m (Sam & Max (series) moved to Sam & Max (franchise): This seems better suited) |
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[[Image:Sam & Max - Surfin The Highway (front cover).jpg|thumb|250px|Front cover of ''The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway''.]] |
[[Image:Sam & Max - Surfin The Highway (front cover).jpg|thumb|250px|Front cover of ''The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway''.]] |
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| − | '''Sam & Max''' are a pair of comic book characters who occupy a parody of American popular culture. [[Sam]] is a 6-foot tall anthropomorphic dog in detective's clothing and [[Max]] is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Created by [[Steve Purcell]] in a 1987 comic book, the characters are probably best known for the 1993 computer game, ''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]'' and the more recent [[Sam & Max Season One|Sam & Max episodic series]] for Windows PCs. |
+ | '''[[Sam]] & [[Max]]''' are a pair of comic book characters who occupy a parody of American popular culture. [[Sam]] is a 6-foot tall anthropomorphic dog in detective's clothing and [[Max]] is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Created by [[Steve Purcell]] in a 1987 comic book, the characters are probably best known for the 1993 computer game, ''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]'' and the more recent [[Sam & Max Season One|Sam & Max episodic series]] for Windows PCs. |
| − | They are private investigators, or as they like to call themselves, "freelance police". The pair live and work in [[New York City]], but often travel to such places as [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[ancient Egypt]], the [[Philippines]], and the [[Moon]]. They drive a seemingly indestructible black-and-white 1960 [[DeSoto Adventurer]] to most of these locations (including the Moon, which they achieved by stuffing the muffler with thousands upon thousands of match heads). Max often drives, despite being unable to see over the dashboard. |
+ | They are private investigators, or as they like to call themselves, "freelance police". The pair live and work in [[New York City]], but often travel to such places as [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[ancient Egypt]], the [[Philippines]], and the [[Moon]]. They drive a seemingly indestructible black-and-white 1960 [[DeSoto|DeSoto Adventurer]] to most of these locations (including the Moon, which they achieved by stuffing the muffler with thousands upon thousands of match heads). Max often drives, despite being unable to see over the dashboard. |
| − | Their crime fighting technique involves brandishing their oversized guns to intimidate criminals (it is not clear where Max keeps his weapon concealed as he is completely naked; when asked, Max always replies with "None of your damn business, Sam."), but more often than not they need to rely on more creative solutions to vanquish evil. When they do use firearms Sam favors a gigantic revolver, while Max prefers a Luger. Sam and Max occasionally receive assignments from a mysterious Commissioner over the phone, but they usually just walk straight into trouble. |
+ | Their crime fighting technique involves brandishing their oversized guns to intimidate criminals (it is not clear where Max keeps his weapon concealed as he is completely naked; when asked, Max always replies with "None of your damn business, Sam."), but more often than not they need to rely on more creative solutions to vanquish evil. When they do use firearms Sam favors a gigantic revolver, while Max prefers a Luger. Sam and Max occasionally receive assignments from a mysterious [[The Commissioner|Commissioner]] over the phone, but they usually just walk straight into trouble. |
==History and appearances== |
==History and appearances== |
||
| − | The comic books are laced with dark, nihilistic, and surreal humour. The series was created by [[Steve Purcell]] based on his brother's childhood drawings, and published in bits and pieces under several different titles and by several different publishers. Most of the stories were assembled in a collection entitled ''The |
+ | The comic books are laced with dark, nihilistic, and surreal humour. The series was created by [[Steve Purcell]] based on his brother's childhood drawings, and published in bits and pieces under several different titles and by several different publishers. Most of the stories were assembled in a collection entitled ''[[The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway]]'' in 1995. An expanded version of this compilation was released by Telltale Games in 2007.[http://www.telltalegames.com/company/pressreleases/id-54] |
