I was originally planning on killing off the cat today, but this new direction has lots of possibilities.

To new readers: that cat has caused various injuries in the past, like in this one.

Mau?

The day before this comic was to go up, I heard a lady call to her children, “Come on, chitlins!”. I knew then that I had a name for the cat.

I hope this isn’t why I have the sniffles. Those cats are out to get us, I tell ya.

If you’re unfamiliar with that ghost-like skunk, read the archives. Yeah, he’s dead. He haunts Kenny. Nope, he’s not a ghost, Kenny’s just a bit insane.

Kenny seems to approve!

When I was designing Death, I knew I wanted a disabled character, and she would fit nicely in that role. Trouble is, 117 years in the future, what disabilities will still be unfixed? I eventually came up with missing limbs. I think we’ll have realistic prosthetics by then, but they’ll still be prosthetics. I doubt we’ll be re-growing limbs perfectly within that time, considering all the new bones and muscles you’d need.

ALSO- this will be the last Thursday comic of this year. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US, and every week after that has always been busy, so I always put the comic into half-hibernation for the Christmas season. I’ll still be updating on Mondays. When 2011 rolls around, we’ll be back to Mondays and Thursdays.

Remember, there won’t be a comic this Thursday because of Thanksgiving in the United States, and I’ll be updating Mondays-only through December.

While inking, I listened to alternative rock versions of various theme songs like Laverne & Shirley and The Golden Girls. Stay Tuned is a cool band, heh. You can listen to their music here.

Okay, so yesterday, Leslie Nielsen died(starred in Airplane! and Naked Gun). I already had today’s comic scripted, but I just had to find some way to throw in a tribute to such a funny actor. He had lots of great lines, but the one he’s known most for is his character’s response to a passenger in Airplane! who said, “Surely you can’t be serious!” to which he replies, “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” Say it out loud if you don’t get the joke right away.
And then there’s the beaver. I had to include a beaver in this comic, heh.

Notes on the Spanish version:
Yeah, the “Shirley” joke won’t be carried over to the Spanish version of this strip, since the line had to be changed in the Spanish version of the movie because puns simply can’t be translated. In Spanish, the passenger’s line was basically the same, but the response translates back to “Very serious. If you want, I can say it again.” It’s just as well, since the Airplane! reference isn’t required for the comic. I wrote this strip weeks before Leslie died.
I find it interesting that in Latin America, the title of Airplane! equals “And Where’s The Pilot?” while The Naked Gun was “And Where’s The Police?”. I like the correlation there. The titles varied between Spanish-speaking regions/countries, as many movies do. Even in English-speaking countries, there can be title changes. In Australia & New Zealand, Airplane! was named “Flying High”(source: English Wikipedia & IMDB). The Spanish Wikipedia page says(without citation) that it’s because their word for “Airplane” is “Aeroplane”, but I can’t find why they didn’t just rename it “Aeroplane!”. If I were to speculate, I’d guess copyright/trademark issues, somehow.