten, or is he honoring his promise not to tell?" -Lucian

Two reasons! One: like you mentioned, Sam is not exactly comfortable talking about what happened. And two: few if any others know anything about it at all. Only a tiny handful of people are aware that Blank was even there that day. So defeating Blank is not something Sam really has a reputation for... or something people would be likely to believe if he told them.

"Does the underground not have a currency conversion center? I imagine with so many developed culture's, there should be decent foreign policy and communication to survive down there, and relevant services. Did Sam just not think to go look around for people who would exchange cat currency for dollars?" -Chad

Man, it's super annoying, but currency centers outside Catopia give a TERRIBLE exchange rate. It's probably because they're only really used within the closed-to-outsiders city of Catopia itself, which makes them low-in-demand outside the city and a big hassle to exchange back. Plus, they start to smell bad after a few days.

"How come in the older comics, Blank and Black always had their masks covering their entire face, even when they're drinking tea and crying, but X and Y sometimes have their masks rolled up halfway to show their mouth?" -Emily

Alas, X and Y's ninja skills are just not as highly developed as Blank and Black. Drinking through your mask is kind of the Mona Lisa of... ninja abilities... or something.

In more practical comic-making terms, X and Y are a little less "restrained" than their predecessors, and are constantly bursting into rooms while screaming at the top of their lungs. Sometimes you just really need a visual of a big open mouth to sell all that shouting!

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

-Sam Logan

Thank you

Thank you to everyone for all the kind emails, forum posts and tweets following Monday's big announcement! I am super lucky to have you guys in my corner, and I can't wait to have more comics, art, and other projects to share with you.

Unfortunately, towards the end of the day, we started having some totally unrelated problems with my email account. It should be all fixed now, though! So if you sent me an email and it bounced back, please resend it! I will totally read it and everything.

Speaking of new stuff to share, just a reminder that we've got a new bundle of bonus comics and desktop images emailing out to all the Sam and Fuzzy Are Very Famous owners out there next week. (And don't worry... if you don't have a copy yet, just place an order before February 29th and you can nab the bonuses too!)

And don't forget, Book Clubbers... I'm also looking for your suggestions for our next bonus desktops! If you've got a killer idea, just email it to me. I'll be picking my ten favourites and including them in a poll with the Feb. 29 bonus pack... whichever idea gets the most votes will get turned into a real desktop for the next bonus pack!

Announcing: Major Ch-ch-ch-changes

We break briefly from our story today for a dose of bonus Theophilus, before plunging headlong into our next chapter on Wednesday! (I was a little disappointed I didn't manage to work the sandwich into the story proper.)

Friends, these past few weeks, I have been going through some pretty enormous changes in my life. I would like to tell you about them today, because they will be bringing some changes into your life, too... or at very least, into the small part of it that you spend reading my work!

For those who don't know, aside from drawing Sam and Fuzzy comics for a living, I have also spent the last 8 years designing and illustrating a pair of children's science magazines called KNOW and YES Mag. Well, I'm sad to say that a few days back, we received word from the company that owns the magazines that they were shutting them both down and letting us all go. Like, immediately. As is often the case in the magazine industry, the announcement came completely without warning and was effective immediately. They didn't even let us finish the issues that were already in production and almost ready to be printed.

I'm really sorry to see YES Mag and KNOW go. They were great magazines, and it was a privilege to help put them together. And of course, there are other reasons why their closing is not an easy thing for me, since my work for the magazines -- while not a "day job" per se -- did account for about half my income. Ack!

So, what am I going to do? Well, I'm going to what I've always said I'd do if this happened... go full-time cartoonist and focus entirely on my own stuff. It's a little spooky, I'm not going to lie. But I'm really excited about having time to make more comics to show you all -- if not more Sam and Fuzzy specifically, then other, simultaneous projects! (Although I'm going to tackle a couple of long-overdue chores first -- redesigning the Sam and Fuzzy site is at the top of the list.)

And I know, from years of extremely pleasant experience, that I have an awesome audience I can count on for support, be it by nabbing my swag, sending commission and freelance work my way, or just helping to spread word of Sam and Fuzzy to other human beings. The only difference is, from now on, you guys are it! And if you'll let me lean on you all a little extra from now on, I'll pay you back by doing more of what I presumably do best... drawing lots of cool stuff.

So, this is it! The great experiment of 2012: Sam Logan, full-time cartoonist. Let's do this!

-Sam Logan

(PS: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!)