| − | With Steve Purcell working at [[LucasArts]], the characters became quite popular within the company and they were soon appearing in cameos in many LucasArts games. They also had a few comic clips in the LucasArts promotional magazine "The Adventurer" (spoofing Star Wars or Indiana Jones). They also spawned a successful graphical |
+ | With Steve Purcell working at [[LucasArts]], the characters became quite popular within the company and they were soon appearing in [[Sightings|cameos]] in many LucasArts games. They also had [[The Adventurer comics|a few comic clips]] in the LucasArts promotional magazine "The Adventurer" (spoofing Star Wars or Indiana Jones). They also spawned a successful graphical {{w|adventure game}} of their own, ''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]''. In August 2002 LucasArts announced that a sequel, ''[[Sam & Max: Freelance Police (Video Game)|Sam & Max: Freelance Police]] '', would be released in the first quarter of 2004, but the game was canceled in March 2004 due to a change in management that felt it was not the right time to release an adventure game. |
| − | In September 2005, it was announced that [[Telltale Games]], a small company started by members of the creative teams behind numerous |
+ | In September 2005, it was announced that [[Telltale Games]], a small company started by members of the creative teams behind numerous {{w|LucasArts adventure games}}, would create a new episodic series of [[Sam & Max (video game series)|''Sam & Max'' games]] with the help of Purcell. The first episode, "[[Culture Shock]]", was released on October 17, 2006 as part of the {{w|GameTap}} download service. Each individual episode or the whole season of six can also be bought online at the Telltale website. The episodes can also be purchased on [[wikipedia:Steam (content delivery)|Steam]]. Starting in December 2005, a [[The Big Sleep|new online comic strip]] was released to celebrate the collaboration. A second season of the episodic game series will be released on Nov. 8, 2007 for GameTap subscribers and a day later for the general public <ref>http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmaxseasontwo/</ref>. |
There was also a less adult animated series called ''[[The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police]]'', which aired on the Fox Kids programming block in the U.S. and Channel 4/S4C in the UK, airing 24 episodes from 1997 through to 1998. |
There was also a less adult animated series called ''[[The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police]]'', which aired on the Fox Kids programming block in the U.S. and Channel 4/S4C in the UK, airing 24 episodes from 1997 through to 1998. |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==The characters== |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Sam is a laid-back but enthusiastic anthropomorphic dog who wears a suit and a hat. He is usually the brains of the operation, often trying to figure out a logical solution to things. He is prone to long-winded sentences filled with elaborate terminology. He rarely loses his temper (except when he's given a [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pink+belly pink belly]), and is able to react to panic-inducing situations with extreme calm. When he ''does'' get angry, he tends to react in a violent manner. It is usually (and somewhat ironically) Max that calms him down and prevents him from acting upon his anger. Sam apparently also has a very large sweet tooth, as during many of his adventures and assignments he can be seen enjoying a multitude of frozen treats, such as popsicles and ice cream sandwiches. According to Bosco, his full name is Samuel. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Voiced by: [[Bill Farmer]] (Hit the Road), [[Harvey Atkin]] (animated series), [[David Nowlin]] (Season One) |
||
| − | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | Max is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" (he prefers being called a "[[Lagomorpha|lagomorph]]") with a huge jaw normally stuck in a crazed grin, showing off his razor sharp teeth (Which, along with a taste for meat he sometimes exhibits, seems to contradict his self definition as a lagomorph). He enjoys violence and tends to prefer the aggressive way of solving problems. He has a slight distaste for the long stories, anecdotes and sentences that Sam consistently spouts forth, often asking Sam not to use various words (such as 'ensue' and 'acumen'). He shares Sam's enthusiasm in just about anything, especially if it involves large guns and trouble. He also has very poor hygiene, as he is sometimes seen tasting his own belly button lint and Sam has commented on his pungent bodily odors on more than one occasion. His full name is Maximillian I. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Voiced by: [[Nick Jameson]] (Hit the Road), [[Robert Tinkler]] (animated series), [[Kid Beyond]] (Season One: Episode 1) [[William Kasten]] (Season One: Episodes 2-6, Season Two) |
||
| − | |||
| − | ===[[The Commissioner]]=== |
||
| − | The commissioner is an unseen character who briefs Sam and Max for their various missions. He interacts with them through the telephone; a ringing phone usually causes the freelancers to brawl a bit for the right to pick up the phone first - a fight which is traditionally won by Sam. |
||
| − | |||
| − | ===[[Flint Paper]]=== |
||
| − | Flint is the freelancers' next-door neighbor, a stereotypical private detective. His work method often consists of "pummeling", and he has, to date, proven to be effectively indestructible. |
||
| − | |||
| − | ===[[Bosco]]=== |
||
| − | Mentioned in ''Hit the Road'', and first seen in "Culture Shock", Bosco is the severely paranoid and conspiratorial thinking owner of Bosco's Inconvenience store. His business style appears to be based around overcharging for any item so he can afford his elaborate high-tech, homemade security systems, as well as selling his personal brand of "BoscoTech equipment", which are generally rudimentary at best, but cost extraordinary amounts of money (like a hundred million dollars for a "Truth Serum" - which turns out to be a bottle of Vodka). Throughout Season One, his paranoia causes him to dress up as different people (such as an English man, a Russian man, and even his own mother). These disguises usually involve nothing more than Bosco wearing a hat or make-up. He still wears his ordinary clothes, and even his nametag saying his name. |
||
| − | |||
| − | He is voiced by [[Joey Camen]] in Season One. |
||
==Major adventures== |
==Major adventures== |
||
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple]]''' (1987): Sam & Max journey to the exotic Philippines ("drawn without reference material") to stop a volcano god cult. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Night of the Gilded Heron-Shark]]''' (1987): Sam & Max have a run-in with the fish-headed Mack Salmon and his goons. Introduced the Rubber Pants Commandos and their leader, the chimpanzee Sergeant Blip. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Night of the Cringing Wildebeest]]''' (1987): The Freelance Police investigate refreshment booth trouble at the local carnival. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Fair Wind to Java]]''' (1988): Sam & Max fight pyramid-building aliens in [[ancient Egypt]]. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[On the Road]]''' (1989): A complete story in three chapters, chronicling what happens when the Freelance Police take a vacation. The heart of this story is "I Love a Band Leader", involving fake land-pirates, manatees, and talking [[octopuses]]. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[The Damned Don't Dance]]''' (1990): A charming Christmas tale. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Bad Day on the Moon]]''' (1992): Sam & Max travel to [[the Moon]] to aid an anthropomorphic rat civilization rid itself of giant moon roaches. This story was later adapted for the short-lived Sam & Max animated series. Rats and cockroaches are frequently seen throughout Sam & Max's adventures. |
| − | * |
+ | * '''[[Beast from the Cereal Aisle]]''' (1992): Sam & Max grapple with paranormal life forms at the local supermarket. |
* '''''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]''''' (1993): A computer game published by [[LucasArts]] sprawling the width and breadth of the continental United States. The Freelance Police travel across America in search of two freak show escapees; who have been kidnapped by famous Country/Western singer Conroy Bumpus. |
* '''''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]''''' (1993): A computer game published by [[LucasArts]] sprawling the width and breadth of the continental United States. The Freelance Police travel across America in search of two freak show escapees; who have been kidnapped by famous Country/Western singer Conroy Bumpus. |
||
* '''''[[Sam & Max Season One]]''''' (2006–2007): The first episodic season of the new computer game published by [[Telltale Games]]. Due to the episodic nature of the game, there is no single plot but several small plots linked together by the background plot involving various hypnotized people and entities (like the Internet) trying to take over the world. |
* '''''[[Sam & Max Season One]]''''' (2006–2007): The first episodic season of the new computer game published by [[Telltale Games]]. Due to the episodic nature of the game, there is no single plot but several small plots linked together by the background plot involving various hypnotized people and entities (like the Internet) trying to take over the world. |
||
| − | * '''''[[Sam & Max Season Two]]''''' ( |
+ | * '''''[[Sam & Max Season Two]]''''' (2007–2008): Season Two of the episodic computer game series published by [[Telltale Games]]. Again, several seemingly unrelated plots combine together to produce an overall story arc for the season. There is a connection between the episodes, but it isn't as easily summed up as for the first season. |
| + | * [[Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse|'''''Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse''''']] (2010): Season Three of the episodic computer game series published by Telltale games. The Devil's playhouse takes a different approach from the previous two series, having much more consistant plot connecting each episode rather than a series of seemingly random events occuring on seperate days. |
||
<br clear=all> |
<br clear=all> |
||
{| style="margin:0 auto;" class="toccolours" align=center cellpadding=5 |
{| style="margin:0 auto;" class="toccolours" align=center cellpadding=5 |
||
| − | |bgcolor="#CCCCFF" colspan=" |
+ | |bgcolor="#CCCCFF" colspan="7" align="center"| <big>'''Sam & Max albums'''</big> |
|- |
|- |
||
| − | | '''Cover''' || [[Image:Sam and max se.png|75px]] || [[Image:Sam and max cmcs.png|75px]] || [[Image: |
+ | | '''Cover''' || [[Image:Sam and max se.png|75px]] || [[Image:Sam and max cmcs.png|75px]] || [[Image:Bad Day on the Moon cover.png|75px]] || [[Image:Sam and Max sce.png|75px]] || [[Image:Sam & Max - Surfin The Highway (front cover).jpg|75px]] || [[Image:Surfin'_the_Highway_-_Telltale_Edition.JPG|75px]] |
|- align="center" |
|- align="center" |
||
| − | | '''Year''' || 1987 || 1988 || 1992 || 1992 || 1995 |
+ | | '''Year''' || 1987 || 1988 || 1992 || 1992 || 1995 || 2007 |
|} |
|} |
||
| + | |||
| + | ==See Also== |
||
| + | [[List of Sam & Max stories]]<br /> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
| Line 70: | Line 54: | ||
* [http://files.filefront.com/Sam++Max+Video+Interview+with+David+Bogen/;8279023;;/fileinfo.html Sam & Max Video Interview with David Bogan] |
* [http://files.filefront.com/Sam++Max+Video+Interview+with+David+Bogen/;8279023;;/fileinfo.html Sam & Max Video Interview with David Bogan] |
||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_&_Max Source text from Wikipedia article] |
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_&_Max Source text from Wikipedia article] |
||
| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Sam & Max Media]] |
Latest revision as of 14:04, 14 December 2020
.jpg){kind=link}
Front cover of The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway.
Sam & Max are a pair of comic book characters who occupy a parody of American popular culture. Sam is a 6-foot tall anthropomorphic dog in detective's clothing and Max is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Created by Steve Purcell in a 1987 comic book, the characters are probably best known for the 1993 computer game, Sam & Max Hit the Road and the more recent Sam & Max episodic series for Windows PCs.
They are private investigators, or as they like to call themselves, "freelance police". The pair live and work in New York City, but often travel to such places as New Orleans, ancient Egypt, the Philippines, and the Moon. They drive a seemingly indestructible black-and-white 1960 DeSoto Adventurer to most of these locations (including the Moon, which they achieved by stuffing the muffler with thousands upon thousands of match heads). Max often drives, despite being unable to see over the dashboard.
Their crime fighting technique involves brandishing their oversized guns to intimidate criminals (it is not clear where Max keeps his weapon concealed as he is completely naked; when asked, Max always replies with "None of your damn business, Sam."), but more often than not they need to rely on more creative solutions to vanquish evil. When they do use firearms Sam favors a gigantic revolver, while Max prefers a Luger. Sam and Max occasionally receive assignments from a mysterious Commissioner over the phone, but they usually just walk straight into trouble.
History and appearances
The comic books are laced with dark, nihilistic, and surreal humour. The series was created by Steve Purcell based on his brother's childhood drawings, and published in bits and pieces under several different titles and by several different publishers. Most of the stories were assembled in a collection entitled The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway in 1995. An expanded version of this compilation was released by Telltale Games in 2007.[1]
With Steve Purcell working at LucasArts, the characters became quite popular within the company and they were soon appearing in cameos in many LucasArts games. They also had a few comic clips in the LucasArts promotional magazine "The Adventurer" (spoofing Star Wars or Indiana Jones). They also spawned a successful graphical adventure game of their own, Sam & Max Hit the Road. In August 2002 LucasArts announced that a sequel, Sam & Max: Freelance Police , would be released in the first quarter of 2004, but the game was canceled in March 2004 due to a change in management that felt it was not the right time to release an adventure game.
In September 2005, it was announced that Telltale Games, a small company started by members of the creative teams behind numerous LucasArts adventure games, would create a new episodic series of Sam & Max games with the help of Purcell. The first episode, "Culture Shock", was released on October 17, 2006 as part of the GameTap download service. Each individual episode or the whole season of six can also be bought online at the Telltale website. The episodes can also be purchased on Steam. Starting in December 2005, a new online comic strip was released to celebrate the collaboration. A second season of the episodic game series will be released on Nov. 8, 2007 for GameTap subscribers and a day later for the general public [1].
There was also a less adult animated series called The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police, which aired on the Fox Kids programming block in the U.S. and Channel 4/S4C in the UK, airing 24 episodes from 1997 through to 1998.
Major adventures
- Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple (1987): Sam & Max journey to the exotic Philippines ("drawn without reference material") to stop a volcano god cult.
- Night of the Gilded Heron-Shark (1987): Sam & Max have a run-in with the fish-headed Mack Salmon and his goons. Introduced the Rubber Pants Commandos and their leader, the chimpanzee Sergeant Blip.
- Night of the Cringing Wildebeest (1987): The Freelance Police investigate refreshment booth trouble at the local carnival.
- Fair Wind to Java (1988): Sam & Max fight pyramid-building aliens in ancient Egypt.
- On the Road (1989): A complete story in three chapters, chronicling what happens when the Freelance Police take a vacation. The heart of this story is "I Love a Band Leader", involving fake land-pirates, manatees, and talking octopuses.
- The Damned Don't Dance (1990): A charming Christmas tale.
- Bad Day on the Moon (1992): Sam & Max travel to the Moon to aid an anthropomorphic rat civilization rid itself of giant moon roaches. This story was later adapted for the short-lived Sam & Max animated series. Rats and cockroaches are frequently seen throughout Sam & Max's adventures.
- Beast from the Cereal Aisle (1992): Sam & Max grapple with paranormal life forms at the local supermarket.
- Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993): A computer game published by LucasArts sprawling the width and breadth of the continental United States. The Freelance Police travel across America in search of two freak show escapees; who have been kidnapped by famous Country/Western singer Conroy Bumpus.
- Sam & Max Season One (2006–2007): The first episodic season of the new computer game published by Telltale Games. Due to the episodic nature of the game, there is no single plot but several small plots linked together by the background plot involving various hypnotized people and entities (like the Internet) trying to take over the world.
- Sam & Max Season Two (2007–2008): Season Two of the episodic computer game series published by Telltale Games. Again, several seemingly unrelated plots combine together to produce an overall story arc for the season. There is a connection between the episodes, but it isn't as easily summed up as for the first season.
- Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse (2010): Season Three of the episodic computer game series published by Telltale games. The Devil's playhouse takes a different approach from the previous two series, having much more consistant plot connecting each episode rather than a series of seemingly random events occuring on seperate days.
| Sam & Max albums | ||||||
| Cover |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| Year | 1987 | 1988 | 1992 | 1992 | 1995 | 2007 |
See Also
List of Sam & Max stories
Sam
Max
External links
- The Save Sam & Max website
- Telltale Games' Sam & Max comic
- Dave Grossman, Senior Designer of TellTale Games interview
- PC Gamer Magazine video podcast about Sam & Max game
- Max for President
- Sam & Max Video Interview with Steve Purcell
- Sam & Max Video Interview with David Bogan
- Source text from Wikipedia article